15. Kat

Chapter 15

A ddison had been adamant that we make dinner tonight after seeing how much Desmond liked the cookies. She was so excited to show everyone her cooking skills, and I enjoy cooking, so it seemed like an easy request. Desmond disappeared after our swim, and after a while without him popping up, I stopped looking over my shoulder every few minutes.

At Addison's request, we ended up with a chicken dish: chicken cordon bleu with parmesan pasta and homemade garlic mashed potatoes. Addison helped me with every step, and together, we cooked, sang, and made a mess of the entire kitchen. The smile on her face, when we set the table, made it all worth it, even if it took twice as long going at a five-year-old’s pace.

I sent her upstairs to change while I cleaned up the bulk of the mess. She'd had a run-in with the breadcrumb and egg mixture we used to coat the chicken and ended up wearing a lot of our first batch.

“Damn, something smells great!” Alex’s voice rings out in the dining room, and I almost drop the glass mixing bowl I’d been cleaning.

I hadn’t heard the door, either because the house is so damn big or because I’d been too focused on what I was doing. I glare down at Ruby, who lies on the ground not far from my feet.

“Some guard you are,” I hiss, and his ears perk up before he looks up at me. “Next time, let me know,” I whisper, gesturing toward the dining room as if he might understand me.

Great, I’m talking to the dog. Ruby whines as if he’s taken offense to what I said, and I roll my eyes.

With a sigh, I finish rinsing the bowl and lay it out to dry before quickly wiping my hands on a towel and trying to ready myself to face them, only to turn around and come face to face with Nathan.

I choke on a scream as my heart jumps into my throat, and I stumble back a step.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” Nathan says, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “I was simply coming to see what the two of you were up to, seeing as the food is on the table, yet neither of you is there.”

It takes me a second to get my breathing under control enough to answer him.

“Addison had to go change. She ended up wearing quite a bit of the ingredients…” I trail off, realizing I probably should do the same. One glance down proves that correct, as I see the mess, which is my clothes.

“Uncle Alex!” Addison’s voice carries to us from the dining room, and I hear her little feet running across the marble floor, no doubt into Alex’s arms.

“Hey, little Princess! Did you have fun with Kat today?” Alex asks, and she excitedly starts to fill him in on everything he missed.

“I’m going to go change,” I say, moving toward the hall that leads to the stairs.

“Of course, take your time.”

I have to work hard to keep a regular pace. Something about being alone with him is so much harder than it should be. It’s as if I’m fighting the pull of a magnet, and my only way to avoid collision is to escape quickly.

Once I'm in my room, I wash up and change. Giving myself a pep talk that doesn’t feel like it does a damn thing. For a moment, I contemplate skipping dinner completely and just hiding away, but I’d already been seen, and if I don’t come back, it would be obvious I’m hiding… which I would be, but I don’t want them to know that.

Splashing some water on my face, I pull on my metaphorical big girl pants and make my way back downstairs.

I follow the sound of their voices to the dining room. There, I find them all sitting at the table: Desmond and Addison, filling Alex, Oliver, and Nathan in on the fun we had in the pool today. The second Addison sees me, her smile grows even wider.

“And we made dinner!”

Nathan, Alex, and Desmond turn to look at me as I stand in the doorway, unsure where to sit. Two seats are open on the side of the table we set. One is to the right of Nathan, who sits at the head of the table, and the other is next to Alex on the other side.

Nobody says anything, waiting to see what I choose. In the end, I decide to sit next to Nathan, which also puts me next to Addison. It seems like a logical choice, given the fact that I’m her nanny, the smart choice.

“So you two made all of this?” Alex asks as I take my seat. He sounds a bit surprised, and when I look at him, I find him admiring the spread of food we set out.

“Yes! It was so much fun!” Addison says, saving me from answering, but I nod regardless.

“You know we have people we pay to do that, right? Are you trying to put them out of work?” Desmond asks with a chuckle, and I feel his eyes on me overtop Addison’s head. I don’t even have to look to know he has that sexy smirk on his face. I can hear it in his words.

“I do, but cooking is a valuable skill, one that everyone should have, and Addison enjoyed it.”

“You're right. Everyone should know how to cook. Maybe Desmond could stick around one of these times and learn a thing or two.”

Alex barks a laugh at Nathan’s obvious dig, and I can’t fight the smile that tugs at my lips.

“Sure, I wouldn't be opposed to a little one-on-one tutoring.”

Crap, how did he make that into something dirty? Is it like a special skill he has?

“Well, I don’t know about anyone else, but I'm starving, and this smells delicious.”

