I marched up to the door, confident that I would have a job at the end of the day.
Inside, I heard Noah moving around in the kitchen. I closed the door louder than I normally would have to alert him that I was in the house.
I tightened the scarf around my neck, covering myself up so there he would in no way think I was trying to seduce him. I’d never intended that the first time. Once again, a delicious thread of pleasure moved through me, settling between my legs.
I shook my head, clearing my thoughts before entering the kitchen.
“Good morning,” I said cheerfully.
Noah turned. He cradled a mug of coffee in his hands. “Morning.”
We stood there for a moment, not meeting each other’s eyes. A pit widened in my stomach. This was as awkward as I imagined.
“How was the rest of your weekend?” Noah asked, sipping from his mug.
I let out a slow breath. His eyes locked on mine over the rim of his cup. They flashed in the same way they did on Saturday night.
“Not bad,” I said. “You?”
“Gina and I went to the park and met up with a friend.”
A female friend?
“That sounds like fun,” I said, rubbing my sweaty palm against my jeans.
“Yeah, he gave Gina a handmade doll he bought on one of the islands during his vacation.”
Did he sense my need for a gender clarification? “That’s lovely,” I said. “I can’t wait to see it.”
He nodded. “Gina loves it. I’m sure it will be the first thing you see when she gets up.”
“Great,” I said.
Noah finished his coffee and placed the mug in the dishwasher. “Thanks for setting up the quilt activity.”
“It’s no problem. I’ve been meaning to do another one for some time.”
Noah crossed the room and stood in front of me. His green eyes were darker this morning. Probably because there wasn’t much light in the room. “She’s really excited about it.”
I slowly inhaled, smelling a hint of his cologne. The scent memory catapulted me back to Saturday night.
“Well,” he said with a small smirk. “I should get going.”
“
Yeah,” I said as I exhaled. I needed him out of my sight or I was going to go crazy with need. Would this feeling ever go away? It wasn’t completely his fault that this was awkward. I had wanted to have sex with him. And I was the one who left that night. What would have happened if I stayed? Did he think of me more than his nanny after that night? Or did he agree that this was a bad idea? It was clear we weren’t going to talk about it at that moment. But I built up a list of questions in my mind for when we did have that discussion when we had more time to hash it all out.
I waited until the front door closed and I heard the engine of his car before I headed into the kitchen to start on Gina’s breakfast.
With her dislike for most vegetables, I chopped spinach and added it to her oatmeal. It was a trick I’d learned in one of my earlier nanny jobs. Sadly, that job only worked out for about two weeks when the family moved across the country.
When I finished preparing the breakfast, I put the oatmeal in two bowls to allow it to cool before going upstairs.
Gina was still in bed when I opened the door. Her little eyes cracked open and then widened like saucers. “Jess!” She jumped out of bed and ran over to me, hugging my legs.
“Good morning, little tacker. Ready for breakfast?”
“I’m hungry!” she said in a deep voice. The reference to the dinosaur cartoon character from one of her favorite shows made me smile. She hugged her new doll against her body and took my hand, marching down to the kitchen with me.