Page 52 of The Bossy One

“Right? I think he thought it would be romantic or something. Two people who keep crossing each other’s paths until they fall in love. But in real life it just felt…invasive. Like he was spying on me or manipulating me.” She wiggled her shoulders like she was shaking off a bad memory. “Anyway. I dumped him and blocked him online. And after that, I kept my blog and my real life separate.” She cocked her head at me. “What about you? Are you waiting for some grand romance? The perfect woman?”

But I wasn’t ready to let her brush off what had happened to her. “What’s the creep’s name? Do you have his contact info?”

“Why?” Olivia asked.

“I’m going to ban him from Snug,” I said, dead serious.

“It wasn’t that bad,” she protested. “Men are creepy on the internet all the time. You can’t ban them all.”

“Yes, I fucking can,” I said.

Olivia smiled. “Aww. You want to do the cyber equivalent of punching the guy who insulted my honor.” She turned back to the movie. Her smile softened. “You’ve got more ‘hero’ in you than you think.”

Thatwas bullshit.

But I pulled out my phone and shot Anil a text, reminding us both that we should review Snug’s policies about cyber harassment, and see if there were any areas where we could improve.

“So what was your blog about?” I asked, trying to lighten the mood. “Fan fiction about your favorite TV show? Nannying tips? An expose on every dumb boss you worked for?”

Olivia laughed, and it slid through my veins like whiskey.

“Actually,” Olivia joked, “it was fan fiction forThe Deer and the Warrior. I’m actually obsessed with this movie. It’s why I took this nannying job. I’m hunting for an Irishman who will promise to save me from evil wizards. It’s a highly specific fetish.”

“In that case…” I smirked, deepening my voice and thickening my accent as I looked deeply into Olivia’s eyes, and recited one of the movie’s most famous lines. “‘Lass, I canna ignore the call of battle. But tonight, we dance. So be kind to your man and give me one last taste of what I’d die to protect.’”

At first, neither of us could keep a straight face. But as I got to the last line, the words didn’t feel quite as ridiculous as they should. If Olivia kissed me by an ancient bonfire and sent me into battle to protect her, I was beginning to think I’d go.

Olivia’s eyes darkened, and I felt my own pulse pick up in response.

Wait, was she really into this?

Because I had this whole fucking movie memorized.

Abruptly, Olivia scooted away and turned back to the screen. The color was high in her cheeks. “I forgot to say. Molly invited me on a double date this week. Is there any night where you’d be okay with me leaving work early?”

Her words felt like a cold bucket of water. She didn’t want me to kiss her. She wanted my permission to go out with another man.

I felt like swearing or kicking something. She was tangling me up in my own emotions—and the worst part was that she had no idea what she was doing.

“Pick any night,” I said gruffly. “I’ll make it work.”

I hated the idea of her going out with another man. But unlike Fionn, I didn’t have a right to my jealousy. This wasn’t a love story, and Olivia wasn’t my woman.

She was just my nanny. And she was casually turning my world inside out.

16

OLIVIA

The day after Declan casually turned me into a pool of lust by quoting a line from a bad movie—God, I was so pathetic—I’d waited until Catie was down for the night, then borrowed one of Declan’s cars to meet Molly at a Galway pub and hammer out our book idea. I didn’t particularly like driving after dark on the wrong side of the road, but I didn’t think my hormones could stand another movie night with Declan.

The man was so hot he was practically radioactive. I was pretty sure I’d remember him growling,Be kind to your man and give me one last tastewhen I was an old lady in a retirement home.

At least meeting up with Molly was productive, I mused while driving home, exhausted but buzzing with creative energy. She loved my idea for a story, about a little duck who’s separated from his mom, and gets through a number of challenges by asking itself, “What would mama say?” and then following the advice. It would be a gentle little picture book that would help kids process the emotions that come with being separated from a parent, either temporarily or permanently.

The only thing Molly and I disagreed about was what type of animal it should be. She was rooting for a porcupine.

I was driving on autopilot, brainstorming potential cute animal narrators, when a car rounded the bend and came straight at me.

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