Chapter Fourteen
Mya
I left Benji with his dad, and my heart was heavy. These two had already stolen my heart after one day. I was in big trouble.
No work after dinner. That was what the contract had said.
But working for them didn’t feel like work.
I drifted downstairs, trying to put my feelings to the side. I was an employee, not a part of this family. I was the nanny.
So why did it hurt to know that my duties ended after dinner? I would miss every good night and jammies and silly things laughed about in the bathtub and hearing about Greyson’s day.
I rubbed a circle over the center of my chest and, despite the contract, got to work. Dinner was fantastic, thankfully. Pot roast was one of the things I was good at.
With the dishwasher open, I was loading up the plates when I heard footsteps behind me. Instead of saying anything about me working after dinner, he began washing off dishes while I loaded them in. We worked side by side and, in only a few minutes, the kitchen was clear.
Then I didn’t know what to do with myself.
“I forgot,” Greyson said, reaching into his bag. “I got you a phone today. I plugged our numbers in if you need me or my brother or my parents. Poison control, too.”
“Oh, thank you.” I accepted the phone, and our fingers brushed. I couldn’t help the shiver that ran through my body. “Benji is so good at picking up after himself. How did you manage that?”
Greyson looked around the room. “I’m gonna go get a quick shower and come back down to watch TV. Would you watch with me? We can talk.”
I nodded and just like that, my heart was warm again. “Of course.”
“If you’re not too tired. I know he’s a lot.”
I smiled. Benji was a lot but in the best way. Little kids should be bouncing balls of energy. I wished I had half of his spunk. “I’m fine. I could use some vegging out. Take your time.”
Before he went upstairs, he nodded and grazed my arm with his hand.
Keeping this strictly professional was already proving hard.
While waiting, I fluffed the couch pillows and refolded a blanket Benji’d had to show me. It had a bear on it and he was impressed. The boy had a thing for bears. I wanted to bring him to the library to get some books on bears. He would love that.
Greyson came down again, and he was wearing a pair of navy pajama pants, just like the ones he wore the other night when he saved my life in so many ways. His hair was wet and slicked back from where he combed it, and his scent filled the room. It made me slightly woozy and a lot needy.
Keep it together, Mya.
“His mother instilled it in him. Ever since he could walk, they had a pick-up song and sometimes he sings it when he puts away his toys.”
I nodded and sat beside him on the couch. He had gotten a beer, but I’d declined in favor of a glass water instead. I needed my whole brain tonight. “He hummed today after he played with the farm and put the animals back in their stalls.”
Greyson looked down. He loved her. His wife. He didn’t even speak her name.
I took a chance. “What was her name?”
A long breath. He reached for the remote and handed it to me. “Jeanine. We were together for five years. Got pregnant before we were married.”
I had other questions, of course, but didn’t press. He would tell me when and if he was ready. “What do you want to watch?”
“Your choice. Something mind-numbing. It was a day at work.” He turned to me.
“You don’t know how much it means to me that you were here and I knew Benji was safe and cared for.
I kind of freaked out knowing that I left you here with few instructions, but it was good to sit back and know my son was with someone who has his best interest at heart. ”
“I do. He’s really a great kid. You and Jeanine did really well with him.”
Greyson cocked his head and looked at me. Really looked not only at me but almost through me. Our eyes locked for what had to be an eternity. “Thank you, Mya.” He held up the remote. “Now, what’s your guilty pleasure? No more talking about the kid. He’ll get a big head.”
I leaned back and got comfortable, well aware that our shoulders were touching. “Okay. How do you feel about crime documentaries?”
“I love them. Tell me the one that haunts you.”
And so began our night of guessing the who and when and what. Greyson gasped at the right places and playfully slapped at my leg when something shocking happened.
I wrapped my arms around myself, wishing they were his instead. I was so in trouble here.
Falling for the dad, hard.
Already fell for the kid.
But here I was an omega in love who was nothing more than an employee.
Still, I couldn’t blow this chance. I would have to fall in love with Greyson quietly, no silently. Caring for this alpha by taking care of his son the best I could.
Making sure his life was a little bit easier.