With that, Alex serves himself, and the others follow suit. I help Addison, allowing her to do what she can on her own before offering her assistance. After I’ve finished cutting up her chicken, I turn back to my own plate, only to find it full of food.

I feel my cheeks heat, but I try to ignore it as I turn to face Nathan, who's the only one close enough to have done it.

“Thank you.”

He doesn’t say anything, simply giving me a nod, but something about his eyes is different. Nathan has a bit of a cold edge, something I’m pretty sure he developed over the years being in the spotlight. Depending on the person he's interacting with, his coldness can vary, except for the few people at this table.

Addison, Alex, and Desmond seem to be the exception. And while he’s not overly cold with me, he’s usually still guarded.

Seeing him like this takes me by surprise, and I have to avert my gaze to stop myself from falling into the beautiful depth of his ice-blue eyes.

We all eat, and for the most part, everyone’s quiet. Addison talks a bit about how we made it and the mess she made. I can’t help but smile as she recalls it all. Somehow, everything seems so much more exciting when kids tell you about it.

Desmond drops his fork onto the table and slumps back into his chair with a sigh. “Damn, if you're going to cook like this, we might have to pay you more.”

Alex agrees with a laugh, and I feel my cheeks heat, but it’s not until Nathan agrees that I almost choke on my food.

“Anytime you want to cook, just let me know, and I’ll let Dale know he can have the night off. That was fantastic, Kat.”

My head snaps up to meet his eyes, and I instantly regret it. I’d thought maybe he was joking, but his face is serious as he holds my gaze, almost as if challenging me to look away.

“If you think her food is good…” Alex lets his words trail off, and I whip my head to look at him, my eyes wide.

He did not just say that…

Right?

Please tell me I imagined it, because there’s no way Nathan would have missed what he was clearly implying.

A smirk turns his lips as he raises a brow at me, looking so cocky I’m half tempted to throw my fork at him.

I wouldn’t hit him, of course, but damn him.

“What?” Addison asks in confusion, clearly not understanding what he said.

Thank god.

“What, Uncle Alex?” She pushes for an answer when nobody answers her, and as much as I’d love to explain, I don’t know what to say.

“Kat?” I can feel her eyes on me.

I pull my eyes from Alex, but not before narrowing them to let him know what I think of his comment. He doesn’t seem to care, though, instead chuckling as I roll my eyes.

“Um, he was talking about…” I trail off, grasping for something to say and coming up empty.

“Uncle Alex was talking about her baking,” Desmond says, finally taking pity on me, and I feel myself breathe a little easier. “Her cookies are delicious, aren’t they, Princess?”

Addison's lips turn up into a smile as she nods in agreement. “Yes! They were so good! She let me have three!” She holds up three little fingers in excitement.

“Three cookies?” Alex asks, pulling her attention to him, and she once again nods. “Well, that’s not fair. I didn’t get three.” He meets my gaze over her head, that same smirk on his lips, and I already know whatever he’s going to say isn’t going to be good.

“I’ll just have to make sure I get some more later.”

How in the hell did he manage to take something like baked goods and make them sound dirty?

That shouldn’t be possible, yet here we sit, together at the dinner table, and my brain goes right back to that night I spent with him and Desmond.

Dinner feels like it takes forever, and I spend more time than I’m proud of staring down at my plate, too embarrassed to look anywhere else. Nathan scoops Addison up from her chair, where she’s already half asleep, and is ready to take her to bed when she suddenly wakes up enough to ask me to tuck her in.

Of course, I couldn’t say no to that. Not only was it adorable, but it also gave me the perfect getaway from Desmond and Alex. Right now, I cannot handle more of them, at least not without risking spontaneous combustion.

Thankfully, Addy is so tired that she doesn’t request a story, though Nathan said she usually does, which is fine. I have no problem reading to her; it’s the idea of being stuck reading to her with Alex or Desmond that scares me. However, if I really stop to think about it, being stuck with Nathan isn’t much better. It’s not as if he’s less sexy. He’s just not openly flirting with me and saying dirty things in front of everyone.

Despite all of it, I can’t get them off my mind. I know when I close my eyes tonight, they will be there the same way they have been since our night together, and Nathan has been for the last few weeks now. It’s all very confusing and exhausting.

Why couldn’t Desmond or Alex have picked Addison up from the school when I was still just her teacher? This whole situation could have been avoided, and while it wouldn’t have helped me with Nathan because that probably would have ended any kind of flitting thing we had going on, or I thought we had going on, at least I would have understood what was happening.

Now I work for him. I am a Lawson employee who dreams of fucking not one but three of the Lawson men, and while I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels like this, it feels wrong.

I’m just going to need to buy some better toys and hope to god I can keep my hands to myself, despite it being one of the last things I want to do.