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Maybe this job would be the start of a good friendship if nothing else.
Chapter2
Hayden Thomas
From the momentJack woke up with an ear infection until the surreal experience of sitting in the kitchen sipping tea with Lexie like we’d known each other for ages, I’d been off my game.
Not that I really had much game anymore.
Working from home full time and taking care of a baby full time left me very few extra moments to even think about dating, let alone practice my flirting or relationship skills.
Seeing my son sick was gut-wrenching and I would have likely done anything within my power to make him feel better. When the pediatrician assured me Jack had a simple ear infection and antibiotics would clear it right up, I nearly wept with relief.
When Kylie had gotten pregnant and tried her damnedest to use the baby to manipulate me, I’d been scared, furious at the way she saw our child as a weapon, and determined to do what was right for my son.
When she’d shown up on my doorstep with a two-month-old Jack—after she’d disappeared with zero contact for over nine months—I was prepared to do whatever she asked as long as I got to be a part of my child’s life.
I definitely hadn’t expected her to hand me signed papers giving up her right to Jack and shoving the baby into my arms without a backward glance.
I hadn’t seen her since that rainy night and, truthfully, I hoped I never did.
I’d immediately called a coworker whose spouse was a pediatric nurse.
Jack had been deemed mostly healthy despite being somewhat dehydrated, hungry, and sporting a terrible diaper rash. The nurse had given me a crash-course in all things infants and made me promise to call with any questions, no matter how stupid they seemed.
That had been just over a year ago.
Some days, it seemed like just yesterday.
Then there were times it seemed like a decade had past.
Jack and I had bonded immediately and I knew I was blessed with such an easy baby, even though I still mostly felt like I had no clue at all what I was doing.
The ear infection had been the firstrealillness he’d had beyond a few sniffles here and there and some teething.
When Lexie had shown up in the freezer section of that grocery store like an angel sent from above, I’d found myself drawn to her on many levels.
First, the way she immediately formed a connection with Jack meant something a lot deeper to me than just relief when he’d stopped crying.
Honestly, I’d only known him just over a year, but I knew Jack didn’t take to people easily. The extreme comfort and acceptance he showed toward Lexie was a sign and no one could convince me otherwise.
Second, she was so damned gorgeous.
Yeah, yeah, I was thinking about hiring her as a nanny, not as a live-in lover, but there was no way to deny she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.
While rocking Jack to sleep and anticipating Lexie’s arrival, I’d chastised myself. I was a damn HR expert. I knew better than to even entertain the idea of hiring a nanny I was attracted to, especially when I knew damned well I was going to offer her the spare room and a live-in position.
My stupid ass should have been looking to hire a fifty-five-year-old woman, not a young woman who set my blood on fire.
Seriously, looking at her holding my son had done weird and wicked things in my gut. Things that should have set off warning sirens and sent red flags flying in my wake as I ran far, far away.
Instead, I got cartoon heart eyes and offered her a damned job.
Clearly, I was a lot lonelier and more desperate for love and affection than I’d realized.
And I obviously was out of my damned mind to think hiring her was a good idea.
But there I sat across the table, loving the way she sipped her tea, admiring the way she perused the paperwork, begging the universe to let her accept the job.
