They both laughed—brightly and unguarded—the entire foyer lighting up over their frog connection.
“So, you play hockey? What position?” she asked, smartly engaging him in conversation about his favorite sport.
“Center. And I’m really good, too. Someday I’ll be better than Mika or Sid.”
“The Ice Dogs have a good team this year. Might go all the way and win the cup.” She crouched down and gathered the gear bag, somehow tying the broken handle to the other one as a temporary fix.
“Are you a hockey fan?” Theo asked with wide eyes. None of his previous nannies were.
“Yep. I used to be a bartender, so I watched a lot of games.”
“Cool.” Clearly she won him over.
“Uh, youusedto bar-tend?” I interrupted their chat.
“Well, I’m here now. In the city. Surprise,” she chuckled and clutched the folder I recognized from the nanny agency to her chest.
“Of all the people the agency could’ve sent, what are the odds it’d be you here today?”
“Pretty slim,” she wavered.
My phone rang again. Sam. Christ.
“Okay, look, I’d normally take the time to do a proper interview and introduction, but we do know each other.”
“Just a little.” Her coy smile almost tripped me up.
“Yes, right, but Theo will be late to school if we don’t get going. I’ve got a full day of meetings ahead of me, and?—”
“What can I do to help?”
“Can Jessa take me to my game tonight?” Theo shoved the last shin guard into his hockey bag and hoisted it with both arms.
“I’d love to see you play,” she added.
I barely had the bandwidth to think straight. Another text came in from Sam. “Fine. Yeah. Get him to school, my driver is waiting outside at the curb. Pick him up after, and get him to his game. I’m running late. But tonight at the game we’ll talk and figure things out.”
“You’ll be there, Dad? You missed my last two.”
I crouched to his level, ruffling his hair. “I know, and I’ve apologized a dozen times. Promise I won’t miss tonight.” I gave him a hug and then turned back to Jessa and punched the button for the elevator. “Give my driver your number, and I’ll text you everything—school drop-off and pickup, game time and location, what he eats after school, the works. Okay?”
“Uh…”
“I know it’s a lot. But you’re really saving me this morning, Jessa.” The doors opened, and I ushered Theo in. “We’ll talk more later.”
She blinked, caught off guard by the sudden efficiency, but nodded. “Yes, talk. I need to talk to you.”
“Tonight.” I hit the elevator lobby button for them. Jessa brushed past me, leaving her scent as a trail of fresh citrus on a sunny day. She turned, her golden tresses flipping behind her shoulder, and locked eyes with me, while Theo started in on a detailed conversation about his hockey team.
The doors closed, leaving me standing there, breathless in the utter silence.
For a minute, I didn’t move. I tried to focus on everything that waited for me at work—the numbers, the meetings, the looming IPO timeline to take my private company public, the image consultants breathing down my neck about reputationand stability—but the harder I tried, the clearer Jessa became in my mind.
Her laugh. The way her lips parted just before that first kiss at the lake. I hadn’t seen her in two months, and yet my body remembered every detail of our night together. Replayed often in my mind late at night in bed, my hand filling in for her absence.
My cock twitched, suddenly alive and well, stretching out in my sweats. I ran into my place, straight to the shower, stripping clothes off along the way, thinking a cool one could help wipe away these thoughts of her delectable hips.
I leaned both hands on the tile, water streaming down my back, trying not to think about the black dress she wore that night in Holly Creek. When I unzipped it down her back and cast it to the floor, a sexy little surprise awaited me. There on her lower back, was an intricate tattoo of hearts and vines entwined. Delicate and simple, I admired it. I liked it on her, but I admitted I’d never get a tattoo. I hated needles.
