Page 31 of Hat Trick
"Fuck man, is it that obvious?"
Gabe chuckles darkly. "We would know. We have the look, too."
"I'm just so goddamn tired of trying to do the right thing. I want to be selfish for a day. I want to make her mine. To hell with the consequences."
"Man, we've been trying to keep it respectful for you, but if you tell us she's fair game?" Luca says, sitting up suddenly.
"I don't know, man. What if she doesn't want us like that? What if she only wants one and the other two have to watch her fall in love? What if shit hits the fan and she leaves us?"
"Number one, she does want us that way. You've seen the way she looks at us when she thinks we're not watching. How she tries to avoid looking at us at all when we're shirtless. And two, it's up to her how she wants to play this, but she won't know where we're at mentally if we don't talk to her about it. And three, I can't imagine a scenario where she would ever leave that little girl. She loves her, Carter. Even if it broke her heart, she'd stay." Gabe pipes up, the voice of reason.
I let my mind wander as my eyes follow her. She's so goddamn beautiful. What if it all blows up in my face? But then what if it doesn't? What if I could have it all? The amazing nanny, and a beautiful, thoughtful, caring girlfriend. My heart aches with longing, and I feel a terrible weight on my chest. The image is just too fucking perfect.
Fuck it, I can't keep resisting her and fucking my fist to thoughts of her anymore. The mental picture I have of how good everything could be is too much to resist.
We'll talk to her tonight.
I watch it happen in slow motion. I watch as Emily holds both of Annie's hands, and they slowly walk, step-in-step down the beach. I watch as the rookies toss a football. I watch as the football goes wild and sails over Emily. I watch as a rookie reaches out, unaware that there's a woman and a small child in the way. I watch as 200 pounds of hockey player barrels into my nanny and my daughter. And I watch as Emily sees what's about to happen milliseconds before it does, hugs my daughter to her chest, and takes the brunt of the impact, landing hard on her knees.
I'm out of my chair the moment Luca and Gabe are and sprint down the beach.
"What the fuck!" I shout at the rookie, whose name I'm not even sure I know, shoving him hard with both hands. I'm torn between beating the shit out of him for being so reckless and making sure my girls are okay.
"I'm so, so sorry. Are you okay?" He asks Emily, trying to pick her up by her elbow. Her pained face is telling me how exactly not okayshe is. I shove the rookie as hard as I can into the river. Fucking hell, that was my daughter and my nanny...my...Emily.
I reach for her and lift her to standing, still with Annie clutched to her chest. I look Annie over first. She's smiling and blissfully unaware that Emily's hurt. I hand her off to Luca before assessing Emily. Her knees are scrapped, and bleeding and she isn't breathing. Fury rolls through my veins like a freight train.
"I'm okay," Emily says weakly. I'm shaking. There are too many emotions rolling around inside me to handle right now. "Just got the wind knocked out of me." She says, grimacing, but waving me off with her hand. I scoop her up into my arms and walk her to the back of my truck, only setting her down to lower the tailgate. I lift her so she's sitting on the tailgate.
"Jesus, Emily." I scold, although I'm not angry with her. I can't tell how I'm feeling. I'm angry, scared, grateful, relieved. I let out a breath slowly, pushing all of those emotions away so I can do what's right. Her knees are scraped and bleeding and there are bits of rock and sand in the scrapes. I find a bottle of water in the back seat and some napkins from the glovebox. I grab her calf and lift her leg so I can pour the water on it.
"Hey," her soft voice above me says. "I'm okay." She holds my face in her hands and brings my gaze up to her. "I'm okay." She reiterates, now that she's got my attention.
"Fucking rookie." I growl.
"It was an accident. He didn't mean to run into me. Annie's fine. I'm fine. You can't protect us from everything."
Like hell I can't. I should have been there. It should have been me with Annie taking the hit. I search her face for something. She'sreassured me already, but I still have a ball of nerves in my stomach. She takes the water bottle from me and hisses as she washes her knees with water, blotting the scrapes with the napkins.
"You protected her." I whisper, still uneasy.
"Of course. Wouldn't you?"
I would, of course, I'm her father. But would anyone else have? That could have ended so much worse than it did. Emily could have gotten seriously injured, but she didn't even hesitate to put herself in harm's way to protect Annie. I've liked and appreciated Emily this entire time. I've resisted my attraction to her this entire time. But this? This selfless display of protecting and loving my daughter. I'm starting to fall for my nanny.
I press myself between her thighs and pull her against me, resting my head on her chest. From her spot on the tailgate, she's a few inches taller than me. "Oof." She groans at the sudden contact. She wraps her arms around my shoulders, water bottle and napkins still in hand, before giggling, and resting her cheek on top of my head.
"I don't think you know how amazing you are." I say, loving the feel of her in my arms. This is where she's meant to be. Holding Annie or letting me hold her.
I pull back just enough to take her cheek in one of my hands and press a kiss against her lips.
"Oh," she says against my lips.
I pull back, terrified I've crossed a line she didn't want me to cross. "Too far?"
She shakes her head with a small smile. "No, just surprising." I take that as an invitation to kiss her again. I mold my lips to hers. I've been dreaming about how her lips would feel for months. To finally havethem is better than any dream. She's soft, supple, and when I lick the seem of her lips, she parts for me. The napkins and water bottle drop as she tangles her hands in my hair, angling to deepen the kiss. She presses her chest into mine and I swear I've never been harder. I pour everything in this kiss. My appreciation for her, my gratitude, my longing, my love.
I pull away before I lose all control and slide aside that tiny bathing suit and take her on the tailgate of my truck. I press my forehead against hers, eyes shut, breathing hard.
