Page 18 of Single Dad Dilemma
“Your kids,” she answered distractedly, picking up another bag filled with pale-blue frosting for the next cookie. There was another small tattoo on the inside of her bicep, half hidden by the sleeve of her shirt. Before I could stop myself, my eyes lingered on it, trying to decipher the shape.
“I’m surprised you’d give me anything, after what happened the last time I was here.”
She paused, her eyes flicking up momentarily. “I said your kids, not you.”
I managed to stifle an eye roll. Barely.
“What do you want, Barrett? All your man-looming is making me twitchy, and if I fuck up these cookies now, you’re really going to piss me off.”
“You swear like this when my kids were around?”
“Oh yeah, if you’d shown up ten minutes later, we were going to do a lightning round to see how many curse words they could use correctly in a sixty-second span.”
My smile was tight. “You’re making this so easy on me, thank you.”
Finally, she let out a huff and straightened, tossing the frosting bag back onto the counter. Her hands went straight to her hips, gaze locked on mine. “Make what easy on you? I don’t know why you’re here, except to annoy the hell out of me and make this feel like an interrogation.”
“In a way, it is.”
Her dark eyes narrowed. “Explain.”
Could I actually do this?
In the last few years, I’d had to tolerate a lot. A wife who slowly learned to hate me because I didn’t meet her expectations. A brother who thought I’d ruined his life. Kids who consistently pushed every boundary erected to keep them safe. And now I was voluntarily puttingmyself at the mercy of the blue-haired siren with more ink than manners and an attitude that made me want to break something.
Then I thought of their faces. Thought of how badly they wanted this.
“I’d like to offer you a job.”
Her features froze; then Lily blinked. Blinked again. “I’m sorry,” she said slowly, tilting her head to the side. “Can you repeat that?”
I sighed heavily. “If you’re available, I’m wondering if you’d be willing to watch the kids after school and the first couple days of their Christmas break. I’ll pay you.”
Her mouth fell open. Then snapped shut. “Is this a joke?”
“Believe me, my sense of humor isn’t that good.”
Lily’s gaze tracked over my face. “Now,thatI believe.”
This time Ididroll my eyes. “Can you do it or not?”
“I can, but that doesn’t mean I’m saying yes.” She crossed her arms and kept studying me like I was a puzzle she couldn’t quite piece together.
“I’ll pay you well.” I told her the hourly wage the last housekeeper had made, and her eyebrow quirked again.
“I didn’t ask about money. That’s not why I’d say no.”
I let out a harsh breath. “Then why?”
Just like the other day, she took a leisurely glance from the top of my head, down to my feet, and back up again, ending with a pointed look at my face.
Because of me.
Right.
Undoubtedly, my cheeks were flushed by her thorough gaze and just ... her.
“I don’t like most people, but I like your kids,” she said. “And I know they liked me. What I can’t figure out is why you’d agree, given ...” She gestured to her general person, like she was an explanation in and of herself.
