Curvy Nanny for the Nerd

13. Brady

Chapter 13

Brady

“ A re you sure this is the best way?” My brows arched in Toni’s direction, skeptical that such a simple solution could fix the devastated expression on Layla’s face. How long would it take to forget that look? To forget that she still thought this wasn’t her home?

“I’m sure,” she said with a devious smile, holding her phone out with one hand and the tub of ice cream in the other. “Get in here,” she ordered and shoved the tub in my hand. “Now, smile,” she ordered and removed the spoon from the tub, tapping the tip of my nose with the pink concoction. “Perfect.”

“I didn’t agree to that last part.”

Toni looked at me and then burst out laughing. “It’s called improvising. I’m sure as a businessman you do that on occasion.”

I froze at her words. Did that mean she’d looked into me? Had Toni done her own research to find out what I hadn’t shared with her? She hadn’t brought up the fact that she didn’t know me again, so I incorrectly assumed that it was dropped for good, but that one statement had me reconsidering. Did she know who I was and what I was worth?

“I’m not much on improvising. A plan is always preferable.”

Toni snorted in response and shook her head before she turned her attention to the phone as she typed a message for Layla. “Come down now and there might be some left for you. After dinner.”

“How is taunting her going to make her want to come down?”

“It’s not a taunt if I plan to eat the ice cream just to prove that I mean business.” To punctuate her words, she swiped the ice cream from the tip of my nose and licked her finger.

My cock instantly hardened, and when Toni moaned it turned to aching and desire. The need to have this woman was with me constantly. I didn’t know what it was about Toni but I couldn’t get enough of her and I hadn’t felt that way in a long time. Don’t question it, just go with it, I told myself as my gaze heated and I hooked an arm around her waist. “Tease,” I growled and pulled her body against mine. Chest to chest, hip to hip.

She laughed and the sound was low and sultry, shooting another dark streak of lust straight through my cock.

Need surged through me and my lips crashed against hers, hungrily devouring her mouth, the faintest hint of the strawberries and cream ice cream covered her tongue. My tongue explored her mouth as if this was our first kiss, her little moans made me hungrier for her and I switched our positions, pushing my body against hers so Toni could feel just how much I wanted her. Again. Right here.

The feel of her curves under my hands as they slid lower and gripped her ass, bringing her flush against my cock, pulled a moan from both of us. The taste of her lived in my dreams, the feel of her tits against my chest, the faintest thump of her heart against mine was almost more than I could take. “Toni,” I whispered against her lips.

She moaned and arched her hips forward.

In the distance I vaguely heard a door open followed by the sound of little girl footsteps. Thankfully ice cream was on the line, and the sound of her voice pulled us both out of the fog of lust before she appeared.

“I’m coming, I’m coming! Don’t eat my ice cream!”

I took a step back, my gaze fixed on Toni’s kiss-swollen lips and then up to the I told you so expression on her face.

“Works every time,” she whispered and stepped around me with the tub of ice cream in hand as if she’d been eating it and not kissing me senseless. “I guess there’s some left after all,” she said and shoved the tub back into the freezer.

“Toni,” Layla whined. “You didn’t.”

She shrugged. “Does this mean you’re ready for dinner?”

Layla nodded and I took that as my cue to get back to the stove and assembled the lasagna before putting it in the oven. Behind me, they chatted while setting the table. “Why do we have two forks?”

“Because one fork is for the salad and the other is for dinner.” Toni’s tone was patient and knowledgeable. “Since we’re eating salad first, we put it closest to the plate.”

It was another bit of information that reinforced my belief that Toni had come from some type of wealth or privilege, which intensified my guilt over shielding my true identity from her. She could know this because she works around wealthy families, the cynical part of my brain added.

I shook off thoughts of secrets and focused on the food and then on my dinner companions. We sat around the table laughing and talking like a real family. I hadn’t thought about work since I left the office, which was a first for me. Not one thought of the game or fixing bugs or the marketing strategy invaded my mind, because it was so full of Toni and Layla.

Had it only been a few weeks ago that I thought I was content to live inside a near silent home while I worked through all the daylight hours? It felt like a lifetime ago.

“Layla, I want to talk to you for a minute.”

Talking stopped and her eyes widened, but she nodded. “Okay, Uncle Brady. What’s up?”

I smiled at the question. “I’m sorry that I haven’t been as good a parent as I should have been since you arrived. It’s not that I don’t want you here, because I do. We’re family and I love you, but I’m not used to having other people around and I’m not used to having to think about other people needing to eat and all that stuff. But I’m going to do better, I promise. You deserve that. And most of all, I want to take care of you.”

She stared at me for a long time and I would’ve given up millions just to know what she was thinking. Her eyes, just like mine and her mother’s, studied my face. “I believe you, Uncle Brady. And I love you too.”

“Good,” I smiled. “Now eat your salad.”

“Do I have to?” She asked with a cheeky smile.

“Yes,” Toni and I said at the same time as laughter erupted around the table.

It felt good, the noise and the chaos and the laughter. For too long this place had been quiet and lifeless, and with the arrival of a fiery beauty, everything in my life had been turned upside down.

And I couldn’t find it in myself to be upset about it.

Sure there were secrets between me and Toni that prevented us from becoming more than whatever we were right now, but that was a worry for another day.

Tonight, everything was perfect.

Just fucking perfect.