“I knew you could do it!” she said.
I mussed Bobby’s hair when I reached the bottom, scooping him off the ground and carrying him close.
“Nice work, bud. I think we’ve earned our dinner with that.”
Gen flashed me a smile as we started toward the kitchen. Once more, the two of them showed a quick bond that I couldn’t believe.
“You alright over there?” she asked as we walked.
“Yeah. Just got a lot on my mind.”
And I did. Gen was going to change all of our lives, I could feel it.
Chapter 8
Sean
The last three days had been total fucking torture. No other way to put it. Sure, Gen had been about the best damn nanny the three of us could’ve hoped for. She was great with Bobby, no, exceptional, actually.
There was just one problem—every time I saw her, I wanted to rip her damn clothes off.
At first, the fact that she was in our employ had worked as a deterrent, a good way to put up a bit of professional distance between her and me and take off the table the idea of anything sexual happening between us.
That worked for two days, tops. After that, all I’d been doing was fantasizing about her, imagining what it’d be like to slide my hand up those sundresses she loved to wear, to watch her eyes go wide with surprise and arousal as I touched her.
It was so inappropriate, but, of course, that only made the fantasy hotter.
I was in the gym one afternoon, trying to work out some of the tension building inside of me with some heavy lifting. Rush played on the state-of-the-art PA system throughout the gym, the band one of my nerdiest and guiltiest pleasures. Sun poured in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, the afternoon light hitting the sea in the distance with an incredible glitter.
It should’ve been all I needed to not think about her.
Nope. Not good enough. The more I lifted, the harder blood pumped through me, the more I wanted her.
What a damn mess.
I put up the final bench rep right as the last chord ofTom Sawyerhit, sweat dripping down my forehead.
“House, turn off the music. And open the glass nearest to me.”
The soft blue light that indicated the message had been received illuminated for a moment. The room went quiet, one of the big floor-to-ceiling glass panels slowly sliding open. Cool, sea air carried into the gym, hitting me just right.
I sat there for a moment, listening to the crash of the water on the shore in the distance, closing my eyes and letting the sea air reinvigorate me as it always did. I felt a hell of a lot better, just like I did after every workout.
All the same, Gen was still on my mind. My desire for her hadn’t faded in the slightest. Hell, my blood pumping hard from the workout only made it even more intense. I was going to have to find some way to keep it in check.
I got up, stretching my arms and thinking about the post-workout shower. Our gym had a small locker room area with showers and a sauna, but I’d forgotten a change of clothes. Wiping my forehead with my towel one more time, I headed out of the room toward the elevator, taking it up to my floor.
I was greeted by one of my favorite sounds in the world upon stepping out of the elevator—Bobby laughing. Sure enough, his nursery door was open down the hall. A smile on my face, I stepped over to the partially opened door and glanced inside. Gen was in there, sitting on her knees in front of Bobby. I watched them play for a moment, my heart warming at the sight of the two of them having their fun.
“OK, you ready to talk to big sister Amy?”
Bobby didn’t say anything, but he did smile.
“Alright, I’ll get her on the line.”
Amy. The mere mention of my niece made my gut tense. Hearing her name made me keenly aware of the fact that she was Gen’s best friend. So, when I was fantasizing about putting my hand up Gen’s dress, I was fantasizing about doing that tomy niece’s best friend.
That put things into another perspective and made me think about how young Gen was. Amy wasn’t quite half my age, but she was pretty damn close. Seth and I were forty-two, which put me nearly two decades older than her twenty-five years. It was wrong to be fantasizing about a woman that young who’d just barely graduated from college.