Page 67 of Bad Wolf's Nanny
Because he could feel it now, clearer than ever. What he wanted.
It wasn’t just Sam.
It wasthem.
All of them.
A home that wasn’t empty.
A family that wasn’t temporary.
A woman who read thesis chapters to a baby like it was scripture, who slammed doors when she got mad, but still labeled every bottle with a timestamp just in case he needed it.
I think I love her.
The thought rose in him like smoke.
He didn’t say it out loud.
Not yet.
But it settled deep, weighty, and undeniable.
He rocked a little more, letting Sam’s warmth anchor him to the moment.
And then, softly, almost to himself, he said, “I think I love her, kid. I just don’t know how not to ruin it.”
Sam didn’t answer, but his fingers curled tighter into Dane’s shirt like he understood.
Chapter 15 - Lola
The library was silent except for the soft ruffle of turning pages and the gentletick tick tickof the old wall clock that had probably been wrong for years.
Lola sat cross-legged behind the main desk, surrounded by three precarious stacks of books, her laptop balanced on one knee. Her thesis file was open, the blinking cursor mocking her on an otherwise blank page.
She stared at it, willing her brain to cooperate.
It didn’t.
Instead, all she could think about was the sound of Dane’s voice when he’d told her he couldn’t be with her. The quiet regret. The way he wouldn’t look her in the eye. The fact that he’d barely spoken more than five words to her since.
She sniffed and rubbed the bridge of her nose.
Focus. Bibliography formatting. Use your brain. Don’t think about the way he held you. Don’t think about the way it felt to fall asleep in his arms like you belonged there.
The little bell over the door jingled.
She looked up. The cool midday light spilled across the entrance, silhouetting two familiar figures.
Daisy was waving before the door even closed, wearing a sunflower-yellow dress and holding several paper cups full of steaming liquid. Cassie followed, sunglasses perched on top of her head, her hair pulled into a braid, the mud on her jeans suggesting she’d been wrestling with her twins in the woods again.
Lola blinked. “Hi?”
“Hi!” Daisy said, already beaming. “We brought tea!”
“You...brought tea?”
“And coffee,” Cassie added, lifting her carrier tray. “I can only stand tea for so long before the promise of caffeine lures me in. This stuff is like petrol, according to Felix.”
