Ryleigh
The upper steps creaked when Keenan walked upstairs, and finally, Ryleigh felt like she could breathe again. When she’d arrived here half an hour ago, never in her wildest dreams did she expect to come eye to eye again with her mystery man.
Keenan Mills.
Even his name was sexy.
She hadn’t recognized his voice on the phone yesterday since they hadn’t spoken all that much during that night months ago.
Oh my, God. How was she supposed to work for him?
To live with him?
Would she ever be able to rid the sight of his accentuated ripples heading towards his V from her retinas? To top it all off, the man had a bulge under his towel that’d put other men ugly-crying in a corner somewhere.
What a way to meet your new employer. She laughed without humor and shook her head.
“What’s so funny?” Tommy stood on top of a chair in the kitchen, next to Ryleigh. They’d started preparing the special treat of fresh fruit from Ryleigh’s go to farm for a shot of vitamins.
Instead of coming clean about lusting over his father, she said, “I was thinking about the expression on your face when I told you the scent of my shampoo.”
Cinnamon apple.
Tommy took another strand of long hair from Ryleigh’s back and stuck it against his nostrils. “It’s the same smell, I swear.”
“Stop smelling Ryleigh’s hair, Tommy.”
He’d changed already? Just when she’d felt more at ease, Keenan entered the kitchen making her stomach drop. She couldn’t seem to get the tremble out of her hand while slicing a pear.
He had said nothing about that night they’d met before. Didn’t he recognize her? Had their chemistry been a figment of her imagination? Or perhaps he didn’t want to talk about it in front of Tommy?
Not knowing where his mind was at, brought out her old insecurities. She closed her eyes for a moment to gather her thoughts. She needed to keep breathing. Just keep slicing and everything would be all right.
“Are you okay?” Tommy asked.
“Sure, everything’s fine.”
Great. Now she was scaring Tommy with her weird behavior. Ryleigh glanced up from the slicing board littered with grapes, bananas and pears, and froze for a second.
Just like she’d thought. Even in a simple white T-shirt and a dark washed blue jeans, the man came across just as hot as without his clothes on.
On his way to the refrigerator, Keenan ruffled Tommy’s hair. Tommy clucked his tongue and let go of Ryleigh’s hair to weave his hand through his blonde hair.
Keenan rested his arm on the open refrigerator door and rolled his eyes, smiling at Ryleigh. She ducked her head and focused on slicing the fruit so Tommy could fill their bowls.
“Can I offer you something to drink?”
Ryleigh gave a side-glance at Keenan, whose emerald green eyes awaited her response. A flutter in her chest had her stumbling over her words. “Wine. Water. Erm, water, please.”
If he’d recognized her, there was no way he would let her nanny Tommy.
Maybe it was for the best. She probably couldn’t stop lusting after her new employer and would make a total fool out of herself.
But then again, after she’d dropped out of college, this job opportunity couldn’t have come at a better time. She would have a steady income for the foreseeable future, a bedroom for herself, and time to figure out what to do with her life.
No. She was not about to fuck it all up. She loved working with kids. Winning Tommy over was a fun challenge. The boy spoke his mind, and she appreciated his honesty.
She had to suck it up. Get over this insane attraction and focus on the reason she stood in this kitchen in the first place—to take care of Tommy.