Reckless(16)

The smile slides off his face. “Jesus, Tori. Do you accuse every potential employer of lechery?”

My face burns, but I’m not ashamed of asking what I need to know. “Because I won’t have sex with you. Not even if you’re the last guy on the planet.”

An annoying smirk quirks his lips. “No one said I was asking, darlin’. Besides”—his eyes pass over me—“you’re not my type.”

For some reason, that irritates me more. “Well, good.”

“Good.” He rubs a rough hand over the stubble on his square jaw. “So we’re clear about that? No sex. Not even if I’m the last man on the planet.”

“Not even then,” I whisper.

We stare at each other, his amused blue eyes studying my face like he’s seeing me for the first time.

His eyebrows lift, and then—I can’t help it—I laugh. We both do.

Before things get any weirder, I get up and start clearing the plates with a sigh. “I’m not good at job interviews.”

“You don’t say.”

“Shocking, I know.” I’m not fool enough to think I had that one law firm internship because of my amazing people skills or grades. No, that came compliments of my sweet sister and her impressive Austin connections. She took me getting fired remarkably well back then, but she wasn’t pregnant when I called her crying because I had gotten axed for telling off one of the partners.

Truth be told, I don’t want to disappoint Kat. It’s one thing to disappoint my parents. They’re used to it. But Kat? For some reason, she seems to think I have potential. It cuts me to the core to think of letting her down. Again.

The only thing that freaks me out more than truly displeasing my sister is a face-to-face encounter with a spider.

Don’t laugh. They’re evil.

I shiver at the thought.

A minute later, Ethan’s by my side at the sink. He grabs the bowls out of my hands and scrubs them down before handing them to me to rinse.

He’s big. Way bigger than I am. Broad and tall and rugged.

Standing so close to him at the sink reminds me of the first time I saw him, shirtless and dripping wet. With all those muscles and that angry ink etched into his golden skin.

The kind of guy to make a girl ache in just the right ways, if he were another guy and I another girl.

This close, I can smell his shower gel. Something manly and crisp. He must’ve showered right before he came over.

I clear my throat. “Would you need me to cook or clean your house too?”

“I’m not hiring you to be my maid. Just to take care of Mila and Cody. I’ll do my best to make them dinner, clean the house, do our laundry. Those aren’t your jobs, and I never want you to feel like they are. If you don’t care that I smell like a barn animal, I can probably come in to make them a quick breakfast if you want. Then you’d only have to make them lunch.”

Something about that image softens me. Ethan slaving away in the heat and stopping to take care of his kids. I’m starting to get what my sister said about this guy doing it all on his own.

“I can handle breakfast and lunch. That’s not a big deal.” I shift to get a quick glance at him and am overwhelmed by his presence when he reaches across me to turn off the faucet.

His voice is low and gravelly. “Listen, I really am sorry for being such an asshole to you the other day. I’d love nothing more than for you to take care of my kids. I promise to stay out of your way and not annoy you too much.”

He dries his hands on his shirt and turns to me, but he’s looking at the ground. “You asked why I’m being nice.” Those big blue eyes shift up until they sear into mine. “Well, I’m a nice guy. No one seems to think that, but I am. I’ve just… I’ve had a rough few years.” As though he’s flipping through a memory book, he frowns and glances away. “I’m going through an ugly divorce, and my mom, who’s been keeping my household together since my wife left, is headed to Chicago on Monday to help her sister. I can’t keep the business afloat and take care of my children by myself. It kills me to admit that, but it’s true. So I guess you could say I need you. I need your help.”

I don’t like how those words, I need you, make me feel soft and squishy, like a piece of bittersweet chocolate left out in the sun. “Why not call one of those nanny agencies? Get someone who’s fingerprinted and meets your qualifications.”

“I’m on some waiting lists, but they’re not sure they’ll find someone willing to live out here.” His eyes turn up to mine, a playfulness brightening his expression. “Should I be worried? Do you have a criminal record for all the coke and hookers?”

I laugh, remembering what I told him the other day. “Not exactly, but—”

“Then it’s fine. Don’t let my kids cook meth or play with sharp objects, and we should be good.”





9





Ethan





The house feels different with Tori in it. Perhaps because nothing’s really settled. After some begging and eating crow on my part at dinner the other night, Tori agreed to help me for the next two weeks. Long enough to see if she can get someone to sublet her apartment and for me to explore whether an agency can better handle my situation.