Nanny Next Door Read online

“A beer sounds good. Although, we might be more comfortable on my deck. I have a patio set and citronella torches for mosquitoes. You can bring the baby monitor so you could hear April.”

  “Sounds much more luxurious than my porch. I’ll put her to bed then meet you out back.”

  At least at her own house Lacey would be there, eliminating the opportunity for hanky-panky. Never in her life had she entertained the idea that her teenage daughter would be her chaperone.

  While Daniel got April settled, Sydney crossed the lawn to her house. She decided to leave their beach gear in the van for now, and went to her bedroom to change, since she was still wearing her bikini under her shorts and tank. She considered taking a quick shower to wash away the sunblock and beach grime, but she didn’t want to keep Daniel waiting. It wasn’t as if he would be getting close enough to tell, anyway.

  She changed into a soft cotton sundress, readjusted her ponytail and smoothed on some lip gloss.

  Not great, she thought, checking her reflection, but passable.

  She stopped by Lacey’s room to tell her she would be in the yard, and found her sound asleep in bed. Lying in the sun all day must have wore her out. Not to mention that she may not have slept well, thinking her mom was in the next room with the neighbor.

  She closed Lacey’s door behind her. So much for a chaperone.

  It was already dark as she went out to the deck. Daniel was already there, leaning against the railing, holding two beers. He’d lit the torches and they shed dim light across his profile. He was looking out over her yard, and when he heard her he turned and smiled. “I thought maybe you changed your mind.”

  “Sorry, I had to change.”

  He twisted the tops off both beers and handed one to her. She took a long swallow and leaned on the railing beside him. The night was clear and the moon hung full and unusually bright in the eastern sky. “Pretty night.”

  “Yeah. Glad I’m not on duty, though.”

  “Why?”

  “Full moon. Brings all the nuts out.”

  She couldn’t tell if he was serious or teasing her. “I thought that was an old wives’ tale.”

  “Nope. People really do act weird during a full moon.”

  Maybe that explained her behavior last night. The moon made her do it.

  “So, should we set a limit for you?” he asked. “Now that I know what happens when you drink too much.”

  Suddenly Sydney’s cheeks were on fire. She’d been hoping they could just forget about last night. She should have known Daniel wouldn’t let her off that easy. He had an aggravating habit of liking to talk about things, and a predilection toward brutal honesty.

  Her philosophy was far less complicated. Why talk when it was so much easier to sweep issues under the rug?

  But she could feel his gaze boring through her. She picked at the label on her beer, so she wouldn’t have to look at him. “I’m really sorry about that.”

  “If you’ll recall, I wasn’t complaining.”

  “No, but it was wrong to throw myself at you. And in front of all your friends. I can’t even imagine what they must think.”

  He took a swig of his beer. “That I’m a lucky guy.”

  “They think we’re…?”

  “Wouldn’t you?”

  She cringed. “I’m sorry.”

  “I think Jon wanted to ask you out.”

  “Deputy Montgomery? Seriously?”

  He nodded. “He thought you were hot.”

  “What is he, twelve?”

  “Mid-twenties, I think.”

  She swallowed a mouthful of beer. “I guess I should probably thank you.”

  “For…?”

  She kept her eyes on her bottle. “Stopping things before they went too far. Not taking advantage of me. I’m not normally that…aggressive. It’s just, well, it’s been a long time. Since I’ve…you know…”

  “Had sex?”

  She nodded, her cheeks on fire again. He was probably used to talking about this sort of thing. He oozed sexuality from every pore, and she was the ice queen. But the things he could probably do to make her melt…

  “Had I been sober, that never would have happened,” she said.

  “Are you saying that you weren’t turned on by me specifically? I was just…convenient?”

  She could tell by his grin that he was teasing her again, and she couldn’t resist playing along. “Pretty much.”

  His grin turned sly, and his eyes smoldered like hot coals.

  Uh-oh.

  “Are you sure about that?” he asked, setting his beer on the railing and sliding closer.

