Page 75 of The Au Pair Affair

“Oh.” Tingles danced up her arms and onto her scalp. Pulses were leaping in all kinds of places. She accepted the garment, once again, without unfolding her arms. “Um... thank you. Thank him and thank you.”

The man nodded, turning his attention to Burgess’s daughter. “Lissa, right?”

She grinned.

The trainer fist bumped her and off he jogged, curving back toward the bench.

Having no choice now but to uncross her arms and reveal her bullet nips, Tallulah turned the sweatshirt right side out as fast as possible, yanking it down over her head, sticking her arms into the holes and sobbing over the rush of warmth.

It wasn’tonlyheat that permeated her bones, however. Burgess’s scent did that, too.

She’d never registered his scent before, but she knew it as soonas it wrapped around her like a cool forest waterfall. Simply put, he smelled like winter. Her favorite season.

Gulp.

Out on the ice, the Bearcats were poised to begin, the volume of the crowd rising to an earsplitting level as the referee dropped the puck. Activity exploded in front of Tallulah. Within seconds, giant bodies were crashing up against the glass, the puck moving in a black blur from end to end and back again. Burgess’s reflexes were swift and exact, every one of them with purpose. He wasn’t merely an immovable object, he was fast.Reallyfast. And she couldn’t figure out how both were possible. One minute, he would be blocking the path to the net, like a stone monument, and the next, he would be cutting through a sea of opponents to slap the puck back toward the opposite end—

“Is there something going on between you and my dad?”

Tallulah’s head moved on a swivel, alarm expanding like a sponge in her stomach. “Is there what?”

Lissa didn’t blink. “Are you my dad’s girlfriend?”

“No.” Tallulah made the denial automatically, because it was the truth. Right? She hadn’t agreed to be Burgess’s girlfriend, despite what he wanted. Sure,somethingwas afoot between them, which would likely prove to be a sexual itch that wanted to be scratched. But they weren’tdating. Nuh-uh. “I’m not your dad’s girlfriend. We’re friends. What I am is I’myourau pair.” She squeezed the girl’s arm. “And I hope we’re friends, too.”

Relief was breaking across Lissa’s features. “Yeah. We are.”

Tallulah exhaled. “Good.”

“Because I can tell he still likes my mom. He was waiting outside the building today and everything, like maybe he misses her. I just wish they would stop being so stubborn.”

Not for the first time, Tallulah’s heart sank at Lissa’s belief that her parents could possibly get back together. It was painfully clear that wasn’t happening, but perhaps a twelve-year-old witha big imagination saw what she wanted to see. Breaking the bad news to Lissa would be overstepping, so she wouldn’t, but she’d mention it again to Burgess later.

“I bet my mom is watching the game on television,” Lissa said, smiling.

Tallulah’s gut churned. Lissa’s mom was already engaged to someone new. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to gently prepare her for the eventual disappointment of her parents moving on?

“Lissa . . .”

“Hey! Oh my God, I’m so late!” Tallulah turned just in time to watch Chloe bounce into her seat with a ripple of blond hair and a pink jersey with the name Gauthier on the back. She dropped her purse and threw her arms around Tallulah’s neck. “I’m so glad you decided to come!”

“I’m still reserving judgment on the sport itself, but I’m happy to see you, too!” She hugged Chloe, laughing fondly over her excitement. “Do you know Burgess’s daughter, Lissa?”

“Yes! We met in the team box last season.” Chloe leaned forward to look at Lissa, gasping. “Wait, you’re like even cuter now. Stop.”

Someone bashed up against the glass.

A shrill whistle rent the air.

Chloe lunged from her seat without missing a beat, slamming her fist into the glass where the referee was trying to separate Sig from an opponent. “Boarding?Are you kidding me, piss face? Update your eye prescription, ref!” She sat back down with a sweet smile. “Did you guys eat yet?”

“Well. You’re definitely not lacking for passion, Chloe.”

“I’m just getting warmed up.” She rubbed her hands together. “Speaking of getting warmed up, did Burgess tell you his friend hired me to play the harp at your friend’s wedding in Costa Rica?”

Tallulah jolted forward, turning to face the blonde at the sametime. “Seriously?” They clasped hands and danced in their seats. “That’s amazing.”

“Girl, the way I am going to shop in preparation. I can already hear Sig sighing in disappointment at me.” She kept right on smiling through that statement. “I’ll probably have to turn on the waterworks. He can never stay annoyed at me after that.”

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