Page 15 of My Orc Nanny

And I had to trust Sakkara. He was the father of Tova’s best friend, the husband—no,Mateto her teacher, and our town’s mayor. Ifhetrusted Aswan…

You trust him too. You left your babies alone with him.

I did.

I guess I already trusted Aswan.

“You’re…” I lifted my gaze and made my decision. “You’re really good with them. You made the right calls with Joshy being sick. And Benny—Benseems to like you. And Tova already loves you.”

His smile looked a little lopsided, a little relieved. “I like her too. I like them all. I think Ben just needs—” He clamped down on whatever words he’d been about to say and just repeated himself. “I like them all. But since I’ve never worked directly with kids before, I’m happy to take whatever certification—CPR, whatever—and background checks you need.”

That was a relief. “Yeah, I think that would be good, if you’re okay with it.” I opened the folio and began to sort through the files. “That was one of my questions. I was going to ask for copies.” I started sorting through papers, then passed him a pile. “Here, I’ll need you to fill these out so I can get you paid. And these”—I passed him the rest of the papers, tucked into the folder—“are your basic duties, outlined. Why don’t we—” A yawn interrupted me. “Oops, sorry.”

Aswan grinned as he sorted through them. “I think we’re probably beyond that, Hannah.”

The knowing look he shot me told me he remembered thetissues-in-the-nostrils incident, and I groaned and slumped against the back of my chair.

“I was hoping we could pretend youdidn’tsee me in my jammies and sick as a dog.”

“Hey, you needed my help, and I was glad I could be here.” His words were simple, but theirmeaning… I’ve never heard a guy say something like that. “And that’s what friends do for each other, right? Help out?”

Except…now that I was feeling better, I found myself thinking about Aswan in a way other thanfriendly. In a way other thanthe nanny I just hired.

And I didn’t think that was smart. “Okay, how about I give you a tour, and a quick rundown of stuff.” I pushed away from the table. “Then tonight you can go over the schedule and whatnot and be ready to start tomorrow.” My boss had made it clear my sick leave was over. “Summer schedules are more relaxed, but both older kids are taking classes at the rec center.”

Aswan also stood, although his attention was on the schedule I’d printed up. “Gymnastics and taekwondo. Useful skills, and Ben will benefit from the self-discipline.” One claw tapped against the page. “And swimming is vital for Joshua to learn—whichever timeslot you choose, I’ll make it work. What?”

When he lifted his gaze, I was likely gaping at him again.

“I’m sorry.” I shook my head and turned toward the living room. “I’m just not used to…um…having someone besides my parents. Have opinions about the kids and their future, I mean.”

“Your Mate must have had opinions.”

I stopped suddenly enough that I must have surprised him, because when I turned back to frown up at him, Aswan wasright there. And he didn’t back up, merely raised a brow, almost challenging me to answer.

Mate? Travis had never been aMate,apartner.

“My ex-husband isn’t part of our lives anymore.” There. That seemed sufficient. Except my mouth opened and more came out. “He left at the end of last summer. We’d been split, but he still lived with us.”

Aswan nodded solemnly. “Ben says he wasn’t the best role model.”

Benny had already spoken about his father? I snorted and turned back to the living room. “That’s an understatement. I have a no-food rule in here, but I’m not strict. Mainly it exists so I can give grief to whichever kid spilled whichever snack, so they clean it up immediately.” I’ve spent too many nights cleaning up spilled popcorn. “The T.V.’s smarter than me, but Tova and Ben can show you how to use it if you need help. Um…board games, books, Joshy’s toys…” I pointed to various cabinets, then turned toward the kitchen. “I guess you know your way around there pretty well already.”

What followed was the quietest—and speediest—house tour. I tried to focus on what he would need, so the upstairs tour was mainly of the medical supplies in the master bathroom, and I pointed out the kids’ spaces, figuring they’d show him their rooms when they were ready.

Back downstairs, we talked about the yard toys, what to expect, and what the kids had permission to do outside—basically anything, as long as they made good decisions and wore their helmets.

“Tova will likely spend most of the days with Emmy, either here or at Sakkara’s house. I think Nikki was going to take Emmy to school with her next week though, since she had in-service days.”

Without looking up from the notes he was taking, Aswan shook his head. “I can watch them both over here, if that’ll help Nikki. I’ll text Sakkara about it. Does Ben have local friends?”

“There are two boys across the street—nine and eleven. And a few in the cul-de-sac down the way, they all play basketball together. I think he was asking about going to the beach this week with a few of them.”

“And Joshua?” Aswan looked up and grinned. “Any playdates for him?”

With a sigh, I rubbed my forehead. “Honestly, am I a bad parent if I say no? He has friends at the daycare, but mostly he just hangs out with me as I run errands, and?—”

A large warm hand caught mine as the panicked guilt began to build, and my lips snapped closed. When I met his eyes, Aswan’s were concerned.

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