: Chapter 3

“She’s twenty-five? What, none of the other age-appropriate nannies would have fit?” Margot says as she leans against the doorjamb of my office with an annoyed look on her face. She’s the spitting image of her mother, long sandy brown hair with strands of blonde due to the sun, brown eyes, and skin that stays tan throughout the year even in the dreary winter months.

“None of the age-appropriate nannies were willing to put up with you and your siblings’ nonsense,” I respond without looking up from my computer.

“Dad, you have got to be kidding me. She’s young enough to be one of your kids.”

I ignore that because I don’t want to think about the eighteen years I have on her even as I feel a slight tightening in my pants at the wayward thought. “She’s not even here for you. She’s here for your siblings and also to give you a break from having to babysit all the time. You could say thank you.”

“Dad, I’m fine. I don’t mind helping out.”

“And I love that about you, but I want you to also have time to be a teenager and I just need another adult in the house. I work late a lot and you…” I look up at her and blink rapidly, “dear daughter, have proven to me that you can’t be trusted with constant access to an empty house.”

“So, she is also for me.”

“She’s not here to tell you what to do. For you, she only serves as a deterrent.” I smile at her.

“Ugh! Dad, this is a joke!” she says as she stomps out of my office.

I had thought about how Margot would handle it, but ultimately, she’ll have to get over it. I interviewed twelve women before I saw Elianna and ten of them politely declined once I gave them the rundown. One of them, I dismissed for blatantly coming on to me and the other just wasn’t experienced enough. Elianna has the experience, the credentials, a degree, and most importantly, something my children could relate to that I can’t. I think about her story and how she helped her father when her mother died, and I know their story tugs at her heartstrings. I don’t know all of the details, but I’ll admit hers tugged on mine too.

All of this has forced me to overlook that my brother was not exaggerating in that Elianna Riley is fucking beautiful. While she’s a little younger than the women I typically go for, she has a lot of the physical traits I often find myself attracted to. Long dark curly hair that hangs past her shoulders, her skin is flawless and the color of rich caramel, brown eyes, a smile that makes my heart race, and full lips I want to sink my teeth into. She’s shorter than most women I date and because she’s younger, her breasts sit up higher by nature and not with help. It took every ounce of restraint to keep my glances downward to a minimum.

I’m not blind to how gorgeous she is or the instant attraction I felt when I came around the corner and saw my daughter’s fingers laced with hers, but she’s also the first person who’s come into my life in the last twelve months with any kind of plan to help. I can’t fuck that up just because thinking about her makes my dick hard.

I like that she challenged me; it means she’ll challenge them and I don’t see her being afraid to put her foot down which is what they need. I didn’t need a Mary Poppins and I’m grateful she seems like the opposite. I’m not delusional. I know my kids need structure and discipline. I just haven’t known how to do that while also working eighty-hour weeks. It’s been an adjustment going from having them on weekends to full time and I wish I’d had more time to prepare for it.

You could cut your hours, I think for the thousandth time since their mother died.

But I’m a partner at a major law firm, which means consistently cutting hours every week isn’t exactly feasible.

So, all of the lustful feelings I may have for the woman who is moving into my house in a few days are going to be locked in a box with a lot of other things I’m currently avoiding. Engaging with my kids’ nanny beyond any level other than professionally is out of the question.

I watch from the front window as she pulls into my driveway in a black SUV and I’m grateful she drives something big enough in case she ever has to drive all three of them somewhere.

“Damn, she’s hotter than I remembered,” I hear from next to me as she gets out of the car and my brother slaps me hard on the back.

“Why are you here?” I groan. It’s Saturday, so it’s not unheard of for River to show up at my house, but it’s barely noon and I’m surprised he’s not still hungover from last night.

“SJ told me she was meeting Margot today. I couldn’t miss that,” River says as he continues to stare out the window.

“Go away.”

“Come on. You should be thanking me. And you should be thanking me by putting in a good word for me.” He puts an arm around my neck and pulls me somewhat into a headlock. While we are roughly the same height, he’s always been the rough-houser even when we were kids and I hate to admit it, but he’s stronger than I am now.

“You’re too old for her,” I say as I pull out of his grasp.

“I am six years younger than you, which means I am only twelve years older than her. That’s nothing.”

“I know that’s your preferred age you like your women and all, but you’re too old.”

“Oh, come on. What are you her dad too? Give me a break.”

“River, no. You get mixed up with her and then inevitably fuck it up and then she wants to quit because she can’t stand the sight of your face. Absolutely not. Back off and do not hit on her,” I tell him quickly as I watch her walk up the stairs.

He groans. “If I knew you’d be this annoying I would have just asked her out. This is the thanks I get for looking out for you?”

“Yep.” I open the door just as she approaches but not before cataloging what she’s wearing. Dark denim jeans that hug her waist and her thighs but are a little looser as they go down and a plain white t-shirt tucked in. She’s wearing what I think are heeled boots underneath her jeans and a short black blazer over it. She looked professional and casual and most importantly fucking stunning. Tight curls fall around her shoulders and I ignore the thought of what it would feel like to tangle my hands in them while my lips explore her neck.

“Hi,” she says as her hand still hovers in the air like she had been preparing to knock. She smiles and I do my best to keep my eyes off of her lips but they’re painted red and against her smile, I find myself briefly transfixed.

I clear my throat. “I saw you pull up.” I nod at her. “Come on in.”

