Page 12 of Rejected Nanny Mate
“Ruined our friendship?” he asked, curious.
“Are you honestly trying to deny that?”
He didn't answer. Instead, Joe crossed his arms over his chest. The gesture emphasized the breadth of his shoulders and the size of his biceps, and my throat went dry.
“I'm not trying to deny anything, Gwen. I guess I'm just more surprised that you considered me a friend.”
That gave me pause. Rose grabbed a strand of my hair, and I worked at untangling her fingers from it as I responded. “Of course I did.”
“Hm.” He looked me over again, but this time, it was more thoughtful. “We did get along pretty well, didn't we?”
“We did.” I agreed, finally extricating Rose's fingers and tucking her tiny fist back into the blanket she was wrapped in. “But that's done. You're my employer. You write my paycheck. Let's keep things simple, okay?”
“If that's what you want, then sure.” Joe pushed himself off of the doorframe, his expression resigned but accepting. “Come on. We never got to your room on the tour. Follow me.”
I did, holding Rose close and listening to her steady breaths and soft snores. The baby was already asleep, and I marveled at the fact that she could go from wide awake to snoozing in mere minutes.
“This is it,” Joe announced. His tone was proud, and I could see why. The room was gorgeous, with an entire wall of windows, a massive king-sized bed, and a plush rug. A flat-screen TV was mounted on the opposite wall, and the bathroom had a huge clawfoot tub.
My eyes were wide as I looked around. There were apparently some perks of being the oldest of the alliance Alphas; Joe had almost a decade extra to earn money, and it showed. I knew he owned the garden shop downtown, but like most Alphas, he also owned a fair amount of property he had inherited from the previous Alpha and made money off of those.
“I'm sleeping here?”
“Well, if you don't like the view, we can switch. Maybe you'd prefer the one from my bedroom,” Joe teased, and I shot him a warning glance.
“What is wrong with you?”
He held up his hands. “Just kidding, Gwen. Relax. Look, do whatever you want. The whole house is yours. If you don't like the room, we'll find a new one. Or just move the furniture around. Whatever works.”
“Actually, I love it,” I sighed, having no real argument, even if he made me feel argumentative. “It's beautiful. Let's go get the bag I left by the door, and you can show me the nursery on the way.”
“Alright.”
Once Joe had deposited my luggage on my bed, I followed him to a nearby room, which had obviously been converted into a nursery. It had very recently been painted a light purple, so recently that there were still remnants of blue painters’ tape on the trim in places. Joe had set up the crib, changing table, and rocker. There were some unopened boxes full of baby items, and he'd stacked the bags of clothes, blankets, and other gifts the pack had given her. It showed both how quickly Joe had to set things up for his new daughter and just how seriously he was taking it.
“It looks perfect,” I breathed. “You really stepped up to the plate, Joe.”
“Thanks,” he smiled. “I had some help. The other two parts of your little friend trio did a lot.”
“I'll bet,” I smiled. “Can I put her down?”
“Be my guest.”
Rose stirred a little as I laid her in her new crib, but her eyelids were heavy, and she drifted off to sleep easily. My heart ached, and I felt a pang of longing. I loved her so much already, and we'd only just met. I wasn't sure how anyone could be a mother and not want their children every second of the day.
“She's out cold,” I whispered, turning and motioning for him to lead the way.
He did, and the house was soft sounds of the wind outside. I was exhausted, and the stress of the night caught up with me. Suddenly, I wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep for the next year.
“Where's your room?” I asked, and when he raised an eyebrow suggestively, I wrinkled my nose. “Not for that, jerk. Rules, remember? Stop flirting. I just need to know in case of an emergency.”
“At the end of the hallway, right down the way from yours.” His face was uncharacteristically soft when he looked down at me, green eyes impossibly dark in the low light. “Get some rest. I took tomorrow off so we could adjust to the new normal before I leave you and Rosie alone. I'll see you in the morning.”
I watched him walk away, and my wolf, usually quiet and content to take the back seat, whimpered. The poor thing didn't understand why Joe and I weren't together, and was sad. He was still the only man I'd ever felt such strong things with, the only man who made me feel brave instead of timid.
When he closed the door to his room, I finally headed back to mine.
“Best forget it for now,” I murmured to myself, sighing. “We've got work to do.”
