"Yeah?"

She nodded.

"Huh, who would've thought? I grew up in Carinthia. We were almost neighbors." Matoona was only a short fifteen-minute jot on the interstate.

She nodded again, still looking out her window.

"You're hungry, right?"

Her head snapped back to me. "I could eat." She shrugged and then laughed as she said, "Probably more than you can."

My eyebrows rose. "That a challenge, sweetheart?"

Her lips twitched. "Depends on the wager."

"Didn't take you to be the betting kind." The cars ahead of us moved and I followed, hating to break the moment if I had to stop and order.

"On occasion I'm good for a wager." She smiled, softer this time, but it was there, and that's all I wanted.

"All right. Then let's do this."

Her eyes sparkled. "What are we doing exactly?"

"Whoever eats the most food wins. Burgers, fries, milk shakes. You good with that?"

She set her feet on the floorboard of the truck. "Oh yeah." Her grin grew wider.

"Good." I wiggled my eyebrows at her.

She tapped her finger against her chin. "But before I agree, I need to know the stakes."

Okay. I could do stakes-not to mention I could win, hands down. This woman had nothing on my eating skills.

"I win, you come back to work for me and watch Chloe for real this time."

Her lips parted. "I don't know if that's a good idea."

I held my hand up. "Hold on now. Let me order. Then we'll discuss this."

"Collin, for real. There's nothing to discuss. We obviously can't be around each other on a level that's professional." She sounded so fucking sad, her voice all soft.

I couldn't look at her for fear I'd beg, but she was blowing me off already, and I didn't like to be told no-not when I really wanted something. And I really wanted this woman in my life.

As Chloe's nanny.

And yeah, maybe even my friend.

After ordering a bag full of food, I pulled into a parking spot toward the back of the lot and waited for them to bring it out. Not wanting to scare her off, I decided on a different tactic. One I was sure she'd respond to.

"Hear me out. If you happen to win, I'll leave you alone. For good."

She bit her lip, meeting my gaze. Those dark lashes fluttered against her cheeks, and my dick immediately hardened. I needed to move, adjust, but I couldn't tear my gaze away. Couldn't pull my eyes off her.

When she looked away first, my chest tightened in disappointment. "Do you want to know a secret, Addison?"

"Do I have a choice?"

The slow curve of her lips sent my pulse into action. "You always have a choice, sweetheart."

"Not true. Sometimes, you don't have any options. Sometimes, you have to take what's given and deal with it."

I laughed. "Always so serious."

She folded her arms over her chest, slouching lower in the seat. "I don't have a sense of humor."

"Bullshit." I laughed harder. "Now, can I tell you my secret or what?"

"Is this a tell-all? Because I don't know if I feel comfortable enough to-"

"Christ, woman. Would you let me finish before you go all judgmental on me?"

She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "I'm not a judgmental person."

"Yes, you are."

"Excuse me?" she scoffed, pressing a hand over her chest.

"This was a bad idea." I turned away, gritting my teeth. One second we were laughing together, and the next she was getting all empty on me. I didn't get this woman, but the scary part was, I wanted to-and not just for Chloe.

I'd admit that to no one though.

"I don't like to party with the rugby team. I don't go out, hardly at all. I prefer to hang out and just do stuff like this." I motioned around us. "I like being around people, but not when they're all performing like circus drunks."

She tipped her head to the side, studying me. "But what about that night at the bar when you approached me?"

"Ahh, well, I was feeling braver than usual." I smirked.

"Something tells me you don't usually have a problem picking up women. I mean, Samantha was into you at the restaurant and she's gorgeous, so I figured you two..."

"Would hook up."

She bit her lip. There'd be a hole there soon if she didn't stop.

"No. Believe it or not, I haven't been with a woman since Chloe's mom."

And why was I telling her this? My sex life had nothing to do with hiring her. Had nothing to do with a friendship either. Yet it was still important to me that she knew. No doubt she thought I was a player. Thing was, I'd never been the type, not even in high school and college.

Just when the silence couldn't get any worse, a knock at the window rattled through the truck. With it was a skinny, teenage girl wearing braces and holding three bags of food I was no longer hungry for.

Addison I watched Collin flirt with the young girl serving the food. Her cheeks were pink, and she was eating up every word he said. It should've been my service to women of all ages to tell them to run as far away as they could. Because if they didn't, there was no doubt in my mind that they'd be sucked in, never to be released.

He rifled through the bag, searching for something. In a flash he had out four burgers and two large fries.