“I brought over copies of all my certifications, a copy of my driver’s license, and some letters of recommendation.” She hands me the manila folder. I’d called two of her references, both mothers who raved about how wonderful she’d been with their children, and assured me, no matter how old my kids were, I’d hired the right woman for the job. A modern-day Fraulein Maria, one had said minus all the singing.

“Great, thank you.”

“See, look at this. I knew you’d be the perfect fit,” River says as he looks back and forth between us.

She looks at my brother and I hate that I notice that she doesn’t look at him the way a lot of women do; like they’d be ready to fuck him in the blink of an eye. I get that too, but it’s been a long time since I’ve been out without one of my kids in tow and they, particularly Margot, usually serve as a deterrent when it comes to women’s blatant attention.

She gives him a polite smile before turning to me. “I brought over some of my stuff as well.”

“Oh great. River can help with that.” I look at him and nod toward the door. “SJ!” I call, wondering if he’s even awake because I haven’t seen him since breakfast and he’s known to go back to sleep after that.

“I saw him in the pool when I came in. Looking really grounded,” River snorts.

“You have a pool?” Elianna blinks her wide eyes at me. “And he’s out there…without supervision?”

“Oh, all of my kids can swim.” She stares at me almost dumbfounded, and again, I hate feeling like the world’s worst parent. “Isla knows not to go out there without Margot.”

“Margot was out there too,” River adds and I wonder if she really was or if he just sensed my embarrassment over not being more present while my ten-year-old is in the pool. Or even knowing he was out there for that matter.

“And is this how it’s going to be?” I ask her. “You just constantly making me feel like I don’t know what I’m doing?”

She furrows her brow but doesn’t appear to even be the slightest bit contrite. “No, but more than half of the drownings that occur each year are in home pools, and while yes, they are typically younger than your children, there is a large number of those between the ages of five and nine.”

“Good thing my son is ten and on a swim team, I might add.” I watch as her warm brown cheeks grow a tinge red.

“As much as I am living for the love fest already, I’ll go get your stuff.” River holds his hand out. “Keys?” She hands them to him and he’s out the door without another word but shoots a look from behind her while he mouths the word, RELAX.

I begin to walk away from her, hoping she’ll follow when I feel a hand on my arm and a gentle squeeze stopping me in my tracks. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to make you feel any type of way,” she says once the door closes. “I’ve just seen accidents with kids and pools and while it’s been nothing fatal, I’m just very cautious.” I look down at where she’s holding me and try to ignore the way her warm palm feels against my skin or the way my pulse skitters a little. When she slides her hand away, I hate the way I notice the absence of her touch.

“It’s not you, Elianna. I’m just a little defensive, but I appreciate your apology.” And I suppose I shouldn’t be considering I hired her because I need help.

She bites her bottom lip and my eyes immediately move to her mouth again. Fuck, eyes up. “Are you ever going to call me Ellie? That’s what people call me.”

I raise an eyebrow at her. “Well, you didn’t tell me I could.” Even though my daughter called her that when she introduced us, I don’t believe in calling people by their nicknames until they express permission.

“Well, you can…” She trails off.

“Noted, but Elianna is a very nice name, it would be a shame not to use it.” She averts her eyes even as a smile pulls at her lips.

SJ saunters in from the back door, very clearly having been in the pool and I give him a look. “What part of ‘grounded’ makes you think you’re entitled to a pool day?” I ask him as he pulls some chips out of the pantry. He has a towel wrapped around his shoulders that he pulls over his head like it’s a hood.

“You said I had to clean the pool today, you didn’t specify that I couldn’t clean it while swimming,” he says as he opens a bag of Doritos. He lifts his chin at Elianna. “Oh, I can’t wait for this. YO, MARGOT!”

“Sawyer,” I warn him. “If you don’t want to be grounded through Halloween, I suggest you not instigate,” I threaten, knowing my son loves Halloween and more importantly, all the candy he eats for the weeks following.

“Dad, me and my friends already have a costume planned.”

“And you’ll be staring at it while it sits in your closet on October thirty-first if you don’t behave for the next six weeks.”

“Fine,” he grumbles as he leans on the counter and continues stuffing his face with chips.

Margot comes walking into the room and her eyes meet mine first before dropping to the woman standing next to me who I just noticed has an amused expression on her face like she found my interaction with my son humorous. I also notice that Margot appears from a different part of the house making me believe that she was definitely not outside with Sawyer like River suggested.

“Hi,” she says, and while my daughter isn’t shy, she is sometimes a little uneasy around new people, so I’m not surprised when she comes to stand between me and her brother.

“Hi, Margot,” Elianna says with a warm smile, and then before anyone can say anything she speaks up again. “Do you think you and I can talk for just a second? Without these two?” She nods her head toward me and SJ and Margot’s eyes widen. She shoots me a look and Elianna lets out a laugh. “I’m not going to bite, but I figure you’ll give me the most honest interpretation of what actually happens around here.”

I watch as Margot visibly relaxes and the tension leaves her shoulders. “Okay, sure.” She nods and I note Sawyer giving her a look that I can imagine says, do not tell her anything.

“Well, that was boring,” Sawyer says as they leave the room.

“You, go see if your uncle needs help bringing her things in.” He pouts before moving toward the door. “SJ,” I call after him, and when he turns around, I nod toward the pool. “Be careful when you’re swimming out there by yourself, yeah?”

“I am!”

“No back flips off the side.”

His eyes widen because that’s never been a rule. “EVER!?”

“No, just…not when you’re alone,” I tell him, knowing that one of my son’s favorite things to do is to make up tricks to do off the diving board.

“Jeez, the nanny has been here five minutes!” he grumbles as he leaves the room.