The Way To A Man's Heart - Frankie Love Page 0,111

kisses me. “Butter love you more.”

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A SERIOUS RELATION-CHIP

The Way To A Man’s Heart Book 10

By Frankie Love

When my sister and her husband pass away unexpectedly, my heart breaks.

My niece is six months old and she’s one cute cookie.

She needs me to man up and be her daddy.

But I can’t do it alone.

I’m a firefighter and need a nanny I can rely on.

When Brittany shows up to help, it bakes my day.

And not just because she’s here to care for the baby.

One look and it’s clear this curvy girl makes my cookie crumble.

One hour and she’s made my dreams crumb true.

One night and I ask the question she never saw coming.

Does she want to be in a serious relation-chip?

Dear Reader,

Life is what you bake it… and Beckett is one smart cookie.

He knows Brittany is the one for him and he’s not gonna let anything get between them rolling around in the (cookie) sheets.

This quickie is melt-in-your-mouth perfection.

xo, frankie

Chapter One

Beckett

The house is a mess — how one tiny little person can require so much stuff boggles my mind.

But damn, she is cute.

And awake. Again.

“It’s okay, Annie. I got you. I’m right here.” I step over a bouncy chair and dodge a package of diapers before lifting my six-month-old niece from the pack ‘n play set up in the living room. “B’s here. No need to cry.”

I pat her back as I carry her to the kitchen, pulling open a can of formula and making her a bottle as she cries. Salty tears fall down her chubby cheeks as I attempt to calm her with a song. Apparently she doesn’t like Pearl Jam. I’m gonna have to teach this cookie a few things. More than a few, actually.

I’m more than her uncle now… I will be the only father she knows. Her parents, my sister Tara and brother-in-law Jack, passed away three months ago. And since Tara and I have no living relatives, and Jack’s mother suffers from dementia… I was named guardian in the will.

I’m all this tiny little sobbing mess of strawberry blonde curls has in this world.

A few minutes later, I pop the bottle in her mouth and look around the house. I moved in here only a few months before my life turned upside down, and I’m glad I left my small apartment across the country to move closer to my sister when I did.

I didn’t want to miss Annie growing up… little did I know how quickly everything would change.

Annie’s quiet now, content with her bottle, and I exhale, relieved that she is happily eating her mid-morning snack. I grab my laptop and open it on the kitchen island. I have a conference call interview in a few minutes and really don’t want a screaming baby in my arms while I am trying to hire a live-in nanny.

I launch the video app, and adjust the volume. Scanning the email from Nannies4Hire, I remind myself of some details about the candidate I am hoping turns out to be a great fit.

Brittany is twenty-three, has an associate’s degree in early childhood development, and tons of experience with children — she spent the two years after high school in France as an au pair, which is apparently a fancy name for nanny. And she is from the area.

I start the call, and the line connects with Brittany quickly. The moment the video feed starts, my heartbeat quickens. Brittany is beautiful.

She’s more than a nanny — she is the girl of my goddamn dreams.

Chapter Two

Brittany

I have no need to be nervous — I’m completely qualified for this job — but for some reason, in the minutes leading up to the video interview, my stomach flip-flops and I find myself in the bathroom, reapplying pink lipstick and running a brush over my red hair to smooth it.

When I log onto my computer for the video interview, I don’t know what to expect. The agency told me I passed the preliminary interview with my background check and experience, and that the client is a six-month-old girl who lives with her single father.

“Hello?” I say to the monitor. “Can you hear me?” His video feed is breaking up.

“Beckett here,” a man with a husky voice says. “I can see you fine.”

I can’t see him though, the picture is all fuzzy.

I swallow. “I don’t know what is happening with my internet connection. It says it’s unstable.”

“I can see and hear you just fine. Maybe try another room?”

“Okay, I’m so sorry,” I say, picking up my computer