Page 18 of An Unexpected Match
Brendan’s arms came around her, hugging her tightly, until Arden wondered if he’d ever let her go. A faint whistle from outside broke his hold.
“That’s my ride. I have to go.”
His mouth covered hers with a fiery kiss that Arden felt to her toes.
Then, suddenly, Brendan was gone.
Stupid, stupid, stupid. Arden groaned as she curled up in her bed a few minutes later and berated herself. How could she have flung herself into his arms? She’d known the man less than a week.
He’d think she was crazy. Certifiable. Or worse, what if he thought she had been coming on to him? Would he have second thoughts about her watching Hailey and Avery?
She closed her eyes, unable to resist reliving his kiss. Her body still tingled in delight. How could the mere touch of lips affect every inch of her? She’d never felt like this before. Maybe it was the lateness of the hour or being wakened from a sound sleep.
Brushing her fingers across her lips, she shivered. Less than a week on the job and she’d jeopardized it. She couldn’t afford to lose the position. She needed to make sure she stayed the perfect choice. She had to insure he had no doubts about her capability.
If he brought up the kiss when he returned, she’d pretend she didn’t remember. Could she convince him she’d been sleepwalking?
Probably not, he was too astute. Darn, what was she going to do?
Why was she so impetuous? She should have calmly assured him she’d take care of his children while he was gone. And maybe a quiet take-care-of-yourself would have been appropriate.
But no, she had to hug him, kiss him, tell him not to be a dead hero.
Of course, the kiss that had her worried was the one he’d givenher.
Brendan normally left for work before his daughters awoke, so they were not unduly bothered by their father’s absence the next morning. Though Arden expected Brendan spent most of his weekends at home, neither Hailey nor Avery seemed to miss his presence. Even when Arden explained he might be gone for a couple of days, they appeared unconcerned. She was touched that they seemed perfectly comfortable being with her.
Today, she’d take them with her to visit her aunts. Eugenia and Love had called twice since she’d started watching the girls. They were eager to see her and hear all about her new job.
Her phone rang when they were ready to leave. Arden answered, her heart skipping a beat when she recognized Brendan’s voice.
“Is everything all right?” he asked.
Noise in the background made it difficult for her to hear him clearly.
“Yes. The girls are fine. Where are you?”
“We just landed a few minutes ago. I’m still at the airport. I don’t know how long I’ll be tied up. Sometimes these things go quickly, but usually not.”
“You are not in danger, are you?”
He hesitated long enough for her to notice before denying it. Was he saying that just to calm her? Was there danger? She had to trust he knew how to handle the situation, but she began to worry.
“The girls are fine. They’ll miss you.”
“How are you?” he asked.
“Fine.” Please don’t bring up that kiss.
“I’m sorry about last night. I rarely go around kissing my employees.”
His voice sounded husky, self-deprecating.
Exactly the topic she wanted to avoid. Arden took a breath, amazed to find her own voice calm and normal in tone.
“I shouldn’t have hugged you. I hope I didn’t give an erroneous impression. I mean, I wasn’t flirting or coming on to you or anything. It just seemed like, I don’t know you were leaving and all.”
“I didn’t get any impression. You’re a toucher, I noticed that with the girls. It was late.” He cleared his throat. “Actually, it was sort of nice. To have someone to tell me to take care of myself.”
