“Talk about saved by the bell,” I breathed, as I took what I now recognized as my seat across from him in his office.

He chuckled. “You’re not kidding. Remind me to thank Mrs. Epps for her timely interruption and the invitation to take Mackenzie to the playground with them.”

I smiled. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think it was Divine intervention.”

He looked at me thoughtfully. “Maybe it was, but that doesn’t change the fact that Mackenzie is struggling right now. I thought having a live-in nanny would be good for her but—”

“I hear you. I’ve been concerned that she’s taken to me so quickly and so completely.”

He pinned me with his eyes.

“Please don’t take that the wrong way, Gabriel. Of course I want to connect with her and for her to like me—but I have to tell you that the ease with which we’ve fallen into a comfortable routine has surprised me, too.” I paused a half-second, “It’s honestly almost uncanny how quickly it has happened. Part of me feels like I should just roll with it and be grateful for both of us. Yet part of me is concerned for Zee…because you and I both know this won’t last forever.”

His jaw tightened. and the color drained from his face.

“I’m sorry, Gabriel—I didn’t mean it like that.” I clenched my hand to keep from reaching out to console him.

“I know, Thea. It’s been well over a year now, but the pain and loss feel much more fresh, as though she’s been gone only weeks.”

“That’s because you loved her, and she clearly loved you and Zee. I suppose a love like that, as wonderful and rare as it is, takes longer to heal. They say that time heals, but what they don’t tell you is how long the healing will take.”

He cocked his head, and I could tell he had questions. They were questions I wasn’t ready to answer, yet I felt powerless to deflect him. I rubbed the back of my neck, and stretched, suddenly exhausted. “Listen, I realize we need to talk, but honestly, I’m exhausted and would like to take off for a few hours.”

“We do need to talk.” He leaned forward in his chair and closed the distance between us.

I felt heat pool in my stomach, cursing the fact that I was so vulnerable to his intensity—and turned on by it. Heat flared in my cheeks, and his eyebrow raised almost imperceptively. It sucked that he could read me like a book.

I pushed back in my chair, but there was nowhere to go, my back was already pushed against the cushioned high-back of the chair. I licked my lips, then bit my lower lip. His eyes followed, then darkened. I was giving far too much away, including my vulnerability, and I knew he would take advantage of it if I didn’t do something quickly.

His gaze moved to my throat where my pulse was beating like a frightened sparrow—rapidly.

“I’m not sure I can do this, Gabriel.”

Surprise scrolled across his face.

“I—I came here to nanny a five-year-old girl and use my time off to accomplish some things that are important to me. I realize I’ve only been here a week and a half—but honestly—during this time I’ve grown incredibly fond of your daughter, and she of me. Now she wants me to stay here forever. That’s not going to happen, and I don’t know how to deal with hurting her. I’m quite certain you don’t want her to be hurt, and that leaves us—where exactly?”

I tried to read his eyes, but it was impossible. It was as though he had an impenetrable veil across them that opened very rarely—and when it did, it was only for the briefest nanosecond. I constantly found myself second-guessing if I was reading into what I saw there, or if it was real.

Maybe he really was a robot, and I was projecting humanness onto him. My mouth twitched at the thought but quickly vanished as I watched as his jaw set and his expression change to one of determination. He leaned closer, and I wanted nothing more than to run—and run far.

“There is an alternative, Thea,” he said softly.

Why I have the feeling I did not want to hear what he was going to say?

He took both of my hands in his, his touch sending shivers through my body. His skin blazed against mine, and my breath caught in my throat. Our faces were mere inches apart, and our eyes locked. I couldn’t breathe—and then for a few seconds, the veil lifted. I saw desire ever so briefly before hard, cold determination set back in.

I should run, really I should. “I’m—I’m not sure I want to hear it. I must be going.” It sounded weak, even to me.

“Hear me out.” His thumbs caressed the skin between my thumb and forefinger. Heat zinged straight to my core, and I pulled my hands away, folded them over my chest, far away from his hands.

It was a mistake. My nipples beaded and pushed against the thin cotton lining of my bra—it was my weekend bra and designed for comfort. I might as well have not had one on.

His eyes narrowed, then he rested his palms on his knees. He was so good at this, and I felt completely out of my element as his eyes drifted to my breasts. Damn traitors, I thought.

“What if you did stay longer than we planned…”

My heart was pounding in my chest. Could he hear it?

His eyes went to the base of my neck where my pulse was throbbing—surely he couldn’t see it—could he? But he didn’t need to because he reached for my hands, his fingers brushing my nipples as he did, my eyes widened. Then his fingers caressed my wrists, and I was pretty sure the pulses matched in both places. Screaming.

I bit my lip harder, holding back a gasp.

“What if you did stay forever?”

I snapped out of whatever trance I’d been in. “Umm. Yea—no. No. Nope, no, absolutely no. What are you thinking? We don’t even know each other, and I signed a contract to be a nanny—not a—” I didn’t dare to say it, and what if that wasn’t what he was thinking to begin with? Darn, I should have just stayed quiet.

“I know, and I’m not asking you to give me an answer today. I just want you to consider it. Would it be so terrible? You love Zee already, and it’s obvious she loves you. You said it yourself, Thea.”

What he said resonated in my heart, but my head was not going for it. “Umm. I think this is—ridiculous and—well, am I dreaming right now?”

He put his hand on my knee, and I jerked it away. “Does it feel like you’re dreaming?” he asked, and his knee came between my open legs. I was wet, really wet, and there was no doubt he knew exactly what he was doing to me.

Suddenly I felt like I was being manipulated by a master, by a man who knew human behavior better than most, and was clearly very good at prevailing over emotions.

Well, he wasn’t going to prevail over mine. Anger replaced desire, and I moved up and out of the chair in one fluid movement, walking toward the door of his office, spinning around right before reaching it. “I don’t appreciate the manipulation, doctor, and this conversation is over. I’m going to the library and I’m not sure when I’ll be back. Please don’t wait up.”

“Why do you go to the library, Athena?” he asked without missing a beat.

My brow wrinkled in confusion for the briefest second before I planted my hands on my hips, my chest heaving. “I don’t have to answer to you for what I do in my free time.” I strode through the doorway, closing the door firmly behind me.

Was that a chuckle I heard? The gall of him! It took a lot more than physical attraction to make a relationship work, and it took more than a mutual love for a little girl. The last thing Zee needed was to lose someone else in her life, but I felt like it was already too late to save her from that. Wouldn’t it be better for Zee for me to leave now before she became even more attached?

I walked through my bedroom door, locking it behind me, moving to the edge of the bed. My hands rubbed against my temples, willing the headache threatening to erupt, to recede, but I could tell it wasn’t going to.

I hated to do it, but I reached into my nightstand and grabbed two pills, swallowing them back with my water from the night before.

Strangely enough—I felt like it was already too late. It was too late to save Zee from more hurt.

Lying back on the bed, I closed my eyes. This was supposed to be so simple—the perfect situation—but it had proven to be anything but.