by Lex Martin
When did she make coffee? I honestly can’t tell if she wants me to work for Ethan or marry the man.
Brady picks up his daughter, and a second later, Ethan and I are alone.
He chuckles and takes a long pull of his beer. His dirty blond hair is disheveled and pointing in ten different directions, but Lord help me, it looks good.
He’s still smiling when I level him with a stare. “Why are you being nice to me? What do you want?” I’ve been around the block enough times to know when something is off. “I’m not going to sleep with you, if that’s what you think you’re getting by having me move in.”
The smile slides off his face. “Jesus, Tori. Do you accuse every potential employer of lechery?”
My face burns, but I’m not ashamed of asking what I need to know. “Because I won’t have sex with you. Not even if you’re the last guy on the planet.”
An annoying smirk quirks his lips. “No one said I was asking, darlin’. Besides”—his eyes pass over me—“you’re not my type.”
For some reason, that irritates me more. “Well, good.”
“Good.” He rubs a rough hand over the stubble on his square jaw. “So we’re clear about that? No sex. Not even if I’m the last man on the planet.”
“Not even then,” I whisper.
We stare at each other, his amused blue eyes studying my face like he’s seeing me for the first time.
His eyebrows lift, and then—I can’t help it—I laugh. We both do.
Before things get any weirder, I get up and start clearing the plates with a sigh. “I’m not good at job interviews.”
“You don’t say.”
“Shocking, I know.” I’m not fool enough to think I had that one law firm internship because of my amazing people skills or grades. No, that came compliments of my sweet sister and her impressive Austin connections. She took me getting fired remarkably well back then, but she wasn’t pregnant when I called her crying because I had gotten axed for telling off one of the partners.
Truth be told, I don’t want to disappoint Kat. It’s one thing to disappoint my parents. They’re used to it. But Kat? For some reason, she seems to think I have potential. It cuts me to the core to think of letting her down. Again.
The only thing that freaks me out more than truly displeasing my sister is a face-to-face encounter with a spider.
Don’t laugh. They’re evil.
I shiver at the thought.
A minute later, Ethan’s by my side at the sink. He grabs the bowls out of my hands and scrubs them down before handing them to me to rinse.
He’s big. Way bigger than I am. Broad and tall and rugged.
Standing so close to him at the sink reminds me of the first time I saw him, shirtless and dripping wet. With all those muscles and that angry ink etched into his golden skin.
The kind of guy to make a girl ache in just the right ways, if he were another guy and I another girl.
This close, I can smell his shower gel. Something manly and crisp. He must’ve showered right before he came over.
I clear my throat. “Would you need me to cook or clean your house too?”
“I’m not hiring you to be my maid. Just to take care of Mila and Cody. I’ll do my best to make them dinner, clean the house, do our laundry. Those aren’t your jobs, and I never want you to feel like they are. If you don’t care that I smell like a barn animal, I can probably come in to make them a quick breakfast if you want. Then you’d only have to make them lunch.”
Something about that image softens me. Ethan slaving away in the heat and stopping to take care of his kids. I’m starting to get what my sister said about this guy doing it all on his own.
“I can handle breakfast and lunch. That’s not a big deal.” I shift to get a quick glance at him and am overwhelmed by his presence when he reaches across me to turn off the faucet.
His voice is low and gravelly. “Listen, I really am sorry for being such an asshole to you the other day. I’d love nothing more than for you to take care of my kids. I promise to stay out of your way and not annoy you too much.”
He dries his hands on his shirt and turns to me, but he’s looking at the ground. “You asked why I’m being nice.” Those big blue eyes shift up until they sear into mine. “Well, I’m a nice guy. No one seems to think that, but I am. I’ve just… I’ve had a rough few years.” As though he’s flipping through a memory book, he frowns and glances away. “I’m going through an ugly divorce, and my mom, who’s been keeping my household together since my wife left, is headed to Chicago on Monday to help her sister. I can’t keep the business afloat and take care of my children by myself. It kills me to admit that, but it’s true. So I guess you could say I need you. I need your help.”
