Page 4 of Nanny for the Mercenaries

“Eloise.” I smiled in remembrance. “Yeah, she was great. Too bad she had a boyfriend when we got back to the states.” I shook my head. “This isn’t like that. This girl… man, this girl isdifferent.”

Yeah, I had a habit of falling for girls hard. What could I say? I may have been a warrior, but I was a lover at heart. Trish didn’t feel like all the other crushes I’d had. We had a real spark between us. Sure, we had only spoken a few times, and shared some flirty glances at the gym, but there was somethingthere,damnit. I wanted to explore that, see where it went.

Not any time soon,I thought glumly.

“You have to stop,” Archer said flatly. “Harrison and I need you focused on these missions, rather than spending the entire trip pining over a girl half a world away.”

“Pining?” I scoffed. “I’m always professional!”

He raised an eyebrow at me, which for a Brit was the equivalent of laughing in my face.

“Fine, I’ll admit it. I was texting Eloise when we got ambushed outside Manaus. But that doesn’t mean I always do this. Hell, I didn’t even make the move this time. Trish askedmeout!”

“Indeed she did. And perhaps when we return, you can accept her invitation. But for now…”

I felt my jaw clench. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll stay focused.”

“Properfocused,” he said, clapping me on the shoulder. “It’s going to be a long two months.”

We finished changing and picked up Kaylee from the daycare room. She sprinted toward us, slamming into my leg like a child-sized missile. “I missed you, daddy!” she said, clinging to my leg and then switching to Archer’s. “I missedyou, daddy.”

Something twisted behind my ribs. We had only been lifting weights for an hour. If she missed us this much, how would she handle us being gone formonths?

We left the gym and started driving home. I twisted to look at Kaylee in the back seat; she was playing a game on her iPad with her headphones on.

I won’t see her for two months. Maybe three, depending on the jobs.

“We never finished our conversation,” I said to Archer. “What are we going to do about her?”

“STEM camp,” Archer replied. “As far as I am concerned, the plan has not changed.”

“You know she won’t last a week before freaking out.”

“Wedon’tknow that,” he said pointedly. “Last year’s incident may be a fluke. She’s older, now.”

“Not old enough.” I chewed on my lip and stared out the window at the streets of Wilmington. “What about Trish?”

Archer glanced over at me. “Are you honestly bringing her up again?”

“She mentioned wanting to be an au pair! Isn’t that just a fancy name for a nanny?”

“Kaylee doesn’t need a nanny. She needs to be interacting with children her own age, playing games and learning skills.”

“What if it’s a sign?” I suggested.

Archer narrowed his eyes at me. “A sign?”

“We need someone to watch over Kaylee while we’re gone. And the girl we’ve both been eying at the gym happens to mention to her friend that she wants to be someone’s fancy nanny. Doesn’t that feel like a sign to you?”

“I do not believe in making important life decisions based on your interpretation of what is and is not asign,” Archer said emphatically, “and even if I did agree with your assessment—which I do not—I would rather hire someone youdon’twant to shag.”

“You want to shag her too,” I replied.

Archer rolled his eyes at me. “I fancy the way she looks. That’s not the same thing. And regardless, she askedyouout. So whatever competition we had, you’re the winner. Congratulations.”

“Daddy,” Kaylee chirped up, “what’s shag mean?”

Archer’s tone changed to one of fatherly love. “It means to be boyfriend and girlfriend with.”

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