Page 22 of Rejected Nanny Mate
He leaned forward, and his voice lowered to a sultry pitch. “My absolute pleasure.”
Feeling sick watching the spectacle, and way more jealous than I'd like to admit, I got the women's drinks and set the ceramic cups down on the table with a clatter.
“Here you go, girls. Joe's treat.” I glared at him.
Annoyingly, he just grinned, pulled out his wallet, and handed me a twenty. “This should cover it. Keep the change.”
Kiera, Rhie, and Nayeli were watching us like we were the hottest new reality show on television, so I glared at them, too. Unsurprisingly, no one was intimidated by me, and Joe was chatting with everyone again in no time while I cleaned the tables in preparation for the closing server to arrive.
It felt strange, but I barely interacted with my friends for the rest of the time they were there, and it was almost a relief when everyone, Joe included, left. Once the closing server showed up, I was happy to clock out and head back to the house. Joe had taken Rose to work with him, and I would have the house to myself for a few hours.
Once outside, I untied my apron and rolled my stiff shoulders, happy to be off work. I'd only taken a few steps towards the parking lot when Joe stepped out from behind the building, his hands in his pockets and an easy grin on his face. He hadn't shaved in a few days, and it made him even hotter to me, even if he'd annoyed the hell out of me inside the cafe.
“Don't you need to get back to Rose?”
“Nah,” he said, kicking at the dirt on the sidewalk with his boot. “I asked Deb to watch her until later. She's shutting the shop down and taking her home. Apparently, she has a lot of baby stuff because of her grandkids.”' Joe shrugged. “I'm not going to complain. It gives me some time to ask you out to dinner tonight.”
I was flabbergasted. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. It's the weekend, and I don't have to worry about opening tomorrow. And Rose is well taken care of. So, you and I, dinner. Let's go.”
“I am not going out to eat with you,” I spluttered, clutching my bag strap tightly.
“Why not?”
“Because you were just flirting with all of my friends in there, and I hate seeing you do that.”
“I'm sorry.”
“No, you're not.”
“Actually, I am,” Joe said, a frown creasing his brow. “That wasn't my intention.”
“Yeah, right.”
“Really. I didn't know it bothered you.” He tilted his head to the side as he examined my face, like he was looking for some sort of secret. “Why does it bother you, Gwen?”
“It just does. Okay?”
“Fine. No reason to yell. But seriously, I want to take you out tonight. To celebrate. What's the problem?”
“I have nothing to celebrate,” I snapped, and immediately felt bad.
He shrugged, and then did the most annoying thing. He reached out and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. The touch was casual, and it sent a shiver of awareness up my spine.
“You should celebrate,” he told me quietly, “because you've worked your ass off the last few weeks, and saved me in the process. And you're really fucking amazing, and Rose is a lucky pup, and I'm a lucky man to have you around, so we should have a celebratory dinner.”
The words hit me straight in the chest, and I struggled not to swoon. Joe had never been this nice or sincere to me before. The fact that he had a daughter had changed him, but it was the first time I'd seen that change so clearly.
“Come on,” he insisted, nudging my shoulder. “One dinner. My treat. No strings. Just two adults enjoying a meal.”
I hesitated, biting my lower lip, and the gesture seemed to capture his attention, his gaze flickering down. “I should really get home. I have laundry to do, and—”
“Please, Gwen?”
It was the pleading look in his eyes, the way he was standing so close, and the earnest, boyish tone in his voice. Something about the whole picture combined and melted my heart.
“Okay,” I agreed, and his smile was like the sun. “But no funny business. This is strictly professional.”
