“That’s very nice.”
He shrugged and wouldn’t look at her. “But that means the nanny job could be yours permanently…if you want it.”
Her breath caught. It was only her second day of work, but she already liked it here. She had the run of the house when he was away, and if he worked he’d be away all day. And she had two adorable babies to play with to fill the aching hole in her heart that she didn’t even realize she had until she held them.
And Chance himself was kinda nice. Easy to talk to. For years, she hadn’t spoken with anyone beyond therapists and nurses and her parents—and Jason, who didn’t reply.
The only problem was her attraction—but surely she could keep that under control. After all, she had a fiancé. A fiancé she’d visit twice a week, now that Chance had agreed to two days off.
She licked her lips. “It would mean I’d have to take my days off on Saturdays or Sundays.”
He caught her gaze. “Or I could work something out with my mom.”
“You don’t have to accommodate me.”
“I like you.”
Her heart stumbled in her chest. With their gazes locked and the sounds of chirping birds in the backyard, she felt a million things at once, but the biggest one was happiness. She told herself that was because she liked this job, but staring into his blue eyes, she knew that wasn’t entirely true. She liked him. He was interesting and funny and appreciative of her help. He made her feel needed, useful. And pretty. He didn’t even have to say the words. She could see it in the way he looked at her.
“And I want to keep you as a nanny.”
“Of course.” Idiot. Did she think he liked her romantically after thirty-six hours? And what was she doing spinning fantasies? Hadn’t she said she could handle this attraction? Yes. She had. Because she could. Because being attracted to him was wrong. And she wasn’t stupid. “But I want to be fair too.”
He rose from his seat. “Why don’t we just give it a trial run and see how it goes? See if Saturdays and Sundays are good days off for you or see if we need to make other arrangements.”
He smiled at her, and that thing in her heart tripped again. This time it made her blood rush through her veins and her head feel light.
“Don’t forget my mom has a whole staff we can call upon for help when you need time off.”
So confused she couldn’t speak, she nodded.
“But right now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to get out of these clothes and maybe take a short walk around the grounds before the kids get up from their naps.”
“That’d be great. I mean—fine. It’s my job to be here.”
He laughed and left the room, but Tory collapsed on the sofa. What the hell was wrong with her? Yes, he was good-looking. But he was out of her league. And her boss! He didn’t like her and even if he did, she couldn’t like him. She was committed to Jason.
* * *
The little slip about liking her had been the result of testosterone bubbling around again, so Chance had decided to leave the house to cool off. But he hadn’t gotten three feet into the woods before his head cleared, he began thinking logically again and he stopped dead in his tracks.
She had a secret.
That’s why she’d stumbled over her explanation for wanting days off. That’s why she wouldn’t exactly say where she would be going on those days. There was something about her life she didn’t want to tell him.
Not that she couldn’t keep her personal life private, but…
His life had been built on secrets and lies. After his dad and Liliah, he really needed honesty from the people in his life. Max had won back a lot of Chance’s trust that morning with simple language and truth rather than doublespeak, but now his otherwise perfect nanny was holding something back.
Still, that might actually be good, depending on her secret. She had a right to a private life and her secret probably pertained to something that wasn’t connected to him or the twins. But, more important, being as picky as he was about trust, finding out she was hiding something totally turned him off. So he didn’t have to worry about his runaway feelings for her anymore. They were gone.
That was the good part.
The bad part was the secret itself. Did he really want to leave his kids with someone who was keeping something from him?
With that in mind, he cut his walk short. He heard the kids fussing as he entered, and immediately went back to the nursery to find Tory changing Cindy while Sam cried in his crib. He changed Sam’s diaper and he and Tory played with the twins a bit before she walked to the mansion to have her supper.