Page 54 of Tempt

I’m not the first nanny to cook dinner, but I’m proud of it. They didn’t expect it, and I enjoyed creating something for them.

“How was your day?” Daniel asks.

“I worked on my application for grad school. But I know I’ll forget something and they’ll say, ‘This was supposed to be one hundred and eleven pages, and it’s only one hundred ten. Denied.’”

“My tenure package is similar. Including papers I’ve published, it’s literally hundreds of pages.”

My jaw drops. “It’s kind of incredible that you’ve done enough work that they want to see hundreds of pages though.”

His lips twitch. “I suppose that’s true.”

“How do you keep it straight?”

He goes to his office and returns a moment later with a handful of plastic folders in rainbow colors.

“Give each section a folder. Check them off as you go.”

“Color coding,” I say, amused. “Next time, we should bring you in on our crafts.”

“Yeah, I don’t think so.” He grins and nods to the folder. “Take them.”

I do, and our fingers brush. “Thank you.”

Andy goes to play in his room and I help him find his things.

When I return, I find Daniel leaning over the sink, resting his head in his hands.

“What’s up?”

He straightens, expression resigned. “Andy’s grandparents called today wanting to see him.”

This is the first he’s mentioned them, and he sounds anything but enthused.

“You don’t want them to.”

“It’s complicated. They tried to keep him from me after my wife died.”

My chest tightens. “What? How?”

“Near the end, she decided she didn’t want to suffer any more. Helping end her pain was the only thing I could do to help her, and it was the hardest fucking thing I’ve ever done. I think she knew that when she asked.” Daniel’s throat works. “Anyway, her parents didn’t accept it. They hired lawyers and took me to court to try and get custody. A judge threw it out, but it was one more thing.”

I want to drag them over the coals for making his life harder. He’s a great dad, and I’m sure he was an equally great husband. What kind of people couldn’t see that?

“That’s horrible.”

He crosses the room, his face more resolved than it was a moment ago.

“You talked to Andy about his mom.”

“I talk to him about everything. If you want me to stop—”

“No. Thank you for helping him with so much grace and openness.”

We’re a chest apart, and I can see each of his dark lashes.

“No problem.”

Daniel clears his throat, twisting the ring on his finger. “We need to talk.”

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