The next morning, I arrived at the Maxwell house on time. I was on pins and needles. I kept tugging at my shirt and looking down at my jeans. His words reverberated in my mind. ‘You’d look stunning in anything you wore.’ A little sigh escaped my lips. If I hadn’t been thinking out loud on our call, he probably never would have said that, but still, he’d said it, and now I couldn’t forget it.
I rang the bell, and while I waited, I snapped a selfie of myself and sent it to my parents. I was beyond happy that the job searched panned out this quickly. I’d spoken to the agency about getting weekly paychecks instead of monthly so they could start paying the bills as soon as possible.
Lexi: First day on the job. Wish me luck.
Mom: You’ll do wonderful, dear. Have a great day.
I bit my lower lip when the front door opened, bracing myself for my hot-as-hell boss to show up, but it was Paisley. She was barefoot again as she ran toward the gate with the key. ‘Hi, Lexi. Dad said I could open the gate for you.’
‘Hey, Paisley. Thank you, it’s good to be here.’
‘I’m so happy you’re here. I like you most.’
So, he did ask his daughter’s opinion after all. Nine was old enough to tell if you completely disliked a person, and I always thought first instincts should not be dismissed. Well, unless that first instinct was to check out a ridiculously hot single dad. Those impulses had to be ignored at all costs. What had gotten into me? It was true, I hadn’t been on a date in almost a year, but still. He was the parent of a child in my care, and I had my golden rule.
Paisley took my hand and lead me inside the house.
‘It’s so nice outside today,’ I said. ‘Did you already decide what you want to do?’
‘I want to go on the bike.’
‘Okay. You have one, then?’
‘Yes. It’s pink.’
‘I like pink,’ I said. Unfortunately, I was far too old to get away with owning a pink bicycle. ‘Do you also have one for me? If not, I can bring mine tomorrow and keep it here.’
Paisley frowned. ‘I think there are more bikes in the garage. We can check.’
‘Sure.’ I braced myself as she led me through the house. I’d been in the living room, but now she took me to the right side of the house into an enormous kitchen with white country-style cabinets and a marble countertop.
In front of the stove, Tate was making waffles. Holy shit! Once again, he was wearing a shirt with his sleeves rolled up.
‘Morning, Lexi,’ he said, and my stomach somersaulted.
He hadn’t called me by my first name before, but it made sense now that I was working for him. I didn’t know if I should call him Tate or Mr. Maxwell, so I went with the safer option. ‘Good morning, Mr. Maxwell.’
‘Call me Tate, please,’ he said.
He held out the chair closest to him, and I drew in a breath, sitting down.
‘I made a lot of waffles,’ he said. ‘Did you already have breakfast?’
‘Yes, I did, but I’ll never say no to waffles.’
Paisley laughed, clapping her hands. ‘Daddy makes them for me twice a week.’
Tate shrugged, smiling. ‘I’ve tried to make a rule of waffles only once a week, but I fail at enforcing it.’
‘That’s understandable,’ I said. ‘Don’t be too hard on yourself. I work with kids daily, and even I’m not immune to their charm. They are tiny and lovely and know how to use that as a weapon.’
I put maple syrup on my waffle and ate it quickly. Tate stood, drinking coffee and only eating half a waffle. Apparently he wasn’t much of a breakfast guy. I suspected he did this to spend time with his daughter, and that impressed me, as well as the fact that he didn’t have his phone nearby, so his attention was wholly focused on her.
“Lexi and I are going out bike riding today. She asked if we have one for her.”
He looked up, and my heart skipped a beat when he trained those piercing blue eyes on me. God, he was handsome. I could admire his looks, though, right? As long as I kept in mind that he was off-limits, I couldn’t see why not.
‘We do have one that should fit you nicely. We have two adult bikes. One is mine, and one belonged to a previous nanny.’
‘Great. I’m sure one of them will fit me.”
“I’m also going to leave a credit card for you. Use it to pay for anything you and Paisley need. If you pay out of pocket for anything, give me the receipts, and I’ll reimburse you.”
‘Will do,’ I said.
‘Okay, you’re both set?” Tate asked as he set his empty cup in the dishwasher. “I’m going to the office.’
‘Paisley, I’m going to walk your dad out and ask him a few things, okay? I’ll be right back,’ I said.
She nodded, digging into her breakfast.
Tate looked surprised but didn’t say anything. As we both walked out of the kitchen, I could feel the air between us change. It became more charged.
