Page 15 of Rejected Nanny Mate
“I love Rose,” I admitted. “But damn if it's not exhausting. But Gwen, my nanny,” I added for Jayce's sake, “has really been a godsend.”
“Gwen, huh?” Jayce's eyebrow quirked, and he looked thoughtful. “The Omega from Scott's other shop, right? Yeah, she's cute. Lucky you.”
I was the most controlled out of the four of us, the most experienced, the one who always had a cooler head than the rest, but damn...Even I had my limits, and Jayce had just barreled into one I didn't even know I had.
Chapter 6 - Gwen
With the weekend off from the cafe and Joe occupied, I wasn't content to waste the beautiful fall day. Luckily, Rose was energetic and happy instead of having one of her rare grouchy days, so I decided to pack her up and head downtown. I hoped to run into Joe once his meeting was over, and maybe have lunch together, just the three of us.
It would just be a way for him to bond with his daughter, was all. Nothing more. I definitely wasn't looking for ways to spend extra time with him.
But...I didn't exactly despise Joe's company or anything. In fact, living with him had been easier than I'd ever imagined it would be. He was always polite, and seemed to enjoy my cooking, and had even praised my work with Rose.
He was just so big, and handsome, and commanding. Being near him made me nervous, and not in a bad way. Not exactly. It was more like I was anxious that things were too good, and I was at risk of forgetting how cruel his rejection had been.
It was easy to see why we'd been friends before. Our personalities just meshed well. But friendship wasn't the only reason I'd fallen for him, and now that the old feelings were threatening to come back, the only thing I could do was avoid him and hope the pain would subside.
Except I was a glutton for punishment, apparently, and avoiding him was the last thing I wanted to do.
Rose was fussy in the stroller, but a snack and a little bit of a walk were enough to settle her. As I approached Howler's, I heard voices from within and knew the Alpha meeting was still underway. My heart leaped when I recognized Joe's voice, and I stopped just shy of the window.
“You have a problem with that, Samson?”
“No,” Samson growled.” I just don't want them worrying about things unnecessarily. Nayeli's pregnant, and Kiera is still adjusting to being a Luna and the fact that Kit can shift now. This could be stressful, and it's not worth it.”
“I'll keep an eye on Nayeli. She's a lot more experienced now, and if I have any hesitation, I'll put a stop to it immediately. If there's anything going on, the girls will find out and let us know. That's all. Now, moving on to the next thing. Joe is a new father, and I believe congratulations are in order, man. How are you liking the parenthood life, man?”
“I love Rose,” he answered. “But damn if it's not exhausting. But Gwen, my nanny, has really been a godsend.”
I could feel my cheeks heating, and I pressed my hands to them. Hearing him compliment me was a hit of dopamine I could definitely get used to. It was why I stuck around to hear the rest, only to have that brief bit of euphoria shattered.
“Gwen, huh? The Omega from Scott's other shop, right? Yeah, she's cute. Lucky you.”
I didn't recognize the first voice, but the process of elimination told me that it was Jayce, the Blacktide Alpha and new guy in town, speaking. That made my cheeks get even warmer. His compliment didn't hit me square in the heart like Joe's did, but it wasn't often that men paid attention to me. Having an Alpha call me cute was...nice. Unexpected, but nice.
“Yeah?” Joe's voice was like ice, a sudden change, and something I hadn't heard from him before. Then, I heard the sound of a chair scooting across the floor as someone stood. “Why don't you worry about your own Omegas and keep mine out of your mind and her name out of your mouth?”
The silence was heavy for a second before Samson spoke, “Gwen is a part of my pack, Joe.”
That seemed to snap him out of whatever had come over him, and I heard as Joe settled back into his seat. I was desperate to peek around the corner to see the four of them, but I knew my eavesdropping would be busted the minute I did, and all Joe's trust in me would be shattered. When Rose started babbling, I popped half a yogurt melt into her mouth and continued to listen.
“Sorry, Sam,” I noticed Joe didn't apologize to Jayce, who had been the target of his anger, “Rose is just so attached to Gwen that in my mind...”
“It's fine,” Samson said, “Having an Omega taking care of your kid with no mother around could confuse the pack bonds in your head. I get it.”
“That's why?” Jayce didn't seem convinced. “Not because you want her for yourself?”
My pulse kicked into high gear. Oh my God. What would he say?
Joe took longer than usual to answer, but when he did, my heart sank to my feet. “No. She's just my nanny, and she's not my type anyway.”
“That doesn't line up with my memory of you coming into the cafe to hang around her all the time a few years ago,” Scott added.
“You must be remembering wrong. She's a plain, low-ranking Omega in a different pack. There's not a single thing that interests me there.”
I felt a sharp sting, then a hot wash of tears in my eyes. It was one thing to remember the rejection and another entirelyto have him confirm it so casually, as if he didn't care at all. I'm not his type. That wasn't a surprise, but hearing him admit it was hard.
“I must have misremembered,” Scott apologized.
