CHAPTER SEVEN
Nora
THE PANCAKE BATTER sizzles in the hot butter as I shape it into a butterfly. It’s a little wonky but it’s as good as a butterfly pancake is going to look for someone who learned how to make them an hour ago. My excitement to start my first day as Colby’s nanny overtook my need to sleep in. At five a.m. my eyes flung open and wouldn’t close, so I climbed out of bed and decided to make Hank and Colby breakfast. I spent a good thirty minutes on Pinterest looking up the perfect pancake recipe, as well as a recipe for monster fruit shakes. It’s not part of my job to cook for Hank and Colby, but I wanted to do something to say thank you for all their help with moving me in and giving me this job.
Colby was a good a little helper, unwrapping pictures, and helping organize my sewing supplies. Hank would pop his head in to make sure Colby wasn’t in my way. I think it was more of him not knowing what to do with himself with Colby distracted with me. If I was him, and was the main entertainment of my daughter, I would feel a little lonely too. He got his daddy-daughter time back when it came time to put Colby to bed. I could hear him reading her a bedtime story through my wall. It made my heart go all warm and fuzzy when he did all the voices for all the characters. His Arial interpretation could use a little work, but his Sebastian the crab was dead on.
I turn around to flip the pancake onto Colby’s plate. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a little face peeking around the corner. “I see you little Miss Colby,” I say with a grin.
Colby lets out a sneaky giggle as she steps further into view. “Good morning, Miss Nora.” She greets me with a smile as she climbs up to her chair at the kitchen island.
“Good morning Colby, are you ready for some butterfly pancakes, fruit flowers, and monster juice?” I ask, sliding her plate across the island. Her eyes light up when she gets a glimpse of her plate.
“I love pancakes, thank you Miss Nora,” she says politely. She starts to reach for a piece of watermelon with her fingers when Hank comes walking into the kitchen.
“Use your fork, Colby,” he instructs. Hank walks up behind Colby and gives her a kiss on the top of her head and hands her the fork sitting next to her plate. He looks over in my direction and gives me a warm smile. “Good morning, Nora.” His deep, soothing voice sends a calming warmth through my body. I’d want him to read me bedtime stories, too, with a voice like that. I’d rather he whisper dirty things in my ear.
“Wook Daddy, Miss Nora made me butterfly pancakes.”
“They look delicious,” he replies. Speaking of things that look delicious, Hank is looking positively yummy in his black suit and crisp white shirt. The dark fabric hugs his muscles perfectly. His thin black tie brings visions of me tied to his bed dancing in my head. A cold shower will definitely be in order today.
“I made you some too. Sit and enjoy breakfast with Colby,” I order, sliding him a plate of pancakes.
“Thank you. You didn’t have to do this.” He looks down at his plate, licking his lips in anticipation as I pour a drizzle of syrup over the warm cakes.
“I wanted to do something to say thank you for helping me get settled in yesterday.”
“So, what do you girls have planned for today?” he asks, taking a bite of his pancakes.
“First, we are going to head to the beach for the morning, then later this afternoon my sister is teaching a class down at the ballet academy I thought Colby would have fun trying,” I reply.
“What time is the class, I might be able to sneak out of work to come watch,” he says before taking another bite of his breakfast.
A drop of syrup trickles down his chin. I instinctively reach out and wipe it off with my thumb. A shockwave of electricity rocks through my body. He must have felt it too because the next sound that comes out of his mouth is a soft moan. I quickly pull my hand away, wiping the syrup on the towel sitting on the counter in front of me. “You’re making a mess.” I grab the towel then step around the island. “Wouldn’t want you to get syrup on your suit.” I grin, tucking the towel into the collar of his shirt. His eyes lock on to mine. Breath deepening as he breathes me in. The heat radiates between us. I nervously pull my lower lip between my teeth. My fingers lingering along the exposed skin of his neck. Intensity in his eyes darkens. It feels like, at any moment, he could throw me over his shoulder, carry me up to his bed, and devour every part of me.
“Daddy has a bib.” Colby’s giggles pull us out of our trance. My hands return to my sides, still shaking from the morsel of contact.
“Sometimes even Daddy needs a bib.” He uses the towel to wipe the rest of the syrup off his face. His attention returns to me, the darkness in his eyes softens. The beast inside him calms again.
I shyly smile and return to making more pancakes. I need the distraction because, once again, Hank has completely melted me. I don’t know how I’m going to survive living under the same roof with this man. This is only my second day here, and I’m already stepping over my own boundaries, finding ways to touch him, and having wildly inappropriate thoughts about my boss. I need to refocus. I’m here to take care of Colby and her needs, not Hank.
