Then There Was You: A Single Parent Collection

by Gianna Gabriela

  13

  Max slid the take for the night into the safe and twisted the dial. The opening had gone really well. They’d nearly doubled their projected profit, all his staff worked and worked hard and there hadn’t been any security issues. All in all, Max felt pretty damn proud of himself. It had all come together perfectly.

  He looked at the time on his phone. It was half past four, and he was the last one there. He’d sent everyone home at four when they’d closed the doors of Temptation for the night—or morning—whichever way you looked at it. Pulling the suit jacket from the back of his chair, Max slid into it and paused when he smelled Gigi on it. She must have leant up against it while she was studying. He inhaled deeply, catching the sweet, fruity scents of her shampoo.

  Flicking off his office lights, Max strode down the hallway to the rear entrance. Making sure he had the keys for the building in his pocket, he set the alarm and slid outside. It was still dark, but he could already feel the heat of the day infiltrating the pre-dawn. He’d thought LA was bad in summer, but it had nothing on New York, although the heat and humidity were different here. Keeping his head down, Max walked back to his apartment. The streets were empty except for a few groups of club goers making their way home, and the street sweeper doing the rounds.

  He was home in less than fifteen minutes. He pulled out the spare set of keys for the apartment building and let himself in. When he got to his place, he slid the key into the lock, the teeth chattering along the tumbler too loudly in the near silence. There was just one lamp on in the living room, and Max shut the door softly behind him so he didn’t disturb Gigi.

  She was asleep on the couch. There was a cup of what looked to be tea sitting beside the couch and her textbook was on the cushion beside her. Picking the book up, he put it on the floor, then took the blanket from the back of the couch and laid it over her body. Then he did something really fucking stupid.

  Some of her silky hair had fallen across her face. He reached out and pushed the stray lock back off her forehead, then let his fingertips trail gently over her cheek. She exhaled and turned her head into his touch. Stunned, Max retracted his hand and straightened.

  He didn’t know what it was about her. The initial attraction was because she didn’t look anything like Chelsea, but there was more to her than that. She was intelligent, but he could tell that under all the bookishness, she had a razor wit and a sense of humor he’d like to explore…if only he could get his head out of his ass about women screwing him over.

  “Damn you, Chelsea,” he said under his breath and moved to turn off the lamp. The apartment was plunged into darkness for only a second before Max’s eyes adjusted. Like in LA, it was never truly dark in New York City. There was always ambient light leaking in from somewhere, making the apartment just light enough to see where he was going without bumping into everything.

  Opening up his bedroom door, he took off his jacket and hung it up. His fingers made short work of the tie and the buttons at his throat. Pulling the tails of the shirt from his pants, he shucked that too, his slacks falling to the ground beside it. In just his boxer briefs, he walked out to the bathroom to take a shower.

  The feel of the hot water on his body made him groan softly. It was hitting all the right spots, washing away the tension in his shoulders and neck. Keeping it brief, he turned off the taps and stepped out onto the tile. Wrapping a towel around his hips, he crept back to his room where he collapsed into bed.

  Max woke the next morning to the smell of bacon cooking and coffee brewing. Picking up his phone from the bedside table, he looked at the numbers. Was it only eight o’clock? He’d gotten three hours of sleep, and it wasn’t enough if he had to work again that night. Putting on a pair of jeans that had been lying on the floor, he staggered out into the kitchen. Erin was playing on the rug in the living room while Gigi was at the cooktop, spatula in hand. She’d obviously made herself a lot more familiar with his apartment than he had, because she was wearing an apron he certainly didn’t own.

  She was singing to herself softly, a wire running from her jeans’ pocket to her ear. She spun around, and she saw him. A blush fanned across her cheeks. Popping the bud from her ear, she said, “I didn’t hear you come in.”

  “I’m not surprised,” he shot back. Gigi blinked at him, clearly shocked by his attitude. When he let a small smile creep onto his features, she relaxed.

  “I’m making breakfast. You interested?” she asked, pulling a mug from one of the cupboards and filling it up with coffee. She slid it over to him.

  “Thanks,” he said, picking it up and taking a shallow sip. He didn’t need any of those fancy-ass creamers a lot of other people took; he liked it hot and strong. “And breakfast would be great.”

  She grinned at him and turned back around to the griddle. He sat back and watched her work, moving smoothly between the cooktop and the toaster, all the while taking sips from her own coffee cup.

  “What were you listening to?” he asked.

  Her blush made a return appearance. “Oh…just a bit of Taylor Swift. She’s—”

  “I know who she is,” he said, cutting her short. “I’ve listened to some of her music.”

  “You have?” she squeaked.

  “Is that so hard to believe?”

  Instead of answering, Gigi spun around and attended to the bacon. A few moments later, she placed a plate in front of him. He looked down at the small feast and his mouth started to water.

  “This looks good.”

  “Thanks,” she replied, placing an identical plate down beside him. She sat down and they both ate. “Max?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Why didn’t you wake me when you came in? I should’ve gone home.”

  “You looked too peaceful lying there. You needed the sleep.”

  She stared into his eyes, and he wanted her to be staring up at him while lying in his bed. He shook his head and focused on eating his breakfast.

