Emil Walking outside after the kids’ party, I find Leif standing with his hands in his pockets next to the Eldridge twins’ vehicle. The breeze ruffles the blond hair at his nape as he clears his throat, nudging his toe against the concrete curb. “So you, uh... you like cake?” He scratches his jaw, trying to turn on that smile that always makes women melt. Even I can tell it falls pathetically short of its usual panty-melting power. Layla, the nanny who organized this party, gives him a funny look. She places a container full of cupcakes on the passenger seat and flicks her hair over her shoulder. “Do I like cake? Yeah, I guess. Who doesn’t?” “Celiacs, probably.” Leif lets out an awkward, dry chuckle I’ve never heard before, then ducks his head to scrub the back of his neck. What the...? I’ve never seen him like this. Is he... Y ep. He’s blushing. Layla laughs, frowning, and leans against the car. She tilts her head. “True.” Her eyes slide behind me and she straightens, putting her hand on Leif’s bic ep as she excuses herself. When he turns to see me, he slides a blank look over his face, but his fingers touch the place on his arm where Layla just squeezed. “So... you like cake?” I ask, unable to hide my grin. “Oh, shut up.” Leif scowls. “You’re one to talk.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” “Sneaking away to the bathrooms together? Don’t think I didn’t notice what you were doing with Dani.” For some reason, it bothers me to hear Dani’s name on his lips. My back stiffens as I do my best to shrug casually. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Leif snorts, his gaze sliding to where the two nannies are herding my children toward my car. Layla gives Dani a hug, says something to make Dani laugh, then heads to her own vehicle. My eyes linger on Dani’s smile, tightness squeezing my gut at the sight. I’d turn mountains to dust to see that joy on her face every day. A jagged fault line cracks in the d epths of my heart. She’s imprinted de ep inside me, on my very marrow. As sunlight gleams gold on her hair and joy lingers on every line of her face, I know I’ll never be free of Dani. I’m lost to her already. Mumbling a goodbye to Lief, I follow Dani to our vehicle and slide into the driver’s seat as everyone else gets settled. Checking the rear-view mirror, I see such bliss on my kids’ faces that I can’t help but smile. The fault line in my chest widens, my soft, unprotected heart exposed. Dani reaches over to squeeze my hand, her eyes soft. “Thank you,” she whispers.
“For what?” It comes out as a croak. “For taking the afternoon off work and doing this for the kids. They loved it.” Dani gives me a soft smile, then turns when Talia starts explaining in great detail how and why she decided to decorate her cupcakes as she did. “The silver sprinkles were pretty, but multicolored ones are more fun. It was a birthday so it needed to be fun,” Talia says. “But the big stars were nice too, so that’s why I put one on each cupcake. Did you see how I wrote my name? One letter on each cupcake. T-A-L-I-A.” She counts on her fingers. “Five letters, so... one-fifth on each cupcake.” A delighted laugh. “That’s right. You did great,” Dani says, reaching back to squeeze Talia’s knee. I grip the steering wheel and drive slowly, trying to listen while my thoughts do their best to wander. Callie never asked me to do this type of thing for the kids. She never asked me to come along. She never cared. Maybe all these years—during the last few years of my marriage and since Callie’s death—I’ve convinced myself that it’s impossible to meet a woman who cares. Who might love my kids. Who might fit into my life. Putting aside the fact that Dani works for me, I can’t help but think of how she slots into my world so perfectly. I can see myself coming home from work to see Dani there with the kids. I can see them growing up with an intelligent, headstrong woman to guide them when I’m not there. And I can see myself softening because of Dani’s influence. Even coming to this birthday party—bathroom break excluded—is something no one would have asked me to do before Dani. It would have been a bad use of my supposedly important time. But listening to Talia talk and Francis laugh, I know days like today just might be the most important thing of all. While Dani takes care of the kids, I lock myself in my home office for a few hours and look over my legal team’s comments on the Gleeson contract. Things are progressing at a glacial pace, but that’s to be expected in a deal this big. After the visit to our Ohio manufacturing plants, Richard Gleeson made it clear he was interested in seeing this through. Now, with lawyers in volved, we need to do our due diligence and make sure this partnership will work for both of us. My team is combing through every record we can find, with a selection of our top engineers heading to Arizona to inspect Gleeson’s engines in person. It’s slow, but that’s no surprise. Things are progressing, and it looks like Berg Motors might have a new car on the market within twenty-four months—one that will shake up the industry as much as my father did. Environmentally friendly, affordable, and cool. Everything my father stood for when he started the company. It’s my turn to leave my mark now. After I’ve reviewed the comments from my lawyers and answered all the urgent emails, I shut down my computer and walk out to the living room. The sound of a knife on a chopping board reaches my ears when I st ep into the room. Onions cook in a pan behind Dani as Talia and Francis sit at the table without making a pe
Ep I kiss both my kids’ heads and smile at Danika. She grins back, a flush staining her cheeks.