‘Tate, do you want me to update you during the day with Paisley’s schedule? I can send you pictures.”
‘I’d like that. I miss her so much during the day.’
Wow. My heart burst at the thoughtful look on his face. And right then I realized it wasn’t just his impossibly good looks that were messing with me. The fact that he was such a dedicated father touched me deeply.
“Okay. Then I’m going to take her out today and keep you posted,” I said, more for myself than for him. “I’ll take a change of clothes for her. I also brought one for myself, and—”
I stopped abruptly, remembering our conversation from last evening. I’d gotten both of us in trouble by talking about my clothes, and I didn’t intend to do it again. Judging by the playful glint in his eyes, he was thinking about it too. I was rambling again.
He was standing only a foot away from me, and I could smell his aftershave.
“Do you have any questions for me?” I asked.
He looked at me intently for a few seconds, making me squirm. Then he shook his head, clearing his throat. “No, that would be all.”
Remember your golden rule, Lexi. Besides, my parents were counting on me. I couldn’t mess up this job. But it was our first morning together. I was sure I wouldn’t be as impacted by him as time went by.
I needed time. That was all. I was sure of it.
***
Paisley and I had a lot of fun. She was a great kid. We biked along the Lakefront Trail at a considerable speed. She had a lot of stamina, and we only took a break when we reached Oak Street Beach. I’d brought a blanket with us, so we made a picnic of sorts overlooking the water. I took the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches I made out of the backpack and handed one to Paisley.
“How often do you bike ride?’ I asked her.
‘Oh, in the summers, a lot. My dad sometimes takes me, or the nanny does.’
‘You’ve had a lot of them?’
She nodded. ‘Yes. About two a year, I think. When I’m at school, I only have someone in the afternoon, but summers are different.’
I wondered what happened to her mother, but I didn’t want to ask. She’d tell me when she was ready, or maybe Tate would. It was important for me to know what to expect so I could handle any situation.
‘My uncles also like to take me out,’ she said after a few mouthfuls of her sandwich.
‘How many do you have?’ I asked her.
‘Five,’ she said proudly.
‘Five. Wow.’ I couldn’t imagine six Maxwell brothers. I was sure all of them were hot, and that was too much for the world to handle.
“I also have two aunties. Dad’s cousins. They all live in Chicago. Sometimes they pick me up at school. I think my teachers like it when my uncles stop by.’
Yeah, that confirms my theory.
In between bites, I got a lot of intel. She loved Selena Gomez, her favorite color was pink, she could watch Snow White every day and wasn’t much of a reader. She did like coloring books and crafts, though.
After we finished the sandwiches, I took out the sunscreen. We’d smeared ourselves at the house, but it was time to reapply; the sun was burning, and we were sweating a lot. A few minutes later, we went on with our bike ride, only taking another break to eat hot dogs from a food truck for an afternoon snack. Once we got home later that afternoon, we worked on a puzzle of the Chicago skyline while drinking lemonade. As six o’clock approached, I was on pins and needles again, bracing myself for Tate’s arrival.
He came home at six on the dot. The second the front door opened, Paisley jumped into his arms. He gave her a tight hug, smiling over her shoulder. When he looked up, his gaze met mine, and I was delighted at the look of happiness in his irises. He put his daughter down and walked toward me, and I swear to God, with every step he took, my body temperature seemed to rise in anticipation of his nearness. This was going to be much harder than I thought.
‘How was the day?’ he asked. “Thanks for the pics, by the way.”
“You’re welcome. It was great. The pics were from the Lakefront Trail. We were there for a while and then we came home and spent some time inside the house working on a puzzle.’
“It was so fun, Daddy,” Paisley piped up. “Lexi can ride really fast, not like the last nanny. And she made a really good lemon drink too.”
Tate was obviously pleased with this bit of news. “So the bike fit okay, then?”
I nodded. “Yes, it was fine.”
“I’ll have to try the lemon drink. Is there any left?”
“Of course!” My voice was a bit high-pitched. Why his interest in my lemonade made me nervous was beyond me.
He poured himself a glass in the kitchen and downed it in big gulps.
‘This is great. Do you want to stay for dinner? I’m making chicken kabobs. They’ll go great with lemonade.’ He winked at me, and it definitely didn’t help with my nerves.
‘Chicken kabobs? Wow. I’m impressed.’
“Please stay, Lexi,” Paisley begged. “Dad is a really good cook.”
