Veronica nodded. They stood in silence for a moment.
“How are you?” Frank asked. “You’ve seemed a little off today.”
Veronica let out a soft laugh. That was the understatement of the year.
“Yeah I’m just trying to wrap my head around all this,” Veronica said, and Frank seemed to relax a little.
“Oh,” he said, looking around at their surroundings. “Yeah, I know it’s lot to have to get used to, but don’t worry, you’ll adjust to it.”
“I’m not talking about the house,” Veronica said, all her emotions coming to the surface. “And I’m not talking about the job.”
Frank frowned a little, pressing his lips together.
“Then what are you talking about?” he asked, his brows knitting together.
Veronica scoffed and rolled her eyes, irritation and stress coming to the forefront of her emotional struggle.
“What am I talking about?” she returned. “Oh I don’t know, the fact that I’m sleeping around with my boss and I have a boyfriend!”
Frank’s scowl dissipated into a look of concern. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but Veronica held up her hand to stop him.
“Look, I get it,” Veronica said. “I know I’m grown and I can make my own decisions, but I really think you are a major contributor to this as well.”
Veronica finished with a huff, and spun around, unable to look at him. She felt tears gathering in her eyes and she swiped at them with her hand.
“Veronica, I’m sorry,” Frank said from behind her, and she was more than a little shocked to hear him apologize. Slowly, she turned back to face him.
“I know what we did was inappropriate,” he said, his voice soft. “Not only was it inappropriate, it was premature, as we’ve only even known each other for a couple of days.”
Veronica said nothing, and merely looked back at him, sensing that he was nowhere near done saying what was on his mind.
“When I first met you in that interview, I knew you were the person I wanted to be responsible for taking care of my daughters when I am not around,” Frank started off. “You seemed so cool and collected, and experienced, and I knew that two little girls would be nothing for you to handle. After talking with you for a little while, there was little doubt in my mind that you were the one for the job.”
Veronica took in all that he said. She was flattered with all that, but she knew this was just a lead in for whatever else he was going to say.
“And even then,” Frank said. “I… I felt something else, too.”
Veronica’s eyes widened a little.
“It was like this… electric connection,” Frank said. “I was instantly attracted to you, just from the way you look. And then when you talked I was just drawn in even more. I knew there was something there, and I couldn’t help but want to explore it.”
Veronica knew very well what he was talking about. She had experienced all these things when they first met as well. Unfortunately, none of that excused the way she had conducted herself with him.
“Honestly, I should have just taken you out for coffee instead of offering you a job,” Frank said. “I should have known that having you living here would be too much for me to ignore. By the way, I didn’t just make all that up about you living here. All the nannies I’ve ever hired have lived here under my roof.”
Veronica was actually a little relieved to hear that. She had actually been wondering if he had not just made up that situation for her in particular.
“But when I saw you here, taking care of my girls,” Frank shook his head. “I really felt something. And every time I looked up at you, you were looking back at me and… I don’t know. I just felt alive.”
Veronica couldn’t help but feel her stomach flutter at those words, and she felt her expression soften. Frank must have seen it as well, because he began to move closer to her. He raised his hands to brush his fingertips along her cheeks. Her breath caught a little as he brushed his thumb along her bottom lip.
“I shouldn’t have gotten so carried away,” he said, his voice growing lower and more husky. “I’m sorry.”
Veronica let out a shaking breath. Her heart pounded, and she didn’t quite know how to react to all this. She could certainly not deny, though, the throbbing ache that had wound its way between her legs.
Veronica said nothing, but she softly kissed the pad of Franks thumb as it hovered near her mouth. Franks’ eyes darkened as she did so, and he pressed his thumb against her lips. Almost instinctively, Veronica opened her mouth further and took it into her mouth, lightly sucking on it.