Page 27 of Crossed Up

She’s changed so much, even from just a month ago, and I know I’ll do everything in my power to keep breaking down her walls and building up her confidence in men. In me.

I don’t get a chance to say anything else because Lyla makes her way over to us with a huge smile on her flushed face. She looks so pretty today that it’s honestly distracting. Jean shorts that would be criminal on someone of average height hit the tops of her thighs in an entirely too enticing way, and she’s wearing her very own dinosaur shirt that Crew insisted we buy for her birthday.

Of course, she didn’t wait even a minute before putting it on, and he’s been on cloud nine all day because of it. Her reddish-brown hair hangs down to her waist in big, shiny curls, and I can’t help but notice that every week, her hair takes on more of a red tint.

“Hey there, cowboy. Having fun over here?”

I look to my right and am surprised to see Rhodes is nowhere to be found, but when I glance behind Lyla, I catch his wink aimed my way from where he’s standing with Wren and Crew. Ignoring him, I turn back to the gorgeous girl in front of me.

“Hi, angel, having fun?”

She blushes right on cue and takes the newly vacated seat next to me. “I’ve never had a birthday party like this before. I didn’t realize what I was missing. And those cupcakes are divine. I know you’re on a strict diet, but you need to have at least a bite of one.”

Her voice is full of childlike excitement, and my heart expands in my chest. She could ask me for just about anything, and I know I’d give it to her. Her words niggle at me, though.

“You’ve never had a birthday party like this before? So what were your parties like then?”

Lyla’s eyes widen like she didn’t mean to say that, but she surprises me when she elaborates. “My birthday parties were always treated more like… let’s say networking events, for my father. They were all crudités and champagne and petit fours in place of an actual cake. It’s fine for a charity event or a formal dinner party but for a kid’s party?”

She shakes her head with a sigh. "I honestly can’t remember a single birthday I ever enjoyed until this one.”

With a covert glance around, I don’t see anyone paying attention to us, so I take a risk and thread my fingers with hers. “As long as I’m around, the rest of your birthdays will be even better than this one, Ly.”

Her unique eyes sparkle in the afternoon sunlight, pulling me further under her spell. I watch her chest rise and fall as she takes a deep breath, and then she knocks my carefully balanced control off its axis.

“Does your offer for this weekend still stand?”

My lips part in surprise even as my heart soars. “You want to spend the weekend with me?”

She bites her bottom lip and nods shyly. “I like you, Aidan. I’ve been trying not to because I really love this job, but everything you do makes me like you a little bit more. But if it doesn’t work, you’re sure I can stay on as Crew’s nanny, and it won’t be weird?”

I start to respond, but she cuts me off. “This is a non-negotiable for me. I don’t want to be another person that leaves him,” she finishes on a whisper.

My mind and heart fill with affection as I squeeze her tiny hand in mine. “I promise, Lyla. I have no expectations here. If you don’t want to pursue a relationship at the end of the weekend, we go back to being boss and employee like nothing happened. Think of it as a trial run where you have all the power.”

Her breath hitches, and I watch the panic flare in her eyes. “Why would I need all the power?”

I roll my eyes a bit but catch myself and instead momentarily let my own demons out from their reinforced cage. “I know what it looks like to be afraid of someone who isn’t around anymore. Constantly looking over your shoulder, holding your breath when you round a corner, learning to live with the physical and emotional damage they left behind.”

My callused hand cups her cheek with as much affection as I can possibly pour into the small gesture. “I’m here when you’re ready to tell me, but I won’t push. All I ask is that you come to me if you need help.”

My pulse races as emotions fly across her face too fast for me to decipher, and suddenly, I’m worried she’s about to back out of her agreement.

The thought of letting someone else in after what Crew and I have already been through, first me with my father and then both of us with Mia, is terrifying enough. But we’re adding in a whole new layer of unknowns with whatever trauma Lyla is hiding, too. She offers a hesitant nod, and that will have to be enough for now.

The tender smile she gives me melts some of the indecision surrounding my heart, and for the first time in seven years, I find myself wanting to confide in someone about my father. Just as I open my mouth to reassure her with something, a battle cry interrupts us from the back door.

“Raptor attack!”

The screeched words are the only warning we get before my boy barrels between us, diving onto Lyla’s chair with her and causing it to tip abruptly into mine, nearly knocking us both over. Lyla is fine and laughing with arms full of a sticky six-year-old, so I take a second to daydream about what this scene would look like if she were here as more than just the nanny.

And the thing is, I think she might want that too.

12

LYLA

I’m nearly finished packing for our early flight to New York when my phone rings. The sound of Wild Things by Alessia Cara blasts through the room, letting me know exactly who’s calling.

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