"I'll set the rules." I grabbed my food from his hands and set it in my lap, needing a distraction from the heavy talk.

"What're you talking about?"

"This...eating contest. I set the rules." I motioned toward the food.

One side of his mouth curled up into a smile, enough so I could see his dimples.

Be still my heart. I will not lose my cool over the dimples tonight.

"Hit me with them rules, sweetheart."

I rolled my eyes at his pet name for me. He'd see how sweet I really was after this.

"No drinking water to wash things down. We do it dry."

One of his eyebrows quirked. "You like things dry, don't you?"

I reached over to slug him in the shoulder. "Screw you." But I still laughed.

"Dry it is." He settled the food on the console in between us, his smile never leaving his face. It was irresistible really, and I couldn't help but stare at it while he opened the burger wrappers and set them in his lap.

"First one done wins?"

I grinned stupidly. "It's on."

"Ready?" His lip curled into a sardonic smile.

I nodded once. "Ready."

He cracked his neck back and forth, rolling his shoulders. If he were standing up, there was no doubt in my mind that he'd be bouncing on his toes like a boxer.

"On your mark..." he whispered.

"Why are you whispering?" I whispered back.

"Habit," he grumbled. "Now stop interrupting me." One lone giggle slipped through my lips. He rolled his eyes at me but smiled anyway. "Get set..."

"Oh my God, hold on." I pressed my hand to my mouth, giggling harder this time. If I didn't get it out now, I'd probably spit my food out all over his jeans.

"Jesus, woman. You need mental help." But he laughed too, and soon we were both laughing for absolutely no reason, and it was the best thing I'd experienced in a very long time.

"Fine." I held my hand up a few minutes later. "Let's do this. I'll count down from five."

He pursed his lips. "What, you don't like my version of a countdown?"

I reached over and jabbed him in the ribs, forcing a grunt from between his lips. "Nope. Mine is better. And...five-four-three-two-one-go." I shoved the first bite of burger in my mouth.

With a quarter of it gone, pride radiated through my insides. I glanced at Collin, finding his gaze on me. Shock and amusement both registered on his face, and I shoveled more food inside in return. I chewed, and chewed, and chewed some more... But then, like a snake devouring a mouse, he shoved an entire sandwich inside his mouth. And I'm not talking about a tiny McDonald's burger either. This thing was double patties with onions and ketchup and everything under the burger sun.

"Jwweeesus." I gaped, talking around my own packed-full mouth. He winked, and holy hell...even making a mess, he looked sexy.

In response, my competitiveness snuck in, and I piled a few salty fries inside too, along with the last of my burger. I snuck a peek at Collin again, finding him frozen, watching me as I unwrapped my second sandwich.

"God damn, that's hot." Ketchup slipped over his lips, and a small piece of lettuce stuck to his chin. I winked at him this time, taking a nice, big bite.

Unlike Collin, I wasn't going to bother wasting energy on talking. Instead, I kept eating and chewing...until finally my stomach began to churn. Regardless, I shoved a handful of salty fries into my mouth, chomping, no longer caring about manners.

Damn it, I ate like a champ, and I'd win like a champ too. I had to.

Minutes passed, and droplets of sweat poured down my temples. He had the heat turned up, so I leaned over to turn it off, swiping my forehead with the back of my hand. Who knew competitive eating would be so much work?

Just when I had my second burger almost gone, I turned to look at Collin, finding him with his hands over his stomach and empty wrappers and fry containers in his lap. Between his lips was a straw-half his milk shake was gone too.

"Shit." I dropped my food onto my lap with a slap. French fries spilled all over my knees and the floor.

I'd been duped.

And to think, I was stupid enough to make such an important wager with him.

"How's the stomach?"

"Lousy."

He laughed. "I won. You know what that means, don't you?"

I sighed, not knowing how to answer. Because for the first time ever, I was very happy to lose.

Chapter 17.

Collin It'd been three weeks since Addie and I had decided to make things work, nanny-wise, and everything was running smoothly. We didn't talk about anything other than Chloe, which meant we were staying on track as far as the employer-employee relationship went.

But tonight-when I swung open the front door and saw her standing in my living room, dressed like a tempting, forbidden beauty-everything inside me flipped.

I'd frozen at the sight of her. She wasn't wearing her normal jeans or one of her comfy white T-shirts or hoodies. Instead, she wore this dress-this hot-as-fuck dress that should've been illegal. It was short and blue and hung off her shoulders, baring more skin than my cock could take.