Page 17 of This Broken Heart
I shrug helplessly. “She wanted to help.”
I step closer to check on the bump on her head, but he spins her away. He may as well have slapped me. The look in his eyes says it all. He thinks this is my fault.
“What if the knife had fallen on her?”
I glance at the knife resting safely behind the sink. “I would never leave a knife where she can reach it.”
He huffs a breath, angling his chin so that he can kiss her head.
Even when he’s angry, or maybebecausehe’s angry, he’s still hot.
I’m distracted by the way his nostrils flare, so I don’t initially process the words that come out of his mouth.
“I don’t think this is working out.”
I look up at him. “What?”
“I’m sorry. I thought we were ready to hire a nanny, but I don’t think we are.”
I look around at the mess. Chopped broccoli and carrots litter the floor.
“I could tell.”
He tilts his head, his big hands easily cradling Maven’s tiny body.
“You haven’t really been letting me help.”
His jaw tenses. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Supper last night? Putting the kids to bed? I could sense you’re not ready to move on.” Oh, crap. Why would I say that? Maybe it’s the fact that I already have one foot out the door, but I’m not filtering myself the way I normally would.
“Move on?” He repeats the words, looking adorably befuddled. But then he’s frowning, which is still adorable, but spells trouble for me. “You make it sound like we’re stuck.”
I hold up my hands. “I didn’t mean it like that. I understand. That’s all I’m trying to say.”
“You understand?” He snaps. “Have you lost a spouse, too?”
“No, I…”
“Then you can hardly appreciate what it’s like.” He shakes his head. “You know what? I’m not getting into it. I think it’s pretty clear you need to leave.”
I stare at him, my cheeks catching fire. Things have taken a spectacularly sharp dive, and that’s even by my standards.
“Okay, yeah. I agree. This hasn’t been a good fit.”
He clutches Maven in his arms.
“Do you want me to finish out the day?”
He shakes his head. “It’s fine. I’ve got it.”
Wow. Okay. My eyes start to burn, tears threaten to make a humiliating appearance. I bend down, hiding my bloodshot eyes, by gathering up the spilled veggies. There’s nothing I want to do more than run from this house, but then I think of Trace.
He said he had a secret to show me when he got home from school. I don’t want to throw myself at Josh’s mercy, but I’d feel terrible about disappearing on Trace like I didn’t care about him.
Because the truth is, I’m already way more attached to these kids than I expected to be.
“Can I hang around until Trace gets home from school? He had something he wanted to show me… I’d feel bad if I weren’t here...”