“My fiancé was the driver of the motorcycle I was riding when I was injured.”
That stopped his angry mental tirade. Nothing he said or did with this woman ever turned out the way he thought it should. Everything surprised him. It was no wonder he always said and did the wrong things.
So this time he said nothing.
“He was supposed to give me the ring the night of the accident, but…well, we had the accident. He didn’t fare as well as I did.” She paced away and straightened the covers in Sam’s crib, as if she needed something to do while she spoke. “He…um…well, he was really badly hurt. He lapsed into a coma and never came out. His parents found the ring and the proposal he’d written. It was on a piece of paper that was so worn—” Her voice caught. “That we knew he’d practiced it a million times. He might not have ever gotten to say it, but we knew he meant every word. So I keep the ring—” she dropped the chain back down her T-shirt “—here.”
He couldn’t think of anything to say. Every time he thought he had a handle on her life, she revealed something worse. Not only did she have a fiancé, but while she was trying to have a night out, probably desperately in need of a little fun, her boss had made a move on her.
“That’s where you want to go on Saturdays and Sundays? To visit him?”
“Yes.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“I am too, you know?” She lifted Sam from the walker and finally faced him. “It’s been hard. It feels like I’ve been on my own for years. And I’m attracted to you, so you sort of overwhelmed me last night. But I’m committed to Jason. I love this job. I love your kids. I was hurt in the accident when I was twenty, so this is the first time in my adult life that I’ve felt like I was doing something with my life. But I can’t stay on as your nanny if you’re interested in me.”
“I’m not.” Yesterday that would have been a lie. Today, it was solidly the truth. He liked her too much, respected her even more now that he was hearing her whole story, to hurt her. “And I love you as my children’s nanny.” He patted his chest. “I’ve never been happier.”
“So we’re cool?”
“Yeah. We’re cool.”
He played with the kids all morning while she washed a week’s worth of rompers, tiny socks and onesies in the washer in the little room in between the kitchen and the garage. At noon, they fed the babies lunch then put them down for a nap.
Eager to continue avoiding each other, Chance made a few calls in his room. When he came out, he expected her to be gone—on her visit to her fiancé. Instead, she sat on the sofa.
Before he could say anything, there was a knock at the door. He answered to find Robert standing on the threshold, a big gray container in his hands.
“For you, sir.”
He took the container and Robert pivoted and left. Chance turned to Tory. “What’s this?”
“Lunch. I called and asked Cook to send down enough for both of us.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know, but we had a bit of a bump last night so I figured it was best for both of us to keep talking until we’re beyond it.”
Not agreeing, since talking only seemed to make him like her more or hate himself, he ran his hand along the back of his neck. “Really?”
“Yes. If we just keep talking to each other, pretty soon the weirdness will be forgotten.”
He didn’t necessarily agree with that either, but since he and his instincts were so off the mark with her, he was willing to try anything. He ambled to the table and set down the container. While she got bowls and utensils, he pulled soup and fresh bread from the box.
After each had a bowl of soup and a few slices of warm bread, she smiled briefly at him. “So what else do you think we should talk out?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. This is your idea.” Then a thought hit him and he squeezed his eyes shut. There was one more thing he’d done abysmally wrong the night before.
He caught her gaze. “Actually, I owe you one more apology. I feel bad about teasing you about your pantsuit.”
“That’s okay. You didn’t know about my leg.”
“Does it hurt?”
“When it rains.”
He laughed, but she said, “I’m serious. Something about the barometric pressure or the dampness can make it throb.”
“It’s that bad?”