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My cheeks are about to combust.
“That...that was my job, Nick,” I stammer. “None of this is yours, so I’m grateful, but—”
“Whatever. Maybe it is the guilt again,” he offers. “Consider it one last apology for all the fu—”
I raise my eyebrows and tilt my head at Millie, tossing her unicorn in the air and catching it.
“For the fudge I melted all over your life when you first started,” he says so smoothly I laugh. “More importantly, you’re part of the team. Grandma considers you part of the family, and so do Ward and Paige. So do I. We’re all a thousand percent behind you. If this makes your life easier, just smile for me and let it.”
There it is.
That slow, winding fissure snaking through my heart. I swear I can feel it splitting in two.
Tears I’ve been holding in all day finally come in this hot, silent, shaking rush.
I turn, burying my face, fighting to stay quiet so I don’t worry Millie.
I’m just crying because I’m overwhelmed and he’s too good to me. They all are, but there’s no mistaking who spearheaded this pop-up playground.
I’m proud, but I’m also overwhelmed.
I know nothing about taking care of a four-year-old. I have to do it because I can’t let Will take Millie or—God forbid—let her end up in foster care just like I did.
You know what else is overwhelming? Finding out a man who shook me to the core with one brutal kiss, who made me a ploy to piss off his ex, just swooped in to save me. Multiple freaking times.
If he’s a hero, he’s The Incredible Unexpected.
But that wild card built like a wild animal is also my boss, and taking all of this help shouldn’t be so easy. It’s still extremely wrong, personal, and I don’t know how to just let down my walls and let him...
...let him take care of me.
I might be sobbing a little because when he said this room with the slide and the stuffies were for Millie, I might have—just for a split second—hoped it had more to do with one nightmare date than work.
But then he said the ultimate F-word—family—and any doubt was demolished.
I’ve never had anything bigger than my sister and Millie.
Until now.
“Thank you, Nick...for everything.” Without thinking, I throw myself at him, burying my sobby face in his chest. The words barely come out.
His warm arms fold around me, naturally protective. It’s been so long since that night I forgot how good he can feel.
Danger. Danger. Danger.
I’m in it.
I keep my face against his chest a second longer, breathing him in, muffling my ugly cry sniffles before I pull back and look up.
“S-sorry. I don’t know what to say.”
He wears a sly smile as he shrugs, his eyes twinkling like stars.
“No biggie, Reese. How many times have I got to tell you to relax?” There’s a joke in his rough tone.
I lean closer to him so Millie won’t hear me whispering.
“Sorry about the whole Nick the Prick thing, too. I never should’ve started that.” I don’t know why I say it or what I’m expecting.
Maybe for him to say we’re starting over. Again.
Or for him to get defensive and rub his generosity in my face.
This is Nick we’re dealing with, after all.
But when we were close, I smelled his breath. It was clean, minty, nothing at all like the faint hint of last night’s booze I’d gotten too used to the first couple months I drove him.
Come to think of it, he smells like that a lot, lately.
Is he manning up? No longer getting drunk? Did that scare with Beatrice’s health straighten him up?
Maybe he’s not so bad after all.
Especially when he says, “I had it coming, Reese. You can quit making excuses for the times I let my inner idiot off its leash.”
“I—I should get Millie home,” I say quickly, stepping away from him like I’m being blown by the wind.
Actually, I need to get out of this tight space with his steel abs, ripped chest, and rogue beard, stat.
“Can I bring the unicorn, Auntie Reese?” Millie whispers, tugging at my leg.
“No, ma’am,” I say.
But Nick says, “Sure,” at the same time.
He looks at me, leveling those razor eyes that have officially seen too much of me.
“Let her take it. She’s having a tough time, too.”
Nope. Whatever he’s becoming, he definitely isn’t a total prick anymore.
I’ll admit I hate him a teensy bit less after today.
This whole time I’ve been stressing about how to handle everything on my plate ever since Abby got arrested. I’ve been too focused on pretending everything’s okay for Millie to recognize the fact that she’s just as terrified. Her life has been turned upside down like mine.
Plus, the boss filled a whole room with toys for a reason, didn’t he?
“Come on, Millie. We have to find some dinner and get you cleaned up. Grab the unicorn and let’s go,” I say, reaching for her tiny hand.
