Page 69 of The Single Dads Club
I steady myself by grasping the table, watching my knuckles turn as white as the marble countertops next to us.
“Please be her nanny. It would only be part time,” he says, as if that justifies this insane situation. “Just until I can land on my feet. Things are overwhelming with mom right now, and figuring out how to manage my New York properties from afar. I need to know I have someone I can count on and someone I can trust entirely with my daughter.”
I stare at my hands, dodging his electric-blue eyes, which I can feel pleading with mine. “I don’t know. There are some really great day cares in town that might be—”
“All the day-care centers are already full for the summer,” he says. “And when I asked Dak, he mentioned that you have the summer off.” Lexington pauses, and when I look up at him, his mouth pulls into a gentle smile. “Congrats, by the way. You’re a teacher, just like you always wanted.”
My mouth opens for a moment in shock before I can snap it closed. Why does he remember my high school dream job? I figured he threw out every memory of me when he left Wilmington.
“I teach first graders, not preschoolers,” I say, turning my head over my shoulder to get a look at Grier.
She’s got a vise grip on that stuffed bat toy, but she seems more interested in our conversation than playing. If she were a bit older, she might have turned away and pretended not to be eavesdropping, but not Grier. She just studies me from across the room with curious blue eyes. “But you’re good with kids,” Lexington says, drawing my attention back to him. “I seem to remember you babysitting your way through high school. Isn’t that how you paid for your homecoming dress junior year?”
I fold my arms over my chest. That’s tworeallyspecific things he remembers about me from over a decade ago. And it puts a fluttery feeling in my stomach that I can’t quite identify and don’t want to latch onto.
Am I creeped out that he committed such tiny details of me to memory? Or maybe I should be flattered. Either way, the fluttery feeling needs to go away, because apparently it’s affecting my brain. I’m actually beginning to consider this nannying gig. My teacher’s salary could really use a little extra padding over the summer and he said it’s only part time so I’d still be able to get plenty of beach time in. Plus, I really do feel awful about his mom. I can see how much that’s affecting him.
“Listen ...” He sighs, planting his forearms on the table in a way that makes it really difficult not to admire how toned they are. “I know it’s a big ask, but I’m really in a jam here. My mom is sick and ...” He swallows hard, as if forcing down the emotion building in his throat. “I can find someone else, if need be. But Grier’s my whole world. I want her to be with someone I trust.”
I chew the inside of my cheek, letting my gaze sweep from the bill of Lexington’s baseball cap all the way down to the toes of his black sneakers. I can hardly believe this is the same boy from ten years ago. Now he’s a man, all rugged, muscular lines, a perfect contrast to the gentle way he handles his sweet little girl.
One look into those blue eyes, and my mind hums with an old memory. Lex and me, the fall of my junior year, just a week after homecoming weekend, when he asked me out on my parents’ couch while his friends chugged cheap beers upstairs.
He made good on his word, picking me up the next Friday night, making sure Dak was at the football game so Lex wouldn’t be caught taking out his best friend’s younger sister. We got double scoops of chocolate ice cream and walked up and down the beach, chatting about everything under the sun, and eventually, the moon.
And at the end of the night, when the words ran out, he lifted my chin with the tips of his fingers and pressed the sweetest, gentlest kiss against my lips. He tasted like chocolate and salty sea air, and just the feel of his hot breath against my lips sent a tingle straight to my toes.
That first date wasn’t the only first I gave Lexington Dane. In fact, he took just about all my firsts. But we were only kids then. And now he has a kid of his own. A kid he wants me to look after.
I loosen my grip on the table, slowly letting myself return to reality. It would be insane to take him up on this offer. I told Sarah Jo yesterday that I have zero intentions of getting involved with this man again. Taking a job that involves constantly being in his house and around his daughter definitely qualifies as getting involved with him. And how could I be around him all the time, witnessing him in all his hot dad glory, and not feel things? But then again, how do I say no to him and his adorable baby girl?
“Can I think about it?” I say, breaking the silence between us. It may not be the answer he wanted, or even an answer at all, but Lexington still nods, his eyes understanding.
“Absolutely. My assistant in New York can manage things if I need to take a day or two off, and—”
A generic ringtone blares from his pocket, interrupting his train of thought. He fishes his phone out, his eyes narrowing with concern after glancing at the screen.
“Excuse me for a minute,” he says, pressing the greenanswericon and bringing the phone to his ear. “Hi, Mom. Everything okay?”
I step into the living room to give him some privacy, where Grier has, for some reason, decided to cram her stuffed bat between the couch cushions. Fascinated, I watch her use her chubby fingers to poke its wings into the crevice until her stuffed animal is nearly hidden from view.
When she spots me heading her way, she pulls it back out, holding it up to give me a good view of its worn gray fur and button eyes. “Flapflap,” she says with a big smile.
She stares at me expectantly until I take it, but once I do, she holds out both hands to take it back, then hugs it tightly to her chest. Yep, toddlers are officially a mystery to me.
When Lexington walks into the room, I can immediately feel the shift in his energy, and panic is written all over his face.
“Mom’s not doing well. I need to get her to the ER.” His gaze bounces between me and Grier and his watch, and I can practically see the gears turning in his head. “I guess I can bring her with me ...”
I shake my head, huffing out a sigh. “I ... can look after her.” The words fly out of my mouth without my brain’s permission.
Well, so much for having time to think about it.
His eyes narrow on me, his thick brows pulling together. “Are you sure?”
Am I sure I know what to do with a two-year-old I hardly know, in a house I’ve never been in before? Absolutely not. But I’m not going to tell him that.
“Of course. It’ll be okay. I’ve got her. Just go.”
