Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
LUCA
With his heart hammering in his throat, Luca walked to the small cottage next door the next night.
Probably a giant mistake asking her to be my part-time nanny.
But he had a good feeling about her. AB loved her, too, which mattered a whole fucking lot to him.
A light bulb was in his hand to replace the burnt-out bulb above Olivia’s front door.
He’d noticed it the night before with a scowl. It’s not safe to just fumble for your keys in the dark.
Fairwick Falls was a small, but bad things still happened in small towns. It had made his skin crawl to think about her not being safe. He’d barely been able to sleep.
He unscrewed the light bulb in the little lantern above Georgia’s front door. His guts still churned from nerves as he slowly turned the light bulb in.
It’s fine if she says no. It’s fine if she says yes. You’ll make sure you barely see her.
Even though his body came to life when she was around. The world seemed brighter, happier. Full of possibilities.
It’ll probably go away. That wanting her that tears you up so badly you can’t even think.
The fresh light bulb flooded the front steps of the cottage with a warm glow.
Gulping with nerves, he knocked on the door firmly.
The curtains on the front door window moved, and wide, pretty blue eyes stared back at him.
He was happy to hear a lock disengage before the door opened.
As the door swung open, every thought in Luca’s brain gushed out of his ears.
Holy fuck.
Olivia wore a purple sports bra, clinging yoga pants…
and nothing else. Her tits—stop staring—were pushed up and a small line of cleavage peeked out from the top of the curved, low neckline.
His breath caught as her nipples pebbled, pointing against the soft material.
A sheen of sweat made her chest, arms, and long, toned abs glow.
Want to lick it off.
Fuck.
The curves of her hips flared out from her waist. They had those hip dips that looked made for his hands to grab. To worship. Her thighs were meaty, muscular.
Perfect.
…Fuck!
He forced his eyes to her gorgeous face, and that didn’t help the war he was losing against his cock. Her long hair was in a thick ponytail, with cute flyaways from the glow of sweat on her face.
He scooped up the brain cells that had melted out of his eye sockets and shoved them back in. “Hi…ya.”
Should’ve scooped some more in, idiot.
“You fixed my light bulb?” she asked, peering outside the front door.
“Uh, it was out,” he said stupidly.
Of course, she fucking knew it was out.
“It’s not safe to go in and out in the dark,” he added, again stupidly.
She bit her lower lip, looking like she was trying not to smile. “I could have gotten it. You didn’t have to.”
He spied a long piece of wood she was holding behind her back. “Is that…a baseball bat?” he said, quirking a brow.
“Oh, um…” She looked embarrassed and tucked a strand of swooping hair behind her ear.
His fingers itched to touch what looked like the softest, silkiest strands he’d ever seen.
“There was a strange man on my porch,” she laughed. “And it was dark, which I’ve heard is very unsafe.” A twinkle in her eye made the tightness in his chest relax.
He laughed. He realized he did that a lot with her. Way more than usual.
“Sorry for scaring you.” He handed her the dead light bulb.
Their fingers brushed as she grabbed it. He gulped, his skin coming alive at the hint of contact.
God, this is such a bad idea.
He stared at her hands holding the bulb. Long fingers held it elegantly. Pretty, light pink long nails curved against the delicate glass.
Everything this woman did was so fucking…elegant. Too good for him.
She probably has some fancy-ass boyfriend somewhere.
“Did you…need something else?” she asked, looking confused.
Fuck. He’d been lost in thought. “Listen, I’m sorry if AB put you in a bad position. If you aren’t really interested in babysitting—”
“No, no,” she said suddenly. “Want to come in and talk about it?”
He looked over at his house. His Wi-Fi could probably extend from here, and he should still be able to hear AB in the app on his phone.
“Oh, we could also do this at your house if AB is, you know, asleep,” she said suddenly, picking up on an unspoken cue.
“She’s asleep. Baby monitor app.” He held up his phone. “Sure, let’s talk.”
This woman was hot with a capital H. Round, firm ass. Strong, muscular legs. Those ab ridges that were usually airbrushed onto people. They moved and twisted as she laid down the baseball bat. She shrugged with long, elegant arms to say, No weapons now.
He ducked inside the low door of the little cottage. He’d been here a few times when Georgia had needed help. Though he was pretty sure she just liked to look at his butt as he’d grab something off a high shelf.
Unlike when Georgia lived here, everything in the living room was neat and put away. Candles burned, low jazz played. Does she just live like this?
Every surface was cleared, and it smelled good. It smelled like her.
Cinnamon.
