Chapter 4

If someone had told me, even as recently as a month ago, that I would be working for a hot biker in a motorcycle club’s compound, I would have told them that they were being ridiculous. I didn’t know anyone who rode a motorcycle. I couldn’t even remember seeing one up close, except for driving on the street.

But it had been impossible to turn down Zane’s offer yesterday. And not just because the job was everything I’d been hoping for since I found out the daycare I worked at was closing. He paid me very well, and I got to spend every day with his adorable daughter…with the added benefit of getting a little time with the only man who had ever brought my libido to life.

“You’re so good with her.” Elise rubbed her belly, and I figured she was thinking about the baby she carried even though it was too early to tell that she was pregnant. “I wish I had half as much experience with babies as you do. I guess it’s a good thing Toby is a doctor. At least he kind of knows what to do with babies since he treats them at the hospital sometimes.”

“By the time you have your baby, you’ll have plenty of practice,” Dahlia reassured her as she pointed at her rounded belly. “I’m sure my sister and I will need all the help we can get with ours due so close to each other.”

Elise beamed a smile at her. “Good point.”

“I thought I would get some practice in today with Corinne since Dahlia has hogged her for the past couple of days.” Molly puffed out her bottom lip in an exaggerated pout as she traced her finger over Corinne’s cheek. “But I guess I can’t complain too much since Whiskey was really lucky to have found you so quickly.”

“I’m glad you think so, but really, I was the lucky one,” I disagreed. “I had just about given up hope on finding a position working with kids. I thought I would have to take a job at a fast-food restaurant flipping burgers or something like that. There’s nothing wrong with that since it’s honest work, but I wouldn’t have enjoyed it nearly as much as being Corinne’s nanny.”

After searching for a new job for an entire month, I started to think that I wouldn’t be able to find anything where I could work with kids. The options were slim in Old Bridge, and most places wanted to hire someone with a college degree, not just a high school diploma. It didn’t seem to matter that I had worked for more than two years at a daycare because I never got any offers from the interviews I’d done. Not until Zane walked into the library yesterday.

Looking at Elise, I murmured, “Did I remember to thank you for recommending me to Zane?”

“It’s the first thing you did this morning.” She shook her head with a laugh. “And even if you hadn’t, Whiskey did. Twice. Until Toby glared him out of the room for getting too close to me.”

Dahlia shot her a knowing look. “Our men can be so ridiculous with their whole caveman thing.”

Molly rolled her eyes. “As if one of their club brothers would ever cross a line with an old lady.”

“Right?” Elise shrugged. “But even with his ring on my finger, his baby in my belly, and his property patch on my back, Toby still likes to pee circles around me whenever one of the single guys is near.”

“His president and VP aren’t any different,” Dahlia huffed.

“For sure.” Molly chuckled before winking at me. “And I bet Whiskey will be the same with his woman too.”

“Umm…I…uh…I wouldn’t know about that,” I mumbled, my cheeks heating as I ducked my head. “I barely know the guy, and I’m just his nanny.”

“Uh-huh,” Molly drawled with a soft smile. “He asked you to call him Zane, right?”

I nodded, confused by her question.

“Then it’s definitely something to keep in mind for later.”

Dahlia wagged her brows. “Just in case.”

Molly must have taken pity on me because she turned to her friend and said, “It was a good thing you two met at the library last week.”

“Yeah, it was like the universe knew Whiskey would need a nanny and you were the perfect person for the job,” Dahlia agreed, nodding.

I was relieved that we’d moved past the discussion of how Zane would be with the woman he eventually claimed as his own. As much as I loved their not-so-subtle hints that it would be me, “I just can’t believe he’s only had Corinne for two days. He’s so wonderful with her.”

Although he hadn’t been familiar with how to feed her a bottle when we met, the man seemed to have taken to being a new father like a duck on water from what I saw this morning. But his schedule was jam-packed between appointments with clients and managing the tattoo parlor. I’d only been working for him for a day, but I already realized that my hours would be anything but regular.

Not that I minded. It had only taken one look for Corinne to wrap me around her tiny pinky finger. I didn’t mind being at her daddy’s beck and call either. It wasn’t as though I had much going on besides my time at the library, and Zane had said it was okay for me to bring her with me if I wanted to keep doing reading time. Which I did, except now I had to bring an Iron Rogues prospect along if Zane couldn’t make it.

I thought it was really sweet how protective he was over the baby girl who’d just been thrust into his life. Especially since he told me that he hadn’t spoken to his sister in years. The fact that he’d been so quick to step in as his niece’s only parent under those circumstances showed what kind of man he was. And made him even more attractive to me, which shouldn’t be possible since I had already spent the past day without being able to get him off my mind.

“He’s certainly made her a priority.” Molly reached out to the plate in the middle of the table in the clubhouse kitchen to snag another cookie that a woman named Sheila had baked that morning. “In only two days, he’s managed to hire a nanny and reschedule half of his tattoo appointments. He’s also put feelers out for another artist so he can cut back on taking new clients…after Maverick told him there’s no way in hell I’m taking on any added responsibilities at the shop. Not when I should be focused on cooking our baby, according to him.”

“Wow,” I breathed, impressed by how quickly Zane was making changes to his life to ensure he could be a good dad to Corinne.

Molly thought I was reacting to her husband’s overprotectiveness. “Maverick has gone a little overboard since I got pregnant.”

Dahlia leaned back in her chair and patted her rounded belly. “Same with Kye.”

“We only just found out recently, but Toby is already ratcheting up his antics.”

Elise shook her head and sighed. “I was hoping he’d be a little more reasonable since he’s a doctor.”

Molly laughed. “Nah, none of the guys keep a cool head when it comes to their women.”

Dahlia shot me a mischievous grin. “Something else to keep in mind.”

I grabbed a cookie and shoved it in my mouth to stop myself from saying something I would regret later. It was hard to remember that I barely knew these women since sitting here chatting with them felt like catching up with old friends.

I nearly choked on a chocolate chip because Zane strode into the clubhouse kitchen, almost as if talking about him had conjured him from thin air. Butterflies swirled in my belly when his gaze zeroed in on my face as he headed over to our little group.

“How’re things going?” he asked, resting his palm on Corinne’s head when he got close.

His thumb was only a couple of inches from my breast, and I thanked my lucky stars that I wore a padded bra today. Otherwise, he’d know that my nipples had pebbled in reaction to his nearness.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I replied, “Really good. She took a nice nap and had a bottle about half an hour ago.”

“Great.” He flashed me a panty-dropping smile. “That means you can look at some houses with me online so I can let the real estate agent know what kind of places he should take us to see tomorrow morning.”

With everything else he had already done for Corinne, I should’ve seen it coming, but his announcement shocked me. And even more so that he wanted my input. “You want me to help you pick out a house?”

“Damn straight,” he confirmed with a nod. “I’m not gonna buy a place that you hate when you’re gonna be spending a fuck of a lot of time there.”

My head knew he was talking about being in his home as Corinne’s nanny, but my heart couldn’t help but hope he meant something else. And that he wanted me to help pick the house because I would need all those hints the women had been giving me about how the Iron Rogues men were with their women.