“Different?”
“I never told him about my accident.”
Cook frowned. “So? You want a fresh start.” She patted Tory’s hand. “No one can blame you for wanting to forget that.”
“I don’t think that’s why I’m doing it. I think I’m doing it because I like Chance.”
“Like? Or like?”
“Actually, like might be the wrong word. I think I’m just attracted to him.”
“That’s still an ouch.”
“I thought he was a real grouch at first. But he’s not. He’s just somebody who had too much stuff happen in his life. And I think he’s just now catching up.”
Cook glanced meaningfully at Tory’s always-covered left leg. “Like you?”
She shrugged. She hadn’t realized it until just this moment but her accident and Chance’s babies had thrown both of their lives into a tizzy. And she was catching up every bit as he was catching up. No wonder she felt attracted to him. They were kindred spirits.
When she didn’t answer, Cook sighed. “Okay. Here’s the deal. You wouldn’t be the first nanny to fall for the daddy of the kids she watches. It’s almost a pitfall of the job.”
Tory laughed.
“But he’s not the guy for you. He’s older than you are.” She motioned around the restaurant-size, stainless steel kitchen. “He was raised in a totally different environment. So what you’re feeling is probably nothing more than a good old heaping helping of physical attraction to a very good-looking guy.”
Tory breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s what I keep telling myself.”
“Because you’re right.”
“So what do I do?”
“Find a way to diffuse it. A way to highlight the fact that he’s your boss.”
Tory shook her head. “I’m not sure I follow.”
“You have to do something that constantly points out that your relationship needs to stay professional.”
“Caring for his babies isn’t enough?”
“Caring for his babies seems to be part of what makes you like him. So you have to give yourself a distraction so that your job seems more like a job than a family. Like set yourself up as his teacher. You said he doesn’t know a lot about kids and you’ve already been showing him things. So put it in your head that that’s part of your job and instead of noticing he’s good-looking, start using your brain to figure ways you can help him be a better dad.”
Tory inclined her head. “That might work.”
“It will work. All you have to do is stop seeing him as a handsome daddy you’re helping and start seeing him as an ill-prepared daddy you have to teach to handle his kids. I guarantee you, it will work.”
That night Tory sucked in a breath when Chance arrived home and instead of saying, “Hi,” she said, “The kids were particularly good today.”
He shrugged out of his suit jacket. “Yeah?”
“I think as a reward for them maybe you should feed them dinner.”
“Myself?”
“I feed them myself all the time. You can do it.”
“Should I get out of this shirt?”
“I would if I were you.”
He went to his bedroom and came out in a T-shirt and jeans. A T-shirt and jeans that made him look a lot younger and a lot sexier than a thirtysomething daddy should look.
Remembering Cook’s plan, she forced herself to think of herself as his teacher. She set everything up for him to feed the twins, then stood off to the side, behind him, leaning against the stainless steel stove as he fed the babies.
“I’ve done this before.” He glanced back at her. “I was alone with them for two whole weeks. It’s not like I need lessons.”
She winced. Leave it to him to figure out what she was doing. “I know, but the kids like your time and attention. With you feeding and me watching they get both of us, but you especially.”
As if to confirm that, Cindy giggled.
They spent the rest of the evening with her looking over his shoulder, occasionally offering advice on what he was doing with whichever baby he had, and just as Cook had predicted, she began to feel better. Like a teacher. Still needed by the Montgomerys, but not so close. One step removed from all processes.
She woke with the twins at two and quickly quieted them so they didn’t wake Chance. When they cried at six the next morning, both she and Chance sped to the nursery. But she shooed him out, telling him to go shower and dress for work.