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I smile back at her, even though she’s not looking at me, and start to eat my food.
“This is amazing, Kenna. Maybe you should also be my personal chef,” I tease, and Kenna laughs, surprised.
“Is that a joke?”
“I think so,” I say, chuckling. “I do have a few of them.”
“It’s nice to hear you laugh,” she says softly, and I look up at her, meeting her bright blue eyes. My throat goes tight, my heart beating faster.
Stop it, Derek, I tell myself.She’s too young for you.
Kenna stands up to put her plate in the sink. “Should I go and wake the kids?” she asks, but my body isn’t listening to my brain and I stand up, walking up behind her at the sink.
“Not yet,” I murmur, reaching around her to grab a glass, telling myself it’s just to pour some orange juice and not because I want to touch her.
She takes in a little gasping breath as I reach around her, my forearm brushing against her hip. Kenna turns and looks up at me, her chin tilted up just slightly, and it’s like I completely lose my mind.
I lean down and kiss her, delving my tongue into her mouth to slide it against hers, and Kenna makes this little surprised moan into my mouth, leaning into me.
That’s when the kids thunder down the stairs.
“I smell bacon!” Maggie yells, and I break apart from Kenna suddenly, stalking back over to the table to grab my suit jacket off the back of the chair.
“Gotta go to work,” I mutter, and kiss the kids goodbye as quickly as I can.
I run out of there like the house is on fire.
What was Ithinking?I’ve got to keep it together, no matter how attractive Kenna Lodge is.
She’s my kids’ nanny, my employee, and in her early twenties. I can’t go down that road for so many reasons.
6
KENNA
Ican’t believe that Derek kissed me, but what I really can’t believe is that I kissed himback. I know that I have a little bit of a crush on him, but still, I can’t kiss my boss! What was I thinking?
It had to have been just a little slip of judgment on his part. He didn’t mean it. Right?
My heart beats too hard against my chest plate the rest of the morning, even as the kids eat and chat about everything and nothing. I chat right along with them, trying to forget how their father’s mouth felt against mine.
The day goes by in a blur and when Derek arrives, I make my way out of the door quickly after saying goodbye to the kids. Eli pouts and almost cries, but Maggie just hugs me briefly and goes back to playing.
“Everyone gets days off, Eli,” she tells him, and he sniffles but takes her hand as they go toward the toy box.
Derek steps outside with me, to my absolute horror, and I can’t look up at him. My cheeks are on fire and he’ll know that he flustered me this morning...
“Kenna, please forgive me for this morning,” he says, almost mournfully, and I look up at him.
“It's no problem," I say easily. ”It was a mistake,” I say, my heart dropping just a little.
Derek smiles awkwardly. “I’ll make an effort to remain professional from now on,” he says, and I nod, eager to get to my car and get the hell out of here.
He doesn’t say anything more and I’m afraid he’ll try to give me more money so I rush off to the car and peel out of there toward my parents’ house, breathing hard.
They’ve been calling, asking how it’s going, and I’ve been telling them it’s great. Ithasbeen great, up until now. And if I’m honest with myself, the kiss was great, too.
He’d kissed me so deep and thoroughly that it’d nearly knocked me off my feet, but that’s never going to happen again. He’s not interested in me like that, and I just have a little crush, that’s all.
