Mister O

“Simon,” she says, turning to him. “Thank you for the coffee. And I know Abby is going to be so excited to hear from you. She finishes with her current family next week, and she’s one of the best nannies so she’ll be in demand. You need to snap her up.” Harper snaps her fingers and laughs.

Simon laughs, too. “I’m calling her as we speak.”

What the hell did I just witness? Harper didn’t babble. She didn’t speak in tongues. She didn’t freak out.

“Well, not technically as we speak,” she says, making a joke.

“You got me on that one.”

“Okay, I need to run.” She bends to Hayden and pretends to pull a pack of mini Skittles from her ear. “Special gift from Anna the Amazing for the birthday girl.”

Hayden’s eyes widen, and she clutches the candy. “I love Skittles! They’re my favorite.”

“I know,” she says then waves good-bye to her. She shifts her gaze to her crush. “Fingers crossed that it’ll all work out.”

He twists his index and middle finger together.

“See you later, Harper.” He extends a hand to me. “Good to see you again, Nick. Congrats on your show doing so well. Harper mentioned it to me. She’s proud of you.”

“Thanks,” I say as Simon walks away with his daughter, and I cock my head, trying to figure out this strange creature in front of me with red hair, wearing Harper’s clothes. Her massive bag is on her shoulder so I’m pretty sure she’s not an impostor, but I have no clue how she pulled off that trick of acting normal. Unless . . . she’s no longer into him. Which would be the best news ever . . . except she only wants to be friends with me.

But wait.

Let’s think about that.

Let’s add up all the facts.

Last night at my house when she was bent over the couch, she was a lot more than friendly. When she rode me into her third climax of the quartet I gave her, she was much more than cordial. As she cried out, Oh Nick, no one makes me feel like you do, that sounded a touch warmer than simple fondness.

And it felt like a lot more than lessons in seduction. It felt like much more than mind-blowing sex. It felt like we were falling for each other.

Maybe I should take another swing.

“Should we hail a cab?” I ask, thrusting a hand in the air. “Sometimes they come faster here than Uber.”

“Good idea. Especially since everything ran late after the party.”

An image flashes before my eyes of her working the kid’s party. “Where’s your cape?”

She pats the bag. “It’s in here.”

“You do wear a cape for your shows, right?”

She nods and smiles. “I do.”

A bolt of lust slams into me. I can’t help myself. I blurt out, “I bet you look insanely hot in a cape and nothing else.”

“Generally, I don’t wear my cape with nothing else,” she says.

I raise an eyebrow. “Would you for me?”

“I would,” she says, as the yellow cab arrives. I open the door and slide in after her. The door slamming rings in my ears, and it hits me. The game’s not over until the final at bat.

“Can we talk about the elephant in the cab?”

Her eyes light up. “Sure.”

I point my thumb behind us, in Simon’s direction. “English. You’ve acquired full use of the language around Simon.”

She nods happily. “I’m cured, evidently. Your lessons eradicated my little affliction.”

“Oh,” I say, my heart sinking as I strike out on pitch one. Guess that means she can behave normally around guys she likes. “We got rid of Princess Awkward. I’m gonna miss her though,” I say, trying to keep the mood light.

“Yeah, me too,” she says, sighing wistfully, then flashing a huge I’ve-got-a-secret grin. “But that’s not the only reason I’m cured,” she says, and wraps her hand on my arm.

I hate that sparks fly inside me from that touch. I wish they’d stop. “What’s the other reason?”

She shrugs happily and squeezes my bicep. “I don’t like him anymore. In fact, when he asked me out for coffee last weekend via text, I turned him down.”

And we’re back in business. Angels sing. The heavens burst open. Candy rains down from the sky.

“That so?” I ask, the corner of my lips twitching up in a grin.

“That is so,” she says, all sexy and naughty and inviting. “The reason I was running late, as you probably ascertained, is that I helped clean up so we could talk about my friend Abby, since he needs a new nanny for Hayden. His ex-wife is hardly around at all, and he does most of the parenting. He bought me a coffee to say thanks.”

“I did ascertain that. I also think it’s incredibly hot that you just dropped a crossword-puzzle word into casual conversation.”

“I did it because I knew you’d like it,” she says, and runs her fingers up the back of my neck and into my hair. Those sparks? They don’t just fly. They torpedo across my skin. They race through me. They live inside me with this girl. I’m so far gone for her, it’s ridiculous.

How did I ever think I could just let her walk away? I can’t, no matter who her brother is. I’ll just have to sort out that little snag another time.