  Oh, no, what had she done? “P-pretty sure.”

  “So if I did this…” He took her beer from her and set it next to his, then he held her hand in his much larger one, palm up, and with his other hand, gently traced a finger down the center of her palm.

  Oh, dear God.

  This time her flush had nothing to do with embarrassment.

  “Anything?” he asked.

  “Nothing,” she lied, hoping he didn’t hear the waver in her voice, and also hoping he did. Whatever it took to keep him doing exactly what he was doing. Because as petrified as she felt, and as wrong as this was, she liked it. She liked his teasing grin and the heat in his eyes. She wanted to touch him, feel his hard muscle, run her fingers through his hair. But what if he was only playing with her? What if he didn’t really want her?

  She felt paralyzed by indecision.

  “So why is your heart pounding?” He reached up and caressed the pulse point at the base of her throat, which only made it beat faster. She tried to think of some clever comeback, but her mind had gone blank.

  “No comment?” he asked.

  She opened her mouth to say something, anything, but then he stroked her throat with the backs of his fingers and a sigh slipped out instead. His eyes locked on hers and she went limp all over.

  “You don’t have the slightest clue how beautiful you are, do you?” he asked. “What did he do to make you so unsure of yourself?”

  It was what he hadn’t done.

  Sure, at first Jeff had been amazing. He’d showered her with gifts and affection. He’d made her feel that she was the most important thing in his entire world. But it hadn’t lasted. She wanted to believe that Daniel would be different, but experience had taught her otherwise.

  “You’re going to make me prove it, aren’t you?” he asked, but the heat in his eyes told her he didn’t mind in the least.

  Oh, please do, she thought, even though she was terrified. But Daniel was leaning in to kiss her, and she could feel herself being drawn closer, like a moth to a flame.

  His lips hardly brushed hers, teasingly, and before she knew what she was doing her arms were around his neck, pulling him down.

  It had to be the full moon, she rationalized, but then he deepened the kiss, and she stopped thinking altogether. She could only feel. The sensual rhythm of his tongue, the strength of his arms as they pressed her against his body, his beard stubble scratching her chin. Good Lord, did the man know how to kiss.

  His hands slid slowly down her back to cup her behind, and when he held her tightly, there was no doubt that he wanted her just as much as she wanted him.

  But was it really Daniel she wanted, or the idea of Daniel? Someone who would treat her well, be nice to her. Maybe she wasn’t ready to be with anyone yet. Especially when she knew this was an impossible, dead-end relationship.

  What was she doing?

  She broke the kiss and pushed gently at his chest.

  “We need to stop doing that,” she said.

  “Why?”

  “Because I don’t date cops, and you don’t date single moms.”

  “Who said anything about dating?” he asked with a wicked grin.

  “Daniel, I’m serious.”

  “So am I.”

  She shot him a look, and when he realized she meant it, he sobered. “Why?”

  She untangled herself from
his arms and backed away. “Because I can’t do this. Not with you.”

  “You can’t tell me you’re not attracted to me.”

  “That doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. When it comes to relationships, we want very different things.”

  “You want a commitment?”

  Yes, and it was obvious by the edge to his tone, he didn’t. “I wasted fifteen years in a lousy relationship. I have a chance to start over now, and this time I refuse to compromise.” She took his hand. “The past few days have been great. You’ve been a wonderful friend. I don’t want to lose that.”

  He squeezed her hand. “You won’t. And I didn’t mean to pressure you into anything.”

  “How could you have known, with all the mixed signals I’ve been sending out? Maybe I didn’t even know.”

  “But you do now.”

  And it was because of him. He forced her to take a good hard look at her life. The way she had been wasting it. She’d been happier this past week, felt more like herself, than she had in years.

  “Well, the message is clear this time,” he told her. “From now on, we’ll just be friends.”

  He actually sounded disappointed, which made her feel good and rotten at the same time. What woman didn’t enjoy being wanted? And she wanted him, more than she had ever wanted a man before. She knew that sex with Daniel would be nothing short of thrilling.

