Page 30 of Nanny for the SEAL

“Thank you.” I smile, holding his Henry Cavil blue eyes. “And I mean it. Daisy is amazing. If all kids were like her, the world would be a great place.”

“Well, clearly, she has an excellent nanny to help her.”

We hang there in the moment, silence sliding between us as thick as pea soup. After a few seconds, Xaden clears his throat, forcing his stare away from mine, and I finally blink.

“I’ll let you get to work.”

He nods, his smile softer but not gone. “Yeah. Thanks again.”

“Of course, Xaden.”

As he turns to leave, I catch a glimmer of something in his eyes as they linger on me. He waits until he has to look forward before breaking the eye contact, and the moment he does, it’s ten degrees colder.

I’m not sure what passed between us just then, but webothfelt it. My skin hums, and I realize that my heart is pounding.

But this time, it’s not because I’m afraid. Oh, no, I couldn’t be further from scared. In fact, I’m a little turned?—

No, Ivy. He’s the dad. Out of the question.

TEN

Ivy

The house is quiet, which is a far cry from the state of my brain after thatuniqueinteraction with Xaden in the kitchen.

I’ve cleaned up the kitchen after filling the rest of the afternoon with tea parties and some coloring. Daisy even worked on some sight reading with me.

Cat, stop, dog, no. She’s not half bad.

And still, as I stand here, idly wiping down the already clean counters, I find myself looking over toward Xaden’s office. In the sliver of room visible to me, I can see him sitting behind his desk.

He’s been working hard, barely leaving his computer for snacks or bathroom breaks. I even brought his dinner to him, a turkey sandwich, because that’s all I could get him to agree to.

I’m utterly drawn in by the way he looks as he works, the dark slashes of his brows knitted together in concentration, darkening his sea-blue eyes.

Minutes pass, and I know that I could leave at any time. Ishouldleave, but instead, I just watch.

After a few more moments, Xaden gets up from behind his desk and walks somewhere out of sight. I try to hide the fact that I was tuned into him like a TV drama.

When I look back up from throwing away some tiny pieces of garbage from the living room, Xaden is standing at the window behind his desk with a drink in hand.

He has a bar in there. Seems very apt for him.

The quiet persists, and I can’t keep lurking. So, I go over to see if he needs anything else before I go.

Stepping up to the threshold, I can sense the tension clinging to the space, Xaden’s stress visibly affecting his shoulders.

“Hey, Xaden. I wanted to check in before I went home. Everything good in here?”

He turns around, his stare meeting mine, and I can see how tired he is. Xaden looks drained, but there’s still this effortless air of composure that keeps his spine buttoned up tight.

“Hey, Ivy.” Xaden walks back to his desk, sitting down in the expensive-looking office chair that boasts ergonomic everything, even a swiveling footrest. “No, I’m all good. Thanks for today. I clearly needed your help.”

I chuckle lightly. “I’m always happy to help out. I can easily pay for my groceries and stuff thanks to you giving me this job, and Daisy is sweeter than I could dream of.”

With a gentle smile, Xaden takes a sip of his drink before setting it down on the desk’s leather blotter.

“Would you like one before you go? It’s not like you have to worry about driving.”

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