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She swats at me as she giggles. “Stop, Nanny Love!”
“Do you need me to rescue you?” Damon asks as he rushes into the room. He pauses next to the bed with his fists on his hips and his chest jutted out. “I’m Super Dad.”
I bark out a laugh. “What skills does Super Dad have?”
He wiggles his fingers. “I am a super tickler.”
“No, Daddy, don’t!” Skye squeals as he attacks her.
“Should we tickle Nanny Love instead?”
I hold up my hands and slide as far away from them as I can without falling off of the bed. “No tickling Nanny Love.”
Damon dives on the bed and he and Skye attack my ribs. I try slapping them away but I don’t want to hurt Skye.
“Uncle! I call uncle.”
Damon stops and lays back against the headrest next to me before pulling his daughter into his arms.
“What’s uncle?” Skye asks.
Damon scowls at yet more evidence of what a shitty birth mom Skye has, but he quickly covers it up.
“It means you win because I give up,” I explain.
“Yes! I win!” Skye wiggles a happy dance.
My gaze catches on the mirror above my dresser. The reflection shows the three of us laying in my bed. We resemble a family. Mom, Dad, daughter.
A sense of yearning hits me so hard, it knocks the breath out of me.
I must gasp out loud because Damon grazes my thigh with his hand. “You okay?”
Knowing I can never have what I want? That the vision in the mirror isn’t real? Sure, I’m doing awesome. Couldn’t be better. I swallow my snarky response and force a smile. “Fine.”
He frowns. “I know better than to accept fine at face value from a woman. What’s…” He trails off before muttering a few choice swear words. “We’re intruding in your private space.” He helps Skye off the bed before rolling off himself.
“You don’t have to go.”
“I promised you privacy when you accepted this job. I don’t break my promises.”
Stop being perfect! I want to scream at him, but I don’t. I’m his daughter’s nanny and nothing more to him. He doesn’t need or want to know how I long for him to be more. He deserves better than me anyway.
“Get dressed. And we’ll go outside to enjoy the snow after breakfast,” I tell Skye.
She whoops before rushing out of the room.
“Again, I’m sorry,” Damon says as he closes the door behind him.
I bury my face in my hands. Why did no one tell me being a better person was this hard? Because it sucks. It sucks knowing I will never have the man I want in my arms.
I want to crawl into bed and feel sorry for myself but I hear a thump in Skye’s room. I throw off the covers. There’s no time to wallow in depression.
“What do we do first?” Skye asks as I help her into her snow boots and jacket after we’ve eaten breakfast.
“I’ll show you how to make a snow angel and then we’ll make a snowman. After lunch, your dad promised to go sledding with us.”
“Nope. Dad’s off and we’re going sledding now,” Damon proclaims as he joins us.
