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“What?”
“Do me a favor and smile more. You don’t want to drive her away by looking like you’re at a colonoscopy appointment.”
The second he was gone, I felt my stomach turn sour. On top of the stress of work and everything to do with Cara, I had a fucking date to worry about.
I forced myself to smile just as Jensen had instructed and felt my cheeks burn.
This was going to be worse than I thought, I could just feel it.
Chapter7
Cara
“Okay, the water is boiling, so carefully…that’s it.” I guided Lucy’s hands that held the box of spaghetti over the pot of boiling water. “Now, go ahead.”
Lucy poured the dried spaghetti into the pot carefully. “There you go, spaghetti!”
“Good job! You’re a pro at this!”
Lucy bowed her head and bent at the waist. “Thank you, thank you.”
Lucy was helping me make spaghetti for dinner, as was her request. She was eager to help me in the kitchen rather than watch television, as her father had suggested that morning. I was happy to have her company, especially since it indicated to me that she liked me.
We had a fabulous first day together. It helped immensely that Lucy was one of the best behaved children I’d ever worked with. But I could also tell we had a good rapport. In the morning, after playing some introductory Go Fish, Lucy suggested we play with her stuffed animals. I thought she would have us make a zoo, but instead, she wanted us to be scientists studying the animals in the wild.
“This penguin is sick!”
“Oh no, should we take care of her?”
Lucy’s face drooped. “No, we can’t interfere with the circle of life. Scientists should only ever observe.”
I had to stifle a huge laugh. Clearly, animals were her thing and it was totally adorable.
For lunch, we made sandwiches and granola which we ate on our “animal expedition.” Every moment flowed easily into the next. It didn’t even feel like work at all.
After we got tired of that game, Lucy read for a bit while I familiarized myself with the house.
It was a massive townhome in Park Slope. I didn’t even want to know how much it likely cost. There were three floors of rooms to explore. I looked forward to an opportunity to play hide and seek so we could get lost together.
I crept around the house, taking stock of where the rooms were located. Lucy had the whole top floor to herself while Wesley had the second, plus a guest room.
Now, I’m not a snoop. Just curious. And the Taves house was going to be my place of work for the next two months, at least. I thought I should at least get a lay of the land. So I peeked into all the rooms, including Wesley’s bedroom.
Though it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, the furnishings looked luxurious. From the art on the wall to the fluffy duvet, everything was as if it’d been picked out ofArchitectural Digest.
I couldn’t help but wonder what it felt like to lie in the luxuriousness of Wesley Taves’ bed, snuggled within his embrace. My mind wandered to the feel of his muscular build and his delectable scent the day he saved me from Danny’s careless driving.He’s your boss, Cara. Don’t go there.
Shaking off thoughts of my sexy employer, I spent most of my time looking at the photographs that lined the stairwell. All of them were of just Lucy and Wesley. No pictures of her mother, indicating that whatever had happened wasdefinitelynot amicable.
One picture in particular caught my eye. Lucy must have been only a couple of years old. She was bundled up in Wesley’s arms outside this very house. He looked different. His hair was a bit shaggier, stubble was decorating his chin and cheeks, and his eyes were shaded with sleeplessness.
But his smile was big and full. Pure joy.
My heart melted for him and I secretly hoped that maybe someday I could make him smile like that, too.
* * *
“Can I taste the sauce?”Lucy asked.