Fucking hell, that’s what it is.
It had haunted him not knowing what the core scent of her was. It wrapped around her when she moved, and sometimes he’d been lucky enough to catch it.
He scratched his head, feeling deeply uncomfortable. He’d never had a personal employee like this.
He could be a hard-ass to his guys at the shop, but this woman looked like a fairytale princess come to life. Yet he would be entrusting her with the most important thing to him in the entire world. His shop could blow up, and he wouldn’t give two shits.
But if anything happened to his Annabelle, he’d be beside himself.
He decided to be Boss Luca. The tough guy who didn’t take shit from anybody. “I asked around. Called…”
All thoughts left his head as he saw a sex swing on the closet door beside Olivia. It was hooked from the top of the door, with bands hanging down it for limbs to go in.
His brain scrambled in static for a solid five seconds.
“Something wrong with my stretching bands?” Olivia said following his gaze, lifting them up.
Right. She was a dancer, they needed to stretch. Stop being a creep.
“Oh, uh no.” Luca shook the mental images out of his head. “Uh, sorry. I…I called the references you left on my door, and they had great things to say. Asked around town. People love you.”
It was easy to see why. She was sweet and kind, that much was obvious from his interactions.
“But Annabelle’s my whole world, and I need you to take her safety really seriously.”
“Of course,” Olivia said, her face earnest. “I would never want anything to happen to her. Is there something I need to know? Or just general kid safety stuff?”
He hated thinking about this. Even though he thought about it almost every fucking day.
“AB has a deathly allergy to wheat. We—” His voice caught and he swallowed past the lump of emotion.
“…Uh, we almost lost her one time. When she was a toddler. It was pretty scary until we figured out the allergy.”
“Oh no. Oh, Luca, I’m so sorry.”
Hearing her say his name mesmerized him. Made him feel lightheaded, needy.
Olivia’s eyes were dewy with emotion, and she rubbed a hand on his arm in sympathy. “That must have been terrifying. AB is the sweetest kid, and I can’t imagine seeing her like that.”
The warmth from her hand on his fucking elbow radiated to his heart like a heated emotional blanket.
It felt so nice to be with someone who just made him feel safe.
Like she took their shit seriously.
Like she cared.
He nodded, underplaying the torture at being so far gone for her already. “Yeah, so anything that doesn’t come from our kitchen, I’m skeptical of. Have you ever used an EpiPen?”
“Shrimp allergy,” Olivia said, raising her hand with a self-effacing, lopsided smile. A dimple popped into her cheek and his heart stopped.
God fucking damnit. She’s cute on top of everything else? He tried not to laugh at his own torturous misfortune.
She just kept redefining perfect with every minute.
Olivia stretched her quads with a bright smile. “So, unfortunately, yes. I have personal experience that it is no-percent fun. I will happily carry an extra EpiPen if she needs it in a kid dosage size. I’ll assume all other snacks are a no-go unless cleared with you.”
A small knot of concern in Luca’s chest unwound. I didn’t even know it was there.
“Yeah,” he said, trying to keep up with her. “Sounds good.”
“Is there anybody else on the approved contacts list she can interact with?”
He hadn’t thought about that. It was a good idea.
“Pearl, I’m guessing,” she continued helpfully. “And AB’s mom? Or any significant others I should be aware of? Girlfriends, boyfriends?” Olivia asked, an innocent expression in place.
Is she seeing if I’m available?
Don’t be gross; she’s just being thorough.
“AB’s mom died several years ago. Car accident when AB was a baby,” he said with a sad smile.
Her pretty face instantly looked sad. “Oh, I’m so sorry.”
“Thanks,” he said, clearing his throat. Better to not linger on it right now.
He scratched his eyebrow, embarrassed to talk about so much heavy stuff with a woman who seemed like light personified. “And I don’t…uh, date. Trying to keep all my focus on Annabelle until she’s, you know.” He flicked his fingers as he stared at them. “Outta the nest.”
He decided to skip the real reason.
Because it almost destroyed me to lose someone I loved.
Because Pearl had to step in to take care of AB and I hate myself for it still.
Pivot this back away from my personal life. “Is twenty-five bucks an hour fair?” he asked, Boss Mode re-activated.
He’d done a little research, but he didn’t want to be cheap.
“I actually feel really bad about taking money for this,” she said, avoiding his eyes. “People used to watch me for my mom all the time when she was little. She was a single parent, too. Plus, I’m your neighbor.”
Uh oh. He needed to compartmentalize. “I’d feel better if you were getting paid. Keeping this, you know…professional.”