  “Gigi?” he asked after finishing his last sip of coffee.

  “Yes, Max?” she breathed. Her soft voice made him look at her. Her cheeks were flushed again, and he wondered what he’d done to make the color rise.

  “Have you thought about my offer?”

  She met his intense gaze. He needed her to say yes to this. Erin was already used to her, and he didn’t want to go through all the shit of finding another nanny. He just wanted Gigi to agree to take the job.

  “I have.”

  “And?” His reply was too eager, but he didn’t give a shit. She already knew what he wanted so there was no point trying to hide it.

  “You were right.”

  His eyes narrowed. “About what, exactly?”

  “About everything. The internship doesn’t get announced for two more weeks, and I don’t even think I got my application in on time anyway.” She took a deep breath and looked down at her plate. “The fact is, you need someone to help you out now, and for the next two weeks, I’ll be free to do that.”

  “Are you saying yes to me, Gigi?”

  It must have been something about his words that made her turn to him, her eyes wide. Her mouth had parted slightly, and her breathing had grown ragged. She shook her head a moment later, her gaze retreating back to the plate. “I’m saying yes to being Erin’s nanny.”

  “And you’ll move in, too?”

  “I have to speak to Jen about it first, but if it’s only for two weeks, I don’t see there being any problem.”

  Max could feel the smile stretch out on his lips, only this time he made no effort to conceal it. “That’s great news. Thank you, Gigi.”

  She picked up her fork and shoveled some scrambled eggs onto it. She brought it to her mouth, but not before saying, “You need to look for another girl, though, Max.”

  His smile faltered. They were back to that already? “Of course,” he replied. What she didn’t know was that he had no intention of going through an agency to find someone else. He was determined to keep Gigi for himself
. “Will you move in today?”

  “After I clean up after breakfast, I’ll go home, speak to Jen and pack some bags.”

  Max nodded. “Good. I have to work again tonight. I’d like you to be settled in before I have to leave.”

  14

  Gigi had had a hard time concentrating on the conversation about her new job with Max while he’d been sitting there shirtless. She could feel the warmth of his body, could smell his skin, and her senses and thoughts had been going wild. He obviously had no idea what kind of effect he had on women…or perhaps he did. He was the perfect specimen of a man, and she really had to try and keep her eyes off his chest and shoulders.

  But all of the ogling was just that—ogling. Someone like Max would never take a second look at someone who looked like her. She was too plain, and perhaps a little too bookish for him. Max was a mysterious, intriguing and aloof man. She was…well, she was just Gigi. She knew her limitations. She knew she would never have a guy like him in her life in a capacity other than employer and employee, or perhaps as a passing acquaintance.

  After Gigi had cleaned up after breakfast, she stood back and watched him play with Erin in the living room. A smile was on her face, and she found that she couldn’t shift it. There was just something so attractive about seeing a man playing with his child—especially his daughter. She had to admit that just about everything about Max was attractive. She could see he was trying to keep up the appearance of being a hard-ass, but when she caught him in this small moment of vulnerability, she saw through the mask he wore so well. It made her wonder what had happened to him to make him so…abrasive.

  He’d said that his wife had died. Perhaps that was the reason he was the way he was. Perhaps he didn’t want to get hurt again, and he prevented that from happening by keeping everyone at arm’s length? Whatever the reason, Gigi’s initial opinion that he was a jerk was quickly changing to growing respect.

  Heading back to her room, she called Jen, but the call went straight to voicemail. Gigi left it short and sweet, telling her that she was moving into Max’s for the next few weeks and that she’d be home soon to get some things. At least that way Jen had some warning. She went back to the living room.

  “I’m going to head back home to collect some things,” she announced, drawing Max’s attention her way.

  He bent down to pick up Erin, settling her on his hip. “I’ll come with you.”

  “No, you don’t have to,” she protested weakly.

  “It’s no problem. Besides,” His eyes slid down her body and her skin heated up under his gaze. “You don’t look like the kind of girl who can carry a lot of weight very far.”

  With the amount of textbooks she was going to bring with her, she had wondered how she was going to carry them all. “Thank you.” Gigi put on her shoes and stood up. “I’m ready whenever you are.”

  “Can you take Erin for a moment, and I’ll…”

  “Put on a shirt?” she offered boldly. Please don’t put on a shirt.

  For a moment, his intense stare bore into her, and her mouth went dry. But then his lips quirked up, quickly becoming a full-blown grin, which she returned.

  “Is that what you really want?”

  For a moment, all she could do was stare. Was he flirting with her? She studied him, her eyes skating over his face, trying to decipher the look he was giving her. It looked…hungry. She could feel her face flame. “I think for the sake of not getting arrested for public lewdness, you should probably cover up.”

  He laughed. “Being shirtless doesn’t exactly equate to public lewdness, but I should get dressed.”

  He handed Erin to her and walked down the short hallway and into his room. She followed his progress, her breath catching in her throat when he failed to kick his door completely shut before he started unbuttoning his jeans. She knew she should have looked away, but seeing that denim slip from his hips, she knew she was screwed.

