One of thethings I was nervous about before meeting Penelope was how the two of us were going to pass the time. Spending nine straight hours together sounded like such a long time.
But between doing art together, preparing and eating lunch, and then watching a couple episodes of her favorite show on TV, the day actually ends up going by pretty fast. Before I know it, it’s after five o’clock, and I can hear the front door of the house opening up.
“Hello,” a strong, deep voice calls out. I stand up as her dad walks into the living room. Immediately, I’m struck by how handsome Lucas is: he’s tall, broad-shouldered, and has what can only be described as a beautiful face.
“Hi,” I say, stepping forward, thrusting out my hand. “I’m Sophia.”
The corner of his mouth lifts. “I figured. It’s nice to meet you, Sophia.”
His palm is warm against mine.
“Can Sophia stay for dinner, Dad?” Penelope asks, her eyes still glued to the TV.
“What, I don’t get a hug hello?” Lucas says.
Penelope gets up and obliges him. Then, with her arms still wrapped around his waist, she looks up at him and says, “Well? Can she?”
“She’s certainly welcome to,” says Lucas, his gorgeous eyes moving back to me. “Well, Sophia? What do you think?”
I swallow. What do I think?
I think Lucas is frickin’ hot.
I think I’m very much attracted to him.
And I think I’m in deep trouble.
Chapter Two
Lucas
“Um,” says Sophia, when she stops chewing on the inside of her lip, “thank you for the invitation. But I think I should actually get going.”
“Are you sure I can’t convince you?” I say. “I’m not going tomakeyou stay. But I’d sure like to get to know the woman who’s looking after my daughter.”
“Right,” she says. “No, of course.”
“So is that a yes?”
She slowly nods. “Okay, sure. I guess I can stay.”
I’m happy to hear it. Happy, but also a little pissed off at myself. Because I already know that getting to know Sophia better is just going to make me more attracted to her. From the moment I laid my eyes on her, I felt a yearning that I haven’t felt for anyone in a long time.
And it doesn’t take a genius to know that being attracted to your kid’s nanny spells disaster.
Back when Ava recommended Sophia to me as her replacement, the possibility of this kind of scenario happening never crossed my mind. The only thing I was focused on was finding someone who was as caring and trustworthy and easy to work with as Ava was.
And it was easy for Ava to convince me that her friend would be a good fit.
Tearing my gaze from Sophia, I head into the kitchen and start prepping dinner. Penelope and I have ten or so different dinners that we rotate through, and all of them are simple to make. I wish I was more creative in the kitchen, but it’s just not my forte.
Tonight’s taco night. I gather the fixings and set the oven on low to heat up the shells. It’s mostly just a lot of chopping, and I don’t need any help. But when I look up from opening a can of olives, I see Sophia standing a few feet away.
“How can I help?” she asks.
“No need,” I say.
“I’d rather make myself useful than just stand here.”