The next second, Tate's expression morphed, and a huge grin spread on his face. "All right. I'll do a waffle for you, but you do mine," he said.
"But you're not allowed to make one that looks the same as mine," Paisley said.
I raised a brow. "Oh, okay. We have rules. Anything else I should know?"
Tate looked at me as if he was laughing at the private joke but didn't say anything aloud.
I glanced at the waffle, thinking what I could do. Looking at the chopped banana, I got an idea. I arranged grapes on one side of the waffle, left the middle empty, then put three banana slices on one edge before I proudly presented it to him. He was still working on mine, but he stopped, glancing at his plate and frowning.
"What's that supposed to be?"
"That's the lake, beach, and the grapes are skyscrapers," I said cheerfully.
Paisley pushed herself up on her chair and looked closer at my waffle. Then she glanced up at her dad. For a few seconds, no one said anything. Then both of them burst out laughing with so much joy that I couldn't help but join in, even though I knew they were laughing at me. The ease between the two of them and their closeness was melting my heart.
"All right," he said. "I guess you'll get better with practice."
"Okay. Let's see how you do," I said in a challenging voice.
A few minutes later, he pushed my plate to me, and I had to admit it was much better. He'd made yet another smiley face, but this one I recognized. This was the emoji that made sexy eyes. To Paisley, it probably meant nothing, but I felt my cheeks heat up.
"You're cheating, Dad. That's another smiley face," Paisley said.
“Exactly. It doesn't count," I added.
He kept his eyes trained on me, but I didn’t look away.
“Dad, when is Aunt Reese finishing her call?” Paisley asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Is everyone in your family an early riser on Saturday?” I inquired.
Tate shrugged. “Not really, but Reese needed some company.”
“Did something happen?”
“Her ex-fiancé is giving her headaches,” he replied in a harsh tone.
And his door is always open to his family, huh? This was completely unexpected.
“That’s it, I turned my phone to airplane mode,” Reese announced, entering the kitchen.
Sitting next to Paisley, she helped herself to a mouthful of her niece’s waffle.
“Tate, you make the best waffles.” She sighed with appreciation. “When is everyone else arriving?”
“Probably not until lunch,” Tate said.
Paisley turned to look straight at me, pushing herself up onto her feet, and standing on the chair. She pointed one forefinger at me.
“Lexi! We’re having a barbecue. Pleaaaaaase stay. I want everyone to meet you.”
She was adorable.
Before I had a chance to reply, Tate intervened.
“Paisley, Lexi is free on weekends. She’s only here this morning because there was a power outage and it wasn’t safe for her to go back home. Now, sit back down in your chair before you fall.”
A knot formed in my stomach. He was right, of course. I was the nanny, not part of the family. I had to keep that front and center in mind. I’d only been here two weeks, and we’d kissed. And now I was swooning because he’d made me a waffle. I was on a very slippery slope.
“But our cookouts are fun,” Reese put in. “Do you have plans for today?”
"I’m meeting a friend in the afternoon. But now, I was going to go home and get something to read, a blanket, and maybe picnic out at the beach in front of my building. I don’t have anything planned for lunch."
“Then stay. Besides, you might need intel about your employer,” she said with a wink.
“What?” I asked, genuinely curious.
“He ran off a lot of nannies because he’s so demanding.”
Tate groaned. “Reese!”
“He should be,” I replied. “They’re caring for his daughter, after all.”
“Pleaaaaase,” Paisley repeated as she slowly sat back down in her chair.
I pressed my lips together before bursting into laughter. I really couldn’t say no to her, huh? Not when she stared with those pleading eyes. I couldn’t disappoint her.
“Okay. If it’s not an inconvenience to anyone, I’ll stay,” I said.
“It’s not. Lexi, let’s step outside the kitchen for a minute,” Tate said.
My heart was hammering in my chest. I nodded, carefully getting up from my seat and walking ahead of him. I felt his gaze on me every step of the way.
We rounded the corner to the TV area so we were out of sight.
“Sorry about Paisley. She’s not too clear on boundaries. Neither is Reese, apparently.”
I shook my head, fiddling with my thumbs. “Should I go? I don’t want to overstay my welcome.”
He stepped right in front of me, eyes hard and unrelenting. “You’re not overstaying. But I meant what I said. The weekend is your free time. I don’t expect you to stay. But I’d love it if you did.”
“Really? Well, I can’t say no to Paisley anyway. I can’t resist her.”
“But you can resist me?” he asked in a flirty tone.
“I think I’m doing a better job of that, yes,” I replied in an equally flirty tone.
“I see.”
“Daaaaaad, are you scaring Lexi off?” Paisley called from the kitchen.
I chuckled as Tate said loudly, “No, I’m not.”
“So she’s staying?”
He looked at me intently. I squirmed in my spot, nodding.
“Yes, she is,” he announced loudly before adding in a whisper, “And you and I will find a quiet moment alone to talk about last night.”
Chapter Eight
Lexi
"So, what exactly is the family gathering about today? Something special going on?" I asked.
"It's a cookout," Paisley replied.
"Everyone brings something, and we throw it all on the grill," Tate explained.
It sounded so normal. They were one of the most influential families in Chicago, but they spent their weekends having a cookout.
"Gran is coming too," Reese said.
"Your parents too?" I asked, looking at Tate.
"No, they're traveling. But trust me, there's going to be plenty of people to confuse you."
“I’ll do the introductions,” Reese offered. “Three of his brothers are coming. Travis and Sam will be the ones missing. And my sister is in Paris, so she won’t be here either. But like Tate says, there’s gonna be plenty of people. Between all of us, you should get a good picture of Tate here so you don’t have any surprises down the road.”
She wiggled her eyebrows at Tate, who shook his head. “Keep it up and I’m revoking your breakfast invitation.”
Reese pouted. “You can’t do that. You love me too much. And besides, I’m in a bad place: heart crushed, shitty ex-fiancé, and all that.”
Reese spoke with ease, like it was all a big joke, but there was no mistaking the emotion in her eyes.