Anna

I’d been kissed before. Or at least I thought I had, right up until the moment Nic DeLuca’s mouth claimed mine. There was none of the usual awkwardness of a first kiss. No chance for me to wonder how I should hold my head, if I tasted like the strawberry lip balm I’d put on earlier, or if I should part my lips. As soon as his lush lips met mine, I gasped in surprise and he took control. Head slanted to the right, his tongue swept inside to tangle with mine. His fingers dug into my waist, tugging me flush against his body and proving exactly how much he was enjoying our kiss when I felt his hard length hot against my stomach. By the time he pulled away to nibble on my lips, I could barely see straight, let alone stand by myself without him keeping me upright. The pecks I’d received had been from boys, but Nic DeLuca was no boy—he was all man.

Once I’d steadied myself, one of his hands slid from my waist, down to the hem of my skirt. I shivered when he slid it up my thigh, the heat from his palm searing my skin. “Given more time, I could come to appreciate your choice of skirt, but my daughter is waiting for us in the kitchen.”

His daughter, who I’d come to meet and promptly forgotten about when he’d gotten his lips on me. “Crapballs.”

His deep chuckle made me aware I’d said that aloud and not just in my head. I felt the heat of a blush climb up my neck to my face. He swiped his thumb across my cheekbone as he stared down at me. “Such innocence,” he sighed. “It’s almost a shame you found your way to my door.”

He didn’t give me a chance to wonder what he meant by his statement, twining his fingers in mine and leading me out of the living room and down a hallway into the kitchen. It was outfitted with top of the line, stainless steel appliances and gleaming black countertops, but it still looked homey. Colorful drawings were stuck to the fridge, a few dishes were in the sink, and a large bowl of fruit sat in the middle of the counter. I barely took the time to appreciate the beauty of the room, my eyes quickly drawn to the little girl with long brown hair, practically vibrating in her chair at the table as she stared up at us with shining, brown eyes.

“Is this her, Daddy?” she asked, her voice high with excitement.

“Yes, my preziosa. This is Anna.” The smile he sent her way, his love for his daughter clear in his eyes, made him even more attractive. “Anna, this is my baby girl, Sophia.”

“I’m not a baby anymore, Daddy,” Sophia said in exasperation. “I’m almost seven.”

“Your birthday isn’t for another five months,” he reminded her.

“I know,” she sighed. “That’s why I’m only almost seven.”

She was too adorable. I giggled at her response and she quickly joined in.

“Oh, I see what’s going to happen,” he grumbled exaggeratedly. “You two are going to team up on me, aren’t you?”

Sophia and I smiled at each other, giggling even harder. Once our laughter died down, I shrugged my shoulders at Nic and offered him an apologetic smile. “What can I say? Us girls need to stick together.”

“Yeah, Daddy,” Sophia chimed in. “It’s a girl thing, you wouldn’t understand.”

Her response and Nic’s answering growl set off another round of giggles for me, which were interrupted by the ringing of a cell phone.

“I’m sorry,” Nic apologized after pulling his phone from his pants pocket and glancing down at the screen. “I’ve been expecting a call about an urgent matter and need to take this.”

“Go ahead.” I waved him away, pulling the chair next to Sophia out and dropping down onto it. “Sophia and I will be fine. It looks like she has some beautiful pictures here she can show me.”

There was a moment of awkward silence when Nic left the room, but I quickly filled it by asking Sophia about her pictures. “Is this one a kitten?”

“Yeah,” she sighed. “I really, really want one, and Daddy said I might be able to get one soon. It depends on what the doctor says at my next appointment. I hope Dr. Declan says I’m all better and Daddy surprises me with a kitten.”

“What kind of kitten would you want?”

“A fluffy white one!” Her response was lightning fast, as though she’d given a lot of thought to it. “Or a grey one, but it has to be super fluffy.”

“I’ll make sure to tell him to only look at super fluffy kittens if you can get one, okay?”

