Page 42 of Grump's Nanny

My hands went to her waist and I pulled her close to me, deepening the kiss and trying all at once to keep other parts of my body in check.

Thankfully—and regretfully—she pulled back rather quickly and gasped for breath.

“Whoa,” she said. “Did you feel that?”

I had. It was like our lips had been made to softly brush, our tongues created to engage one another. It wasn’t a spark—it was a crash of thunder.

I nodded to Haley and she blushed. “I’m sorry. I hope that was okay. After the other night… well… I guess I assumed you wouldn’t mind.”

I shook my head, dumbfounded like a schoolboy who’d just gotten a glimpse of his pretty teacher’s brassiere. “I didn’t mind at all,” I said. “In fact, I desperately wish my children were not on the other side of that door so I could really make it something.”

Haley looked down shyly, so I reached out and brushed some hair behind her ear.

“Thank you,” she said. “For caring.”

I couldn’t believe she was thanking me for basic human decency, but I think deep down I knew it was more. It was about everything since she’d started working for me.

“It was no trouble at all. You’re an incredible human, Haley. And I can’t help but feel a little… protective of you.”

The tension between us was so thick you could cut it with a knife and I wanted her now. My brain was going a million miles an hour, trying to come up with a way to make this happen without the kids catching us.

But I didn’t have much time to think because the door cracked open and one of Leann’s eyeballs peeked out.

“Are you guys kissing?” she asked ridiculously intuitively. How in the world could she have known?

“Are you guys winning a bunch of games without me?” I asked, hoping that the redirect would be enough.

Leann, always the shit stirrer, giggled deviously and nodded, and I took the opportunity to whip the door away from her and scoop her up, throwing her over my shoulder.

Haley decided to follow us in, and my heart was soaring. Something was changing. Something that mattered.

“Mind if I join in?”

“There’s a seat next to me!” Ben said excitedly.

Haley nodded, “There sure is. Hope you wanted me to take it.”

Haley slid across the floor and into the spot next to Ben. I saw her wince a little, and I could imagine the motion put a little strain on those joints that were still tender.

But watching her sit there, talking to and laughing with the kids, was definitely the highlight of my week. Even more than knowing Max had moved to Switzerland.

Which was certainly a close number two.

Chapter Seventeen

Haley

It had been a week since I had kissed James, and we hadn’t talked about it once. In fact, he’d been suspiciously busy over the last week, not coming back until late and leaving early in the morning.

I didn’t see Max once between our lunch and when he left the country yesterday, which I only knew was the date of his departure because of Anna. I tried to figure out how I felt about it, but I’d become really numb to it, which I supposed was better than the initial pain I’d felt.

But today was my day off. The kids were having a day with their grandma, and rather than sit inside for one more day, I decided to get out on the slopes.

It was my first time doing it alone since the avalanche. Each time I’d gone out before now, Max or Anna had been with me, coaching me through it. But now, I was on my own and wouldn’tbe able to rely on anyone else for support. It was just me and the snow.

“You’ve got this,” I said as I strapped into my boots. I hadn’t even gone outside yet, and I was starting to feel a light sheen of sweat forming on my brow from panic. I didn’t know how I was going to do this, but I knew I had to try.

I took myself out to the smallest slope the resort had, which was only about fifty feet up and didn’t require a lift. I stared up at it, a small slope I would have mastered before I was even Ben’s age. But now, it looked like Everest to me.

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