“Um. Well—” I try to come up with a good enough excuse that doesn’t includebecause I want to climb you like a tree,but I’m having trouble focusing at the moment with the way those sweatpants now hug his muscular thighs and ass so perfectly with the way he’s sitting.
I have a serious gray sweatpants problem.
“Because we need to keep this professional.” That’s a perfectly valid reason. Yay, me.
Sophia chooses this moment to come running into the living room. She hops up onto the couch with her dad, leaning into his side. The scene makes my heart melt and momentarily I’m wondering if moving in here wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all.
“But, Miss Sadie. All my nannies live with us.”
Nanny? There’s that word again. Is that what I am? I’d like to think of it as more of a friend helping a friend, but by definition I guess I am a nanny, even if it is only part-time.
I try but fail to hide how shocked I am by the fact that his past nannies have lived here. Moving my eyes from Sophia to Niko, I raise my eyebrow at him. “Is that so?”
Niko ruffles Sophia’s hair, causing her to fall into a giggling fit. The adoration in his eyes as he looks at his daughter is something I never saw in my own father’s eyes.This sudden realization has me averting my gaze to a spot behind the two of them.
“That’s right. I actually had separate living quarters added on to the house for a nanny after Sophia was born. With my unusual work and travel schedule, it makes sense to have a live-in nanny for when I’m gone for days at a time or not getting back until the middle of the night.”
Duh. Of course the nannies have always stayed here. He’s a professional athlete who travels for days, sometimes weeks, at a time.
Feeling like a complete idiot, I nod once. “Right. Of course. Silly me.”
Niko looks back down at Sophia and gives her arm a little squeeze.
“What do you say we show Sadie where she’d be stayingifshe decides she wants to stay with us?”
Sophia is full of excitement as she screams, “Let’s do it!” and hops off the couch, sprinting toward the back of the house.
Niko and I stand at the same time. I wait for him to grab his crutch and lead the way. After he takes a few steps toward the kitchen, he stops and turns to me.
“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I just assumed you would be planning to stay at least some nights here. Especially with how the playoffs are set up and us being gone for a few days at a time for away games.”
He stands with one hand in his pocket, the other gripping his crutch, looking unsure of himself. His nervousness is downright adorable.
“You didn’t make me uncomfortable. We just haven’t discussed logistics, and I wasn’t sure how long you’d need me.”
We both stare at each other, the air filling with tension by the second.
“So…how long do you need me?”
I’m at war with my emotions. Part of me doesn’t want tobe in such close quarters with him because I don’t trust myself. But there’s another part, particularly my heart, that is racing at the prospect of spending time with him away from the rink.
Oh, and having a place to stay doesn’t hurt matters either.
“Let’s chat on the way.”
This house is so gigantic, there’s more than enough space in these hallways to walk side by side, so that’s what we do.
“Ideally, I’d have you here until at least the end of the season. I really want my parents to have a break. Them getting sick was just another indication of how worn down they’ve gotten from taking care of Sophia.”
We turn the corner toward what I’m guessing is the garage and Niko opens the door for me. Once we’ve stepped into the massive space, Niko continues.
“Sophia’s sleep has gotten much better, thanks to you, I think, but she’s still sometimes climbing into bed with me. I just don’t want to put my parents in that situation anymore.”
He leads the way to the far side of the garage where there’s a door I didn’t notice the first time I was in here. To be fair, I was too busy looking for a sports car to notice some random door.
The door is cracked open, indicating Sophia is already somewhere beyond it, and I walk up the two stairs that lead to the door. I ask over my shoulder, “So when you’re out of town, where would you want me sleeping? I’m assuming you don’t want me this far from Sophia.”
Once I make my way into the living space, I am absolutely blown away by what I see.
