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“Who’s winning?”
“Ahh,” I screamed and threw myself back. “Oh, my gawd, Ares! You scared me!”
His lips tipped up in the semblance of a smile. “Who were you arguing with in your head?”
I pressed my lips together thinking there’s no time like the present. “You, actually.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Me?”
“Yes.” I tipped my chin up. “I don’t like playing games.”
He spread his hands wide, his eyebrows raised in a challenge. “Who’s playing games?”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “What are we telling people at work?”
“That absolutely nothing is going on and then we’re going to proceed to hold hands, hug, kiss in the elevator, meet for lunch and even go out on dates.”
“So…you’ll kiss me eventually. And we do what we want and answer to no one.”
“Exactly.”
The door behind him opened, and a young woman stuck her head out. “Ares, I need you in here for a minute.”
She didn’t seem surprised to see me. In fact, I’d bet my life her words were targeted to warn me away.
Twisting around to face her, he replied easily, “Sure, Melissa.”
Relieving her of the weight of the door, he turned to me, and waved me in ahead of him, much to Melissa’s chagrin.
With his hand to my back, he propelled me forward. “Hope, this is Melissa. Melissa is Sia’s nanny. She agreed to come with me for this trip seeing as it was a short one. I’m unfortunately out of town next week as well. It’s too much time away from Sia.”
Shifting his attention to Melissa, he continued, “Melissa, this is Hope. She’s important to me. She’s the reason for all the overtime you’ll be earning.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Melissa,” I replied, relief apparent in my voice.
“Likewise,” she responded, her disappointment apparent in hers.
Ares dragged his hand around my hip. “There’s someone else I’d like you to meet,” he said, urging me forward.
“Oh!” I exclaimed. “Ares, she’s so beautiful!”
Sixteen months. Old enough to walk and create havoc, young enough to get away with every bit of chaos she unleashed.
I laughed out loud as I dropped my ass to my heels. “Hello, Inky!”
Jet black hair, soft as silk, spilled over her tiny forehead. Curious eyes, dark as a moonless night, stared up at me through lashes so thick they looked drawn on with indelible ink.
I wrapped my arms around my knees and waited while she assessed me.
Pushing up to her feet, her eyes on me, she walked sideways until she reached her dad.
“She doesn’t like strangers,” Melissa supplied, reaching for her. “I’ll take her out for a walk.”
Ares raised a hand. “It’s quite alright, Melissa. Now that I’m back for the evening, go enjoy yourself. Anything you get to eat, charge it to your room. You have your key?”
“You sure? You know how she is…”
“Quite sure,” Ares clipped.
