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“Sorry I was late. There was a pileup on the 101 and I got caught in traffic.” The sexual tension disappears as if a magician snapped his fingers.
“It’s no problem,” I say.
Brady looks between us all and shoves his hands in his pockets. “How about I give you the tour and show you where you’ll be sleeping? Han, can you hang with Theo for a bit?”
At first, I panic. Is he trying to get me alone so he can make sure I don’t tell his wife about what happened between us? Then I realize this is likely the first of many times I’ll be alone with this man. “Sure, that’d be great.”
He gestures for me to go first. “Do you have bags with you?”
“They’re in my car.”
He leads us up the wide stairway to the second level. “I’ll help you with them after.”
We pass a few bedrooms and head up another set of stairs to a third level, where he leads us out onto a balcony that has a majestic view of the city and the bay and the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance.
“Figured we’d start at the top and work our way down.” His wolfish grin smiles down at me.
We stand there for a beat, staring at the view. I don’t know about him, but I’m filled with angst and awkwardness. Are we going to address the obvious?
Finally, he speaks. “You didn’t really have any idea who I was, did you?”
“No. I don’t follow professional sports.” I shake my head. “Is Hannah your wife?”
His jaw tightens. “Are you asking if I was married when we slept together last year?”
I glance behind me, paranoid that someone will overhear. “Let’s not dodge the question. Are you married?”
He shakes his head and narrows his eyes. “I’ve never been married. Hannah and I aren’t in a relationship. We haven’t been for many years. She’s here only to meet you.” He pushes a hand through his hair. “You seriously thought I was cheating when we hooked up?”
It’s obvious he’s irritated by my assumption, but when you find out your fiancé was a serial cheater, it doesn’t seem like a stretch that the guy you met one night and went home with might be.
“She’s the one who let me in your house. She’s the mother of your son. It’s not completely ridiculous for me to think that. Also, you did insist we go to a hotel and not back to your place.”
He steps forward and his expensive cologne accosts me in the best way, woodsy and something undeniably male. “That’s because I don’t bring women back to the house I raise my son in.”
My hands fly up at my sides. “I don’t know you at all.” We both stare at the door and I lower my voice. “I didn’t even know your name until five minutes ago.”
“Whose fault is that?” He holds my stare for a beat then walks past me. “This is the balcony. I don’t let Theo up here by himself.”
He heads back into the house, ignoring we’re anything other than boss and new nanny. I stand there for a beat before following, lamenting the fact that I’ve only just arrived and have already pissed off my new boss.
Four
Brady
Ishow Violet—at least I know her damn name now—around the rest of the house, including her bedroom. It sits exactly opposite my bedroom on the far side of the staircase. Had I known my new nanny was the woman I’ve been obsessing over the past six months, I would have given her the bedroom farthest from mine.
It’s as if someone took my brain, shoved it in a blender, then stuffed it back inside my head. My thoughts race like cars on a highway, flying back and forth in a thousand different directions. To make matters worse, I’m still insanely attracted to her. When I shook her hand after Hannah introduced us, I physically reacted to her touch—as though a lightning bolt raced up my arm. I know she felt it too. I could tell when her pupils widened.
But then she doused that with a bucket of cold water when she asked whether I was married. What the fuck? As if I’d ever do that.
I feel her eyes on me as we make our way through the house, and I point out everything she needs to know. It’s a big house, so it takes quite a while, but relief fills me when we rejoin Hannah and Theo in the family room.
“How’d the tour go?” Hannah is cuddled up with Theo on the couch watchingHey, Arnold. I’d swear she knows by her smile, and that brings up the question of whether or not I’ll tell her. I don’t keep anything from Hannah and this directly relates to Theo. Or does it?
I glance furtively at Violet.
“Good.” She nods and smiles. “It’s a big house, but I’ll get the lay of the land soon enough. And Theo will help me, won’t you?”
