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I returned to his suite to find my shorts and underwear, thinking I could make it out before he woke up. After I was fully dressed, I turned to give him one last, longing look to find he was staring at me. His wistful look melted away into one of abject terror. It was clear he was about to panic.
It was contagious, but I remained outwardly calm. “See you later,” I said softly, heading toward the door. I was going to take the “pretend it never happened” approach.
“Bailey, wait,” he said, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. His muscular thighs stopped me in my tracks. Was he going to declare his love?
He pulled the sheet with him to stay covered and walked over to me, taking me by the shoulders. The look on his face wiped out any hopes of a love declaration, and I felt stupid for the ridiculous hope.
“I don’t regret last night at all,” he said. “Not one bit.”
I nodded. “But…”
He ran his fingers through his tousled hair and grimaced. “But I can’t lose you as a nanny. You’re too good for us. For the kids,” he hurried to amend. “And I’m nowhere near ready for a relationship. Please promise you won’t quit because of this.”
I silently let out the breath I was holding, waiting for the hammer to really come down. “I don’t want to quit,” I said.
He breathed a big sigh of relief. “Thank God.”
“We can be adults,” I said, positive he couldn’t tell my stomach was turning over. “But let’s promise that things won’t be awkward, okay?” I held out my pinkie finger the way the kids did when they really wanted something to be legally binding.
With a smile that put a dent in my already banged up heart, he locked his pinkie with mine and we shook on it.
“There’s no reason to be awkward,” he said, pulling me in for an awkward hug. He realized it and laughed. “Okay, starting now.”
“Starting now,” I said, and left.
I hurried to get a shower before it was time to wake up the kids for the full day we had planned. It was a shame to wash away his manly scent, but I knew I had to put it out of my mind completely or risk everything. Freddy waited anxiously by the glass doors when I got out of the shower, another reminder of why I couldn’t lose my job. I let him out into the garden and made myself believe I was perfectly fine and grateful to have a roof over my head.
Chapter 11 - Will
I was so preoccupied with thoughts of Bailey I didn’t notice my driver had pulled up in front of the apartment and now sat idling next to the sidewalk. How long had we been sitting here? I snapped my laptop shut, pretending I’d been caught up in work and told the driver I’d see him in the morning.
It had been more than a week since our night together, and ever since we got back from Mexico, Bailey had been practically a ghost. I made sure to eat dinner with the kids every night I could, and she had started taking her meals in the kitchen with the cook. We had kept our promise that things wouldn’t get awkward, but we were only keeping it because I rarely saw her. She gave me a weekly check-in and kept our shared calendars updated, so I always knew where they were, but since nothing had really gone wrong since we returned, there was no reason for her to seek me out. I could never regret our night together, but I missed the easy camaraderie we’d shared.
Once in the apartment, Harrison ran up to me, wearing an apron that hung to his knees over his soccer uniform.
“I helped cook dinner, Dad,” he said.
“You did? That’s great.”
“He picked the menu and everything,” Bailey said from the doorway of the playroom.
I could hear Ava’s video game in the background, and I went to see if I could play a level with her. I smiled at Bailey, and she smiled back. Everything was fine, and I hoped she’d stay in the playroom with us, but as soon as I sat down next to Ava, Bailey told her she’d see her after dinner. My heart sank. Another opportunity to spend time with her, foiled.
“No, you have to eat Harrison’s meal,” Ava said, her eyes never leaving the jumping character on the big screen. “He’ll be sad if you don’t.”
I turned to the doorway to see Bailey biting her lip, clearly weighing what to do. “You can’t skip out on Harrison’s first meal,” I said with what I hoped was a relaxed smile, not too hopeful. “If he becomes the next five star Michelin chef, you’ll really be kicking yourself.”
Harrison poked his head around Bailey. “You can only get three Michelin stars, Dad.” He rolled his eyes at me and pulled on Bailey’s sleeve. “You’re going to try it, aren’t you?”
I almost hoped she’d disappoint him, because that would have surely doused my unreasonable feelings for her, but she pulled him into a quick hug and assured him she wouldn’t miss it for anything. Damn it. My unreasonable feelings became more unreasonable after that.
It turned out he’d not only planned and helped prepare the meal, but we were eating in the dining room with the good dishes and crystal. The beef medallions and baby carrots in butter glaze ended up being delicious, and the cook came out and assured me Harrison did everything except what she deemed dangerous.
“We should look into cooking classes,” I said, savoring the last bite of tender beef.
His face fell, and, he shrugged, crossing his arms in front of himself. He made a noncommittal noise and no matter what I tried all through dessert, he remained in a sour mood, a complete one eighty to his excited pride at the beginning of the meal.
When he, Ava, and the cook all cleared away the dishes, Bailey got up to leave the dining room. I called her back and motioned for her to sit down.