  Max’s ass looked better out of his jeans than it did in them. It was perfect in every way— muscular yet still soft enough that she could get her hands around each hemisphere. Sooner than she wanted, he was pulling on a pair of sweats and a running shirt before sitting on the end of the bed to put on his shoes. Gigi watched the muscles in his forearms relax and contract with each movement. She looked back at his face only to find him watching her.

  “Oh, crap,” she said under her breath and turned away. She heard him walk back down the hallway, but she couldn’t look at him.

  “Ready?” he asked, his words sounding smug.

  “Ah, sure.” She handed Erin back to him, still without making eye contact, and picked up her bag. Silently they rode the elevator down and exited the building.

  “Lead the way, Gigi.” Max’s deep voice was like a magnet, and she was the opposing pole. She met his eyes and found his held amusement.

  She turned and walked in the direction of her and Jen’s apartment.

  “Did you enjoy the view?” he whispered in her ear.

  She spun around to face him. “I…I…” She wanted the ground to open up beneath her and swallow her whole. “I…”

  His throaty laugh startled her. “So how far away is this apartment of yours?”

  She breathed a sigh of relief, thankful he’d dropped the subject. “I thought you already knew where I lived,” she shot back.

  “I know the address, but I’m new to this city. How many blocks away is it?”

  “You aren’t from here?”

  “You seem surprised.”

  She stepped closer to Max to let a group of school-aged kids walk past. There was a yell as one of the kids farther back in the group surged forward, clearly running from another boy. He pushed past Gigi, knocking her off balance. She lost her footing and tripped. She expected to find herself lying on the filthy sidewalk, but a strong arm around her waist stopped her before her face got the introduction to New York’s dirtiest landmark.

  “Are you okay?” he asked softly.

  Her hands automatically covered his as she sucked in a small breath. Peering over her shoulder at him, she said on a shaky breath, “I’m fine.”

  Max righted her with very little effort, turning her around to face him. His hands lingered at her waist as they stared at each other from only a few inches away. This close, Gigi could see that his eyes weren’t just brown. Around his iris, there was a starburst of green. This close, they were intoxicating. This close she was mesmerized.

  Gigi broke their locked gazes first, looking down at her feet and resettling the strap of her messenger bag. She cleared her throat. “We should get going.”

  She turned on her heel and began walking again. Not another word passed between them on their walk. As they got closer to her apartment, she couldn’t help but notice how women were openly staring at Max. She thought it was mainly because he was the best-looking man around. Then she saw their eyes dart down to Erin in the stroller, and she got it; women liked seeing a man caring for his child.

  She looked at him from the corner of her eye, expecting to see him smiling at all of them, but his brows were drawn down in a scowl and his lips had thinned. Max really was an enigma. He attracted female attention, yet he didn’t seem to revel in it like most men would.

  She shook her head.

  “What are you shaking your head at?” he asked.

  She glanced at him. “Nothing.”

  “It wasn’t nothing. What were you thinking about just now?”

  She huffed. “I was just thinking about how even after thousands of years of evolution, and after hundreds of years fighting for equality, women are still chasing what their ancestors were chasing.”

  His brow rose. “Which is?”

  She met his eye. “A strong man to look after their children.”

  Max frowned, looking down at Erin a moment later. “I don’t follow.”

  She wasn’t sure whether he was deliberately being obtuse, or whether he was actually unaware of the attention he was getting. “You don’t see
them, do you?”

  “See who?”

  Gigi looked around at the women staring. Many of them glared at her for a moment before their gaze flickered back to Max. “Never mind,” she said, lifting the flap of her bag and looking for her keys. She walked up the short stairs and opened up the door, propping it open with her bag, then went to grab the end of the stroller.

  “New York certainly isn’t baby-friendly, is it?” he said as he lifted his end of the stroller.

  “Definitely not.”

  Once they were inside, they rode the lift up to the second floor and Gigi opened up the apartment door. It was quiet inside; that either meant Jen was still asleep, or had stepped out.

  “Jen?” she called, closing the door behind Max. She walked farther inside. “Jen?”

  “She’s gone to the gym,” he said. She turned to find him standing by the kitchen bench, a piece of paper in his hand.

  “How do you know?”

  He held up the paper. “She left you a note.”

  “Oh,” Gigi replied. “I guess it’s a good thing she’s not here.”

  Max unclipped the harness on Erin’s stroller, picking up the little girl, whose big blue eyes were looking everywhere, taking everything in. “Why’s that?”

  She pursed her lips, wondering whether she should tell him that if Jen were here, she would be making comments alluding to the fact that Gigi had stayed the night and generally be passive- aggressive towards him. “You won’t have to talk to her.”

  His lips flexed slightly. “I wouldn’t have anyway. She’s my employee.”

  “I’m also your employee, Max,” she stated plainly.

  His eyes fix on her face. “You’re different, Gigi.”

  Her stomach flipped, but before she could read anything into it, she reminded herself that she was different. Max had chosen her to watch his most treasured possession—his daughter. Of course their relationship was more than just employee and employer. “I’ll start packing up my things. Make yourself comfortable.” She waved at the couch. “I won’t be long.”