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Meanwhile, the first nanny who prioritized my daughter over me, I’d been a dick to. This was completely on me. And I had to make it right.
Which was why I was standing outside Briar’s bedroom door.
“Just knock already and get it over with,” I muttered to myself.
There was no light coming from under her door, so she was probably already asleep. Maybe I should try in the morning? But I had an early call time, and I didn’t want to let this fester.
I knocked lightly.
And waited.
And waited some more.
I was debating between knocking again or leaving when her door opened.
Briar stood in the crack between the door and the jamb, wearing tiny striped shorts and an oversized white t-shirt. So fucking sexy it was painful.
And totally inappropriate.
I determinedly kept my eyes on her eyes. “Hey, sorry if I woke you.”
She shook her head. “I was reading.”
“Ah, okay. Um, if you have a minute, I think there’s a few things we need to talk about. Maybe downstairs? We could have a cup of tea and talk?”
Her eyebrows went up, and she blinked a few times as she absorbed what I’d said. “Oh. Okay. I’m just going to change, if you don’t mind waiting?”
“Whatever makes you comfortable. I’ll get the tea started. Any preferences?”
She took a step back, her hand still on the door. “Nothing with caffeine. Thanks.”
“I’ll see you downstairs.”
The door closed softly behind me as I headed for the stairs. That’d gone easier than I’d thought. Although the tough part was still to come.
A few minutes later, Briar joined me downstairs in the kitchen and we both stood awkwardly waiting for water to boil.She silently picked a teabag from the tea caddy and added a teaspoon of sugar to her cup.
I eyed the sugar with regret. I had a shirtless scene coming up in a few days, so I couldn’t afford the tasty, wasteful calories.
A few minutes later, tea in hand, Briar sat opposite me at the kitchen table.
I cleared my throat. “I just want to apologize for what I said at my trailer. It was out of line and uncalled for. You weren’t running late with Zoe, and whatever you choose to do with Mak—as long as it’s during your free time—is your business. But again, I’m sorry I spoke to you that way.”
“I uh,” she paused and shook her head. “Thank you. I wasn’t exactly expecting that. I thought you were going to… It doesn’t matter. I appreciate you apologizing. Thank you.”
I inclined my head. “It was owed. I was an ass. It won’t happen again.”
“I appreciate you saying you were wrong.” She studied her cup of tea with a weird expression, like halfway between a smile and a frown. Finally, she looked up and gave me a half shrug. “I think aside from my dad, you’re the only man who’s apologized to me since…I don’t know when.”
“Your ex never apologized? For anything?”
Briar scoffed. “Not even at the end. Not even after he knocked up one of my friends. It was all framed like it was inevitable. Or my fault.”
“Sounds like he was the ass.”
Briar laughed softly. “Or maybe I was for picking him. I’d like to think he wasn’t like that when we first got together, but maybe I had rose-colored glasses on.” Briar rolled her eyes. “I’ve been told I’m a bit of a hopeless optimist.”
“Sounds like something a pessimist would accuse you of.”
