“James tells me you’re great,” I say to her. “Lots of experience?”
“Of course,” she says. “I worked as a nanny for a couple over in Germany for two years.”
“Germany?” I ask her. “That’s interesting, why were you there?”
“School,” she replies. “I went to this little liberal arts school in Germany for college. I became a nanny to help support myself.”
“That’s good,” I say. “Reminds me of myself. I used to work two jobs while going to school.”
“Looks like it paid off,” she says.
I smile at her, surprised at the joke. “I did okay,” I answer.
We enter into the kitchen and Lacey looks up.
“Erin, meet Lacey,” I say.
Erin walks right over to her. “Hi, sweetie,” she says.
Lacey is friendly, one of the friendliest kids I know. The two of them quickly hit it off. Erin cleans her up and clears her little tray before lifting her out of the chair. I watch for a second then become intensely aware that I haven’t showered yet.
“You look like you’re going to be okay, right?” I say.
“Of course,” she answers, smiling. “Lacey, want me to read to you?”
“Book!” Lacey says.
I grin as Lacey leads Erin over to her little stack of toys.
“I’m going to shower and get dressed. I’ll see you before I leave.”
“Okay,” Erin says, and then she sits down with Lacey and starts to read Lacey’s favorite book.
I shake my head and head back into my bedroom. I had no clue Erin was going to be so fucking hot. I might not have hired her if I knew. Truth is, I don’t have the best track record at keeping my hands off of attractive women, and I shouldn’t get involved with my kid’s nanny. That’s so fucking cliché it hurts. But I really need the help, and Erin seems great.
I push any lingering reservations out of my head and hop into the shower. I’m happy Erin is here and I’m happy she’s clearly getting along with Lacey. I’m not going to screw this up like I’ve screwed up so many relationships before.
This time, I’m going to be good. I’m not going to do all the dirty fucking things I keep thinking about, no matter how much I want it.
Right now, it’s all about Lacey and the merger. Nothing else matters. I can’t afford to get distracted by the sexy nanny I just hired.
It’s time to focus up and get the job done.
2
Erin
Lacey McGrath is one of the cutest kids I’ve ever met.
Although I don’t have a huge pool of kids to choose from, to be honest. I’ve met maybe four kids her age in my life, although Lacey is by far the sweetest and the cutest. She’s so easy to get along with, although she does get fussy around naptime. Fortunately, Griffin calls around ten in the morning and gives me a nice rundown of what to expect with her.
I was startled when I first saw him. I don’t know what I expected. Based on everything my father told me about him, I expected some slimy asshole with bad skin and a lisp. Instead, Griffin doesn’t seem like any of that.
In fact, he’s probably the most handsome man I’ve ever met.
He doesn’t seem like an asshole, either. He actually seems like a good guy. He’s a single dad, although I don’t know much about how he became one. I mean, I know how the birds and the bees work, although I am a virgin. I just don’t know where the mother is, and I don’t know how I’m supposed to find that out.
I’m supposed to, though. That’s on the list of things I need to learn about Griffin McGrath.
I was so afraid when I first walked in that door. I don’t think I’ve ever been so nervous in my entire life. When he started to stare at me, I thought the whole thing was done. I thought he was going to recognize me and know instantly who I am, but he didn’t. In fact, the more I think about that moment, the more I realize that he was probably checking me out.
I shouldn’t be surprised that he didn’t recognize me. He’s paying me in cash, which helps. That’s part of the plan, after all. Part of me hoped he’d know me, though, so that I wouldn’t have to go through with this. Doing this is basically the last thing I want to do in this world, but I don’t have any other choice.
It worked out though. I’ve been living in Europe for the last ten years, from high school up through college, and there aren’t many pictures of me floating around. I’m sure Griffin has seen my photo at least once or twice, when I was probably like fifteen. I’ve grown and changed a lot since I was fifteen. My father said he wouldn’t recognize me, and my father was right.