Page 14 of My Orc Nanny

“Oh joy.” But Ben didn’t sound particularly unhappy, and I turned to see him arranging the coloring supplies in front of his brother. He cocked a brow at me. “You make your own pizza often?”

“I used to have my own restaurant. Come over here and grate this cheese—wait, no, wash your hands again first—and I’ll tell you about it.”

The ten-year-old’s grin seemed natural, at ease, as he rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “I’ll do just about anything for pizza.”

And I felt like…I dunno. Like maybe I’d done somethingright? Maybe, with me in his life, in his family’s life, Ben could spend the summer…just being a kid? He deserved that.

If I could make his life, and his mother’s life, easier…I would.

That’s what friends were for, after all.

Chapter Four

Hannah

By Sunday evening,I was feeling much better…and frankly, a little tired of hiding out in my—inJoshua’sbedroom. I suppose, as it had been almost a year since I’d kicked out Travis, I really should start sleeping in the master again, but…

I’d napped most of Saturday and had woken to the smell of homemade pizza. I’d managed to pull myself together to join the kids at the kitchen table, and to my surprise, Benny had proudly served the pizza.

When I’d glanced at Aswan in question, he’d smiled slightly. “Ben made it himself.”

Ben, huh?

“Aswan helped,” my oldest was quick to point out, and the two of them shared a look that told me not only was I rightto hire this strange savior of an orc, but right to accept his help on a Saturday too.

I only managed to eat one piece, but: “Holy moly, Benny, this is really good!”

“Peeza! Peeza!” Joshua had chanted as Aswan cut his into small pieces, and even Tova had beamed at her big brother. “You can make pizza any time, Benny!”

My oldest wore a smile I hadn’t seen in a long time: pride, pleasure, and a bit of camaraderie. Like the time his soccer team won the regionals.

And I had another bowl of the soup, which made me sweat. Or maybe that was Aswan.

He’d shaken my hand again after he made us popcorn and settled the kids in front of the television for an evening movie. And I’d stood at the door and watched him walk to his car…pining like a nincompoop.

Tonight was a full day later, Sunday evening. I’d put the kids to bed—or at least, Joshua was asleep, Tova was getting there, and Benny was reading beneath his covers with the assumption I didn’t know about his flashlight stash. And I’d asked Aswan to stop by now that we could finally talk.

“Hi,” I greeted him shyly. “Thanks for sitting down with me so we could discuss the job before you officially take over.”

“Of course,” he rumbled in that delicious dark voice as he followed me to the dining room. “You’re feeling better?”

“Yeah, thanks in part to your soup.” I smiled over my shoulder. “I don’t know where you learned to cook likethat, but it was much appreciated. You haven’t caught Joshua’s cold?”

He surprised me by following me to my chair and holding it out for me. “I told you, I don’t get sniffles.”

Oh yes, hehadtold me that, hadn’t he? I was too flustered to answer though, because when was the last time a male had held a chair like that for me? Aswan was a real gentleman, wasn’t he?

“I owned a restaurant,” he announced as he moved to the opposite side of the dining table.

It sounded so out of the blue that I frowned in confusion, and he merely grinned when he saw that. “In Colorado. We were living in a little town called Bramblewood Bluff when Sakkara tracked us down. I had a little restaurant there but decided to sell it.”

I gaped. “Yousoldyour restaurant?” I couldn’t imagine how hard he’d had to work to build up a business like that, and he’d just abandoned it? “To become ananny?”

It was his turn to flush—at least I think that’s why his skin darkened and he looked away. “I sold it to follow my brother, Abydos, to Eastshore. I… He needs looking after.”

I studied him, dropping my gaze to the folio of papers between us, then back up to him. Aswan liked taking care of others, that much was obvious but… “You’ve never worked as a nanny, have you?” I asked quietly.

Suddenly his serious dark gaze swung back to mine. He placed his hands on the table in front of him and laced his fingers together. Then, taking a deep breath, he admitted, “No. But Sakkara thought I’d be good for you. For your family.”

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