LISA

When the doorbell rings, Lauren shrieks and runs ahead of me to the front door. I hold back a laugh as she stretches to reach the knob, fails, and turns to pout at me like I purposely put it too high. Have I mentioned that my daughter is pure sass?

"It's okay, love bug. Dada's here to help," I say as I pull open the door, expecting Jennie.

Lauren stomps her chubby little feet in a rapid display of frustration. "Me wanna do it!"

"Hi. What's the problem?" Jennie asks, brows scrunching as she takes in the scene—me trying not to smile and Lauren obviously mad.

"She just . . . uh . . ." I trail off when I actually get a look at her. Holy shit. The sight of Jennie makes my breath catch in my throat.

Her outfit isn't anything flashy—a pale blue striped tank top and a pair of cotton drawstring shorts—so no reason for me to be struck dumb. And yet here I am, acting dumb as hell.

I clear my throat and try not to stare so obviously at her cleavage and those long, bare legs. She's stunning dressed in so little. And . . . I realize belatedly, she's still waiting for me to answer. Smooth, Lis..

"She's mad she's too short to answer the door."

"Oh, I see." Jennie smiles at Lauren and bends over to talk closer, which doesn't make it easier to stop my gaze from lowering, but I force my eyes off her tits. "I understand. It's tough when you want to do something and you can't, huh?"

For a second, I'm reminded of what Mom said in the ER two days ago, and it sobers me like ice water.

That is, until Lauren crosses her arms over her chest and says, "Yeah. Don't like it."

Jennie smiles warmly down at Lauren and ruffles her hair.

I shift my weight, moving aside to let Jennie in past the door. "She's been really looking forward to seeing you."

"Aw, that's so sweet. I'm excited to hang out with her today too."

She offers Lauren her hand, and Lauren latches on with her biggest, most heart-melting grin. Jennie flashes one back, then looks to me.

"Just to go over it again real quick, you'll be back at noon, and she's already had her breakfast, but she'll need a midmorning snack in an hour?"

"Exactly. And this time I remembered my phone and left the car seat, so you can go out if you like." I grab my laptop bag, and out of the corner of my eye, I catch Jennie giving me what seems very much like a once-over. I'm too tempted not to turn and ask, "My outfit okay?"

"What?" She jerks her gaze up, her cheeks slightly pink. "Uh. Yeah, I guess it's fine. ."

I smirk. "Good to know." It's just jeans and a polo. There's clearly something about my appearance that's distracting, but I have no idea what it could be. "Okay, see y'all soon." I drop a kiss onto Lauren's cheek and head out.

I drive to a coworking space in town where I've rented a small private office. Initially, I thought about just going to a coffee shop, but I decided to try this setup first, in the hopes that cutting distractions would let me work faster and get back to focusing on Lauren sooner. After I handle the fresh crop of emails that sprang up overnight and make a few necessary phone calls to my property manager, accountant, and lawyer, I settle into reviewing financial analysis reports.

Or at least, I try to. My eyes keep glazing over and my thoughts keep drifting back to home.

What will Jennie and Lauren do today?

I can't shake the feeling that I'm in the wrong place, that I'm missing important time. And this is more than the usual I should be there parental guilt. My restless gut—not to mention my libido—is pushing me toward Jennie too.

I check the clock. Almost another full hour has passed, and I haven't absorbed a damn thing, let alone started drafting my own response. I guess cutting down distractions only works when it's not my own mind trying to betray me.

Fuck it.

I stand and begin packing up my computer and papers. I've checked off all the things that have to happen during business hours, so I can do the rest tonight after Lauren is in bed. A little sleep deprivation won't kill me.

When I get back home, I'm greeted with the unfairly adorable scene of Jennie on the couch, brushing Lauren's hair, while Lauren sits on the carpet between her knees, playing with Flapflap. They both turn at the sound of the door opening.

"Dada home!" Lauren looks back and forth between us, clearly torn—which I'm not totally sure how to feel about—then clambers up and runs over to hug my leg.

I shift quickly to keep her from clobbering me in the nuts, and lift her into my arms. "Hi, baby girl."

Jennie blinks at me, surprised. "You're back?"

"Indeed I am." I set Lauren on the floor and ruffle her hair.

I admit, I'm a little jealous at how fast her loyalties became divided. After all, for two years it's only been us against the world. I'm only a little jealous, though. Mostly it just takes a load off my mind to know how well she and Jennie are getting along in such a short amount of time. And there's that same flash of sweetness, of peace, that comes with seeing them together.

Jennie chuckles. "Wow, I wish I could work that fast. Grading would be a snap."

I rub my neck awkwardly. "It's not that. I just couldn't concentrate and decided I'd try again later. I was wondering if you . . ." I don't know how I'm going to finish that sentence, but fortunately, an idea leaps straight out of my mouth. "If you two wanted to go to the beach. I've not taken her yet."

"You definitely should. She loved it before—and we barely went off the pier that time." Jennie stands and starts toward the door.

"You could join us."

Her brow creases in confusion. "Oh. All three of us?"

"Do you have other plans?" I'm probably not playing fair, because of course she doesn't have other plans. Her afternoon was supposed to be spent watching Lauren.

Jennie stays quiet for a second, not answering me. I'm not sure why, but I need her to say yes.

"Don't worry, I'll still pay you for your time. You already set aside your day to come over here and all."

"Well, why not?" She pauses, frowning. "I didn't bring a swimsuit, though."

"Lauren and I don't have any either. Well, technically I do, somewhere in one of the boxes in my room." I wave my hand in their general direction. I managed to shrink the disaster zone last weekend, but actually finishing unpacking will take a while yet.

