Considering I went to bed early every night and worked my ass off, I didn’t feel like I was in my prime.
“Uncle Brandon!” Gina said, running in our direction.
“There’s my favorite niece,” Brandon said, pulling her into a hug.
“Here I am!”
He spun her around, and she giggled, the same way she did with Jess. I frowned. If Jess left us, it would have devastating consequences.
That night, when putting Gina to bed, she wiggled around under her sheets like a worm.
“How did the playground not rid you of all this energy?” I asked.
“Jess is coming tomorrow,” she said with a big grin.
I laughed. “Jess is coming tomorrow. You just saw her yesterday.”
“But tomorrow we’re starting a quilt!”
“A quilt?”
Gina nodded and then let out a big yawn. Even if her little body was going a mile and minute, her head had the right idea. She needed to sleep. She’d yawned all through dinner and somehow managed to get this little burst of energy going before bedtime.
“Jess and her mom used to make quilts together.”
“That sounds like fun.”
“We’re going to get some fabric tomorrow.”
“I can’t wait to see it when it’s done.”
“That won’t be for a while, but maybe sometimes you can sleep with it.”
“That’s so nice of you,” I said and kissed her forehead.
She reached up and turned my head so she could kiss my cheek. “Thank you for picking Jess as my nanny.”
“You’re welcome,” I said.
Gina turned around and spread out, lying on her stomach. I covered her with the duvet. I liked that Gina had Jess in her life. Already I saw a difference in my daughter with Jess’s influence. I would do anything to keep Jess around for Gina. And I didn’t much mind having her in my life too.
Chapter Fourteen
Jess
I white-knuckled my steering wheel during the whole ride over to Noah’s on Monday morning. Yesterday had been a waste of a day. Although, I needed it, especially because my mind whirred with the possibilities of the consequences of our actions. I ate junk food and binge-watched trashy television until my stomach was full and my brain was mush.
My indecision on the matter wasn’t resolved by the time I got to Noah’s home. After parking my car in the driveway, I sat there for a moment, collecting myself.
You can do this. You have to do this.
I had no other choice. I couldn’t give up on Gina because of my misstep. I would talk everything over with Noah, and then we would forget about sleeping together.
At least I would try. Even though I’d left him on Saturday night, it wasn’t the easiest thing to do. I could have stayed, and I was sure he wouldn’t have minded.
The memory of him touching my face, my chest, and everywhere else came back to me. A wave of tingles rippled over my skin, and I held onto that last bit before burying it deep inside of me. I had to keep my wits for the unknown reaction from Noah that I was about to face.
For once, I wished that Noah left later in the morning, preferably when Gina was awake. At least at that point she could be the buffer between us. I stared at the clock on my dashboard and knew that I had to go inside. If Noah was upset about what had happened and that I was late, it wouldn’t make the situation any easier.