* * *
Colby and I make our way down to the beach. The tide is going out, making the perfect conditions for looking for sea glass and shells. Colby holds tight to my hand while holding her bucket in the other. Her little face beams with excitement to go search for fairy crystals. I explained to her that the fairies love this beach so much they leave their crystals here to bring good luck to those who find them.
The sun is shining, the sky is bright blue above us, and a cool spring breeze dances off the water. We walk a little way down the shore, past the rockier terrain to the soft sand. I lay out our towels and dig out the shovels from my beach bag.
“Let’s go find us some fairy crystals,” I exclaim. Colby lets out a little cheer as she takes my hand while we walk down to the water’s edge.
Two hours and one bucket full of shells and sea glass later, I kneel next to Colby, holding her second bucket while she digs through the rocks and sand looking for more. This girl is on a mission to clean this beach out. I must feel a little like my dad did when he would do this very activity with me. It’s been fun sharing this with Colby. We’ve both had smiles on our faces the entire morning.
“Miss Nora, wook I found a blue one.” She holds the shard of dark blue glass for me to see.
“Lucky girl, you found the rarest of all fairy crystals. Legend has it that if you make a wish with a blue crystal, your wish will come true.” I tell her the same story my dad told me when I found my first blue piece of sea glass.
“Really?” she asks.
I nod and place the glass in the palm of her hand and close her fingers around it. “Close your eyes and open your heart, then make your wish.”
Colby squeezes her eyes shut and holds her fist with the glass in it over her heart. A good minute goes by before her eyes open again. “I think my wish is coming true.” She grins confidently from ear to ear.
“Oh, do you now?” I ask, cocking a curious eyebrow up.
“Yep.” Is all she says before she goes back to digging.
Now I’m even more intrigued to know what she wished for. “What did you wish for?”
“I can’t tell you, otherwise it won’t come true.” She shoots me a look that reads ‘don’t stupid Nora’.
“I’m sorry, I forgot. How about we take a snack break and go get some hot cocoa and cake pops,” I suggest.
* * *
“Colby, this is my sister, Zoe. She has been nice enough to let you join her class today.”
Zoe kneels in front of Colby and holds her hand out to her. “Hello Colby, it’s very nice to meet you.”
“Hi Miss Zoe.” Colby confidently shakes Zoe’s hand.
“Colby, why don’t you go put your stuff in the cubbies and get your slippers on,” Zoe says.
She takes her bag from my hand then joins the rest of the girls on the other side of the studio.
“Oh my God, she’s so freaking adorable, and Miss Zoe. I love that.” Zoe snickers.
“She’s an amazing kid,” I say, watching Colby introducing herself to the other girls in the class.
“She looks like your mini-me. Are you sure you’re not secretly her mom? That you hid your pregnancy from us and this being her nanny is just a cover?” Zoe gives me a sideways glance.
“You’re insane.” I roll my eyes at her. Zoe has always had a very vivid imagination.
“I’m just saying, she looks like she could be your kid. Anyway, I have to tell you about this gorgeous cop I met this morning at the donut shop.” Zoe has been working mornings at a donut shop to make extra cash during the off season of the Pacific Northwest Ballet, where she is a principle dancer. A ballerina working at a donut shop, now that is something you don’t see very often. How she stays so skinny working there is beyond me. I would be stuffing my face with donuts every chance I got. Zoe, in great depth, describes the guy from the shop. My attention goes between her and Colby, making sure she is getting along with the other girls. The creak of the studio door draws my attention away and to Hank, walking through the door. He made it. Our eyes meet, and a flush rises in my cheeks when he hits me with a smile.
“Holy hot piece of man meat, who is that?”
My head snaps back to Zoe, whose mouth is on the floor. We’re not the only ones that have noticed Hank’s arrival, every mom in the place has their eyes gobbling him up. Hank doesn’t appear to notice, his focus is held on me.
“That’s Hank,” I say. Colby spots him and bolts toward him, leaping into his arms.
“Holy fuck, that’s Hank? Jesus Christ, he’s fucking hot. Now I see why you like him so much. Damn, are my clothes still on, it feels like they just exploded off my body. And my panties are done for. Hello Hank the hunk.” She is practically drooling down her leotard.
“Jesus Zoe, don’t make me take the hose to you. My mild crush is gone. Hank is just my boss.”
“You are so full of shit. I bet those panties of yours are drenched right now.” She starts to lift the skirt of my dress, but I swat her hand away.
“Stop,” I warn her. “I really like working for this family. and I don’t want to ruin it because I let my hormones get in the way.”
“It doesn’t take a genius to see there is something between you. You could cut the sexual tension with a knife. The two of you haven’t been able to take your eyes off each other since he walked in here. Let me ask you this, what if instead of working for them, you were a part of their family?” She gives me a sideways glance, then walks away to start the class, leaving me to simmer over her question.