Page 22 of One Hot Daddy

She smiles sweetly."Grab a stool."

I move to the coffee pot, needing caffeine more than I need oxygen right now.My hands aren't entirely steady as I pour myself a cup, hyperaware of Jennifer's presence behind me.Once I sit down, the aroma of coffee begins to relax me.

"Did you sleep well?"she asks.

"Eventually."I sip my coffee, careful only to face her sideways and noticing that she carefully avoids looking directly at me too."What about you?"

"Mm, I slept so well that it ought to be a crime to feel so refreshed."She focuses intently on the sizzling bacon, but I detect a slight tremor in her hands as she moves the strips around in the pan.

We're both trying so hard to act normal that it seems anything but.I swear I can feel the unspoken tension while memories of tangled limbs and breathless moans hang heavily between us despite our careful politeness.

"Jennifer," I start, then stop.What am I meant to say?Thank you for the best shag I've had in years?Sorry I ravished you on your first day?Let's pretend it never happened and go back to being professional?

The thunderous noise of feet on the stairs saves me from having to finish that thought.Henry appears first, his hair sticking up at impossible angles, followed by Charlotte clutching a book about marine biology.

"Jennifer!"Henry shouts, launching himself toward her with extraordinary glee."You're still here!"

I wince at his volume, but Jennifer simply laughs and ruffles his messy hair."Of course I'm still here, sweetheart.I told you I was staying.You're stuck with me for a long, long time."

"The last nanny was gone before breakfast," Charlotte observes, settling onto a bar stool."She left a note saying we were 'too much.'"

My chest tightens with familiar guilt.These children have been abandoned too many times---first by their mother, then by a parade of babysitters and nannies who couldn't hack it.Jennifer's words are like a balm to an old wound.What if she regrets making that promise after she's been here longer?No, I won't think about that.I can't.

"We are not too much for Jennifer.Mrs.Pennington was weak, that's all," Amelia declares dramatically as she sweeps into the kitchen with a blue streak freshly added to her hair."She cried when Henry showed her his worm collection."

"Hulk isn't scary," Henry insists, climbing onto a stool next to Charlotte."Jennifer likes him, don't you?"

Jennifer winks at him."He's a very distinguished worm, honey."

I squint at my eldest child."No more blue hair, Amelia.Wash it out now."

"But Dad," she whines.

"Get rid of it.Only natural colors are allowed in this house."

Amelia sulks but obeys my command, returning a few minutes later with damp hair that's no longer blue.

I watch this domestic scene unfold, struck by how natural Jennifer seems with my children.There's no awkwardness, no forced cheerfulness---simply genuine warmth.If only our own interactions could be as uncomplicated.

"Dad, you look weird," Joshua announces as he slouches into the kitchen, his clothes rumpled despite it being barely seven in the morning."Are you sick?"

"Just, ah, tired," I mutter, taking a long sip of coffee and trying not to look at Jennifer.

"He's probably thinking about work stuff," Jennifer says smoothly, sliding perfectly cooked eggs onto plates."Your dad works very hard to take care of all of you."

The grateful look she aims my way makes reminds me of what she looked like last night with her head thrown back in ecstasy.I grip my coffee mug tighter.It will probably shatter any moment.

"Can we have pancakes tomorrow?"Henry asks, bouncing slightly on his stool.

"If you eat all your breakfast today," Jennifer promises, setting his plate in front of him."And if your daddy doesn't mind."

Amelia shakes her head in teenage disgust."Henry wants pancakes every day of every week.I'd rather have something vegan."

Joshua makes a fake vomiting sound."That's gross.We should eat eggs and bacon for the protein."

"There's nothing wrong with caring about what you put in your body," Charlotte adds, ever the diplomat."But bacon does smell amazing."

"You said you're a vegan."