“Nova, like stars,” Aurora tells him. “Why do you need a moment alone? You said we’d meet her together.”
"How about we go see about getting a snack?" Edith suggests.
"A snack? I'm ten; I know you're trying to distract me,” Aurora says, and I have to suppress a laugh. "I don't understand why you have to talk to her alone. It's me that she's hanging out with."
"Sometimes adults have to talk about boring things," I tell her and roll my eyes playfully. "You don't want to bore yourself with that. You can draw me something while I speak with your uncle." I try to turn the conversation around for them, but Aurora still appears skeptical.
"Fine,” she eventually agrees, and her little shoulders drop. "I like her." She points that comment right at her uncle. "She has cool nails too."
I glance down at my multicolor nails and grin at Aurora. “Why have boring nails when they can look like this?” Now she's smiling again.
“Aurora.” Kellan’s tone is a little gentler than before. “I only need to speak to her for a few moments.”
“Fine, but if you don’t like her, then can we still keep her and get one you like?” Damn, even she can tell her uncle isn’t feeling me.
“We’ll see,” he tells her. Aurora's face scrunches, but she relents. “Don’t forget to say goodbye,” she tells me. “Don’t just, you know, disappear.”
Oh gosh, my heart breaks a little at the request, and I nod to reassure her. “I won’t disappear, sweetheart.”
Edith ushers her back into the conference room, and I turn to Kellan. “Sorry,” I whisper.
“This way. I don’t want her to overhear.”
I follow him down to his office and can see why Aurora is hanging out in the conference room and not here. This place is so sterile it could probably function as a surgical room.
"Her plan isn't terrible," I start when he closes the door. I’m going to try and convince him to keep me before he can tell me and my trash bags to get lost. "You need someone now, and I think she does too. I can stay on until you find someone more suitable." Kellan stares at me with that blank expression on his face, and I start to panic. "I'll hang out for a little while and then make up an excuse to leave."
I’m holding my breath as I wait for an answer because I suddenly really want this job, even if it’s only for a short time.
Chapter Four
KELLAN
Nova stands before me and tries not to fidget. There’s something about the way I make her nervous that heats my blood. In my line of work, I never care if I make someone afraid. I’m here to get a job done, and if you can’t take it, then the door is behind you. But seeing her fingers play with the cuffs of her adorable sweatshirt is causing a reaction inside me I didn’t anticipate.
Something else that I pride myself on is being able to predict every step ahead of me. Since the moment I got the phone call about Aurora, I’ve been trying to play catch up, but for the most part, I’m good. Sure, I’ve got lots to figure out with my niece, but I hadn't expected this meeting with the new nanny to go this way.
“You’re a little young.” I’m surprised it comes out as an accusation, but clearly I’m off my game.
“I graduated college a few months ago,” Nova says as she shifts from foot to foot.
“So you’re over eighteen?”
“Yes,” she answers and licks her lips shyly.
Why am I making sure she’s legal? My cock begins to swell at the thought, and I have to walk around my desk and take a seat. “Please sit down.”
When she sits in the chair on the other side of my desk, I try to keep my eyes on her face. Okay, so I glance at her body a few times, but it’s not like I can see anything under the baggy sweatshirt. I’ll have to see about getting her a uniform if this is how she dresses all the time. Something short. Something tight.
“I’ve got a degree in education and lots of experience,” Nova says, once again bringing me back to the moment.
“You came highly recommended. The agency said you did temporary work, but I called all of your references and past families, and no one had a single bad thing to say about you.”
“Really?” She sits up straighter with wide eyes.
“Were you expecting there to be something?”
“No, not at all,” she rushes to say. “It’s just that it’s nice to hear. I didn’t always get to spend extended amounts of time with families, so I tried to make the most of what time I did have with the kids.”
