Page 95 of The Nanny and the Nerd
“Yeah, I picked up a bunch of Ms. Pac-Man hoodies in your size. One for every day we’re gone,” he said, his expression unreadable.
She stared at him as voices floated down the hall. But she couldn’t concentrate on that. And he couldn’t be serious about the hoodies, could he?
“Do you remember last week when you, Boomer, and Goose were working on the castle sequence?” he asked, shifting gears.
Where was he going with this?
She nodded. “The day you picked up Phoebe from school and then brought her back to the office.”
“I had a little talk with Cassie’s Dad in the school pickup line before Phoebe and I returned to Gale Gaming.”
What in the world would he have to say to the douchebag dad who deemed her a NILF?
“Cassie’s dad from Phoebe’s class?” she clarified.
His lips curled into a cocksure grin. “Yep, that’s the guy.”
She made sure Phoebe wasn’t within earshot. “The guy who called me a NILF?” she pressed, recalling Rowen’s fierce expression when Phoebe dropped that little nugget.
“The dad who knows how much you like ice cream. The nanny ice cream-loving friend? Isn’t that what you told Phoebe when we both knew he meant Nanny I’d like to f—?” he continued with an evil glint in his eyes. But she couldn’t let him finish!
“It was the best I could come up with in two seconds,” she interrupted, her words coming out in a tumble. “I’m a writer, not a magician! And we certainly couldn’t tell Phoebe what Cassie’s dad meant.” She paused, took a step toward him, then poked him square in the chest. “What exactly did you say to Cassie’s dad?”
Rowen glanced at her finger as that curl of a grin widened. “I asked him about hiswife’spersonal shopper.”
“Did you?” she answered. Phoebe had told them about how Cassie’s mom had a stylist who brought fancy clothing to her house. It seemed extravagant, but she couldn’t blame Cassie’s mom for being a shopaholic. With an asshat of a husband, that woman most likely deserved all the pretty things.
“I did,” he tossed back.
“Is that everything you discussed with Cassie’s father?” she continued.
Rowen shrugged. “There might have been another thing or two.”
“Is that why we haven’t seen him around school lately?” she asked. It had been a while since she’d spied the ogling Mr. Klein. He usually hung out next to his car in the pickup lane, shamelessly raking his gaze over any woman who wandered into his orbit.
“I might have suggested that he skip the pickup lane and retrieve his daughter from the opposite side of Whitmore. It’s nice over there—quiet. Not another soul in sight. Plus, the playground is close by, and Cassie can go down the slide on her way to meet her dad.”
“So, this was for Cassie?” she asked, eyeing him closely.
“Sure,” he answered with another half-shrug.
“Nothing about me?”
“Nothing you need to worry about. Nerdy gamer stuff,” he added, his gaze darkening.
A delicious tingle worked its way down her spine. “Nerdy gamer stuff?” she threw back in a breathy rasp.
“I’ll leave you with this,” he said, tipping her chin as he leaned in, his warm breath caressing her lips. “Nerds like to win, and they don’t like to share.”
That tingle settled between her thighs. “Is that so?”
His gaze grew positively carnal. “And they especially hate it when someone tries to slip in and steal what’s theirs,” he added with such a look of total satisfaction that all she wanted to do was grab his face and kiss him into next week. But she kept her cool—well, she tried.
“I see,” she replied, going for nonchalance. She didn’t need anyone to fight her battles, but there was something incredibly hot about Rowen staking his claim. Blame it on the fact that she’d been mired in the medieval cyber world of AI-77 for the last four weeks. But heaven help her! There was something crazy sexy about this man standing up for her honor and sending a lecherous d-bag packing—even if it were only to the other side of the schoolyard.
And they were back to the place where she’d barely remembered her own damn name. All that mattered in this dreamy parallel universe, fueled by attraction and adoration, was what they felt for each other.
Rowen’s lips hovered a breath above hers. “I took a page from AI-77’s playbook. He wouldn’t stand for someone calling Amelia a NILF.”
