Page 29 of Falling for the Nanny

He smirked as I pushed off the counter and walked unsteadily into the bedroom. It was cooler in there, and I was glad to be cloaked in the deep blue shadows. Especially once I realized that David was following me in. He set the glass of water on my bedside table and efficiently straightened the chaos of sheets and blankets my fitful tossing about in my sleep had created. Then he stood back and waited.

“You don’t need to tuck me in,” I whispered, but I was too tired to feel self-conscious anymore. So, David was seeing me at my worst. Maybe that was for the best. We had an agreement after all. I slipped into bed and leaned back against the pillows, pulling the blanket up to my waist.

“Maybe I want to,” he murmured. He pulled the blankets higher, then laid the back of his hand against my forehead. “You’re still running a fever.”

“Lily’s didn’t break until the second day.”

David nodded, remembering as well as I did. He wasn’t sitting on the edge of the bed, but he was standing so close he might as well have been. Almost reluctantly, as though he’d fought a battle with himself and lost, he let his hand drift from my forehead to my cheek. The pad of his thumb was cool on my burning skin as he stroked it over my cheekbone, then down to the corner of my mouth. I turned my face just enough so that his thumb drifted over my lips.

Suddenly, something occurred to me. “You’re going to get sick, too,” I said in alarm, and tried to turn away.

David caught my chin and wouldn’t let me. “I might,” he agreed, still staring at my mouth. “But it might be worth it.”

“Nothing is worth this,” I breathed, but I didn’t really want to convince him. I wanted him to throw caution and the rules to the wind and kiss me. In my semi delirious state, I thought we might even be able to avoid the consequences.

Slowly, he lowered his mouth to mine and kissed me so gently that his lips felt like a breath against mine.

“That was probably safe,” I whispered when he pulled back.

“Hardly a kiss at all,” he agreed. “I think we found a loophole in the rules.”

“And the laws of contagion.” I sagged back against the pillows, exhaustion swarming over me.

David smirked. “Probably not that, but I have a good immune system.” Then his face grew serious as he studied my face. “Sleep,” he said abruptly.

“I don’t want to now.” I tried to tug his hand back to my face, but he wouldn’t let me.

“You need sleep.”

I wanted to protest, but my eyes were already closing. The word stay floated through my mind, but I didn’t know if it ever made it to my lips.

Instead, I felt his on mine, briefly, and then nothing.

CHAPTER 18

DAVID

I had no intention of leaving her with a hundred- and two-degree fever and an irritating tendency to push past her limits. After she fell asleep, I went back to the main house to say good night to Lily and check in with my mother. Her unexpected arrival was turning out to be good timing.

I found both of them in Lily’s bed. Francesca sitting cross-legged at the foot, massaging in her expensive hand cream while Davy dug into the covers.

“We’re having a sleepover,” Lily informed me, the delight clear in her voice.

“Lils, grandma has her own room.”

“It’s quite alright, David. The mattress in here might be better anyway. The other one has lumps.”

I read Lils a story and then went downstairs to eat a quick dinner before I headed back. My mother found me in the kitchen.

“How’s Catherine?” she asked, settling in the chair across from me.

“Sick.”

My mother’s face creased with sympathy. “I know. I meant, how is she for Lily? I know that losing Mrs. Barnes wasn’t easy.”

I considered my answer while I chewed and swallowed my last bite. “She’s very good,” I said finally. “Lily seems happy.”

“Wonderful.” My mother absently circled her thumb over the top of her other hand as if she was still rubbing in the cream. Her gaze was narrowing in on mine, and she had a look on her face that made me uneasy. “And what about you?” she asked finally. “Are you happy?”

---