Cassie leaned around the open rear door and stared in to the back seat. The new toddler-size car seat had been strapped into the center. She turned to Sasha. “It’s very nice and grown-up. Are you excited?”
Sasha nodded. “Unk Ryan buy for me.”
“I know. He cares about you very much and he wants to keep you safe. Isn’t that nice?”
Sasha grinned. “Go now.”
“We’ve received our instructions,” she told her boss. “Guess we should listen.”
“Absolutely.” He circled around to the other side of the car. “As this is the first time we’re using this particular car seat, I’m guessing it’s going to take both of us to get it right.” He patted his back pocket. “I have the instruction diagram right here.”
She motioned for Sasha to climb into the car. “Wow. A guy willing to read the instructions. I’m impressed.”
Ryan didn’t return her smile. “This is about keeping Sasha safe. I wouldn’t play around with that.”
Why did he keep doing that? she wondered. Saying and doing exactly the right thing. He made it very difficult for her to remember her place and keep her perspective. If only he would go back to being the silent man who didn’t want anything to do with his niece. Then she would have a chance of getting over her thing for her boss.
Cassie sighed. Even though it meant the potential for more heartbreak for her, she couldn’t in all sincerity really wish that Ryan changed back into the man he’d been when he first arrived. She wanted what was best for Sasha, and this new and improved uncle was definitely what the toddler needed.
Sasha crawled into the car seat and got comfortable. Cassie leaned from her side, while Ryan did the same from his. They reached for buckles and straps, occasionally bumping. At one point their hands got tangled together. Sasha thought it was all a great joke and laughed at them. Cassie smiled with her and tried to ignore the tingling that shot up her arm. She was careful to keep her expression pleasantly neutral. Despite her growing feelings for Ryan, she hadn’t forgotten the trapped look in his eyes when she’d told him she’d broken up with Joel in order to find what she really wanted. The last thing the poor man needed to know was that his worst fears had come true—that his unsophisticated, much-younger nanny had the hots for him.
Cassie gave the car seat straps one last tug. “Looks great,” she said and closed the passenger-side rear door. Before she slid into the front seat, she took a couple of deep breaths. If nothing else, she’d been blessed with the ability to see the truth in any situation. Ryan wasn’t interested in her. Therefore she didn’t want to make him uncomfortable by swooning or anything else that obvious. That gave her the determination she needed to be calm and pretend disinterest. She was able to slide into her seat and not even flinch when his arm brushed against hers.
Her resolve was strengthened by the humorous image of herself in a dead faint in Ryan’s arms, while he ran around the mall begging people to help him make her not be in love with him. No, he wasn’t for her, she thought, even though in her heart of hearts, she wanted him to be. But there was a man out there. Someone warm and caring, someone who would make her heart beat just as fast. Someone who would appreciate her good qualities. Someone who would love her back. As soon as she finished working for Ryan, she was going to go out and find her mystery man.
“What are you thinking?” Ryan asked.
“Nothing important.”
“You were smiling.”
“I’m a happy person.”
She glanced at him and found him studying her. “Yes, you are,” he agreed, his green eyes bright with affection.
She wanted to believe it was more than just friendship…wanted to, but couldn’t. If only she weren’t such a dreamer.
“So what kind of shoes are we going to buy?” he asked.
“You sound as if you think we get a vote.”
He looked startled. “We don’t?”
“They’re Sasha’s shoes.”
“She’s only two.”
Cassie grinned. “You’ve never shopped with a stubborn toddler before, have you?”
Ryan groaned. “I don’t want to hear about it.”
“You don’t have to. You’re going to live it.”
Forty minutes later Sasha sat in the shoe store and shook her head. “Pink,” she said when Ryan tried to slip a yellow shoe on her foot.
He looked helplessly at Cassie. “The yellow ones are better made. They’ll last longer. The only thing she likes about the pink ones is the little kitten on the side.”
Cassie resisted the urge to say “I told you so.” She leaned back in her chair. “I think you should explain that to her.”