The Summer of Sunshine and Margot - Susan Mallery Page 0,91

up, but he had wondered. Not that he should have. They were friends. She worked for him—nothing more. They didn’t have anything close to a relationship so it was ridiculous to wonder if she’d thought about his date at all.

He turned on the hall light, then flipped off the under-counter lights. After checking on Connor, he made his way to his bedroom. He crossed into the bathroom and stripped off his clothes, then stepped into the shower.

He’d had sex with Phoebe. He hadn’t planned on it, hadn’t considered the possibility, but once they’d gotten back from dinner, she’d made it clear she was more than willing and he’d...

He wasn’t sure what he’d been thinking, he admitted as he lathered his body. That it had been a long time and she’d been funny and nice and the idea of holding someone, of having sex with someone other than himself, had been appealing. Everything had worked the way it was supposed to, he’d made sure she’d come first, then he’d found his release in her.

He rinsed, then stepped out of the shower and reached for a towel. The mechanics had been fine, but now, he couldn’t escape the sense of regret. Nothing about being with Phoebe had been about making love with someone he cared about. Maybe he was too old, but getting laid was not the thrill it had been years ago. He wanted more. He wanted to engage more than his dick.

He wanted Sunshine.

He swore loudly, then pulled on a pair of pajama bottoms. After brushing his teeth, he walked into the bedroom and climbed into bed. He lay on his back in the dark and wished... What? That he hadn’t done it? That he didn’t have to deal with Phoebe now? That he’d met Sunshine another way and he could have asked her out and gotten to know her as a woman and not his nanny?

The answer to all those questions was yes, he thought glumly. But there was no going back and now he was well and truly stuck with a series of situations he didn’t know how to change.

* * *

“Good morning,” Margot said brightly as she walked into the guest lounge where Bianca was waiting. Thanks to Alec’s warning the previous morning, she was braced for whatever was to follow. Well, as braced as one could be when it came to the force of nature that was Bianca.

Her client sat on the sofa, a mug of coffee in her hands, her expression both knowing and smug. Bianca smiled.

“Good morning to you. So, you and Alec. How was that?”

Margot took a seat. “I’m not going to discuss your son with you. Not in that context.”

“But he’s my son. I have a right to know what’s happening in his life.”

“Not from me you don’t.”

Bianca smiled. “An excellent answer. Good for you. Some people have trouble standing up to me. I’m glad you don’t.” Her expression turned impish. “I won’t ask about your night or mention you look a little tired, so we can get right to work.”

“How kind of you.” Margot knew that Bianca wanted to see if she could be rattled. She did her best to appear calm. She leaned back in the chair and crossed her legs. “Let’s talk about the political event.”

“Let’s not.” Bianca sighed. “It’s old news. I helped children.”

“You let a man you don’t know touch your bare butt in public. You knew it was a ridiculous thing to do and yet you did it anyway. That’s what I can’t figure out, Bianca. Why? I’ve been turning it around in my head and I can’t come up with a single reason that you would...”

Margot stopped talking as the most obvious answer popped into her brain. She had no idea why she hadn’t considered it before. What had happened wasn’t about her training methods or Bianca not caring or anything like that at all.

“What was the trigger?” she asked softly. “Someone must have said something or done something at the event. Something that upset you. Of course. I should have figured that out in the moment.”

Bianca sipped her coffee. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. By the way, you still owe me lunch with your sister.”

“What?” She started to ask if lunch with Sunshine was really that important only to realize the point of the statement was to distract her.

“We can discuss that later,” she said firmly, putting her feet on the floor. “Please tell me what happened at the event to