Chapter Thirteen
Noah
The next morning, I woke up feeling the crisp sheets next to me. I rolled over and inhaled. Jess’s scent still lingered on the pillow from last night. A rush of the events leading up to and during our sexual encounter flooded my mind. God, she was fucking incredible. And a fantastic lover as well. More than I could have hoped. I had no idea that after the terrible date I had with Kimberly that I was going to come home to that. Even though I was the one to initiate our little encounter, she was ready and willing to oblige.
Though I could have done better with the awkwardness afterward. She clearly regretted being with me the moment after we came together. It hurt my pride that she felt that way. I wanted her to stay the night and wake up to her in the morning.
But she had been right. If Gina saw her in the morning, there would be a lot of questions. Coming from a three-year-old with hundreds of questions a day, there would be even more explaining to do. I had a strong feeling that Jess enjoyed our little nightcap and I wondered if it would be smart ever to do it again. I hadn’t thought practically the night before, and neither had she. But breaking the barrier between us, for some reason, made me like her even more. I wasn’t looking to have just a sexual relationship with my nanny. Jess was the one I wanted to go on dates with and come home with afterward, doing what we did over and over again. I rubbed the heels of my hands into my eyes. How had everything become so complicated in one night? We’d have to talk about it sometime. I didn’t want Jess ever to leave us, and I would do anything to keep her.
I debated calling her, but I didn’t know the etiquette in this situation. I supposed it would have been easier if she was a one night stand, but I would see her in the morning regardless. Maybe I could think of something by then.
“Why are you whistling, Daddy?” Gina asked as she came into the kitchen an hour later. I’d pulled out the ancient waffle maker earlier and finished up with my third one before she came downstairs for breakfast. I could have bought a new one, but this one was my grandmother’s, and it still worked well, creating the perfect tasting Belgian waffle every single time. For some reason, I felt nostalgic that morning, or I was incredibly hungry from the insane lovemaking last night. Either way, one or two waffles would hit the spot.
“I didn’t know I was whistling,” I said, telling the truth. Since waking up, I had an extra pep in my step. And the two cups of coffee helped keep me going that morning.
“You were,” she said. “Loudly.”
I chuckled and pressed a kiss to her head. She hugged my leg and stayed there for only a moment before going to the table. I reached into the refrigerator for milk for her.
“Did you have fun last night?” she asked.
I stiffened and then I realized she meant on my date with Kimberly.
“It was all right,” I said, holding back the urge to cringe in front of her. Gina would undoubtedly tell Jess about my reaction to the date and Kimberly was Jess’s friend. Though Jess hadn’t been loyal to her friend last night.
“You are going out again?” she asked.
I cleared my throat. “I’m not sure.”
Gina frowned. “That’s sad. But I think you will find someone, Daddy. Does Jess have another friend?”
This kid was too smart for her age. I picked up the plate of cooling waffles and brought them over to the table. Food always distracted Gina and this time was no different. She dug her fork into one of the waffles, and I helped her get it onto her plate.
“What did you do with Jess last night?” I asked, not wanting to talk about my part of the evening.
“We watched that doggie movie. And then we played dress up and had a tea party!” She nibbled on a bite of her breakfast.
“You had tea before bed?” Gina was potty-trained but having a lot of any drink before bed was usually a sign of wet sheets.
“It was pretend tea, Daddy,” she said. Her tone had a hint of a teenage attitude clipped onto it.
She had no idea how much trouble she was going to cause me when she was older. I reached over and tickled her side. She laughed. And I held onto that sound. I would refer to it when she was going on dates with boys.
I shivered and started eating my food. “Uncle Brandon is back.”
“Can we see him?” Gina asked, bouncing in her chair.
“Sure,” I said. “I’ll give him a call this morning. I’m sure he has something special for you from his vacation.”
“Present! Present!” she chanted.
I smirked. “Only if you finish your breakfast first.”
That was all the motivation she needed.
Thankfully, the weather cooperated that afternoon. At the park, I was able to shed my jacket with the warmer temperature. I tossed the jacket on the bench on the outskirts of the playground. Gina took off for the slide, her favorite thing to do there. She could slide for an entire day if it were up to her. I stayed back, keeping a good eye on her without encroaching on her fun.
I scanned the area, looking for Brandon. He had a tendency to arrive at places whenever he felt like it. Something that annoyed the hell out of Amelia and myself.
I’d stopped looking for him after five minutes and sat on one of the benches watching Gina. Gina had played for almost a half-hour before Brandon arrived.
“Sorry I’m late,” Brandon said, yawning.
“Did you just wake up?” I asked. It was after one o’clock.
“I’m on a different time zone,” he said.
