Of course, he’d said. No problem. Kelsey’s working out fine…
She’d been in his house for eight hours a day for three days, and damned if it wasn’t getting harder with every passing hour. He told himself he kept checking up on the kids because he didn’t trust her, but he was hard-pressed to find anything she’d actually done that he could complain about. At some point, he’d have to admit that he was drawn to her by some horrible magnetic pull, and things weren’t getting any better with time.
For her part, Kelsey seemed determined to avoid him as much as possible. She kept the kids at the park most of the day, avoided his eyes, and responded to him in monosyllables. She shivered any time he touched her, even if it was nothing more than a finger brush when he handed her the keys to his car. Given how aware he was of her every moment of the day, some inner masculine pride delighted at her obvious discomfort, choosing to believe it was because she wanted him as much as he wanted her, and not that she had come to hate him for being an overbearing ass.
The sound of the doorbell startled him out of his reverie. Julia ran from the kitchen to open the door. Since that first day, Kelsey had appeared each morning wearing longish shorts and a T-shirt, nothing remotely sexual or enticing, yet somehow the fabric of her shirt always seemed to cling to the curve of her breasts, and when she wore her hair loose it was practically indecent, cascading over her shoulders in a manner that seemed to beg for his fingers to be running through it. After letting her cross the threshold, Julia jumped into Kelsey’s arms. Ross started to wave his hands to stop her, but Kelsey effortlessly lifted the girl up.
Apparently all that yoga really did build some strength.
Julia wrapped her legs around Kelsey’s waist. “Will you braid my hair this morning? And then I want to go work on my cartwheel. I know you said we couldn’t, but I’ve been practicing every night after you leave and Matt’s been watching videos on YouTube about doing handstands. Can’t we just practice a little? I promise I’ll be careful.”
Kelsey gave Julia a hug, looking oddly natural with the child in her arms. Ross had noticed that in the three days she’d been with them, she’d become much more comfortable with the kids. On the first day, he’d noticed her awkwardly return Julia’s hug good-bye and hesitantly wave at Matt and Luke from across the room. Now, she ruffled Julia’s hair as if she were one of the family, hitched the girl higher on her waist, and shot Ross a look that clearly said, “This is your problem, bucko.”
He cleared his throat. “First of all, Matt should know better than to be playing on YouTube without asking me. And second, Jules, I told you that it’s better if you wait and do that sort of thing later. With me.”
Julia set her face into a full-on pout. “But Daddy! You don’t know anything about gymnastics! Kelsey got a gold medal once in gymnastics. She’s way better at it than you are. You didn’t even know that you’re supposed to tuck your head when you do a somersault.”
Ross gritted his teeth. Of course he didn’t know how to do a somersault. He’d been a football player, not a gymnast. But the kids had been nagging him incessantly to let them practice the moves Kelsey had shown them on her first day, and last night, he’d given in to their demands. Trying to act confident, he’d launched himself into a somersault and then been roundly scolded by his daughter when he hurt his neck.
He ignored Julia’s taunt. “A gold medal?” he said to Kelsey. “How, um…how did you get that?”
“I competed during high school,” she said, gaze landing somewhere beyond his left shoulder.
He didn’t know what to say in response. “Oh. Of course.”
“See, Daddy? See?” Julia shot him a quick, triumphant look before homing back in like a laser on Kelsey. “So this morning you can braid my hair, and then maybe we can go to the park and practice.”
Kelsey carefully peeled the girl off her torso and set her back on the floor. “It’s up to your dad, Julia.”
He scowled, feeling like an idiot. “Fine. Just be careful, okay? No flips or anything.”
Julia clapped her hands. “Yay! Let’s go right now!”
“Hang on,” Kelsey said. “Let’s see what your brothers want to do this morning. I brought my bike. I thought maybe we could all bike to the park together.” She glanced over at Ross and then added, with a deliberate note of deference, “If that’s okay with you, of course. I promise we will wear helmets and not go too fast.”
Julia’s eyebrows knitted together. “You want all of us to go for a bike ride? Even the boys?”