They were both hungry for the other, and no amount of trying to convince herself it was the last time ever worked. Each night, she ended up thoroughly fucked and in Drew’s bed. Each morning, she woke up in his arms, and for a few short minutes, she’d panic, relax, and allow herself to wish, to think this was more than a friendly fuck.
Could it really be anything else?
She didn’t know. There was no way she could think it would be anything else.
Then, of course, this was the first Saturday morning where Drew had woken up first. He’d made breakfast of toast, not burned this time, but he’d also ordered a picnic to be delivered to the house.
“Do you think it’s wise I go out with you?”
“You’re my nanny.”
“And you’re perfectly capable of taking care of your daughter.”
“Do you not want to come?”
“I do, of course I do.” She blew out a breath. “It’s the people out there I’ve got a problem with.”
“I don’t ever remember you really caring about what people think. Don’t worry about them. They’ve got their own lives to fuck up and we’ve got ours. Are you really going to let Meghan down?”
“I’m trying to think practically.”
“Meghan!” Drew smiled at her but it wasn’t a pleasant look. No, this was the look of someone who had a plan, and she knew she wasn’t going to like it.
Meghan came downstairs. She wore a pair of denim shorts and a sunshine-yellow crop top.
“Yes, Daddy?”
“Tell Callie you want her to come to the park with us. We want her. She doesn’t think we want her.”
“We do. We want you a lot,” Meghan said. “You’ve got to come. Please, Callie, please.”
She rolled her eyes. “That was mean.”
“No, that was fighting fire with fire and oh, yeah, I totally won this round.”
Without arguing, she followed them out of the house and climbed into the car. The park was only a short drive but Drew clearly didn’t want to carry the picnic. There were still plenty of parking spaces, and she saw the park was busy. Families had already descended.
Drew climbed out of the car. She held Meghan’s hand while he carried the picnic basket toward their destination. She lifted her hand up and peered around, trying to find a good spot.
Drew took the lead and Meghan swung their arms high and then down.
“You look pretty today, Callie,” Meghan said.
“Thank you, sweetie. So do you.” She wore a pale-blue sundress with little yellow flowers on it. It was light, airy, and with the sun beaming down on them, it was nice and refreshing.
Drew found a spot near some shade. There was still plenty of room. He opened up the basket and put the blanket down. Following Meghan, they sat down on the ground.
Callie couldn’t help but check to see if anyone was paying them any attention. She’d been to picnics with families before but this was different. This was intimate. There was only the three of them. No mother in sight. After Drew’s revelation last night, she was glad Tilly was nowhere to be seen. She’d hated her in high school and now even more so.
Drew surprised her as he pulled out a coloring book and crayons for Meghan, who took them and started to color immediately.
She leaned back, watching Meghan, putting her dress modestly over her thighs. “Do you come out to picnics often?”
“No, this is our first one. Before you came along, Meghan enjoyed watching movies all night.”
“Ah, that explains why you were so tired.”
“Yes, in a short time, you’ve brought order to my chaotic world,” he said. He reached over and rested his hand against hers.
She looked up, expecting to see judging eyes, but there was nothing.
“Stop worrying. You need to learn to relax.”
“Easier said than done.” She nibbled on her lip. “Sorry, I shouldn’t say anything.”
“No, you can say whatever it is you want. I don’t mind. You’ll relax one way or another.”
“How can you be so calm?”
“Easy, I know I’m not breaking any rules.”
“But I am.”
“No, you’re not.”
“This is my life, Drew.”
“And what if I want to be part of that life?” he asked. “Will you spend yours moving from home to home, getting attached to kids only for them to be pulled away from you? Is that really the kind of life you want?”
“I don’t want to talk about this.”
“That professor took a lot from you.”
“I’m a good nanny.”
“But it wasn’t what you wanted to be,” he said.
“I don’t know what I wanted to be.”
“I do. I looked it up in the yearbook.”
“The yearbook?”
“Yep. You wanted to be a counselor. You wanted to help kids, and I’m guessing you wanted to provide the next generation with the help you didn’t get.”
“I put that in the yearbook?”
“Yes. Tell me this professor’s name.”
She shook her head. “It’s in the past. I’m not going to let it affect my future.”