His whole life was on a different time zone. I shook hands with him. In his other hand was a small bag, undoubtedly a present for Gina. She was far too busy with sliding to see that her honorary uncle had shown up.
I didn’t interrupt her. I needed to talk to someone about Jess. Even though I was sure Brandon would see this as a step forward in getting me together with someone.
“So, last night,” I started.
“Oh, that’s right,” he said, chucking me in the arm. “You had a date. How did it go?”
A slow smile spread across my mouth.
“Dude, you got laid!” Brandon said, loud enough for the surrounding parents to hear. Since there were mostly moms and nannies, I got a lot of dirty looks.
“Keep it down, man,” I said.
“Was she super flexible?” Brandon asked.
“Who, Jess?”
“You went out with a girl named Jess?” Brandon asked, confused.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “I went out with Jess’s friend, Kimberly. The date didn’t go well. So, when I came home, Jess was there, and we had some wine, and one thing led to another…”
“Wait,” he said, crossing his arms. “Kimberly was the yoga teacher?”
“Yes.”
“And you didn’t sleep with her?”
“No, I slept with Jess.” Why wasn’t he catching on? Maybe he’d been the wrong person to talk about this with.
“What happened on the date?” Brandon asked.
I sighed. “She was only into the fact that I have money. And she flirted with every other guy we came in contact with.”
“Did she want to sleep with you?” he asked.
I recalled her attempt to feel me up in the car. “I’m pretty sure she did.”
“And she was attractive?”
“Yeah,” I said, unsure of where he was going with this line of questioning.
“So, instead, you denied an easy lay and went home and slept with your nanny?”
“That’s not how it went,” I said, cutting a glance toward Gina. She was far enough away from me not to hear the conversation. But that didn’t stop me from lowering my voice.
“Then how did it go?” Brandon asked.
“Like I was saying, we shared a bottle of wine. We got to talking. She’s sweet and funny. And incredibly sexy. And it just happened.”
Brandon didn’t say anything at first.
I rolled my shoulders, feeling the tension in my muscles. “What?”
“That sounds like a bad choice on your part.”
His reaction surprised me. “What are you talking about? You’re always trying to fix me up.”
“Not with your employees.”
“She’s not—I mean, technically she works for me, but it’s not like I’m sleeping with one of my real employees.”
“Do you pay her every week?”
I had nothing to say to that.
“She’s your employee,” he said with finality. “And mixing your lives together is only going to make things complicated.”
“That’s what she said last night after we…you know,” I told him.
“She’s smart, then,” he said. “You? Not so much.”
I knew he was kidding, but my good mood was shattered completely at that moment. Now I worried that Jess would leave us because of what we’d done. Granted, the both of us were to blame, but I had been the one to initiate it.
“It won’t happen again,” I said, shoving my hands into my pockets.
Brandon clapped a hand on my back. “We all make mistakes. At the very least, she got you on a date. Now, Amelia has this friend—”
“No,” I said. “I’m not going on any more dates.” I saw how my first one ended and I didn’t want to be tempted with a repeat.
“Don’t quit after one bad date,” Brandon said. “You know how many chicks I went out with before I met Amelia?”
“We were young then,” I said.
“Don’t age us, man. We’re still in our prime.”
Considering I went to bed early every night and worked my ass off, I didn’t feel like I was in my prime.
“Uncle Brandon!” Gina said, running in our direction.
“There’s my favorite niece,” Brandon said, pulling her into a hug.
“Here I am!”
He spun her around, and she giggled, the same way she did with Jess. I frowned. If Jess left us, it would have devastating consequences.
That night, when putting Gina to bed, she wiggled around under her sheets like a worm.
“How did the playground not rid you of all this energy?” I asked.
“Jess is coming tomorrow,” she said with a big grin.
I laughed. “Jess is coming tomorrow. You just saw her yesterday.”
“But tomorrow we’re starting a quilt!”
“A quilt?”
Gina nodded and then let out a big yawn. Even if her little body was going a mile and minute, her head had the right idea. She needed to sleep. She’d yawned all through dinner and somehow managed to get this little burst of energy going before bedtime.
“Jess and her mom used to make quilts together.”
“That sounds like fun.”
“We’re going to get some fabric tomorrow.”
“I can’t wait to see it when it’s done.”
“That won’t be for a while, but maybe sometimes you can sleep with it.”
“That’s so nice of you,” I said and kissed her forehead.
She reached up and turned my head so she could kiss my cheek. “Thank you for picking Jess as my nanny.”
“You’re welcome,” I said.
Gina turned around and spread out, lying on her stomach. I covered her with the duvet. I liked that Gina had Jess in her life. Already I saw a difference in my daughter with Jess’s influence. I would do anything to keep Jess around for Gina. And I didn’t much mind having her in my life too.