  But she wasn’t in it for the sex. At least, not entirely. She wanted someone kind and gentle and responsible. And safe. A man who was interested in going the long haul, and maybe having another baby. She wanted a real relationship.

  Daniel wanted none of those things.

  “This isn’t the beer talking, is it?” he asked.

  “Not this time.” Maybe the beer made it easier to say the words, but the feelings were genuine.

  So why did she feel so darned unsure of herself?

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  LACEY WAS crazy nervous.

  She stood outside the door of AAA Landscape, the company Daniel’s sister Angie owned, wondering if she was wasting her time. According to her mom, Angie was looking to hire a few high school kids for the summer. But would she be willing to take on someone with zero job experience? She would just have to hope that Angie took pity on her and gave her a chance. Her only other option was a summer job at the resort, which would mean having to rely on her mom for rides, or at a fast-food restaurant, which would totally suck.

  But she couldn’t get any job if she didn’t at least try. She pulled open the door and stepped inside. She figured she’d find an entire staff, but there was only one woman sitting at a desk doing something on a computer.

  At the sound of the door opening, the woman looked up and Lacey knew she had to be Daniel’s sister. She was dark like Daniel and really pretty. She had long, glossy black hair pulled back in a ponytail that hung halfway down her back.

  She smiled. “Hi, there, can I help you?”

  “Hi,” Lacey said. “My mom is Sydney, your brother’s nanny, and she said that you said you were hiring.”

  “You’re Lacey!” she said, rising to shake her hand. Her grip was so firm it actually hurt a bit. “Your mom said she would send you by. I thought maybe she forgot, or you found a job somewhere else.”

  “Well, school just let out yesterday, and before that I had finals to study for.”

  “Right! Of course. Your mom did mention that.” She shook her head and laughed. “I’d forget my head if it wasn’t attached. Come on in and grab a seat. I’ll get you an application.”

  Lacey sat down while Angie rifled through a file cabinet. She seemed a little flighty, but super nice. She found what she was looking for and shoved the drawer closed with her hip. She handed the application to Lacey and gave her a pen.

  “I don’t have much experience,” Lacey said, toying with the ring in her brow—the stupid thing still hurt like hell. “Just some babysitting. Is that okay?”

  “Sure.” Angie propped her feet up on the desk. “We all have to start somewhere. Don’t even worry about that part. I just need your personal info and your social security number.”

  Did that mean Angie was actually considering hiring her?

  As Lacey was filling out the form, the door opened behind her, and a deep voice said, “Hey, Mom, we’re leaving to do the strip mall.”

  Lacey turned, her eyes traveling way, way, way up to the face of the guy standing behind her, and for a second she could swear her heart actually stopped beating. This was Angie’s kid? Her mom had mentioned that Angie had a seventeen-year-old son, but for some reason, Lacey had pictured a scrawny, nerdy kid. There was nothing nerdy about this guy.

  He was totally smoking hot.

  “Jordan, this is Lacey,” Angie said. “Her mom is April’s nanny.”

  “Hey,” he said, barely even glancing at her. He looked a lot like his mom. And Daniel, too, and he was just as big. Definitely a jock. And though she didn’t usually go for the athletic type, she would make an exception. If she didn’t already have a boyfriend, that is.

  Jordan took off his baseball cap and swabbed his sweaty forehead with the hem of his T-shirt, exposing a totally ripped and tanned stomach.

  Shane? Shane who?

  Lacey realized that she was practically drooling and forced herself to look away.

  “I got a call from the Petersons,” Angie told Jordan. “They’re throwing an engagement party for their son and they want to totally revamp their yard by next week.”

  “Seriously?” Jordan said, sounding exasperated.

  “Yeah, and they’re paying handsomely, so try to see how many people you can talk into working overtime. Tell them they’ll get time and a half.”

