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“Everything looks good, Quinn.” My head snapped up, and I had to stop my jaw from dropping when my eyes looked over Ezra. I immediately grew frustrated with myself. He’d changed into sweatpants and had put on a shirt to hide the chest that I’d seen so well. His hair was wet from the quick shower that he’d taken after working out.
Even though his chest was no longer bare, I was still wildly attracted to him. Without my say-so, my thighs squeezed together, in an attempt to quench a hunger that I was unfamiliar with. I could feel myself getting wet, and the only thing I could do was avoid eye contact with Ezra, as if looking at him would reveal the truth of my thoughts and the secrets of my body that I was trying so hard to hide.
“Thank you,” I told him, trying to keep my voice steady. The last thing I needed to think about was how good Ezra looked after a shower. “I hope you enjoy it.”
“I’m sure I will.”
There was silence between us as everyone began to dig into the lasagna that I’d made. It was as if we were a little family, as weird as that sounded. I knew that I was only the nanny, the help, in Ezra’s eyes, but that didn’t stop the way that I felt.
As much as it hurt to say, I didn’t have much of a family of my own. The only person that I did have was my mother, and, as much as I loved her, I was hardly ever allowed to see her for the sole reason that she was unwell.
She’d been battling cancer for the last four years of her life, and I wanted to support her with everything that I had. But I didn’t know how. She’d been so insistent that I live my life, find a way to make money and finish my dream of being a vet. I’d argued because that had meant being away from her.
My mother wasn’t the kind of woman to accept no for an answer.
When a house fire killed my brother and my father, she’d been adamant that we would try to live our lives the best that we could and be as normal as we could manage. All of that was easier said than done.
Yet it was the ‘normal’ things that made me feel better at the end of the day. Sitting down, around the table, and enjoying a meal together with these people, that in this short amount of time I’d come to think of as family.
Well, in a way, anyhow.
I took a bite out of the lasagna and moaned at the taste. I hadn’t expected for it to taste so good. I had tried out a new recipe, and obviously it had paid off. I would have to remember to put it on an index card and add it to the list of good recipes that I’d managed to find on the internet.
Paige didn’t seem to notice, and I didn’t think anything of my little moan until I felt Ezra’s eyes burning holes into me. I didn’t even want to turn, but I couldn’t help looking at him, into those beautiful crystalline blue eyes.
And the lust that I saw in them nearly broke me.
If Ezra hadn’t made it clear before that he wanted me before then it was clear to me now. But what was I supposed to do with this knowledge?
“How was school today?” Ezra changed the subject the only way he knew how. Paige immediately began telling him all of the details that she’d told me, in the car, from the party to all of the candy that she’d gotten. However, I did notice that she neglected to talk to him about the boyfriend that she’d acquired. I, almost, wanted to laugh as I thought about it.
“And Quinn,” my head snapped when I heard my name. I finished chewing the rest of my food. “How was your day?” He’d asked me this question before, but I couldn’t help but to feel that this time was different.
“Good,” I answered and swallowed.
His eyes were trained on me. “I’m happy to hear that.”
Once everyone had finished eating, I began to clean up, always preferring to do so right after rather than having a mess to wake up to the morning after. I already had to make breakfast every morning, and it was easier to do that with a clean slate. It was just better to wake up like that.
I began washing the dishes and loading them into the dishwasher before wiping the counters off and then grabbing the broom to sweep up whatever left of the mess. By the time I’d finished, the kitchen was just about shining, and it looked as if I hadn’t even cooked in it. Perfect. That was just how Ezra liked it.
“Quinn,” Ezra called my name, and my head snapped up. I swallowed, setting the broom aside, and looked towards him, wondering if there was something else that he needed from me.
Maybe something a little bit more scandalous?
“Yes?”
“Put Paige to bed for me. I have some work that I need to get finished, and she seems to like when you do it far more.”
“I can do that.”
Ezra nodded his head, and he stared at me. I could tell that there was more that he was itching to say, yet he was holding back for some reason. Maybe because of Paige. Well, regardless of the reason, that didn’t stop me from hearing the words that were left unspoken.
“Good night, baby,” he told her, kissing her cheek. Then, he turned around and went upstairs, leaving me with Paige. Getting her to bed was easy in theory, but on a normal day, getting her in pajamas and in the bed was a hard task. Not tonight, though. With all of the fun and partying that day, she was exhausted.
She slipped into bed and let out a yawn. “I’m tired,” she muttered.
“I can tell, honey.”
