ina finished unpacking her clothes and laid across the California king-sized bed. It was so comfortable as it aligned with her body. Nina sat up against the headboard when she heard a knock at the door.

She wondered if it was Tristan again. She resisted the urge to see how she looked in the mirror. The way he was making her feel when he was around was unacceptable. She had to remind herself that she was his employee only.

"Who is it?" she asked.

"Tasha."

Nina told her to come in. She smiled when her best friend ran over to her and gave her a tight hug. They both laughed when Nina told Tasha that she couldn't breathe.

"What are you doing up here?" Nina asked, noticing her friend wearing her maid's outfit that consisted of khakis and a white cotton button down.

"I'm on break. I had to come to see how you're settling in," she said, still grinning.

"I'm okay. I'm still a bit worried about Grandma though."

"She'll be okay. I can check on her too when I get off."

Nina shook her head. "Tristan has a nurse stopping by. I'm just sad that I won't be able to see her as much."

"Tristan did that?" she asked, quirking her arched eyebrow.

"Yeah, he said he wanted me to feel comfortable to leave. So he made sure to have a nurse check on her every day."

"That's interesting," she said.

"What is?"

"He never cared about the previous nanny's personal life. They had to take care of everything themselves," she said, smirking.

"He was only trying to help me out. Don't get any weird ideas."

The way her best friend was giving her a knowing look she had to put her weird ideas to rest.

"I'm not. I'm just pointing out the differences."

"No, you're trying to point out things that aren't there," she said, shaking her head.

"What do you think of Tristan?"

Nina shrugged. "I think he's my employer. That's it."

Tasha hummed. "So, you're not attracted to him?"

"I didn't say that. He's hot but I'm here to do a job not to jump his bones," she said, irritation lacing her tone.

Tasha threw her hands up.

"I was only asking because I saw the way you two stare at one another."

"Nothing's going to happen between us. You know I can't fall in love again."

"You can't let what Nick did prevent you from finding happiness with another man," she said, patting Nina's back.

"Yes, I can."

"That's no way to live."

"I'll be the judge of that."

Tasha sighed and glanced at her wristwatch.

"I have to get back to work. We'll talk later," she said, giving her another hug.

"Bye," she said, watching Tasha leave and close her door.

Nina knew Tasha's heart was in the right place but she wasn't interested in falling in love again. Love only brought hurt and pain and she didn't want to go through it again.

Yes, she was attracted to Tristan. She had been attracted to a lot of dudes and he was no one special and she planned on keeping it that way.

Nina walked down the glossy wooden steps and was greeted with different spices and herbs that made her stomach growl. She followed the smell of the food until she saw Tristan sitting down with Nadia.

They locked eyes and he smiled at her. Her heart thumped harder against her chest.

Tristan looked away to look at Nadia. Nina finally released her breath she didn't know she was holding in.

"Nadia, I want you to meet your nanny," he said, grabbing Nadia's small hand into his own.

Nina couldn't help but smile at the gesture.

"I don't want another nanny. She'll be mean to me like the last one," she said, tears running down her face.

Nina's heart broke at that. She clenched her hands into fists. Who could be mean to a child?

Nina took a few steps forward and bent down to Nadia's height. Nadia was sitting in the chair swiping at her eyes.

"Hey, Nadia," she said, with a gentle smile.

Nina saw Nadia's eyes light up in recognition.

"Daddy, it's the lady from the store," she said, pointing at Nina.

Nina glanced in Tristan's direction to find him smiling at both of them. She admitted to herself that she liked seeing him smile. His smile could light up any dark room.

"Nadia, what have I told you about pointing at people. It's not nice," he said, but his tone was far from angry.

"Sorry, daddy," she said, turning her attention back to Nina. "Are you going to be my nanny?"

Nina nodded. "I am. I promise I won't be mean to you."

Nadia smiled. "Pinkie promise," she said, lifting her tiny pinkie for Nina to see.

Nina chuckled and lifted her own pinkie to wrap around Nadia's small one.

"I promise."

Nina glanced back at Tristan to find him still smiling but the intensity in his eyes didn't let up.

Tristan looked away and turned his attention back to Nadia.

"Are you feeling better about having a nanny?" he asked.

Nadia nodded. "I'm happy it's Nina."

Nina's smile widened at hearing Nadia say she was okay with her being her nanny.

"Nina have a seat."

Nina made a move to sit down when Nadia told her to sit by her which she did.

Nina was astonished at the spread on the table. She saw macaroni and cheese, pork chops, chicken, and cornbread. For dessert, there was chocolate cake, lemon cake, apple pie, and cherry pie.

"I hope this is enough. I wasn't sure what you liked," he said, with a worried expression.

"This is more than enough. It all looks so delicious," she said, eye going back and forth over the food.

Tristan laughed. "Dig in. Have as much as you want."

Nina grabbed a plate full of chicken, pork chop, macaroni, and cornbread. All three of them ate and talked. They mostly let Nadia talk about her friends and how she was doing in school.

Nina slumped down in her seat and rubbed at her stomach as she waited for Tristan to come back from putting Nadia to be.

Nina continued to groan in satisfaction and rub her tummy when she heard a low chuckle beside her.

Nina glanced in his direction.

"What's so funny?" she asked, watching him sit down in the chair beside her.

He shrugged. "You look cute like that."

Nina straightened up in her chair feeling her cheeks burn. If she was any lighter she would be embarrassed to see him see her acting like some school girl with a crush.

"I didn't take you for being shy," he said, with a hint of humor in his voice.

Nina whipped her head in his direction.

"I'm not shy."

Tristan leaned in closer invading her senses with his cologne that smelled of cedarwood. It smelled so good on him that she thought about laying her head in the curve of his neck to get a huge whiff of his manly scent.

"Really? You can barely look at me," he said, laughing.

Nina couldn't take him being so close so she stood up out of her seat.

"I'm going to bed."

Tristan slowly stood to his full height. He towered over her and lifted her chin so that she was staring up at him.

Nina saw the frown displayed on his features and she liked seeing him smile much more.

"Tell me now. Do I make you uncomfortable?"

Nina's eyes widened.

"No, you don't."

His thumb and forefinger still had a hold of her chin and she was finding it hard to get air into her lungs once again.

He smiled. "Good. See you in the morning."

Nina stepped back. Her fight or flight senses were in overload.

"Night."

Nina practically ran away from him, up the stairs and into her bedroom.

She leaned her body against the door and slid down into a sitting position.

Nina kept telling herself their relationship was going to be strictly professional but when he had lifted her chin to look up at him, she imagined him kissing her.

It's only lust she told herself. Nothing more.

***

Hey, guys. What do you think of Nina finally becoming the nanny. What do you think of their chemistry? Let me know what you think in the comment section below. If you enjoyed this chapter, don't forget to comment, vote, and share :).