“You have got to take away her Webster’s,” Grace said as soon as she opened the door to let Sean into her house. It was almost eight when he’d rung the doorbell.

He brushed the rain off his jacket before hanging it in the closet. “What are you talking about?”
Grace leaned close to whisper. “She knows way too many words. She knows the definition of ‘bitch’. Not to mention she’s quoting your mother verbatim. Get her an MP3 player or a Gameboy…something to distract her.”

Sean laughed. “She has all of those and she’s still not distracted. She looks words up in the giant Oxford dictionary at school. I can’t very well ban her from the school library, can I?”

“No,” Grace mumbled, “I guess not. Oh, she wants to know if she has a trust fund. I didn’t have the answer to that question…and that was one of the easier ones. You don’t even want to know how that subject came about.”

Sean laughed again. “Thanks again for watching her. My moms been keeping her after school while I work on this case and she’s about ready to put her in Charm School. I actually saw the registration papers!”

“No problem,” Grace said with a shrug. “I loved it. She’s great company.”

“Did you guys eat dinner already? We can order something in if you’re not ready to kick us out into the rain yet.”

Grace rolled her eyes. “I made baked chicken and rice pilaf. We put a plate for you in the oven.”

“You cooked too? Sounds like someone is vying to be my full time nanny since she’s quit her venture capitalist job.”

Grace laughed and turned to walk toward the kitchen. “I don’t know if I could work for you. How would I ever take you seriously as a boss? I’ve seen your naked baby pictures.”

Sean groaned. “Don’t remind me.”

Grace sat across from Sean as he inhaled his dinner. After less than ten minutes, his fork hit the plate with a loud clank.

“Hungry?” she asked.

“Just about starved…I had a Snickers for lunch and a handful of peanuts around four.”

“So,” Grace said leaning forward and resting her chin on her palm. “How long have you been working these crazy hours?”

Sean sighed. “Over a month.”

She glanced toward the living room where Allie was asleep on the couch.

“I know. I know. It’s just this case is kicking our ass. There’s millions of dollars at stake here so every thing we do has to be checked and checked again. It’s a pain. Mom’s been bitching at me for weeks. It goes to trial in a couple weeks. Then, it’ll be back to normal.”

“So you’re not going to hire a nanny, then?”

“Nope. I wasn’t raised by a nanny, Allie won’t be either. I don’t care if I am a single parent.”

“Why don’t you hire me to be your nanny until your hours get back to normal?”

“Hire you?”

“You know what I mean.”

“No, I don’t. You’re a corporate venture capitalist and you want me to pay you to babysit?”

Grace sighed. “Sean, I need you.”

He felt every part of him stiffen at those words. His dick leapt to attention and he had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from blushing.

“Well,” she continued, “I need a lawyer, but I trust you. Will you be my lawyer and let me be your babysitter? I’ll pay you the maximum fee if you’ll pay me the same.”

“So, we’re going to pay each other and cancel the payments out?”

Grace smiled. “It’s just an idea.”

Sean watched in silence as she rose from the table and gathered his dishes. He watched the way her hips swayed as she walked to the sink and sighed.

“I also need some help selling some of my property.”

Sean followed her to the sink and sighed wearily. “So you need a divorce attorney and a real estate lawyer, and all I need is a babysitter four hours a day. I don’t know if this is a fair bargain.”

Grace set her dark eyes on him and shrugged. “It’s your decision. You can think about it and
call me tomorrow.”

“There’s nothing to think about. Of course I’ll do it.”

“Thank you,” Grace said as she turned on the water.

“Divorce, huh?”

Grace laughed bitterly and nodded. “Yeah. I never thought I’d get divorced, but I never really thought I’d get married either.” Sean noticed that she was blinking quickly to push back her tears. “Maybe I should just stay single like you’re doing. Find a healthy focus for my life and forget about men or marriage.”

Sean’s stomach clenched. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’m going to get married and I’m sure you will too.” He didn’t mention that she was the one he was now intent on marrying.

“I really don’t think I’ll get married again,” Grace sighed. She set the plate in the warm, sudsy water. “I thought I got it right the first time,” she said shaking her head and blindly soaping the plate. She passed it to Sean, staring out the small window over the sink. “Why didn’t you ever get married?”

Sean stuck the now clean plate in the wooden rack and shrugged. “I’m usually too busy to meet anyone; you’ve seen what time I get off some nights. Besides, any woman I marry would have to be pretty close to perfect.” He turned to watch Grace as she moved quietly about the small kitchen, closing cabinets and retrieving a dishtowel from a drawer. “She’d have to be a wife, a lover, a best friend, and a mother,” he continued, “No one I’ve dated has even come close. I’d given up on finding anyone until…”

“Until?” Grace asked drying her hands on the towel, then using it to dry the plate they’d just washed. She had her back to him so she didn’t notice him approach her, or the look of longing in his eyes. She didn’t realize Sean’s close proximity until she felt his breath on her neck.

Grace turned quickly and found herself pinned between his hands, which were planted firmly on the counter, on either side of her. She was about to ask what he was doing when he leaned down and kissed her. Her eyes immediately shut at the delicious feel of his lips against hers, but her initial shock caused her to drop the plate in her hand. It shattered with a crash on the ceramic tile floor, but Sean didn’t even flinch. Instead, he slid his hands onto her narrow waist and urged her lips apart with his tongue.

Grace’s heart hammered in her chest as she leaned against him, wrapping her arms around his neck. He smelled so good, like sweet, rich cologne and a spicy shampoo. She moaned lightly and noted how his grip on her waist tightened. She moaned again and he pulled her hips flush with his thighs, she could feel his erection against her stomach. His slacks did nothing to contain it and her pussy flooded at the realization that he wanted her so badly.

“Daddy? Grace?” Allie’s small voice echoed in the silence of the kitchen.

Sean released her mouth, but continued to hold her against his front. “Don’t look so guilty,” he whispered after gently kissing her cheek. “Kids can sense fear.” Another chaste kiss on her cheek and he addressed his daughter. “Yes, honey,” he said nonchalantly.

“What are you guys doing?” Allie asked slowly. Grace noticed that her beautiful blue eyes were perfectly round.

“I’m just saying goodbye to Grace. It’s time for us to leave. Why don’t you go get your things together while I help Grace clean up this broken plate?” He was talking to his daughter, she could tell by his even, melodic tone, but his eyes didn’t leave her face, and his hands never left her waist.

Allie gazed at them a bit longer before she nodded and left the room. The awkward silence stayed behind though. It enveloped them as they made to clean up the broken shards of orange ceramic.