Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 60081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 300(@200wpm)___ 240(@250wpm)___ 200(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 300(@200wpm)___ 240(@250wpm)___ 200(@300wpm)
“Your brother?” I ask, just to be one-hundred percent sure. “And Wren’s boss?”
“The same,” Drew says, holding up the keys. “Should we get out of here? Before Barrett comes back and decides to boss us around?”
“Will he be able to find a way home?” I ask. “Because I’m pretty sure Wren is serious about going home alone.”
Drew nods. “Yeah, he’ll be fine. He can call a taxi. Or ask a friend for a ride. We know more people here than I expected.” He flashes me a sheepish smile. “It actually doesn’t seem that bad. I might have been being a little…overprotective again.”
I pull in a breath, fighting the giddy part of me that loves his protective side, the part that desperately wants another night with him, no matter what the cost. That part would gladly put my job and future as Sarah Beth’s caretaker on the line for more co-ed naked fun time, but I can’t let it call the shots.
Maybe I could have a few days ago, before I really knew and loved Sarah Beth, but things are different now. I know her, I adore her, and I believe she needs me in her life. Me, not some other nanny who won’t understand how much she needs magic and pretend and someone who really knows how to listen.
Sarah Beth is a kindred spirit and when you’re lucky enough to find one of those, you don’t let them down.
I don’t want just another hot night with Drew, either. I want him, all of him. I want his heart and his humor and all the love I know he’s capable of giving to the right person.
And I want that person to be me.
So, as much as it pains me to put a single obstacle in the way of getting him naked and on top of me, I say, “I would love to take you home and do bad things to you all night, especially now that I don’t have any jewelry in the way. But you said this was a bad idea. You said you couldn’t date the nanny. Remember?”
His expression sobering, he nods. “I do remember. But I’ve been thinking.”
I wait a beat for him to finish, my stomach full of butterflies. When he doesn’t, I prompt, “Thinking about…?”
“About you,” he says, curling his fingers around the curve of my hip, making my blood rush faster. “About us. All the time, actually. When I’m at work and at home and in the shower and reading Sarah Beth a bedtime story and cleaning the oatmeal gunk from the sink drain. You’re always there, in my head, and no matter how much I see you, it’s never enough. Not nearly enough.”
I bite my lip, fighting a smile, not wanting to celebrate prematurely. But I can’t help confessing, “I think about you, too.”
“Good.” He pulls me closer, sending the tingle situation shooting off the charts. “Believe me, I’m not taking this lightly. The way you are with Sarah Beth… You’re an angel, Tatum.”
“Hardly.” I shoot a pointed glance down at my scandalously skimpy dancing outfit.
“You’re my kind of angel,” he says, not hesitating for a second. “You’re everything I hoped for in a nanny and so much more. I wouldn’t put that at risk for anything except…this feeling that I’ll regret it for the rest of my life if I don’t tell you the way you make me feel.”
“How do I make you feel?” I ask, breathless with hope.
“Like I might find that happy ending someday, after all,” he whispers.
“I’d bet my hands on it,” I say, my chest tight with emotion as I loop my arms around his neck. “And I promise you, we’ll keep what’s best for Sarah Beth at the top of our minds every step of the way.”
“You’re what’s best for Sarah Beth,” he says, making my chest ache. “I knew that the second you pulled out that crown for Princess Pancake breakfast. And when you threatened Carrie, you made me your fan for life. If we break up, I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you around. Even if it breaks my heart.”
“I won’t break your heart,” I say, my lips drifting closer to his. “I promise.”
“Oh my God, it’s like a movie,” a hushed, but not nearly hushed enough, voice rasps from a few feet away. “They’re so adorable! I’m shipping them so hard!”
I glance over my shoulder to see Fred with his elbow propped on the tall table and his chin in hand, watching us with a dreamy expression. Beside him, Perry swirls his straw through his fresh whiskey sour with a happy sigh, “Happy endings are the best endings.”
Fred giggles, clearly a little tipsy. “Happy endings. That reminds me of that massage parlor in St. Paul. Remember Bjorn? The Nordic guy with giant hands?”
Perry wrinkles his nose. “Bring up one of your exes again and the only happy ending you’ll be getting tonight is in your dreams, darlin’.”