I was hungry, but I didn’t want to interfere, even at Paisley’s insistence. Besides, I wasn’t sure it was very smart to spend more time with him than necessary. He was my employer, and I didn’t want to get into a messy situation.
‘I’m hungry, but I think it’s best to go,’ I said. Damn it, why did I admit I was hungry? I really couldn’t get my wits together around this man.
He cocked a brow. ‘Why aren’t you staying if you’re hungry?’
I swallowed hard, whispering, ‘I don’t want to interfere during your time with your daughter.’
“I’ll walk you out,” he offered, looking at me intently. I suspected that he actually wanted to be alone with me for whatever he wanted to say next.
“Okay.”
“Paisley, I’ll be right back,” he said. We stepped out into the corridor and walked toward the front door.
“Lexi, if you want to stay, you wouldn’t be interfering. Are you sure that’s the only reason you want to leave?”
Oh Lord, the way he says my name sounds so decadent.
I looked straight at him and wondering if I should take the bull by the horns and openly discuss everything.
“Or is it because I was inappropriate on our phone call?”
Okay… so I’m guessing he’s the take-charge guy all the way.
I liked that.
“Well, I was inappropriate by running my mouth in the first place,” I murmured. “Tate, listen, I’ve been a teacher for seven years, and I have a golden rule. I don’t get personally involved with parents.”
Finally, I found it in myself to look straight at him. Amusement danced in his eyes.
“Define ‘personally involved.’”
The tips of my ears felt hot. “You know what I mean.”
He looked at me for a few moments, and the temperature of my body seemed to rise with every passing second.
“It can get confusing for kids, and—”
“Lexi, I know. Paisley is my priority. I’d never do anything to confuse her. She’s everything to me.”
He can’t say that and expect me not to swoon.
“I can tell.”
“You and I can keep it professional.”
There was a slight edge in his voice that told me he didn’t quite believe that.
“But that doesn’t mean you can’t stay for dinner,” he added.
Hmm… here was the thing: if I stayed, I was sure to swoon some more, and that made me more susceptible to him. I couldn’t say that out loud, though. That would get us in trouble.
‘I’ll take you up on the invitation another time, but tonight I’m off. It was a great day. Enjoy your evening.’
***
For the rest of the week, I skirted around Tate. I did have breakfast with them every day because he always prepared it right when I arrived, but I left before dinner.
On Wednesday, he worked from home in the morning, and I swear to God, I could feel his presence no matter where I was in the house.
Paisley and I were going to a museum, and she was taking her time choosing an outfit. I waited for her downstairs in the kitchen, leaning against the island and browsing an online foodie shop on my iPhone.
“What are you doing?” Tate asked, startling me. I hadn’t heard him come up.
“Waiting for Paisley. And using the time to search for a present for my parents. My mom was given the all clear from the doctors to add some goodies to her diet.”
“Was she sick?”
“Yes, she’s had two heart surgeries. The bills are adding up.”
“That’s why you took the job?”
I nodded. “I offered to help, but a teacher’s salary barely covers my bills. Anyway, I’m going to look for a present for them later.”
He narrowed his eyes. I tried so hard to keep eye contact, but he was wearing a white shirt, and the top button was open. I was dying to take a peek.
Eyes up, Lexi. Eyes up.
“Do they like wine?” he asked suddenly.
“Is the sun yellow? Yes, they do.”
“I can send them a special collection from Maxwell Wineries.”
My jaw dropped. “Wait… Tate Maxwell? Oh my God! You own Maxwell Wineries?”
He chuckled. “My last name didn’t give it away?”
“Honestly, I didn’t put two and two together. Until now. Wow. You’re related to those Maxwells.”
I’d loved their bookstores and spent a lot of time there as a teenager. The Maxwell family was something of a legend in Chicago. It never occurred to me that he was one of them. Aside from the huge house, he seemed very down-to-earth, and so was Paisley.
“Umm… okay,” I recovered. “And yes, they’d love a collection. How much does that cost?”
He cocked a brow. “Nothing. Tell me their address.”
“Wow, thank you. That’s so generous. They love Maxwell Wines. So do I. They’re my favorites,” I exclaimed, feeling a bit off-kilter. I was not used to generosity. There he went, making me swoon again. He was going to spoil my parents!
He flashed me a stunning smile. He even had a twinkle in his eyes that set me on edge. My breath caught.
“Good to know, Lexi. Good to know.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to ask why, but perhaps I was better off not knowing.
Oh, Lexi. You’re playing with fire.
