Sunny
What had she been thinking, kissing Liam like that?
She hadn’t been thinking — that was the problem.
She had simply seen that familiar, haunting pain in his eyes and acted on instinct.
So casual and impulsive, like a love-struck teenager instead of a professional.
The soft rasp of his evening stubble still tingled against her lips, sending aftershocks through her nerve endings.
She sat heavily on the bed, clenching her fists. She needed to get her head straight, and that started with being honest with herself.
When she had interviewed for this job, the prospect of working for a handsome and well-known figure like Liam Anderson had been an added incentive.
What red-blooded woman wouldn’t feel a stir of attraction for the charismatic hockey star?
With his brooding athleticism, artfully tousled hair, and penetrating eyes, he epitomized the tall, dark, and smoldering ideal.
What a mess. How had she blurred those lines so irrevocably in just a few weeks? Especially right before her one-month review. She couldn’t have timed her impulsive action any worse.
Now was the time for total honesty. She couldn’t sort this out unless she faced the truth.
Not only did she appreciate Liam as an employer, but she also felt undeniable flutters over his physical presence.
In a different setting, she might have stoked that slow-burning attraction, luxuriating in heated glances and charged moments.
But now there was so much more at stake than a fleeting flirtation.
Her job, the girls, her standing with this family were all on the line — along with her heart.
She jumped off the bed and rushed to the small en-suite, staring at herself in the mirror above the sink.
“You need to lock this down, you first-class idiot!” Sunny growled at her reflection. “You’re a professional. Perhaps act like it!”
She stood there, panting. As much as her rational mind tried to talk sense to her reckless heart, she couldn’t fully suppress the flickering sparks at the mere thought of Liam.
That angular jawline dusted with dark scruff, those piercing blue eyes that conveyed so much.
The pure masculine presence contained in his powerful, hockey-sculpted body.
The wanting bloomed deeper than mere lust. It was what he represented: family, honor, sacrifice, devotion. He would never leave. He would never abandon his children to a cruel world. Maddie and Hailey would never endure what Sunny had to as a child.
Tears flowed freely now. Her deep yearning made Sunny physically shudder.
She craved all of him — the wounded parts, the walled-off parts, the tender core he shared only with those he trusted most. She wanted to uncover the secrets he kept hidden behind that inscrutable stare.
To lay herself bare with him — bodies, minds, spirits intertwined.
Sunny turned on the cold tap and splashed water on her face.
She looked back at the mirror, not bothering to use a towel.
The shock of the cold water startled her from her reverie.
Heat flooded her cheeks as she buried her face in her hands.
This spiraling fantasy about her employer was a dangerous road to travel, one that could unravel all the progress and trust she’d built with the Anderson family.
No, she couldn’t entertain these desires, no matter how intoxicating they felt.
Too much was at stake to jeopardize her position with reckless fantasies that would never be reciprocated.
Maddie and Hailey deserved stability and constancy in their lives, not the fallout of a messy workplace misunderstanding disrupting their fragile home life.
Those two little girls had already endured far too much emotional turmoil for ones so young.
Fresh tears sprang to Sunny’s eyes as she imagined being torn away from them, the chaos slicing through their healing family unit.
After the heartbreaking loss of their mother, could Maddie and Hailey even survive another upheaval like that?
The thought made Sunny’s heart lurch violently.
She had come to love those girls as fiercely as if they were her own flesh and blood in the few weeks since joining their household.
Yes, love. There was no point denying it.
Which meant she would have to treat this infatuation with ironclad willpower and detachment.
Liam was her boss and the father of two little girls dependent on her care.
Nothing more, nothing less. He was still mourning the loss of his wife and life partner.
There could be no further blurring of boundaries, no matter how tempting the pull.
Nodding to herself with fresh determination, Sunny wiped away the dampness on her flushed cheeks with the back of her hand.
Enough with the self-indulgent pity party.
She was a grown, capable woman who had overcome far more daunting obstacles in her life.
Grit and resilience were no strangers to her.
A little misplaced pining — that’s all this was.
From here on out, her employer Liam Anderson would remain exactly that — her employer, nothing more.
Sunny would stamp out any smoldering embers before they could ignite into raging flames.
She wouldn’t avoid him or act strangely, as that would only breed awkwardness.
Instead, she would simply reframe their bond through a strictly platonic lens, focusing on their shared goal of caring for those wonderful girls.
Yes, that was the best path forward for everyone involved.
She would pretend her breathless reaction to his gruff charm and masculine presence didn’t make her pulse quicken every time they were alone.
That she didn’t secretly long to feel the solid weight of his body against hers, to explore his rugged mouth with her own.
“Gah!” Sunny flung herself on the mattress with a muffled shriek, snapping her eyes shut against the onslaught of X-rated images flooding her mind.
This was going to be much more difficult than she had anticipated.
Once again, she rushed to the bathroom mirror and jabbed an accusatory finger at her reflection, deepening her voice into a gravelly command.
“Pull. Your. Shit. Together. End of story. Am I making myself crystal clear?”
Sunny held her own stony gaze for a long moment, waiting for any flicker of protest or uncertainty. But the woman staring back merely nodded in understanding.
“Good.” She straightened her posture with a decisive exhale. “Then that’s settled.”
As she finally climbed between the sheets and rolled onto her side, Sunny envisioned an impenetrable steel wall being erected around her stray wants and cravings.
She would treat Liam with the friendly detachment expected between an employer and employee, no different than any other working relationship.
As her heavy-lidded eyes drifted shut, those stray, forbidden thoughts began fighting to resurface once more. Sunny could exercise all the self-control in the world while awake, but dreams could not be tamed.