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1
Emmi
I can’t believeI’m actually doing this. My knee bobs up and down as I sit across from the handsome man reviewing my resume. Of course any job interview is stressful, but when the man who’s interviewing you is a dead ringer for Thor, it makes the situation that much more intense. As if reading my thoughts, Trent Ryan peers up at me with those bright green eyes of his. I manage to smile at him. I want this job.
My potential new boss sighs and leans back in his armchair. His t-shirt can’t hide his broad, muscular shoulders. I wonder if it’s uncomfortable being that big. My teeth gnash into my bottom lip as I wait for him to say something, anything.
“Why are you leaving the bakery?”
“Good question.” I re-cross my legs and clear my throat. “I love my sisters and the bakery is a great business, but I feel like my skills aren’t exactly being utilized there.”
He licks his full lips and I can’t help but feel a tingle buzzing deep in my core. “What kind of skills.”
I can’t tell him the absolute truth. The fact that my sisters are all so happy and rosy cheeked in love right now that they’re completely overlooking everything I’m doing for the business sounds like I’m a total brat. I’m not. I’m just tired of doing a lot of work and getting little to no recognition.
“I’m attentive.” I toss my blonde hair over my shoulder. My eyes swipe the ceiling as if there’s a cheat sheet living up there somewhere. “I give one-hundred percent in all that I do.” My brain folds in on itself pining for one more skill. My mother’s words pop into my head before I have a chance to stop them: “when in doubt, tell the truth.”
A genuine smile plays on my lips. Just the thought of my mom eases my nerves. God, I miss her terribly. “And I like to have fun.”
“Fun?” Trent raises one eyebrow at me. All of the confidence I was feeling oozes through my toes and onto the plush carpet beneath my Doc Martens. “Uh-huh.” He sets my resume on the coffee table separating us. “I’ve established a strict regimen with my daughter, Natasha. I need a nanny who can follow it to a T.” The vein in his neck pulses as he stares daggers into me. I don’t know what I did wrong here, but maybe this isn’t the type of gig I want. Proving how useful I am to my sisters by getting another job suddenly feels like the worst idea I’ve ever had.
I nod. “I can do that.” The juxtaposition of emotions head banging inside of me has me questioning if this is even the type of man I’d want to work for. Yeah, he’s hot as holy hell and just looking at him makes me want to go home, grab my vibrator and a bottle of wine and call it a day.
Before I have the chance to sink into that attainable fantasy, Trent rises from his seat extending a handshake. I mirror him, taking his gigantic, yet soft hand in mine. “We’ll be in touch.” His tight smile gives away his lie. That’s another skill I have. I can spot a liar a mile away.
“Great.” I say, my voice taking on its most non-professional tone. To think I put an actual skirt on for this shit. I can’t get out of here fast enough.
I show myself to the front door and head down the steps. I haven’t had a cigarette in two years but right now, I’m itching for one. My sisters would kill me if they saw me smoking, and Winona has a nose like a damn bloodhound. Still, I could get in my car, drive to the gas station, smoke one and throw the pack away.
I’m almost to the foot of the driveway when a little girl on a bicycle comes out of nowhere. “Watch out,” I manage to say as her brakes squeak against the concrete. The little girl stops in time to avoid hitting me, but she falls sideways off of her bike onto the pavement.
My purse falls off of my shoulder as I squat down. “Honey, are you okay?”
“No.” She whines. Blood blossoms across the scrape on her little knee. “It hurts.”
“You’ll be okay.” I say, remembering how many times my sisters have told me this over the years. Especially when they started letting me go on neighborhood bike rides with them. I reach into my purse and pull out a tissue. “You trust me?”
“I don’t know.” The sweet little brown eyed girl whines.
“Good answer, actually. I’m a stranger, so kudos. But, we need to stop this knee from bleeding.” I wad the tissue and press it against the scrape. The little girl hisses through her missing front teeth. The look on her face shifts from scared to curious. She cocks her head. Blonde curls frame her chubby face. She looks like a little cherub.
“Better?” I ask. She nods her head, eyes glued to the tissue. “What’s your name?”
“Natasha. Who are you?”
I open my mouth to speak, but someone beats me to the punch. “This is Emmi.” I glance behind me. How did I not hear a man of that size approach? Trent Ryan stands with his hands in his pockets staring down at the both of us. “Your new nanny.”
Trent leans down and plants a soft kiss on Natasha’s forehead head. The little girl wraps her arms around him, clinging to her daddy as he lifts her into his strong arms. My entire body goes weak. This man is tall, gorgeous, headstrong, but a softie for his daughter. Never in my life did I think such a combination would turn my panties to a pool of desire.
Shit.
“That is, if Natasha agrees to it.” Trent says, brushing a stray curl from his daughter’s forehead. I stand, brushing stray bits of gravel from my skirt. The little girl turns her face toward me. She studies me with those big, inquisitive eyes. Her tiny mouth breaks into a smile and she nods.
Trent turns his attention to me. His smile for his daughter fades as soon as our eyes meet. A cold feeling washes over me. “Well, looks like you’ve got the job.” Trent says. “You’ll move in on Monday.”
“Monday it is.” I give a curt nod, silently kicking myself for agreeing to this without even making it look like I needed time to think on it.
I hop into my car and rest my head on the back of the seat. The strangest feeling washes over me. Yeah, I’m glad I got the job, but something tells me that this isn’t going to be as easy as I thought. Not just telling my sisters that I’m done at the bakery, but being around Trent Ryan day in and out, when I’m not sure where I stand with him and why he seems so unnerved by me.
