Sharing Their Nanny (The Nannies)

“Have I left you uncomfortable?” he asked.

“Max, I had sex with you and your best friend. The next morning, and night, in fact, the last couple of days, you’ve been a complete no-show. You tell me how you would react if that had been me. If I’d been the one to sneak out that morning. To not talk to you. To not be seen by you.”

He ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m not used to this,” he said.

“What? Someone calling you out on ignoring them?” she asked, brow raised.

He smiled. “I deserved that one.”

“Yeah, you did.” She was so nervous. If he were to touch her hands right now, he would feel how clammy they were.

She’d been working for Max and Dylan for over six months. When she started working for them, she’d been in a bad place. Not physically, but getting over the lack of emotion at her breakup had shaken her up. She had to come to terms with the fact her relationship was over and had been for a long time. She didn’t even care that it was over.

Raine hated that the most. She’d been living with a man who had left her with no feeling.

“I have a history of not doing the right thing. Of not knowing what to say,” he said.

“So you thought not saying anything at all would fix that?” she asked.

He got up from his seat and rounded the desk. Even though her stomach was in knots, she couldn’t deny the attraction she had for him.

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Why don’t you give me a chance to prove that I’m not going anywhere?” she asked.

Chapter Six

“Should I be worried?” Dylan asked.

“About?”

“Whatever’s going on inside your head.”

Max put his pen down and looked up at his best friend. “There is nothing going on inside my head. I’m fine.”

Dylan wasn’t convinced. His friend sighed and stepped into the office, closing the door. “You’re fine. I know for a fact Raine has been by to see you, and she seemed happy afterward. That has to mean something.”

“What do you want from me? You want me to tell you how she asked for me to trust her?”

“That’s a start,” Dylan said.

“Then that’s exactly what happened. She has asked for me to trust her and to not think the worst.”

“But you’re not going to do that?” Dylan asked.

Max locked his fingers together. “What do you want with me, Dylan?”

His friend ran his fingers through his hair and growled at him. “Damn it, you’re so fucking infuriating. We have the best woman in our life. She went up like fire between us, and all you can do is sit here, looking through figure sheets like you don’t know how the club is doing, when we both know better. We both know you’re well ahead on the books, and memberships, and everything. Why are you avoiding this? Why are you being a giant pain in my ass?”

Max got to his feet and glared at his friend. “Haven’t you been taught any lesson at all? How rushing into stuff can ruin it?”

“You’re not doing anything, Max. You’re stuck at the office. You haven’t seen Lake for days. I’m pretty sure Raine would be okay with you avoiding her, but not your niece. Not when your niece needs you.” Dylan shook his head. “I don’t know why I’m trying. You’re being a dick. You know it and so do I.”

He watched his friend get up, expecting him to say something else, but he just walked right out of his office door.

The truth was, Max was scared, and he didn’t like it.

One time with Raine wasn’t enough, but he was terrified of allowing himself to fall for the young woman.

Staring down at the file on his desk, he knew he didn’t need to be in the office. With Halloween fast approaching, he didn’t need to be anywhere but at home with his niece. He’d made all the necessary arrangements prior to Halloween so he could help Lake. Especially after the school had called him out of the blue because they had concerns that she wasn’t settling as fine as he originally thought. Sometimes kids seemed to settle in and then take a turn, and Lake was having those problems. With how her life had been turned upside down, instead of helping her, he was here, working when he didn’t need to.

Getting to his feet, he closed down his computer and put all the files away. Raine wasn’t supposed to get under his skin, but he also didn’t mind that she had.

He glanced at his office, liking the sterile neatness he’d created in his world. With a deep breath, he left the club and went straight to his car.

Once behind the wheel, he didn’t give himself time to think. He just drove all the way home. The city was quiet, which was a surprise for the time of year. He was used to the chaos of activity. It was his one time to observe it from afar instead of being a part of it.