Page 19 of Payoff Pitch
Harper’s face lights up. “In the locker room? With the team?”
I smile. “Of course.”
She seems giddy, and Tanner smiles down at her before looking back at me. “During the school year, I need her picked upfrom school and cared for until dinnertime. On odd occasions, a little later, but I try to avoid that as much as possible.”
“Once the season is over, sometime in October, that won’t be a problem at all. I’m wide open.”
He nods. “Great. Given Harper’s level of excitement and your references, I don’t see why this can’t work out. I just want my ex-wife, Fallon, to meet you. She needs to approve anyone who’s around Harper.”
“I understand completely.”
“We’ll figure out a time to make that happen.”
Harper scrunches her nose. “Tell Mommy to come over after work today to meet Bailey. I want her to start right away. My summer season is almost over, and I want to hit with Bailey. Coach says I should be getting more power in my swing.”
Tanner blows out a breath. “Her coach acts like they’re adults. They’re seven. It should be fun for them, don’t you think?”
I nod. “Of course. I know a few fun drills.” I turn to Harper. “If it’s okay with your daddy, maybe I can show you a few this afternoon.”
Harper looks hopefully at Tanner and he nods.
TANNER
I’m sitting on the deck, smoking a cigar, watching the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen in my life play softball with my daughter. When she walked in, something passed between us. She felt it too. I could tell.
She bends over to retrieve a ball, giving me a direct view of her perfect ass. At least a portion of her body was covered when she was wearing the sweatshirt. Now she’s in a fitted tank top with those tight leggings, and I’m finding myself constantly in need of…adjustment.
Just a regular middle-aged man, drinking whiskey, smoking a cigar on his deck, getting hard from simply watching his kid’s potential nanny play with his daughter. Totally normal.
I run my fingers through my hair. How did I get here?
Hiring Bailey might be the biggest mistake of my life. I’m half-hoping that Fallon rejects her as a candidate, though I can’t imagine she will.
As if I manifested her, Fallon walks outside. My friends and family think it strange that she has a key to my house and is free to come and go as she pleases, but at the end of the day, she’s Harper’s mother. I have keys to her house too, though I don’t use them as liberally as Fallon does mine.
She plops down next to me. “Hey. Sorry I’m late. Crazy day at work. Is she still here?”
I point toward the batting cage where Harper and Bailey have been for the past two hours. “The two of them are breaking in the new batting cage. The contractors finished it today, and Harper was anxious to get in there.”
She smiles. “I bet she was. It’s incredible, Tan. She’s a lucky little girl.”
I nod. “I think she wants to live in that sucker.”
Fallon looks more closely and lets out a laugh. “Oh cheez, Tan. Your new nanny is a far cry from Hildy, who could have doubled for Mrs. Doubtfire. Is she a model?”
I shake my head and blow out a ring of smoke. “Much better. She’s a professional softball player. She plays for the Anacondas.”
“Ahh. I thought she looked familiar. Harper must be over the moon.”
“She was bouncing off the walls with excitement. She’s been watching Bailey play all season. Now she gets to possibly hang out with one of her idols, but if you don’t like her, I’ll try to find someone else.” I mumble, “Though I don’t think it getsmore perfect.”
She continues to watch them happily interact before turning to me. “If you hire her, you can’t sleep with her.”
I straighten my shoulders, immediately feeling defensive. “For god’s sake, Fallon, she’s a kid herself.”
She’s no kid. She’s a woman.Allwoman, down to each and every perfect curve. Her eyes may scream innocence, but her body certainly doesn’t.
Fallon gives me a skeptical look. “Don’t bullshit me. Who you sleep with is your business, not mine, but it can’t be our kid’s nanny. That could lead to heartache for Harper.”