“Glad you find it amusing.”
“I’m sorry,” I say, wiping away the tears from under my eyes. “But you have to admit that it’s pretty funny.”
The corner of his mouth lifts, a quirk of his lips that is the closest thing to a smile the man has shown me all day.
God, I only met him today, but it feels like it’s been a week after everything that’s happened. But if there’s anything I’ve learned about Henley in that time, it’s this: the man is way in over his head here, so all I can do is try to give him the confidence he needs to know he can handle being a father to his daughter, especially after I leave.
Christmas is just a little over four months away. It was the deadline I gave myself to figure out my next moves, and the longer I stand here and stare at one of the sexiest men I’ve ever met, the more I have to remind myself of that fact.
“Elodie?” His voice breaks through my mental spiral.
“Yeah?”
“She’s dressed.”
My eyes move down to Remy happily kicking her feet and smiling up at Henley. “She is. You did it!”
His lips quirk up again. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
Those words do something funny to my chest, making my heart twist in a way I haven’t ever felt—like I’m needed, like I have a purpose, like I’m being seen for what I have to offer for the first time by someone other than my family.
Too bad it’s not in the way I’m craving.
Remy’s fussiness breaks through the silence, the happy girl suddenly irritated with the world. I glance down at my watch. “She’s probably hungry.”
Henley lifts her from the bed and then hands her to me. “Do you mind feeding her for me, please? I’m in desperate need of a shower and then I can order us some pizza for dinner, if that’s okay with you?”
The idea of this man wet and naked in the shower enters my mind just as quickly as I push it back out. “Sounds great.”
He reaches up and squeezes my shoulder. “Thanks, El. I won’t be long.”
El.
God, he’s given me a damn nickname already.
After I prepare a bottle and find a comfortable spot on the couch, I place the feeding pillow around my waist and press the button on my phone to call my best friend, Lennon, who still lives back in Garnet Valley.
“Well, good to know you’re alive,” she says in greeting.
“Sorry I didn’t call sooner, but after I got here yesterday, I crashed early so I wouldn’t look like a total zombie for my interview this morning.”
“And? How did the interview go?”
“I got a job.”
“Heck yes!” she squeals. Somewhere down the hall, I hear a shower starting. “So what do they have you doing at the lodge? Waiting tables like you wanted so you can rake in the tips?”
“Uh, well… Not exactly.”
Lennon clears her throat. “What do you mean?”
My eyes drift down to Remy in my arms, her big eyes blinking up at me. “I sort of became the owner’s nanny instead.”
Dead silence.
“Lennon? Are you still there?”
“A nanny? You’re…you’re ananny?”