Walking around the kitchen island, I grab a spoon and stir the contents of the pan, shifting out of the way as Danika adds tomato paste, tomatoes, and everything else required to make a pasta sauce. I help out as best I can while she moves around me like she was born to do it, and my heart squeezes. “Eat with us,” I blurt out as she takes three plates out of the cupboard. Her eyes widen. “Yeah?” I nod. “I don’t want you hiding in the staff quarters eating when you could be out here with me—us.” Red washes over her cheeks, and Dani’s lips curve into a smile. She nods and takes out another plate, then serves up the meal as she calls out for the kids to clear their coloring books from the table. The kids listen without complaint, and once again I’m impressed by her efficiency. Eating dinner with Danika and the kids feels... right. It’s not until the kids are in bed that I open a bottle of wine and ask Danika to sit with me on the sofa. She arches a brow. “Just try not to spill anything tonight.” Grinning, I haul her legs up over my thighs and start rubbing her feet, my eyes drifting to the windows in front of us. I reach over to a stack of documents I’d brought out and hand them to her. “Next year’s applications for the internship program have started trickling in.” “Already?” Her brows arch as she drops her gaze to the r eports, flipping through the first few pages of the one on top. “It’s a popular program,” I explain. “Should you be showing me these?” she asks, sipping her wine. Her eyes flick to mine, a fine brow arching in question. I shrug. “Technically? No. But it’s not proprietary information, not confidential, and I’d appreciate your input. You spotted this year’s standout student within seconds of looking at her application.” Dani nods, reading through the r eports as she sips her wine. I let my hands run over her feet, her ankles, her calves, rubbing all the spots that get her to make soft, feminine noises. Y
Ep I could do this. I could build a life with Danika. I could get used to evenings just like this without an employment contract s eparating us. I don’t want a nanny; I want a partner. The thought hits me like a bolt of lightning, exposing the last of my fears. She’s stormed into my life without warning, exposing all my vulnerabilities. If I let her any closer, she’ll be able to hurt me just as much as Callie did. She’ll be able to hurt my kids. I stiffen, my hands stilling over the soft skin of her ankles, and I steal a glance at the woman who has turned my life upside down. Her glass of wine is dangling between her fingers, eyes on a particularly thick application. She glances up at me, tilting her head. “Why are you staring at me like I just spilled wine all over your cream- colored sofa?” A laugh bubbles out of me as I shake my head. “I’ll never live that down, will I?” Her toes wiggle as she grins, then tosses one of the applications toward me. “That one’s brilliant.” Flipping through the application, I listen as Dani points out all the details I missed when I first read through the application. Shaking my head, I try to ignore the insistent thumping of my heart. This woman
is smart, she’s sexy, and she loves my kids. With a de ep breath, I stuff down my fears. It’s time for me to move past all the barriers I’ve set for myself. It’s time to st ep out of the shadow Callie left on my life and start living. Dani could do that with me—if she wants to. That evening, I spend my time showing her just how much I appreciate her. I lay her down on my bed and kiss every inch of the creamy silk of her skin, spending extra time at the apex of her thighs. And when I claim her, my forearms bracketing her head as I bury myself inside her, another crack forms in my armor. She takes my lips in hers, flicking her tongue over mine as she mumbles sweet words and soft moans, her legs wrapped around me as we use our bodies to say all the things we can’t speak aloud. When she tries to leave my bed, I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her tight to my chest. She laughs, playfully smacking my arm, but relaxes into me. I set an alarm and show her the time—well before anyone usually wakes up. Satisfied, Dani settles against me, nuzzling into my skin with a happy sigh. With Dani in my arms, I realize I never want to fall asle ep without her again.