Page 26 of The Nanny and the Nerd
Phoebe crossed her little arms. “If you could be a fairy princess or a hot dog, which one would you pick?”
“Is this the question that decides if I can become your nanny?” Penelope asked.
“For the sixty-day trial period,” he interjected before his niece could answer. He could tell the little girl was already enchanted with Penelope, and he was…well, that was to be determined. One thing he knew for sure was that he couldn’t afford to lose himself in the depths of her gaze. Yes, he needed the help, but he also couldn’t allow any extraneous distractions. And in those boots and with that smile, Penelope Fennimore was nearly impossible to ignore.
She met his eye. “Yes, for the sixty-day trial period.”
“Fairy princess or a hot dog?” Phoebe repeated, not interested in the grownup’s conversation.
“She likes hot dog day at school,” he explained under his breath.
Penelope grinned. “Who wouldn’t? It’s almost as good as pizza day.”
He handily disagreed. Both foods were atrocious, but this was neither the time nor the place to debate the issue.
A wide grin stretched across Penelope’s face. “Both! If I have the choice, I’d choose to be a fairy princess hot dog. Who could turn down the chance to be a royal hot dog with wings?”
Phoebe nodded sagely, then looked up at him. “She gets it. Let’s keep her, Uncle Row.”
He met Penelope’s gaze. “Then it’s decided. Penelope Fennimore, for the next sixty days, you’re mine.”
“What?” she replied, confusion marring her features.
He wanted to punch himself in the mouth!
Think with your brain, not with your cock!
He cleared his throat. “My nanny. No, Phoebe’s nanny. For the next sixty days, you’ll be Phoebe’s nanny,” he corrected.
And he needed to remember that.
She wasn’t for him—and she never could be.
Six
Penny
“He said you were his—likeyou belonged to him?” Charlotte asked over the salty rim of her margarita.
Penny downed the rest of her drink. She’d need another margarita—or ten—to process the insanity of what happened today. In a handful of hours, she’d gone from thinking she’d met a hot jackass of a nerdy gamer to learning that said jackass was herpotentialboss.
No, that jackass gamer was now heractualboss—her hot, nerdy actual boss!
Stop!
He wasn’t that hot. Dammit, that was a lie! With his dark hair and those glasses framing his piercing green eyes, he was hot—but he had been a complete jackass! That part was true. He’d deliberately deceived and not divulged his identity. And he’d taken her to task on her lack of video game knowledge. He seemed pretty damn full of himself. But when his assistant mentioned Phoebe, she’d seen something in his eyes. Something broke through his robotic jackassery. It was only a flash, but it was enough. This man had secrets—painful secrets. She felt it in her bones.
Maybe it was the writer in her that wanted to figure out his inner workings. What made him tick? And why, when he looked at her, did it feel as if he wanted to swallow her whole? She couldn’t deny the intense buzz between them. It crackled and popped like two combustible elements coming together. She wasn’t like this with anyone. And more than she wanted to admit, despite the man losing his mind over her organizational shortcomings, something had sparked between them, and she liked it.
No, she didn’t like it. She shouldn’t like it. The man was attractively awkward and required childcare. That was it. She’d be wise to turn off her writer’s brain when it came to Rowen Gale. There would be no happy ending for her with this man. Then her treacherous mind pictured him, all muted demeanor and cheekbones that could cut glass. And his voice—monotone in the sexiest way, like a dirty automated recording.
For the next sixty days, you’re mine.
A tingle traveled down her spine, then settled between her thighs. Oh no! She could not allow her mind to go there! She grabbed the pitcher and filled her glass, then found Charlotte eyeing her closely.
Penny took a sip and gathered herself. “He must have misspoken, Char. He couldn’t mean that he wanted me all to himself.”
“But he said those words, right?” Charlotte pressed.