“Thank you,” she said sweetly.

“You’re welcome, but I love fluffy kittens, too.”

“Maybe you can help with the kitten? Daddy said you’re moving in with us.” Sophia’s angelic voice held the slightest note of uncertainty.

“Your daddy thought it would be easier for me to help take care of you if I did, but only if you’re okay with me living here,” I reassured her.

“Oh, I am!” she blurted out. “But I didn’t know if you had a little girl like me at home who would miss you.”

I moved out of my chair and dropped to my knees in front of her, taking her hands into mine. “No little girls or boys for me yet. If I did, then I wouldn’t be able to move in with you. I graduated from high school a year ago, but I still live with my mom and dad. I’m sure they’ll miss me, but they know it’s about time for me to leave home anyway.”

“My daddy had me when he was in high school when he lived at Nonno and Nonna’s old house.” Her admission confirmed my earlier assumption about Nic’s age. “But we moved out when I was two because Daddy wanted us to have a house all to ourselves. Then when Nonno died, he told Nonna he was willing to share me with her, and she moved in upstairs and we got an elevator.”

That was a lot of information out of such a little mouth. I wasn’t sure what to tackle first, so I went with the safest subject. “An elevator, huh? I’d love for you to show it to me. My mom and dad’s house doesn’t have one of those.”

She cocked her head at me. “I don’t have a mom, just a Daddy and Nonna.”

“I’m working on it, my preziosa.”

I jumped to my feet and whirled around, startled by the sound of Nic’s voice. For a big guy, he sure was light on his feet. I hadn’t heard him return, but surely he hadn’t said what I thought. The rich, hot, single dad falling head over heels for the nanny, at first sight, was something that only happened in romance novels, not real life. Even if it did, it certainly wouldn’t happen to me. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and stepped away from Sophia, who was staring at both of us, her gaze swiveling back and forth while she had a big grin on her face as she took in the determined look on his.

“I’m sorry to say I need to cut our meeting short. I have business matters which need my attention, and my mother is waiting for Sophia to join her upstairs before I leave.”

Sophia scrambled from her chair and flung herself at Nic’s legs, giving him a quick hug. “Bye, Daddy.”

He bent down and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Bye, my preziosa. I won’t be too long.”

“Okay,” she answered happily. She pulled away from him and before I knew it, she was hurtling towards me. Her skinny arms wrapped around my waist as she pressed her cheek against me in a quick hug. “Bye, Anna. It was nice meeting you.”

“It was nice to meet you, too, sweetie.”

She was gone in a flash, racing away, presumably to the elevator she’d told me about earlier.

“That went well,” Nic murmured, twining my hand in his once again.

“It did,” I agreed as he led me down the hallway and to the door. My gaze landed on the wall where he’d kissed me and I almost missed what he was saying as I remembered the feel of his lips on mine.

“I’ve reviewed your background check and references from the agency, as you instructed me to do,” he said wryly. “Judging from the hug she just gave you, you have Sophia’s stamp of approval, too. There’s nothing stopping you from moving in this weekend. Will Saturday morning work for you?”

“What about our kiss?” It certainly seemed like something which might stop me from moving in. Didn’t it?

He glanced at the black and silver Rolex watch strapped to his wrist. “Any conversation about the kiss will have to wait because I can’t be late to this meeting. I can send a car and men to help you with your possessions. Saturday morning at nine o’clock?”

“A car?”

“Yes, Gianna. A car,” he repeated. “In fact, use mine now to go home so my driver will know where to pick you up, and I’ll have an associate of mine fetch me on his way to our meeting.”

Before I knew what was happening, I’d been bundled into the back seat of a gleaming, black town car. When the driver pulled up in front of my parent’s house, I realized I hadn’t even given him the address. He already knew how to find the house. Which meant there really hadn’t been any need for him to drive me home, and Nic had darn well known it. Sneaky man.