I tapped my phone screen, looking at her résumé as an excuse not to look at her. “May I ask why you left your last employer and decided to move from Inverness to Ardnoch?”
Her hesitation made me look up. “We … um … I needed a change, and I have a cousin who lives in Ardnoch. She was looking for a new roommate.”
There was something like unease in her eyes, suggesting that wasn’t the whole truth. However, her last employer had given Kenna a good reference when I’d called her to confirm it, so I wouldn’t push the subject.
“It’s good that you already have accommodation because this isn’t a live-in position.”Not that you’re getting the job.After years of mistrusting women because of Deena, resulting in nothing but casual hookups, I’d finally decided it was time to stop letting one woman ruin my future. It would be nice to have someone to share a home with, for Michael to have a stepmum who cared. Unfortunately, there had only been two women who captured my interest in the last few years, and two other lucky bastards had beaten me to them. Since casual hookups no longer did it for me, it had been six months since I’d last had sex.
And I was not putting a long-legged brunette with eyes I could drown in, in temptation’s range.
“Aye. My cousin lives in a flat on Castle Street and I’ll stay with her until I can find my own place. And I have my car, so it’s no problem for me to get here and take Michael to school and back.” She gestured out the window. I’d been so busy looking at her, I hadn’t even noticed the very nice Audi Q5 parked in my driveway. How did a twenty-seven-year-old nanny afford a fancy SUV? I turned back to her, and she shifted in her seat before taking a quick sip of coffee.
Fuck it. “Nice motor?”
She heard my nosy question in my tone and sighed. “It’s a long story.”
In other words, mind your own business. Difficult for me to do when I was supposed to put the care of my most precious possession in this woman’s hands. The subject was moot, anyway. I’d already decided that I very much wanted to get to know Kenna Smith in the way a man gets to know a woman. I would not be hiring her, but I did want her phone number.
I’d allow some time to pass after our interview and then I could seek her out in Ardnoch to ask her for a date. I opened my mouth to bring the interview to a short end, but an engine sounded and cut me off.
I glanced sharply out the window to see Innes Williams parking behind Kenna’s Audi. What the hell? The back passenger door of the old SUV flew open and Michael jumped out, hurrying toward our front door.
“Problem?” Kenna asked.
“My son’s home early.”
He was supposed to hang out with his best friend Grant Williams and his mum all day, so I could do these interviews.
“Dad!” Michael flew into the house as I stood from the armchair. “Mrs. Williams told me you’re interviewing new nannies.”
Bloody Innes. I cleared my throat. “I am. Michael?—”
“Don’t you think I should be here?” He crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his chin stubbornly. Even as he tried to stare me down, his gaze kept flicking to Kenna. He was lucky I found him adorable because he was also a pain in my arse. Deena and I had brought a smart kid into the world. Michael was precocious and too switched on for his age. Because it had just been him and me for so long, he believed everything should be decided as a team.
The only times I was reminded he was still a child were his excitement at Christmas and the way Deena had a way of turning his emotions upside down.
Before I could argue that no, I didn’t think he should be here to interview his nanny, Kenna stood and held out her hand to him. “Hi, Michael, I’m Kenna.”
Michael’s arms dropped as he stared up at her as if she were an angel from heaven.
Fuuuuuck.
He shook her hand, suddenly beaming from ear to ear. “Do you like video games?”
“I do, and I’m really good at them. But I also like walking and football and going for bike rides.”
His eyes widened in delight. “I like all those things too.”
“No way.” She grinned that enchanting smile. “So, what’s your favorite video game right now? Let me guess …Fortnite?”
“Of course.”
“Cool. I likeMizuki.”
Michael was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. “You really play it? Do you want to play now?”
The front door opened before Kenna could reply, and Innes popped her head through. Her expression apologetic, she said, “I’m sorry. It slipped out and then he wouldn’t stop pleading to come home.”
“It’s fine, Innes.” It wasn’t, but it wasn’t her fault either. “I’ve got him.”