I leave Lauren with Jennie while I quickly change into cargo shorts and sandals. When I head back to the living room, this time I'm definitely not imagining the way Jennie's gaze seems to drink me in. Interesting.

After I assemble a quick picnic lunch and load up the car with the hundred and one things a toddler needs to go on an outing, then get Lauren buckled in, we're off.

At the beach, we put on sunscreen in the parking lot. Getting Lauren done is a lot easier with two people—one to hold the squirmy toddler, and one to apply the cream.

After buying her a plastic bucket and shovel on the pier, we weave through plenty of spread-out towels on the sand before finding an unclaimed spot to put down our blanket and basket. I'd forgotten that beach season around here starts the instant school lets out.

Taking note of how huge Lauren's eyes grow at the sight of the ocean, I ask, "Should we check out the water?"

Her rapturous smile says it all.

Jennie and I take off her shoes and socks, then bend to each hold one of her hands and help her step through the very edge of the lapping waves. Every time the cool water washes over her feet, she squeals and dances.

I glance over her head to Jennie, only to find her already looking at me, and something intense and searching in her eyes paralyzes me. I can't bring myself to break our shared gaze and I only look away when she does.

After Lauren has had her fill of the ocean, we spend a little while just lounging in the sun while watching Lauren dig a hole and occasionally gasp when a tiny crab scuttles past.

Eventually, I ask, "What should we do next?"

"Hmm . . . how about a sandcastle?" Jennie says, smiling at Lauren.

Lauren cocks her head. "Castle?"

"Just like the ones in your princess books, love bug. Except we make these ones out of sand, see?" I demonstrate, scooping wet sand into her bucket and upending it to form a messy but functional tower.

Lauren squeals and wriggles in excitement, reaching out. "Gimme bucket!"

"Don't you want help?" I ask.

Lauren shakes her head firmly. "No. Me do it."

I see we're on a roll today as far as stubborn independence goes. I chuckle. There are worse personality traits.

"Are you sure?" Jennie asks Lauren. "If you tell us what to do, we can make a much bigger castle than if you had to do everything all by yourself."

Lauren considers, clearly intrigued by the idea of bossing adults around, then nods.

We get to work helping Lauren build towers, and decorate them with pebbles and dune grass according to her exacting standards. The sight of Jennie playing and giggling with my daughter coaxes out a laugh of my own. Plus, my kid is just really adorable.

Jennie glances at me, a smile still pulling at her lips. "What?"

"Nothing. It's just, I guess some things never change. You always did love the beach."

She gives me a strange look. "You seem to remember an awful lot about me."

My tongue is suddenly tangled with itself. "Well, you made a big impression on me."

She quickly turns away. Her cheeks seem pink, and I can't tell if it's anger, or just the sun, or something else I don't dare to name.

No, it can't be that last one. I can hear her voice in my head as clearly as if she'd spoken aloud. Evidently not a big enough impression to make you stay.

But what if that isn't how she feels? We never did get anywhere conclusive about that part of our past. Maybe she's forgiven me—well, probably not, but accepting my apology and moving on from it seems within the realm of possibility. She did listen to what I had to say, and she agreed to work for me.. it's something I guess.

Mentally, I shake my head. It's not like I can ask her outright to confirm whether this is just wishful thinking or not. If I'm wrong, it'll ruin the tentative truce between us and send us back to square one. Besides, what difference does it make whether she likes me or just tolerates me because I'm paying her to look after my daughter? Everything is different now. Our relationship is strictly professional.

Well, on my end, it's far from that. I can't lie to myself about the way my body reacts to the sight of Jennie's bare legs, her curves, her smile, her dark blond hair shining in the sun. Even just her eyes meeting mine sparks electricity down my spine and straight into my groin.

But professional is what it should be. That's what's best for Lauren.

This silence has stretched on too long. I cover up the awkward moment by asking, "Are you getting hungry?"

Jennie shrugs. "I could eat." She looks to Lauren, her mouth quirking. "How about you, little architect? Break for lunch, or keep bringing your artistic vision to life?"

Lauren stares at her, then at the castle. "Want food now." She drops her toys and toddles off toward the picnic basket.

Jennie laughs and, getting to her feet, scoops my sleepy angel into her arms. "No? You're not tired at all, not even the littlest tiny bit?"

"Huh-uh." Lauren shakes her head lazily, her lashes fluttering.

Jennie winks at me, and oh God, it does way too much to all my organs, but I take it for the purely practical cue she almost certainly meant it as. I gather up the basket, the blanket, and all of Lauren's stuff, and start back to the parking lot as Jennie follows with Lauren.

By the time I've unlocked the car, Lauren is down for the count, her head lolling heavily on Jennie's shoulder. She only lets out a barely audible mumble, popping her thumb into her mouth as Jennie maneuvers her into her seat like a rag doll and buckles her up.

At home, when I take Lauren upstairs to bed, Jennie surprises me by following. Together, we watch my sleeping daughter for a minute.

Finally, Jennie says, so quietly I almost don't catch it, "Today was nice."

"It was." It's been a long time since I've had a casual day of fun like this, and even longer since I spent one with Jennie. "Although now I've got sand in places a man should never have sand. I seriously need a shower."

Her mouth quirks. "Well, let me know if you need any help."

I can't resist the opening. "Showering?" I ask, smirking.

"N-no, I meant with Lauren," she stutters, looking away. "Just text me."

I clear my throat. "Right. I will."

After I walk Jennie back down to the front door and she's gone, I let my head thud gently against the frame. Wow, Lisa, great job keeping your shit together.

She's only been officially working for me for one day, and I'm already losing my grip on sanity. I clearly need to get laid ASAP. But it won't be with the hot-as-fuck babysitter. Nope, definitely not.

Dammit, what a disappointing thought.