  “I’ll see what I can do.” He turned, his heavy work boots thudding on the linoleum floor, and Lacey resisted the urge to check out his ass. She doubted it would be anything but perfect.

  “How are you doing with that application?” Angie asked.

  “Um, done, I think.”

  Angie took the application and scanned it quickly. “Ever plant flowers or shrubs, do any landscaping?”

  “I’ve helped my mom with the garden and she makes me cut the lawn.”

  “You free this week, starting tomorrow?”

  She nodded. “Sure.”

  “Awesome! I’ll have Jordan pick you up on his way to the Petersons in the morning.”

  “Does that mean I’m hired?”

  Angie laughed. “Of course you’re hired. The job starts at minimum wage.”

  “Okay.” Minimum wage was better than no wage.

  “Do you own a pair of work boots?”

  “I have hiking boots.”

  “That’ll do. And wear jeans. It’s supposed to be close to ninety degrees tomorrow so bring lots of water.”

  “Okay. Cool.” Lacey rose from her chair. “I better go. My boyfriend is waiting for me outside.”

  “Don’t forget, 7:00 a.m.”

  “I won’t. Thanks, Angie!”

  Out in the parking lot Shane was lying on the hood of his Camaro smoking a cigarette, a pair of sunglasses shading his eyes. As she made her way to the car, she saw a man across the street and immediately recognized him as her dad’s creepy handyman. That was weird. She could have sworn she saw him outside the school two days ago when classes let out.

  He didn’t look her way, or act as if he knew she was there, so she wrote it off as a coincidence.

  “It’s about time,” Shane said as she approached, rolling to his feet. “How long does it take to fill out one stupid application?”

  “It’s not stupid,” she snapped, her excitement instantly overshadowed by a wave of prickly irritation. He still didn’t take any of this job stuff seriously. “They hired me. I start tomorrow.”

  Shane ground his cigarette into the pavement with his running shoe and opened the driver’s side door. “What am I supposed to do while you’re working?”

  Like I care, she thought, getting in the car. He was being such
a jerk, maybe she didn’t want to see him anymore. Maybe it was time to find a new boyfriend. One who treated her with respect.

  One who was tall, dark and hot.

  Shane started the car and peeled out of the parking lot. Lacey grabbed the edge of the seat to keep from tumbling over.

  “I still don’t get why you need a job.”

  “I told you a million times, I want a car.”

  “So ask your dad to buy you one.”

  She snapped her seat belt into place as he rounded another sharp turn at excessive speed. “I don’t want anything from him. I’ll earn it myself.”

  He shrugged. “Hey, whatever. Just don’t expect me to sit around waiting.”

  “Is that a threat?”

  Shane didn’t understand. His parents practically trampled over each other to buy him everything he asked for. At first she had thought it was pretty cool dating a guy with the hottest car and money to burn, but he didn’t have any ambition.

  Not that she was in the market for a marriage-material type of guy. But sometimes she got so bored with Shane she wanted to scream. He treated her as if she didn’t have a brain half the time—and seemed to like it that way!

  Lacey thought about seeing Jordan in the morning, and got a squishy feeling in her stomach. “Lacey!”

  “Huh?” She turned to Shane.

  “I asked if you want to go to your house. It’s too hot to be outside.”

  She shrugged. “Yeah, sure. Whatever.”

  “Are you dense or something? I called your name three times and you didn’t even hear me.”

  It was amazing how much he sounded like her dad just then. But she didn’t care.

  “Sorry.” She turned her head and looked out the window, unable to suppress a smile. “Just thinking about my new job.”

  DANIEL PULLED HIS CRUISER into the AAA Landscape lot next to the shiny new BMW parked there. He didn’t have to run the plate to know who it belonged to.

  He was still holding out the hope that the guy was a passing phase. That Angie had learned her lesson with her ex-husband, Richard. Although Daniel seriously doubted it. He’d spent the better part of his adolescence and his entire adult life keeping his twin out of trouble. Guiding her away from stupid decisions.

  Lately it had been a full-time job.