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It feltlike I’d barely fallen asleep before Sam’s footsteps in the hallway woke me. As soon as I heard the front door close, I got up and put on workout clothes, turned my phone on mute, and found a yoga video. I needed to chill out.
I didn’t want to be thinking about my boss. Not the way his bare chest looked last night or the way it felt against my skin. It was crazy.
There was zero chance he felt the same way about me. I hadn’t accomplished anything in life other than spending my parents’ money, almost breaking up Gray and Elle, and sleeping with the wrong guy.
Life would keep throwing these challenges at me until I could meet them head-on and resist the temptation. If I could resist Sam, I could accomplish anything.
I shifted from mountain pose to lunge, still thinking about Sam covered only by that thin material.
Placing one hand on the floor and another in the air, I tried to concentrate on keeping my balance. But it was no use. I couldn’t get that man out of my head.
I put on my noise-cancelling earbuds so that I could listen to the instructor instead of my wayward thoughts.
I heard a noise a little while later while I was working my way through the cool-down poses. I popped out my ear buds to listen for Maggie.
When she called for me again, I said, “In here.”
A few seconds later, she burst through my door. “Whatcha doin’ on the floor?”
“Yoga.”
“Oh. Can I do it?” She plopped onto the rug next to me, her hair a mass of knotted curls around her face, which was still pink from sleep.
“Of course.” I tipped the screen toward her.
She bit her lip as she attempted to mimic the instructor’s movements.
“It’s hard. It takes lots of practice.”
Maggie looked up at me. “I’m starving.”
“Would you like pancakes or waffles?” I asked, pausing the video.
“Waffles with whipped cream and chocolate chips?” she asked, her hands in a prayer pose.
“Make it strawberries and you’ve got a deal.” I held out my hand for her to shake.
Maggie shook on it, then ran out of the room. I followed more slowly, wondering why kids felt the need to run everywhere they went.
We’d gotten into a good morning routine. We played or read for a bit, ate breakfast, got dressed, and then made plans for the day.
“What should we do today?” I asked after we ate and went to her room to get dressed.
“We could bring lunch to Daddy?” Maggie asked as she was standing in front of her dresser, deciding on her outfit for the day.
“Is that something you did with your other nannies?”
“Oh yeah.” She nodded without looking at me. Then she pulled out pink leggings, a tulle rainbow skirt, and a lime-colored shirt.
I wasn’t sure if I believed her. “How do you know where he’s working?” He’d said I could call him. That he kept his phone on him. But he never said where he was working. Just that he was on a job site.
“He’s ren-vat-in’ the new BB.”
“What’s a BB?” I asked.
She tapped her chin with her finger and looked up at the ceiling. “You know, a B&B.”
