The Summer of Sunshine and Margot - Susan Mallery Page 0,25
your own?”
“Oh, I’ve never had a pet. I wouldn’t be a good pet parent. I did all right with Alec, but only until he was a teenager. Then he went to live with his grandparents. It was the best thing for him.” Her tone turned wistful.
Margot wondered if Bianca had wanted her son to go, or if she’d been given a choice.
“Was the handsome dog Wesley’s?” she asked.
“It was. His name is Bruno and while I was loving on him, Wesley came over and introduced himself to me. We took one look at each other and just knew.”
“Love at first sight.”
“It was. For both of us.”
“Do you experience that a lot?”
“Sometimes.” Her smile returned. “The best loves are the ones where you know right away, don’t you think? But it’s never been like this before. Never so powerful or strong.” She laughed. “I haven’t tried to change myself for anyone else.” Her laughter faded. “Alec always wanted me to be different. He never said anything, but I could tell. Especially as he got older. I disappointed him.”
Margot thought about Bianca sleeping with Alec’s best friend when they were both still at boarding school. Not exactly a topic she was going to bring up.
“Why do you think you disappoint him?” she asked instead.
“It’s just who I am.” Bianca sprang to her feet and spun in a circle. “I didn’t eat breakfast and I’m starving. Let’s go raid the kitchen. Then you can tell me all about the special Cardiganian sheep.”
Before Margot could respond, Bianca was gone, running out the door and into the garden. The fog had mostly lifted by now so she could see her until Bianca turned the corner and was lost from view.
Chapter Six
Declan expected clients to be difficult. But his current clients were doing their best to give him a heart attack. Even if that wasn’t their stated goal, they were doing a great job of pushing him closer and closer to the edge.
He left his office early and drove home, arriving a little before four. When he opened the door leading from the garage to the house, he was hit by a blast of music and the smell of chocolate and berries and all things delicious.
He walked into the kitchen only to come to a complete stop as he took in the view. Two pies sat on cooling racks. A tray of brownies was on the kitchen table and frosting dripped off obviously still-warm cinnamon rolls. But what really caught his attention was Sunshine.
Connor’s nanny had pinned up her hair, leaving her neck bare. The sweet curve led to nearly bare shoulders. She had on some kind of tank dress that came to her knees. It was shapeless, but she was not, especially not when she was dancing and singing along to “Fixer Upper” from the Frozen soundtrack.
Her hips gyrated, her breasts moved and as shameful as it was to admit, he stood there taking it all in like a lusty sixteen-year-old. He was as hard as one, too, he thought, shifting uncomfortably, grateful his suit jacket would cover his inappropriate response to her.
It was the lack of sex thing, he told himself. He wasn’t disgusting enough to lust after the woman who took care of his son. It was women in general and his not getting laid that had him wanting to set her on the counter and—
Sunshine saw him and screamed. She pressed a flour-covered hand to her chest. “You scared me! Don’t do that.”
“Sorry.” He set down his briefcase while making sure he stayed safely behind the counter where she wouldn’t catch a glimpse of his inappropriately hard dick. “Opening a bakery?”
“What?” She dropped her arms to her side, leaving a white handprint on her dress, then reached for her phone and silenced the music. She smiled at him. “It was kind of loud, huh? Sorry. Connor’s fine with the volume as long as he gets to pick what I’m playing. He’s in his room reading.”
“I didn’t know he still liked Frozen.”
She smiled. “Everyone likes Frozen although last week it was the soundtrack from Hamilton. One of our favorites.”
She’d been working for him for less than a month and already she and Connor had favorites. That was a good sign, he thought, letting a little of the ever-present worry about his son fade. As far as he could tell, Sunshine was an excellent nanny—even if she did have surprising hobbies.