way or another, I'd make it happen.
First, I'd try the carrot. And if that didn't work, I wasn't above using a stick – speaking metaphorically, that is. During my thirty years on this Earth, I'd never hit a female, and didn't plan to either.
But I would be getting what I wanted.
First, the carrot. I looked to Cami and said, "You're taking some classes for your master's degree, right?"
She frowned. "Yeah, how'd you know?"
"Someone in Bayside mentioned it."
Her face relaxed. "Oh, you mean Arden?"
We were still moving in time with the music. The song was slow and sultry, and the local singer was doing a decent job of it. The band wasn't half-bad either.
And then, there was my partner, Camille Josephine O'Neal, soon to be Cami the Nanny, whether she realized it or not.
My hands were her loose at her hips, and I liked the way she moved – sweet and sexy, even if that wasn't her intent. She wasn't coming on to me. I knew this, just like I knew she had four younger siblings and an old Ford Fusion in need of new tires.
She didn't like me.
And the way I saw it, that wasn't a bad thing.
In fact, I was counting on it.
In reply to her guess about who'd mentioned the classes, I gave a tight shrug that revealed nothing. I hadn't heard it from Arden, but I'd heard it from someone. And that someone was the investigator I'd hired for the background check.
But this, like the credit check, was best left unmentioned.
So I didn't mention it.
Instead, I asked, "So, how many classes are you taking?" I knew the answer, but hey, anything to get her moving in the right direction.
"Only two," she said. "And even those I'm doing online."
This was good to hear, even if I'd known it already. Although Willow spent a good chunk of her day in school, the nanny job was still a full-time gig, and I didn't want my little sister getting the short end of the stick.
I gave Cami a knowing smile. "So, how'd you like to have those classes paid for?"
She stopped moving. "What do you mean?"
"That’s the signing bonus."
Her brow wrinkled. "The tuition? But it was thousands of dollars."
"I know," I said. "So save us some time and say yes."
The song was still playing, and people around us were still dancing. But we weren't. Not anymore. Yeah, we got some looks, but we'd been getting plenty of those already, so hey, what was the difference?
I was still holding her, and she hadn't pulled away.
As I watched, Cami chewed on her bottom lip like she was seriously tempted. It was sexy as hell, and even more so because she had no idea what she was doing to me.
I liked her lips. I liked her eyes. And I liked the way she felt in my arms, even now, when we weren't really dancing.
I decided to enjoy it while it lasted, because there was no way in hell I'd be getting this close again. She was my employee.
She just didn't know it yet.
As I watched, she blew out a long, trembling breath. "Honestly, I still don't think I should."
"Why not?" I studied her face. "And don't say it's for Willow's sake, because no matter how long you stay on the job, you'll be better than the last one."
"The last nanny?" Cami frowned. "So what did happen with her, anyway?"
It was a fucking nightmare, that's what. As a reply, I repeated what I'd said earlier. "Trust me. You don’t want to know."
"But I do," Cami insisted. "And I'd need to know for Willow's sake."
"Oh yeah? Why's that?"
"Well, for starters, what if Willow was traumatized or something?"
"Don't worry," I said. "She wasn't the one traumatized."
Cami hesitated. "So who was?"
If I were the shuddering type, I would've done it now. "Me."
"You? How so?"
"Accept the job, and I'll tell you."
She sighed. "But I can't."
She could. And she would. But hey, I'd play along. "Why not?"
"Honestly, I'm not sure you and I would get along."
"We don't have to get along," I said.
"Sure we would," she insisted. "You're Willow's guardian. And you'd be my boss. I'm just saying, it wouldn't be good for either one of us."
"And why's that?"
"Well, for one thing, you don't really like me."
She was wrong. I liked her well enough. In truth, I liked her more than I should. But there was no reason to give her the wrong idea, so all I said was, "Hey, I like you more than the last nanny."
She gave me