I don’t like how those words, I need you, make me feel soft and squishy, like a piece of bittersweet chocolate left out in the sun. “Why not call one of those nanny agencies? Get someone who’s fingerprinted and meets your qualifications.”
“I’m on some waiting lists, but they’re not sure they’ll find someone willing to live out here.” His eyes turn up to mine, a playfulness brightening his expression. “Should I be worried? Do you have a criminal record for all the coke and hookers?”
I laugh, remembering what I told him the other day. “Not exactly, but—”
“Then it’s fine. Don’t let my kids cook meth or play with sharp objects, and we should be good.”
Ethan
The house feels different with Tori in it. Perhaps because nothing’s really settled. After some begging and eating crow on my part at dinner the other night, Tori agreed to help me for the next two weeks. Long enough to see if she can get someone to sublet her apartment and for me to explore whether an agency can better handle my situation.
It seemed prudent to contact an agency in case Tori and I ended up clashing again. The fact we didn’t at dinner was a pleasant surprise, and if it taught me anything, it’s that I want us to get along in the meantime. I want her to know I’ll treat her well. That I’m not really an asshole.
As for my unbidden attraction to her? I figure it’ll pass. I haven’t been around a beautiful woman in a long time. Living on a ranch doesn’t make socializing easy. I don’t count Mallory Mathers or the like, because hooking up with one of my wife’s friends seems about as smart as jamming a wet finger in a light socket.
It’s been ages since I’ve been with anyone. Not since Allison, and that intimacy ended during her pregnancy with Cody. His second birthday later this summer is a reminder that she shut me out a long time ago. Two years is a long damn time to go without sex. I’m twenty-eight, not eighty.
Maybe my brother is right and I need to get out more. Start dating or something to take the edge off. Especially since Tori made it abundantly clear I’m not the kind of guy she goes for. That we would never have sex.
I chuckle, thinking about the fire in her eyes as the little tornado told me off again. All that passion oozing from her pores.
But she doesn’t have anything to worry about. I’d never take advantage of a woman.
As for her not being my type, well, that’s mostly true.
I’ve always gone for the polite and polished kind of woman. And a little high-maintenance. Not sure why since Allison has been anything but polite in the last few years.
Tori has a wildness about her, a level of honesty I’m not used to. At least not from a perfect stranger.
I think I like it.
I just can’t like it too much.
After so much time out of the dating game, it’s weird to think about diving back in. It’s even weirder to consider dating when my divorce isn’t final yet, but I know from mutual friends that Allison has already been out with other men. The thought makes my chest feel heavy with too many emotions to name.
A soft knock on the office door makes me look up.
“I’m packed and ready to go, son.”
The sight of my mother dressed for the airport shoots a bolt of fear through
me.
She starts talking like it’s not a big deal she’s going to another state. “I told Tori where to find Cody’s hiding places. How to get the kids to brush their teeth. Where the emergency numbers are. Their daily schedule. Everything’s gonna be fine.”
I was never a momma’s boy growing up. That was Logan. But I’ll admit I’m a little torn up seeing her go. Probably ’cause we relied so heavily on each other after my father died.
We head into the living room where Tori is on the floor, dressed like a princess, compliments of my daughter’s styling efforts. Cody is hanging off Tori’s neck, and Mila is debating which bauble would look best on her new babysitter.
“Give your grandma a hug goodbye.” I motion for the kids to get up.
Mila takes one look at my mother, sees the suitcase behind her, and immediately starts bawling. Rushing into her grandmother’s arms, she cries so hard, she starts hiccupping.
Mom coos in her ear. “Honey, calm down. I’m only going for a month or two. I’ll be back soon.”
“But wha-wha-what if you don’t come back? Wha-wha-what if you stay away like Mommy? What if you don’t want us anymore?”
I close my eyes, my daughter’s words a cattle brand on my heart.
Does this ever get easier?
