Resisting Cassidy (A Forbidden Romance)

Cassidy

CASSIDY

It wouldn't be a surprise at all if my entire family thought this was a bad idea, so I kept it between my parents, and Jay and his wife. The rest of my brothers didn't have to find out. However, I didn't tell Jay I'd be living with his long time best friend, Dr. Tate Larsen, who just became the hottest, most eligible man in town.

My head almost exploded when he opened the door earlier. I tried my hardest not to drool at his feet. I witnessed him evolve into the hunk he was now from afar in my early teens, whenever he came over to visit my brother. They were few and far between until he completely stopped returning to Bar Harbor during the summer almost five years ago. That's when I did a lot of my growing up. It wasn't a surprise that he didn't recognize me. I was far from the pesky little girl who had bothered him.

I was now capable of making my own decisions -- like living with a single hot as Hades himself daddy and his daughter. That body...damn. Focus, Cass! My idling brain pulled me out of my thoughts and back to the task at hand. I folded another pair of lace panties and stuffed them in my bag. All I needed to do was get through the summer with a bit of money in the bank for what I had planned to accomplish next -- find a proper job, and if my heart happened to not be torn apart in the process, I'd be the happier. So yes, focus. I zipped my bag close and dragged it down the stairs.

From the kitchen, I could hear my parents "discussing" me. As soon as I stepped through the door, they stopped talking.

"Do you have everything you need?" Mom asked with a hopeful smile on her face.

"Yup, and if I forgot anything it's a ten-minute drive back." I grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter and tried to avoid the concern in my dad's eyes.

They had every right to worry. It wasn't everyday I got my heart broken and announced I'd be living with another man in less than 24 hours. Truth be told, I was relieved Brandon, my ex, broke up with me. We were headed to different directions in our lives. It sucked that it took three years of my life to realize it.

Onwards I go. I kissed mom on the cheek and said bye, and hugged my dad as tight as I could. "Don't worry about me, old man. You have Mom to take care of." I patted him on the shoulder reminding him he had a bigger challenge at hand. "If you guys need me, I'll have my phone on me at all times. Tate said I can take his daughter here any time." In fact, it was my idea, knowing all of my nieces and nephews would be coming for a long visit for most of the summer. With a final hug to Mom, I grabbed my keys off the hook and headed out to my new home for the summer.

***
As soon as got back to Tate's I went straight to my room. Tomorrow his daughter would be arriving. I only had this afternoon to get my stuff prepared. The room was painted in a calming sage green and had minimal furnishing, a queen size bed, two matching side tables and lamps, and a club chair in one corner. I pulled out a few frames from my bag to adorn the side tables, then began the process of putting my clothes in the closet. Unfortunately, the room didn't have an en suite. But hey, I lived with six brothers in a two-bath home. Sharing a bathroom with a little girl was a piece of cake. Tate apparently had an en suite in his room.

Curiosity got to me once I was done with my clothes, knowing full well he wouldn't be home until later tonight, "possibly closer to the morning," he had said. I ventured down the hall and stopped in to see Maddy's room. It was slightly bigger than mine with lilac walls. The furnishings were similar but where my room lacked life and personality, her room was filled with stuffed animals, a doll house, a play wardrobe with all sorts of princess dresses and accessories and a tiny table and chairs complete with ceramic tea sets for tea parties. A lump formed in my throat. I'd never been a girly girl. My brothers were brutes and the only person who treated me like a girl in the house were mom and dad. To the rest of them, I was one of the boys.

What did I know about tea parties and princess dress ups? All my dolls suffered mud baths, the most bizarre makeovers, and if one of my brothers got a hold of them, they'd get a weekly swirly.

I was a smart girl. I could play pretend. How hard could a tea party be with a five-year old?  My nieces were still much younger, and my nephews were very much like their father.

Next off, because the curious cat never learned its lesson, I headed to Tate's master bedroom. I stood in front of the door for a few minutes before twisting the handle and opening it, sucking in a breath as I entered. I didn't know what I was expecting, but I wasn't at all disappointed with what I saw. It looked nothing like the rest of the house. A huge king size bed sat in the middle of the room and in spite of it being undone, it had that luxurious look. The floor to ceiling windows offered a view of the lush forest behind the house. A free-standing fireplace stood in between the bed and the bath area -- with a massive tub and glass enclosed shower built to fit at least four people. The sight of that shower brought me back to how he looked that morning--with water dripping down his body, droplets clinging to the bit of hair over the span of his broad chest, weaving down his toned abs and along the trail of dark hair which disappeared under the towel. For a moment I'd hoped he'd dropped his towel, even for one second, two if he was gracious. And I hadn't missed that bulge under the towel. I had no preconceived notions that his hard on was for me. Who knew what else he had been doing in the shower? Who knew who else he'd been thinking of?

Men like Tate, gorgeous, sexy, smart, could have any girl in this town. I doubted he'd go for someone like me. He never looked my way when I started to sprout breasts, why would he look at me now? Although it hadn't hurt to flirt a little. But since I hadn't batted my lashes for three years at anyone other than my ex, to say I was rusty was an understatement. I'd felt a little silly when I'd tried to get his attention. And all he'd done was offer me milk. Milk! For pete's sake. Like I was a six-year old who'd brought her own cookies to the grown-up party. I resigned myself right after, no more flirting...well, not a whole lot of flirting. I was hot-blooded female after all, and he was just plain hot. But I'd have to draw the line somewhere.

Besides, that would only complicate matters. I was here for one purpose - to take care of his daughter. I was the nanny, and he'd be my employer.

I settled on the matter as I left this bedroom, but I couldn't ignore the slight disappointment forming in my mind.

***
A/N: hope you enjoyed this chapter! Have you ever been in a situation like this? Not the nanny/boss sitch, but crushing hard on someone who seems unreachable? Who hasn't, right?

PS Who would you cast as Cassidy?