“I’m surprised you didn’t know about swings.”
He gaped at her. “Who was I going to ask? I’ve only been talking to my mom again for a week and when she found out I had kids she just wanted me to come home.”
“And she’d hired you a nanny.”
“And she’d hired a nanny.”
“So maybe your mom’s a lot smarter than you give her credit for?”
He laughed.
She smiled.
And the room got quiet. The only sound was the music coming from the boxes and the creak of the kids’ swings. The happiness and relief Chance had been feeling suddenly disappeared and were replaced by tightness and anticipation. He liked her.
He struggled with a sigh. Of course he liked her! She was helping him with his kids. And she was beautiful and he hadn’t been around a woman “that way” since Liliah—which, counting her pregnancy was fifteen months ago. Fifteen months without a date? Sheesh. Liliah had really done a number on him.
But because she had, he wasn’t interested in a relationship. If he was going to have a woman in his life, it would strictly be for fun. No more potential heartaches. No more bitter fights. Just…fun. And a smart man didn’t get involved with his nanny just for fun.
Especially not when he desperately needed her.
He moved his gaze away from hers and pointed at the swing. “So they’re good for what? Twenty minutes in this thing?”
“They can actually stay in longer. I’ve heard of moms letting their kids nap in there.”
“It’s like a miracle.”
“Well, spending hours in a swing can’t be good for a baby’s back. But once they’re out of the swing—” She bent and grabbed some plastic toys. “You put them in the play yard with a few of these and see what happens. Lots of times babies will entertain themselves if you let them.”
He took a breath, said the word that had been choking in his chest all afternoon. “Thanks.”
She glanced up at him with a smile. “You’re welcome.”
But her smile quickly faded. So did his. Those male feelings swept over him again. She was so pretty. And the babies were so quiet, he felt like himself again. A man. Not just a daddy. She was attracted to him. He knew she was attracted to him. Her face told the story. It would be perfectly natural to start flirting right now…
He stopped his thoughts. Stepped back.
He’d already thought all this out. He didn’t want a relationship. He absolutely wasn’t going let another woman get close enough to hurt him—or the twins. And if he had no intention of getting close, then the only thing flirting would lead to was a fling.
That was just wrong.
He rubbed his hand along the back of his neck. “Your supper never did come down from the main house.”
She took a pace back too. “I know.” She cleared her throat. “Think you’ll be okay while I go up and check on that?”
He nodded. “Yeah. We’re good. In fact, if you want to stay up there and eat, you go ahead.”
“Okay.” She pivoted and all but ran to the front door.
He scrubbed his hand down his face. If he really wanted to keep himself in line around the nanny, he didn’t need to formulate a plan for the place of women in his life. All he had to do was remember how badly his last relationship had turned out. The pain of realizing he’d been used. The pain of discovering Liliah wanted nothing to do with his babies. She had been a boatload of trouble and drama.
He frowned. Liliah had been a boatload of drama and trouble. And that was probably why Tory was so attractive to him. She was Liliah’s polar opposite. Nice, sweet and kind to his babies, Tory didn’t bring an ounce of drama to his life.
But, after Liliah, even if Tory were his soul mate, a relationship wasn’t worth risking his trouble-free, drama-free household. And being involved with the nanny would certainly bring drama.
He’d had his share of drama with Liliah.
He didn’t want any more. No matter what form it took.
* * *
The next morning, Tory carried both babies into the kitchen. She slid them into their highchairs and began mixing cereal. “So, I take it everybody slept well.”
Cindy giggled and Sam yelped.
“Hey, hey, Sammy! I get it. You’re hungry. And I’m hurrying. But there’s only one of me. So you have to be patient.”
She took the two bowls of cereal to the table, pulled out a chair and arranged it between both highchairs. “Okay. It’s just us now. So everybody has to be on best behavior.”