Page 71 of Chasing the Sun

“Which is just a fancy way of saying bad breath!”

She poured them each a glass of juice while he plated their eggs and bacon, and then she sat next to him at the table. Since Molly would be home soon, she wanted to be as close to him as possible for the time remaining.

Apparently, he approved of her choice, because he squeezed her knee under the table.

She’d just filled her mouth with eggs when he ran his hand up her inner thigh, and then his eyes went wide.

“You’re not wearing underwear.”

“That’s because they’re upstairs. It was either borrow a pair of yours or go commando, and I chose commando.”

He shook his head. “This is going to be a long day!”

“We still have a couple of hours.”

“But what if Molly comes home early? I don’t want to get caught…”

“In bed with the nanny. Yeah, I get it.” For a while, she’d been able to forget about her role in the household, preferring to think of herself as his girlfriend or, at the very least, his lover. The reminder of what she really was stung.

He set down his fork and turned toward her. “I was going to say, ‘in a compromising position.’ It has nothing to do with you being the nanny. I wouldn’t want Molly to see me with anyone.”

If he’d been trying to make her feel better, he’d failed. “Have you ever brought a woman home to meet Molly?”

He slowly shook his head. “There hasn’t been anyone I wanted her to meet.”

Now she felt worse. She averted her eyes and tucked into her breakfast while he did the same.

Once they’d finished, she quickly stood up to clear their plates. While she was loading the dishwasher, Bryce came up behind her and slid his arms around her waist. He swept her hair to the side, buried his face in her neck, and inhaled deeply.

“You smell divine.”

“You mean like chlorine and sex?”

He chuckled, his breath caressing her sensitive skin. Then he turned her around to face him and locked his hands behind her back.

“Is everything okay?”

“Um-hmm. Why?”

“After I said I never brought anyone home to meet Molly, you got really quiet. I’m not used to you being that quiet.”

She laughed because he was right, but then she sobered. “I was just thinking that this might be harder than I thought.”

“This?” He motioned between them.

She nodded. “I understand you wanting to protect Molly, but I don’t like the idea of hiding things from her.”

He sighed and let go of her to lean against the counter. She missed the contact immediately.

“We’ve complicated things, haven’t we?”

She shrugged.

“Look, Chloe. We both know this is temporary, and you were the one who said we could keep it between us, remember?”

He was just stating the facts, yet he made it sound so impersonal. “Do you really think Molly would be upset if she knew we were…together?”

“Maybe not, but what about when you have to go back home? I don’t want her to get too attached to the idea of us being together. I’m sorry if that sounds harsh, but can you try to understand?”