Bang (Blast Brothers #2) - Sabrina Stark Page 0,63

you are, you're not the Help."

It was such a nice thought. But it wasn't accurate, and it seemed silly to pretend otherwise. "I am, too."

"Listen—"

"No. It's okay, honest. I mean, I took this job knowing full well what I was getting into."

His gaze locked on mine. "Did you?"

"Well…" I bit my lip. "Maybe I didn't anticipate everything that would happen, but I did know that I'd be your live-in employee, and thus—"

"Don't say it."

"Why not?" I said. "I am what I am, for now anyway. And honestly, this is a really good job. I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but sometimes it doesn't feel like a job at all."

"Is that so?"

I nodded. "Willow – she's amazing." I smiled through my awkwardness. "And she's really fun, too."

With surprising tenderness, he said, "And so are you."

I wasn't sure which word he meant – fun or amazing. Regardless, it was such a lovely thing to say, especially coming from Mason, who no one would describe as warm and fuzzy.

And maybe if he'd been somebody else – anybody else – I might've gotten lost in the tenderness of his words. Or his eyes. Or the memories of what we'd shared during that one incredible night.

It hadn't been donking.

Or banging.

It had been something else entirely – for me, anyway.

And this was definitely a problem, because now that I'd seen Mason's other side – meaning his tender side, not his naked backside, even though that had been pretty spectacular – I was having a hard time remembering that the nanny gig was only a job.

And Mason? He was my boss.

Whatever we'd shared that night, it couldn't happen again – not because of Mason's threat, but because it was slowly dawning on me that I just might be falling for him, although heaven knows why.

I mean, it's not like he'd ever fall for me.

Probably, he'd never fall for anyone.

I still hadn't replied to his compliment, mostly because I didn't know what to say. In the end, I settled on, "Well, you're pretty amazing yourself. I mean, look at everything you've accomplished. It really is something to be proud of."

The compliment landed with a thud.

Instead of smiling, Mason frowned as he said, "Thanks."

"I mean it," I assured him.

"I know." And yet, he didn't look any happier.

I cleared my throat. "Anyway…I should probably get to sleep. See you tomorrow?"

Mason shook his head. "I'm leaving for Kentucky, remember?"

At the sudden recollection, I almost winced. "Oh, that's right."

Even though Mason's youngest brother, Brody, handled most of the construction stuff for their remodeling show, every once in a while Mason and Chase needed to show up on-site and make an appearance.

This was one of those times. "And you'll be gone five days, right?"

When he answered in the affirmative, I should've been relieved, but mostly, I was stupidly sorry to see him go.

Still, I'd be a fool to let him see it. So with a friendly smile, I wished him goodnight and headed up to my bedroom alone, where I slept fitfully and woke at the crack of dawn – just in time to see Mason's car ease out of the driveway while I watched from my upstairs window.

As I watched, I whispered, "See you next week."

Chapter 38

Cami

I was sitting at the kitchen table, doing homework with Willow, when a light knocking sound made me pause.

I glanced toward the sound. Unless I was mistaken, it had come not from the front of the house, but from the rear. I asked Willow, "Did you hear that?"

She looked up from her homework. "Oh yeah. Twice."

"Sorry, what?"

"They knocked a minute ago, too…only a lot quieter."

Funny, I hadn't heard. It was nearly dinner time, and I wasn't expecting anyone. With a perplexed smile, I said, "Oh. Why didn't you say something?"

She made a face. "Because I know who it is."

"Really? Who?"

"It's the kids across the street."

"You mean those older kids? Across the river, right?"

She gave a decisive nod. "Right."

Well, that was strange. Going for a joke, I said, "So, do they swim across or what?"

"Nah. They have a dinghy. It's their dad's, but they use it when he's not home. They're not supposed to, but they still do."

From what I'd seen so far, those kids did a lot of things they weren't supposed to do. Happily, this was Livia's problem, not mine.

Still, I got to my feet, intending to answer the door and be done with it.

Willow spoke up. "Oh, you don't have to answer."

I paused. "Really?"

She nodded. "If you do, they'll just run away. They do