Page 61 of Make Me Swoon

ONE

Jameson

I needto stop staring at her.

I know that, and yet I can’t seem to drag my eyes away from Sylvie’s friend, Phoenix. I haven’t been able to look away since she first walked into the room.

Her dark brown hair, those curves, those dove-gray eyes. I can’t stop taking it all in. I’ve never seen eyes that color before. I didn’t even know that eyes could be that grayish-silver in real life.

I don’t seem to be the only one either. Faith, my niece, has been glued to Phoenix’s side for the last hour. Watching them together has given me an idea about my little problem too.

I’ve been Faith’s legal guardian for close to a year now. My brother and sister-in-law, David and Carrie, passed away close to a year ago and since I was the only family that they had left, I got custody of Faith.

It’s been an adjustment for me for sure, but I love my niece and I know that my brother would be happy that she’s with me, that I’m the one raising her rather than a stranger.

“What do you think?” Phoenix asks Faith with a smile and Faith jumps up and races into the bathroom to check out the hairdo that Phoenix just finished.

It’s twisted up in some kind of elaborate braid that I could never get right. I’m still learning ponytails and I smile as Faith grins at her reflection.

“You’re really good at that,” I say and Phoenix grins at me.

“I almost became a hairdresser. Then I babysat for this family down the road and had such a blast with their little girl. So, when I went to college a few months later, I decided to major in early childhood education.”

She has a degree, experience, and Faith loves her.

She’s perfect.

“Where are you working now?” I ask as Faith skips back over to her side and climbs up into her lap.

“I actually just finished a nanny job so I’m here to visit Sylvie before I head back to Michigan to find a new job.”

“I’m looking for a nanny for Faith,” I blurt out, and her eyebrows rise in surprise at my weirdly worded job offer.

“You could live in Pittsburgh with me!” Sylvie says, wincing as she tries to sit up more in her hospital bed.

“Careful,” Finn says, already moving to help his girlfriend get comfortable.

He’s supposed to be getting ready for his big fight tonight but I have a feeling that he’s not going to leave Sylvie until the very last second.

“We get to hang out more?” Faith asks Phoenix and when she looks up at Phoenix with those big eyes, I know that she’s going to say yes.

No one can resist Faith.

I was supposed to start interviewing another round of nannies this week, but it would be awesome to not have to spend any more time trying to find someone.

I’ve been exhausted trying to juggle Faith, my new role as a parent, finding a nanny, and training for my own fight in a few weeks. Faith hasn’t liked any of the other nannies that I’ve interviewed and I was starting to think that we would never find anyone.

Kit, my coach and the owner of King’s Gym, has been awesome about everything. He knows that my schedule isn’t as open as before and that Faith has to come first. Kit’s wife, Stella, has even offered to babysit for me too but I know that she’s busy with her own kids and the business side of Kings Gym.

“Maybe,” Phoenix tells Faith before she looks over at me.

I give her a friendly smile. At least I hope it looks friendly and that she can’t tell that I’ve already imagined kissing my way down her body and then bending her over the nearest available surface.

“I’ll talk to your dad about it later,” she tells Faith.

“Oh, Jameson is her uncle and guardian,” Everly corrects Phoenix.

“Oh… well, I’ll talk to him about it later.”

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