Page 45 of Only You

“Goodnight then,” she said, pulling him down for another kiss. When she tried to deepen it, Andrew pulled back.

“I’ll call you,” he said, opening the door and stepping outside.

Upon reaching the street, he hailed a passing taxi. What had just happened? He’d had a beautiful and willing woman in his arms. Enjoyed an amazing evening. He was clearly sex deprived, and yet he’d turned her down. What was happening to him? As a red-blooded male, he never turned down sex. He loved sex! He’d call Kate in the morning and apologise. She seemed to like him and hadn’t shied away when he had talked about Olivia and his home life. He’d just found it impossible to focus. Andrew shook his head. He needed sleep; he’d been working too hard. Christmas was coming up, and he had some time off. Maybe Kate would be up to try again.

Chapter Thirty-one

Andrew

The house was silent when Andrew entered, although light came from under the sitting-room door. Opening the door, Andrew drew himself up at the sight before him. Ana and Olivia were curled up in their movie cocoon, sound asleep. The movie had stopped playing, and Olivia’s head was resting on Ana’s chest.

Removing his jacket, Andrew hung it up in the hall and quietly re-entered the room. Taking out his phone, he snapped a picture of his two favourite girls. He would tease them the following morning over pancakes.

‘Falling asleep in the popcorn,’ he’d call it.

As he scooped Olivia up into his arms, both Ana and Olivia groaned, but neither of them woke. Andrew carried his sleeping daughter up to bed. Olivia had, at some point, changed into her pyjamas, so Andrew simply tucked her in, kissing her goodnight before closing her door. Teeth could have an extra brush in the morning.

Andrew crept back into the sitting room where a sleeping Ana hadn’t moved. She looked so young and peaceful. He didn’t have the heart to wake her. He could leave her there for the night, but he looked at the angle of her neck and knew she’d regret falling asleep in the morning. Andrew knelt on the sofa next to Ana before sliding his hands under her, scooping her up into his arms. He nearly dropped her when Ana snuggled into his chest, a contented sigh escaping her lips.

“Hold on,” he said to her sleeping form, his stomach clenching hard as Ana’s arms snaked their way around his shoulders, her hands sinking into the hair at the nape of his neck. Andrew’s breath caught in his throat. He glanced down, only to realise Ana was still asleep in his arms and showed no sign of waking. His body temperature rose as he stared down at the woman sleeping in his arms, unable to remove his gaze. An almost electrical feeling pulsed through him as his body stirred uncomfortably. What was happening to him? Maybe he should have taken Kate up on her offer. There was certainly nothing wrong with his body now. Andrews’ arms trembled as Ana nestled herself into his neck, her lips pressed against his throat as she made herself more comfortable. Andrew looked at the sofa and wanted to sit back down and simply hold her while she slept. Instead, he fought his instincts. What the hell was wrong with him! What was his body doing? She was only twenty-two, fourteen years younger than him, she was Olivia’s nanny, and worst of all, she was his ex-sister-in-law. He should not, could not, be harbouring these feelings towards her. It was all kinds of wrong!

Before his wayward body could argue, Andrew carried the sleeping Ana up the stairs, depositing her on her bed. As he lowered her, Ana’s eyes flew open, and Andrew found himself staring into her dilated pupils. Andrew forced his gaze away as a sexy smile formed on her full lips.

“Hi,” he said, untangling Ana’s arms from around his neck so he could put some distance between them. “I thought you’d be more comfortable in bed,” he added.

The half-asleep Ana smiled once more, her sexy, half-asleep look knocking the air out of his lungs. She rolled onto her side and snuggled into the bed. Her hair spread over her pillow. Andrew pulled his hand back as it moved to stroke her hair, clenching it into a fist instead. He wanted to crawl in next to her and hold her, to keep that smile on her face.

Shaking and chastising himself for where his thoughts had gone, Andrew instead drew the bed throw up and over Ana before taking a step back. Backing out of the door, he couldn’t help but take one more look at her sleeping form. Andrew turned and shut the door, leaning against the wall, his head thumping back as if trying to knock some sense into him.

Oh, God help him.

His feelings towards Ana were spiralling out of control.

Chapter Thirty-two

Ana

Ana awoke the next morning. Her body was still and tight. Looking down, she found she was still in her clothes from the previous evening. She remembered watching the movie with Olivia. As all her friends had been doing, the little monkey had convinced her they should watch movie one and then two back-to-back.

As it was a Friday night, Ana had not been too worried, although she only remembered getting halfway through film number two. She remembered looking down and finding Olivia had fallen asleep on her. She’d not wanted to wake her, so she had left her where she was for the time being. The little girl’s comfort must have sent her off, too, as she certainly didn’t remember bringing herself to bed.

A flashback had her sitting up. Andrew had come home. He’d taken Olivia, then... Had he really carried her to bed, or had that been a dream? She remembered snuggling into his warmth, running a hand through the hair at the nape of his neck. Heat flooded her cheeks. She thought it had been a dream; it wasn’t like she hadn’t had enough of them recently. Oh damn, what if it hadn’t been a dream? How was she going to look him in the eye? It had been getting harder and harder, especially with his starring role.

There was a knock on her bedroom door. “Come in,” she called, still sitting on the edge of the bed.

The door opened, and Andrew popped his head in.

“Good morning,” he said.

Okay, that was positive. He was smiling. Maybe there was nothing to worry about. Hopefully, in her dream state, she hadn’t embarrassed herself by saying or doing anything inappropriate.

“Olivia wants pancakes. Apparently, her friend Skylar has them every Saturday morning, and you had promised to make her some.”

Ana let out a sigh of relief.

“Yes. Yes, I did. We were watching the movie last night, and pancakes came up. I said I made a mean pancake, and told her I’d make her some this morning.”

Ana knew she was waffling, but she just couldn’t seem to stop.

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