Never Bargain with the Boss (Never Say Never, #5)

by Lauren Landish

“What did you want to show us?” I ask Grace, praying for a distraction. Any distraction. I would watch her play Minecraft right now or buy her entire Shein shopping cart if she asked. Anything to give me a focal point beyond the softness of Riley’s pink hair and my undeniable desire to twirl a strand around my finger. Or weave your hand into it and grip those ridiculous pink tresses in your fist.

“There are good things, bad things, and in-the-middle things. You’ve gotta take them all, enjoy them or do your best to get through them, and in the end, try to focus on the good ones as much as you can. Even if you have to create those good things for yourself. That’s what I try to do every day.”

“The problem is, danger has a really big dick and it’s been a long time since I’ve been to a restaurant.”

“Because you looked so fucking disappointed and it killed me. You wanted to go, so I wanted to take you.”

“Dad would never fire you. He loves you,” Grace asserts. I choke on my tongue and force a laugh, the sound too high-pitched to be natural. “No, he doesn’t.” Grace’s smile falls and her brows slam together. Wanting to soothe her, I rush to add, “He likes me. How could he not? I’m the best nanny you’ve ever had.” I lean her way, bumping my shoulder against hers. “You are,” she agrees, but her eyes are filled with questions. “But that’s not why Dad loves you. It’s because you make him smile. He never used to do that, and he smiles all the time now because of you.”

“Right now, the example you’re setting for Grace is that life isn’t worth living, it’s only worth surviving.”

It’s not fireworks and shooting stars. It’s the welcome heat of a fireplace on a cold night. It’s the swoopy colors of the Northern Lights spread across the whole sky. It’s… home. I move my mouth, and she responds in kind, letting me lead. Always letting me lead, like that’s all she deserves. But she deserves everything.

“I want to take care of you the way you take care of everyone else, because you, Riley Stefano, deserve the best this life has to offer.”

I want a forever with you, or however long we get. I want all my days and all my nights to be with you, whether there’s only one or a million.”