Joss Wood - The Nanny Proposal

Cole Sullivan, the PI his friend Will had hired, also believed that Jason was in deep crap. The note Megan had received—supposedly from Jason, stating he needed space to deal with Will’s death—had been proved, through handwriting analysis, not to be Jason’s.

Aaron could’ve told them that. Jason was a Phillips. They didn’t run away from their responsibilities. His brother would never turn his back on his daughter. He wouldn’t ignore his family’s entreaties to get in touch just so he could wallow in his own pain.

No, something was very, very wrong.

Aaron heard the door to his study open and Kasey walked in, heading for her desk in the corner. Instead of taking a seat, she bent from the waist down to peer at her monitor, her sundress perfectly delineating her heart-shaped ass, the same ass he’d slid his hands under to haul her against him as he’d lost himself in her eight months ago. He couldn’t help his eyes traveling down as her short dress rode up in the back, allowing him a look at her slim, tanned thighs. Those spectacular legs had encircled his hips, had been draped over his shoulders as he’d—

God, he needed to get laid. Eight months was far too damn long, but whenever he considered finding a date, Kasey’s face popped into his head. He didn’t want sex with some random female. He wanted Kasey. Which posed a problem, because the woman worked for him and was helping him, temporarily, to raise his niece. He couldn’t jeopardize either situation, or his honor, for sex. His neglected junk violently disagreed.

There was something—damn, what was the word?— homey about having his house and life invaded by two intensely girlie girls. Savvie’s occasional visits didn’t carry the same punch as having them here 24/7. The dolls and smells and music were comforting, and hearing feminine voices and the occasional trill of laughter made his house feel more like a home than the huge tomb he usually inhabited.

Aaron rubbed the back of his neck and reminded himself that this wasn’t normal. Normal was Jay back at home with Savvie, Kasey in her house, he in his. He couldn’t afford to get attached. All his relationships, romantic or not, tended to be messy and, as an added bonus, the people he loved tended to leave him. Sometimes both at the same time. No, it was better to stay emotionally detached.

But that resolve didn’t help him with his need-to-get-laid problem.

Kasey stood straight and Aaron quickly looked up, glad that his desk hid his arousal. There were certain things Kasey did not need to know and his craving for her was one of them. “Aaron, I’m falling behind.”

“How can I help?”

“Can you do Savvie’s ballet run? I could use that time to catch up here.”

Aaron nodded. It would do him good to get out of the house, away from the monitors and making financial decisions involving hundreds of millions of dollars. That took its toll and he could feel a stress headache building between his eyes.

Kasey opened the right-hand drawer to his desk and lobbed him a bottle of aspirin. “Take two and come for a swim, it’ll help you unwind.”

Aaron opened the bottle, shook the pills into his hand and tossed them into his mouth. He dry-swallowed the pills and ignored Kasey’s wince. “How did Savvie do at day camp today?”

Kasey picked up a pen and threaded it through her fingers, something she often did. “She was better, I think. She told me that some boy brought in his guinea pig and that some of the girls were scared of it, but she’d loved it.” Kasey sent him a look and he knew that something big was coming his way, something he might not like. “I think you should buy her a puppy.”

Yep, there it was. “Kasey, do we not have enough on our hands without adding a puppy to the craziness?”

“She loves animals, Aaron, and she needs something to love.”

“She has me and Megan.”

“Her mom and dad have both left her, so she doesn’t trust other adults not to do the same,” Kasey argued, stubbornness settling into her expression.

She was not going to let this go. Damn, they were going to get a puppy, sometime soon.

He thought he should at least try to change her mind. “She’s not old enough to handle the responsibility of looking after a dog, Kasey.”

“This isn’t about being responsible, Aaron. It’s about her having something in her life she can hold on to,” she reiterated. “Having something to love. Everyone needs someone or something to love and, God knows, dogs are a hundred times more reliable than humans.”

And didn’t that statement, Aaron thought as she walked out of the room, give him a glimpse into her soul.

* * *

Kasey stomped down the hallway and ducked into her room. Kicking off her sandals, she immediately walked over to the French doors and flung them open, allowing the heat of the hot Texas day to slide into her bedroom. For the last year or so she’d felt perpetually cold—a physical reaction to emotional pain—so she didn’t mind a little heat.

Kasey rested her head against the door frame and closed her eyes. She was exhausted, which was the only reason she’d allowed those revealing words to leave her lips. Everyone needs someone or something to love and, God knows, dogs are a hundred times more reliable than humans...

And wasn’t that the truth. Kasey looked at the small picture on her bedside table, her gaze focusing on the mixed breed she held in her arms. She’d found Rufus in Cleveland, the puppy half-starved, for food and affection. Because her parents were generally oblivious, she’d managed to keep him hidden until they moved to... God, what city came after Cleveland? Cincinnati? Boston? It was all a blur. But she did remember the screaming fight she’d had with her parents, that if they insisted on lugging her from place to place, school to school, then the least they could do was let her have one friend, even if it was a canine. Ru, like her, had endured the moves and loved the summer holidays at her grandparents’ house in Houston. All she’d wanted was a stable home life, a place to settle down in, and she’d found that for three months of the year, in Houston.

Years later she’d believed that she’d found her place, her permanent home with Dale. Yeah, that hadn’t turned out the way she expected it to.

Kasey walked over to the king-size bed covered in expensive, white Egyptian cotton and picked up her phone. There were two missed calls from Michelle, one from Dale. Knowing it was more of the same old, same old, she blew out a frustrated breath and tossed her phone back onto the bed.

Dale and Michelle were in a race to win her back. Both wanted to be the first to earn her forgiveness. They were both sorry...they’d made a mistake...could she forgive them?

Hell, no.

Their infidelity had not only left her unable to fathom being in a relationship again, but also riddled her with insane trust issues. She’d spent the last eight months rebuilding her life. She was starting to feel vaguely normal and she was so much stronger. She liked her job, she liked Royal and she liked not having to deal with their neediness and drama. At some point she’d have to meet with them, face them, but today wasn’t that day. Tomorrow wasn’t looking good for them, either.

“I’m ready, Kasey.”

Kasey turned and smiled at Savannah, who stood in her open doorway, dressed in a pink-and-purple swimsuit, her swimming goggles high on her head.

Savannah noticed that Kasey was still wearing her sundress and her expression turned to resignation, her face crumpling. “Okay, well...if you’re not going to swim, then I’ll just go to my room.”

So much pain, Kasey thought, her heart flipping over. Savannah was nearly six but she expected adults to disappoint her.