Page 4 of Reluctantly Yours

She demonstrated for us but, unfortunately, chose the hand that was holding her spoon.“Careful there,” Travis warned, gently taking the spoon from her before she sent any more flecks of pale green flying in all directions.

“Sorry.So then, the teacher calls my name, and I answer, but then everybody looks at me like this.”She folded her arms, wrinkled her nose, and gave me what could only be described as a stink eye.

“Oh, I’m sorry.That’s no fun.”I sighed, shaking my head.

“And I tell them, if you know the answer, you should raise your hand too.But they don’t.”She shook her head mournfully, taking her spoon back and sinking it into her cup.“It’s dumb.”

Travis was watching me, waiting to see what I would say.He probably thought he was pretty slick, testing me.

“Sometimes,” I offered.“People get upset when there’s somebody who isn’t afraid to speak up and answer questions and be heard.That’s because they might be a little nervous themselves.Do you know what I mean?Then they see somebody like you who isn’t nervous, and they wish they could be more like you, but they don’t know how to say that, so it comes out the wrong way.”

“Is that true, Daddy?”She blinked up at him, and it was pretty obvious from the way her voice changed that, as far as she was concerned, he hung the moon and stars.That was another good sign.

“I think so,” he agreed.It was another good sign that he put the water aside and turned his full intention on her.She had his eyes, hazel flecked with green and brown.“Don’t ever let anybody make you feel bad for not staying quiet just because they say so.”He held up a finger, though, and touched it to the tip of her nose.“Just like you don’t make anybody feel bad if they don’t know the answer.Right?”

“Right,” she solemnly agreed.

“Because not everybody is going to know things as fast as you do.”This was starting to sound like a conversation they’d had before.Maybe Sofia would benefit from testing to place her in advanced classes.I made a mental note to approach the idea.Now that it was summer and school probably wouldn’t be in for another couple of months, there would be time for that.

Here I was, thinking about the future like the job was mine.I wanted it to be, but it wasn’t up to me.He’d be an idiot if he didn’t hire me, but he still looked at me like I was an alien life form he couldn’t identify.

When he wasn’t looking, I dabbed at my mouth and chin with my makeshift bib in case I had dripped something on my face.I knew I wasn’t imagining things.

“Oh!There’s Ava!From school.”Sofia waved an arm overhead, and I followed her line of sight to find a little girl riding a scooter around the fountain.When she waved happily, I guessed not all of the kids in Sofia’s class thought she was pesky.“Can I go say hi?”

Travis sized up the situation and nodded.She would only be a handful of feet away from us.“Go ahead.But stay where we can see each other.”

“Do you wanna come?”Sofia asked me as she hopped up from her chair and wiped her mouth.

“I think Penny and I will talk for a little while,” Travis decided.“Go ahead.But be careful,” he called out after her since she was already running away.

“She’s too adorable,” I told him right away.“And so smart.”

“Too smart for her own good sometimes,” he agreed with a chagrined chuckle.“Four going on forty.”

“I definitely got that impression.I’m sure she keeps you on your toes.”

“That’s why I need help,” he concluded.With a sigh, he leaned back in his chair, angling his body so he could watch Sofia play near the fountain.“I’ll be in the middle of ironing out an expansion deal over the next six months,” he explained.“I’m looking to set up operations in New York.The next couple of months will be the most hectic, with school out for summer.How much did they tell you about the requirements before sending you over to see me?”

“Not very much,” I explained.“Only the most important parts.Number of children, general situation.”

“Compensation?”he asked, smirking when he looked my way.He needed not to be so hot if this was going to work.I forgot how to breathe and didn’t remember again until he broke eye contact and shifted his attention back over to Sofia and Ava.

“Yes, that, too,” I told him.Did it get a lot hotter out here all of a sudden?I needed to get a grip.How was I supposed to concentrate on keeping a child in one piece if I couldn’t stop drooling over her father?

He ran a hand through his dark brown hair, just long enough for some of the natural curls to come out.That must have been where Sofia got hers from.“I don’t have many rules, but the rules I set, I expect to be followed.That was always an issue for the girls who came before you.”

I couldn’t help myself.My pulse raced, and my insides quaked in anticipation.“Are you telling me I have the position, Mr.Knight?”

His eye roll went a long way toward dampening my excitement.Most people would at least have the decency to look away so as not to be offensive.Not him.“Sofia obviously likes you, and your background and education can only help.She needs a little guidance.I’m afraid she isn’t stimulated enough.I want her to meet her potential.”

Finally, he wasn’t talking to me like some grumpy, Big Bad Wolf type of guy—Mr.Business grumbling at all of his underlings.I could even forgive the eye roll.He was a concerned dad, and he wanted what was best for his little girl.“Understood,” I agreed with a firm nod.“We can always discuss her milestones and touch base on tactics for keeping her engaged and growing.”

“Are you always this earnest?”he asked the question like it was a bad thing.Was I supposed to be offended?

“I am,” I told him, folding my arms on the table and shrugging.“And I genuinely think you’ve got a great kid, and it would be a lot of fun hanging out with her for the next six months.”

“You don’t get to decide it’s too much to deal with and skip out the way other people have.”

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