Page 80 of The Nanny Game Plan
“Mytoes don’t hurt.” Bella lifts her head from my shoulder, yawning again. “I want to dance some more. Let’s play your records, Maybelline.”
Ava claps her hands. “Yes! Oh, yes! Can we play ‘Hound Dog’? I love ‘Hound Dog.’”
“Of course,” Maybelline says, looking nearly as excited as the girls. “I’ve already got the record player all warmed up for you two.”
“But maybe some dinner first, girls? And a bath?” To Maybelline, I add as I set Bella on the porch, “This one isverysticky.”
Maybelline laughs. “Great! That means she had a good time.” She takes Bella’s hand. “How about bathtime with my daughters’Sesame Streetbath toys, then macaroni and cheese with bacon crumble and a side of steamed broccoli, and then a dance party with Edgar until we all fall down?”
The girls cheer, and Bella does a little spin, announcing, “I love this sleepover, and Ilovebroccoli!”
“I heard that about you,” Maybelline says, winking at me as they start inside. “Clover told me it was your favorite new vegetable.”
“It is. Because it looks like trees and tastes so yummy,” Bella says.
“Bye, girls,” I say. “I’ll be over to pick you up tomorrow morning after breakfast, okay? Call me if you need anything tonight, Maybelline, or have any questions. I’ll have my phone on at the party.”
“Will do,” Maybelline says. “But we’ll be fine. You two, go. Have a great time. You deserve some grown-up Mardi Gras fun!”
“But don’t dance too hard,” Ava says, holding the screen door open for Maybelline and Bella. “I wasn’t joking about my toes.”
Clover and I laugh, and I wave. “Bye, see you tomorrow.”
Bella waves over her shoulder. “Bye, Daddy and Clover!”
“Bye!” Ava agrees, letting the door snap shut as she follows Maybelline inside, already claiming Cookie Monster and Ernie as her bathtime toys.
Silence falls in their wake. For a moment, Clover and I stand side by side on the porch, catching our breath from the big day.
“Well,thatwas fun,” she finally says.
“So much fun,” I agree.
“So much.” She sighs, fluffing her curls with one hand as she adds in a softer voice, “you know what else is fun?”
“A quickie at your place before we get ready for the grown-up party?” I whisper beneath my breath.
Our gazes catch and hold, and her eyes flash as she murmurs, “Hottest mind reader ever.”
Laughing, I grab her hand. A beat later, we’re racing across the street, aimed at the garage’s side entrance in the sunset light. The moment the door slams shut behind us, she’s on me. I’m on her.
We’re on each other because, “Keeping my hands off you all day was killing me,” I groan into her mouth as we tear at each other’s clothes.
“Torture,” she agrees, working at my belt.
Her nimble fingers work their magic, and the leather hisses through the loops. My shirt is on the garage floor before we’re five steps inside. At this rate, there’s no way we’re making it up the stairs to her place, but that’s fine with me. With the girls across the street, there’s no chance we’ll be interrupted, and I’ve been dreaming about getting her out of this jumpsuit all damned day.
“Is it sick that I’ve been thinking about this since nine a.m.?” I pull back, gripping the charm at the end of her zipper and dragging it slowly down.
“Sickandtwisted,” she teases, holding my gaze as the fabric parts, baring her bra-free breasts.
I shake my head in mock disapproval. “No bra? Again? Bad girl.”
“You don’t need a bra with thick fabric like this.” Her teeth dig into her bottom lip as I cup her in both hands, rubbing my thumbs over her already hard nipples. “But you know whatisbad?Actuallybad?”
“What?”
I’m so distracted by her nipples, I almost miss it when she adds in a whisper, “I’m not wearing any panties, either.”