“Sweetie, I’m always, always gonna want you and your brother, and your momma wants you guys too.” Her voice is thick with emotion. “She’s just going through a rough time is all.” Smoothing down my daughter’s hair, my mom whispers, “I’m only a phone call away. Call me any time, night or day.” She pulls out of my daughter’s hug and holds her shoulders. “Hey, look at me.” Mila’s tear-stricken face cuts me to the core. “I need you to be a big girl and take care of your daddy and brother. Two men in a house by themselves need a good woman to look after them.”
Mila nods and wipes away snot. “I can make Daddy Pop Tarts for breakfast so he’s not hungry.”
“Thatta girl. And you remember how he likes his coffee, right? Two sugars and a good helping of milk. Don’t use half-and half even though he likes it because he should watch those trans fats now while he’s young.”
Hearing the two most important girls in my life worry about me makes my chest ache.
I’m wondering how I’m gonna get Mila out of my mom’s arms when Tori approaches them and whispers in Mila’s ear. Not sure what she says, but Mila starts laughing, and Tori picks her up and swings her around so she’s on her back, clinging to her neck.
“Have a great trip, Beverly,” Tori says cheerfully, like my whole family isn’t on the brink of an apocalypse. “Mila and I are going to have a big surprise for you when you get back, aren’t we, Mila?”
My daughter wipes her eyes and nods and smiles at my mom. “Big, big, big surprise!”
I stand there, a little dumbfounded that this train wreck has turned around, until Tori mouths, “It’s okay. Go.” She turns her back so she and Mila are facing the other way.
As I’m walking my mom out, I pause in the doorway to look at my kids, who are playing with Tori like nothing happened.
Only one thought comes to mind—thank God she’s here.
It’s dark when I get back, much later than I thought I’d be. Austin traffic sucked, as always, and Mom’s flight was delayed. That was when I realized I didn’t have Tori’s cell number, and she didn’t have mine. I was thinking I was the worst parent ever when I remembered my mom had shown Tori the emergency numbers.
My brother’s sprawled on a couch, flipping through baseball channels, when I stride into the house.
“Thanks for coming over.”
When I realized I couldn’t call Tori’s cell and she wasn’t picking up the office phone—why would she?—I called Logan and asked him to check on the kids and let Tori know I was running late.
“No problemo. Wasn’t like I had plans.” His brow lifts meaningfully.
“On a Monday night?”
“Yeah, with this hot-as-fuck waitress I met last week. Thanks for cockblocking, by the way.”
I roll my eyes. God forbid my brother doesn’t get laid regularly.
He waves the remote in my direction without taking his eyes off the TV. “Do you need Joey to babysit for you this weekend? She says to call or text if you do.”
“Yeah, I might need an extra pair of hands.” I told Tori she could have the weekends off, and I don’t want to break that promise.
Joey is my brother’s best friend. She’s a couple of years younger than Logan and has helped my mom with the kids once or twice, but the girl has her hands full at home. Even though I thought to ask her about babysitting full-time, I know she’d never be able to.
“Where is everyone?” The house is quiet. Too quiet.
“Asleep, I guess.”
“Tori got Mila and Cody to bed?”
“Yuuuuup.” He keeps clicking channels. “No thanks required, bro. Don’t even mention how I found a Disney princess to be your nanny. I don’t need a pat on the back or anything.”
I roll my eyes and kick off my boots so my shoes don’t wake up the kids.
If Tori were a princess, she’d definitely be Ariel the Mermaid. Only with thick, brown hair and a rounder, bitable ass.
The back hallway is dark, and I tiptoe into Cody’s room. Sure enough, he’s nestled in bed and zonked out to the world.
Leaning down to give him a kiss, I realize Tori must’ve given him a bath because he smells like clean little boy instead of the stinker I handed her this afternoon. I check the kids’ bathroom, certain it must look like a hurricane blew through it because my kidlets are hellions in the tub, but everything is neat and clean.
I’m half-ready to thank my lucky stars for our new nanny when I get to Mila’s room and find her bed empty.
