Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 57188 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57188 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
“Right,” he winced as if I’d slapped him.
“It’s not a judgment, I swear. Just an observation.”
“She seems to like you more than she likes me.”
I flashed a wide, playful grin. “I’m a likeable kind of gal.”
Brady laughed, shaking his head as if he found me amusing, possibly endearing. “That you are, Toni. How do you do it?”
I laughed. “I don’t know. Part of it is just my upbringing I guess, always be polite and well-mannered. That combined with growing up as an only child gave me the required confidence to just be me.”
His brows rose. “Just like that?”
“Not quite. It took me some time to find myself and even longer to own it.”
His gaze intensified as if I was a puzzle he needed to figure out. “You seem pretty comfortable in your skin to me.”
“I am, but I wasn’t always.” I sighed, laying back so my focus was back on the stars. “I was expected to be something I’m not, including thin and quiet.”
“I think you look great,” he said almost automatically. “And quiet is overrated. This place was too quiet before you came around, and I’m not sorry about the change.”
Holy shit, was that a compliment? I laughed nervously at his unintentionally kind words. “Thank you?”
He smiled again and I was grateful I was already sitting, because my knees went a little weak at the sight of his smile.
“You’re welcome.” He looked up at the sky and sighed. “You really think Layla is all right?”
I nodded. “Yes. She’s sad and working her way through her grief, but yes, I think she’s doing fine. Other than the getting kicked out of school thing.”
“Yeah,” he sighed, the weight of the world on his broad shoulders. “I’m failing her, aren’t I?”
“No, but I think you should make time for her. She needs to know she’s loved and not just an obligation.”
He sat up. “Did she say something to you?”
“Not directly.” I turned to face him and our gazes collided, sending a wave of fire through me that made me gasp. “But, she thinks you don’t want her here.”
Brady looked at me with hurt filled eyes as if I was accusing him, and I wanted to reach out, to smooth the frown from his brows and wipe away the pain my words caused.
“It’s not that,” he began and shook his head.
“Brady, I know.”
“How can you possibly know that?”
“Because I lived that life.” It wasn’t something I shared freely, but for some reason I wanted to ease his pain. “My parents sent me to boarding school when I was Layla’s age, said it would teach me what I needed to learn to survive in the world. What they meant was, in our world.”
“You went to boarding school?”
I laughed. “You don’t have to sound so surprised. I wasn’t meant to be the society wife type though, and I’m fine with that.”
“It’s not that, it’s just,” he trailed off, shaking his head, but I didn’t need him to finish what he was going to say. I’d heard it plenty of times over the past few years.
“It’s just why would I choose to be a nanny when I could be anything else?”
Surprise flashed in his eyes. “Yeah.”
“This is what I wanted to do.” It was as simple and as complicated as that. The longer Brady stared at me, the more uneasy I felt, and it wasn’t that anxious kind of unease, it was the sexual tension type. The kind that had me squeezing my knees together and ignoring the tightening of my nipples in my bra, the way my belly quivered. I stood quickly, maybe a little too quickly to be graceful. “I should, uh, go to bed.”
Brady stood, a hint of a smile on his lips as if he knew what I was doing. “I’ll walk you up.”
“No need,” I stammered. “I know the way.”
He flashed another killer smile and nodded towards the door. “So do I.”
Knowing I was beat, I nodded and moved past him, making my way inside. The house was dark and quiet, the tension swirled around me and Brady, thick and heavy. I sucked in a near silent deep breath and let it out slowly as we began to climb the carpeted stairs.
This is just my boss being kind, nothing else. The heat between us is only in my mind. It’s not really happening. The heat of his body against my back was like eating chocolate and oysters while downing a saucer of absinthe all at once. Or something similar.
My legs slowed as the door came into view and I urged them forward. This isn’t me waiting for some end of date kiss—which I haven’t done in ages—this is my boss walking me to my room. My attempt at rationalizing the situation didn’t help, not when he was so close, so masculine. So potent.