Page 20 of Just One More Temptation

She bit down on her lower lip and he released it from captivity with one finger, rubbing over the redness there.

“I’ve been thinking too, and I really should thank you for being a gentleman. Though not too much of a gentleman,” she mused.

“The alleyway,” he said, reading into what she hadn’t spelled out.

She ducked her head, a shy smile on her face. Another thing he appreciated about her, her openness and honesty. No airs or fakeness about her. “I should tell you up-front, I’m not looking for a serious relationship. I know what happened with Ezra was a few years ago and I’m over him, but the damage is still there. The ability to hand over my heart easily… I lost that, thanks to him.”

Once again, Noah wanted to find the man who’d used her so carelessly and teach him a lesson. Instead, he could show her that it was okay to trust again by being honest in return.

“I admire your honesty as much as the fact that you know yourself so well.”

She lifted one shoulder. “My mother said I was an old soul back when I was ten.” Her eyes misted and it struck him deeply how much she missed her parent.

It gave him some insight into what his girls might be feeling with Charlie so far away, and the fresh understanding would go a long way toward helping him talk to them when they acted out. As for Fallon, his heart broke for her, and knowing she’d been almost the same age as the twins are now gave him equal appreciation for how difficult it must have been for her to lose her mother.

“Hey. Want to go grab something to eat? I came straight from the office and I’m starving.”

A soft smile lifted her lips. “Buy me a slice of pizza?”

“I didn’t know you’d be a cheap date.” He shook his head, learning to expect the unexpected from her.

She grabbed a leather jacket from a hook in the back and began shutting off the overhead lights, leaving just the sconces illuminating the paintings on the walls. A glance at the closed door leading to the gallery told him that side had already been locked up.

He escorted her out and she took him to her favorite pizza place nearby where she introduced him to the owner, an older Italian gentleman who obviously had a soft spot for Fallon. They shared a small pizza and talked about everyday things. The girls, their antics, how they did in school, and how Fallon fit personal painting into her busy work schedule.

She talked to him about her looking at her boss as a mother figure and how she worried about her son taking advantage of the older woman and even more, she was concerned about her health. Essentially, he got to know Fallon better and vice versa.

After, he walked her to the Uber she insisted on taking and asked her to call or text when she was home, locked up in her apartment, safe.

Noah went home to the twins, only to listen to even more talk about Fallon.

Chapter Eight

Noah arrived atthe diner to meet with the first woman he’d be interviewing for the nanny job for the duration of the summer. He’d decided to take the time away from work and not the girls to handle the interviews. The woman was already five minutes late, which did nothing to impress him. He wasn’t thrilled with the candidates so far, including the women he’d tried in the past. The last straw was the older woman the twins ran away from and they’d already made it clear they didn’t plan on liking anyone he brought home this time around.

He leaned back in the chair and his thoughts drifted to the same place they usually did. To Fallon and how perfect she was with his daughters. She knew how to make them laugh, distract them from boredom, tap into what meant a lot to each girl. She’d immediately caught on to the fact that Dakota was tougher with a soft inside she didn’t always show, while Dylan was more mushy on the outside but when it came down to it, she knew how to stand her ground, just like her sister. Noah and Charlie understood their unique personalities and it meant something to him that Fallon did, too.

Since the night they’d shared pizza, he’d been too busy to make a date to see her and he’d been stupid enough not to pin her down at the time. Instead, the few times he’d left the office for lunch, he walked past the gallery, well aware he had no time to stop in, so he’d have to make do with a simple glance—of her profile, her long hair hanging over her shoulder or down her back, or if he was lucky, a quick glimpse of Fallon smiling or laughing at something someone had said.

“Mr. Powers?”

His name snapped him back to the present. To the young woman who wasn’t dressed appropriately for an interview. Her T-shirt was pulled tight across her breasts, the lace running between barely covering her exposed cleavage. Tight jeans only added to the fitted look. Her appearance was making it difficult to hold on to hope that she’d be the answer to his prayers and his girls’ next nanny.

He rose to his feet. “Annie Jones?”

She nodded and smiled, “Yes, hi!” She lowered herself into the chair across from him before he could pull it out for her.

He settled back into his seat.

“I’m sorry I’m late. I missed my first train.”

He nodded and decided to start out with complete honesty. “As I said to the recruiter who set up this interview, I leave the house at seven-thirty a.m. to be in the office by eight. Is that going to be a problem for you?” Because he chose not to have a live-in nanny when he was with his children in the evenings and early morning.

She shook her head. “Gosh, no. I’d be on time.”

“Good. Now, tell me about yourself and why you want to watch children?” He asked the first question from his prepared questions.

She cleared her throat and straightened her shoulders. “I’m good with kids. I used to watch my cousins. And during the year I can go to one of the local colleges.”

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