Panic builds in my gut as I fly down the hall to Tori’s room. The door is open and the bedside lamp is on, and there, in the middle of the bed, are Tori and Mila, curled up on the comforter, sound asleep, with a copy of Bedtime for Francis next to them.
Seeing my daughter, safe and sound, makes me feel foolish for freaking out.
Reaching down to scoop up Mila, I gently move Tori’s arm, and her lids flutter open.
“Hey,” she whispers.
I hold up one finger to tell her to hang on while I pick up my daughter. Mila’s like a sack of potatoes in my arms. After I tuck her into her own bed, I stop back in Tori’s doorway.
My eyes widen when I realize how intimate this is. Tori on her bed in a tiny black tank top and sleep shorts. Her gorgeous hair tumbling over her shoulders. The quiet house and soft lighting.
Taking a step back, I look away to give her some privacy.
“Did they wear you out?” I ask, realizing she must be as tired as my kids. “Sorry I woke you. Didn’t think you’d want Mila kicking your face in the middle of the night. She sleeps like a starfish.”
“No worries,” she says as she yawns. “I tried to follow your mom’s directions on that sheet. Got them fed and bathed and in bed on time, but I have to confess they ate pizza for dinner with nary a vegetable in sight.”
I chuckle and pull off my baseball cap to push my hair back. Reversing the bill, I pull the hat on backwards. “If that’s the worst crime, I think you did as well as I could’ve.” It’s true. Given how upset Mila was this afternoon, the fact that the rest of the day went smoothly is nothing short of a miracle. “Thanks for taking care of dinner and their bedtime routine. Usually, I can do that so you have your evenings free.”
Thinking back to my crisis earlier today and not being able to reach her, I tap on her doorframe. “Before I forget, I need your cell number.”
Her lips tug up in one corner as she stretches like a cat. “No sexting, remember?”
My eyes shoot up to hers. At first, I can’t tell if she’s joking or if she really thinks I’m the dick who sends out, well, pics of my dick. Or dirty messages. Can’t say I’ve ever done either of those with a girl, even in college. Would Allison have been into that sort of
thing? Hell, I never thought to test those waters.
She laughs. “Just messin’ with you. But you should see the look on your face.”
She calls out her digits, and I tap out her number on my cell, shaking my head the whole time.
When I’m done, I slip my phone in my back pocket. “Ya know, you’re kind of a menace when you’re not playing Mary Poppins.”
As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I’m worried I offended her, but the smile she gives me is brilliant and wide and more than a little mischievous. “Don’t think I don’t know this.”
Shaking my head again, I start to close the door. “Night, Tasmanian Devil.”
She snickers. “Night, Wolverine.”
Tori
Lying in bed, I wonder why I flirted with him tonight. In the moment, I didn’t think it was that flirty. I’ve said worse things to my friends.
But Ethan isn’t a friend.
He’s my employer, and sexting is not what you discuss with an employer. I guess I am an HR nightmare.
I was half asleep, and he looked so damn cute with his baseball cap on backwards and that sweet expression he gets when he’s talking about his kids. And the way his t-shirt stretched across his broad chest, showcasing his tattoos, made my mouth water.
I can’t explain why, but I wanted to yank his chain and see how he took it.
Yank his chain. Ha. I’d definitely love to yank that.
Wait. Noooooo.
Hell, no.
I squeeze my eyes shut to get him out of my head.
I cannot get a thing for this guy. No way. Is he even divorced yet? And didn’t I throw down the gauntlet the other day with the “no sex ever” conversation? Not to mention I’m not his type.
Is there an AA meeting for this sort of thing, attraction to unavailable men? Because I definitely should look into attending.
After my breakup with Jamie, I researched a woman’s sex drive and found an interesting article that said the more you fed your libido, the more you craved sex, so I figured if I starved the damn thing, the need might disappear. Abstaining from sex sounded reasonable at the time. But now, a year into this endeavor? Now I want to be touched and cuddled and fucked until I can’t walk straight.
