Halftime Husband -Erin McCarthy Page 0,34

had caught her rent up. I wasn’t even sure she knew the back rent had been paid. But either way, she did need a place to stay and I needed a nanny. Desperately.

Even if it was going to be hell to resist her, I trusted her with my daughters. She was a kind and generous person. A little impulsive, maybe, but that was part of her charm. She would be good to Willow and Poppy, I had no doubt.

Besides, what was riskier, having sex with her at the office or at home?

I made eye contact with Dakota. “The job is yours if you want it.”

Her eyes widened. She moistened her bottom lip with the tip of her tongue. “I want it.”

I was so dead.

Poppy jumped up and down.

Carson said, “This is fun.”

“Go downstairs now with Carson,” I told the girls. “He’ll get you some ice cream from the cafeteria. I’ll meet you down there in twenty minutes. I need to discuss this with Dakota.”

They both opened their mouths to protest.

“Privately,” I said, as sternly as possible.

Willow made a face. “Whatever.”

Poppy waggled her finger at me. “Don’t blow this, Dad.”

Dakota laughed. I rubbed my temples. I wasn’t the one who would be doing the blowing if I didn’t get a handle on this situation.

“I’ve got it, Pop.”

I didn’t have a damn thing.

I watched Carson usher Brandon’s daughters out, looking like he’d rather be doing anything else on the planet. Once the door was closed, I said, “I don’t think Carson is enjoying himself.”

“I don’t think Carson ever enjoys himself.” Brandon shoved his hands in his pockets. “My daughters only needed five minutes to fall for you. I guess it runs in the family.”

My cheeks felt hot. I wasn’t sure if it was from the sex, the close call with his kids showing up, or the thought of living in his apartment as his nanny, but I was a little on edge. “Are you serious about this job?” I had to be practical. I needed the job, if the offer was legitimate.

“I know it sounds insane, but I’m in a bind. The girls have run through nannies like they grow on trees, and you know what my job is like. I’m not even in New York when we have away games. I need someone I can trust, who can be there for overnights and game days. The school days would be yours to go to auditions. I would just ask that you be there when they got home.”

I nodded. “That would be fine.”

“Help them with homework, cook dinner, straighten up the apartment.” He made a face. “This is weird, isn’t it? This is a bad idea given our… intimacy. We just had sex on my desk.”

He said the last part as if I might have forgotten that he’d literally just been inside me.

“Maybe.” I thought about it. It might be weird. Hell, it would probably be weird. But I wasn’t exactly a woman with a whole long list of options. “But I’m in a pickle. You’re in a pickle. What if we just plan on this being temporary? You look for a long-term nanny, I look for a job. A regular day job with consistent hours so I don’t have to beg my parents to let their adult daughter move home.” That thought made me willing to do just about anything. I didn’t want a day job, but I had to be realistic. “Say, ninety days? Six months max?”

That seemed to relieve him. “That makes sense. But how can you perform with the cheerleaders? I would need you to bring the girls to my box on game days. They like watching the games.”

“You have a box?” Now that would be cool.

“It’s part of my contract. I could have had my family in the owner’s box, but I don’t trust my daughters.”

“I’m out in two weeks when the girl I stepped in for comes off the injured reserve list. So it’s fine. This weekend is an away game anyway. I’m getting evicted on the fifteenth. I could start now but move in once I get kicked out of my apartment.” Leaving my home of the last three years was going to be very deflating and sad. It was a dark cave but it was mine. It had been home and now it was just all getting ripped away from me.

This was what I got for not planning my life better.

“I can hire a mover to bring your stuff over.”

“Are you sure?” That sounded