Tea Parties and Feather Boas (Luke Kuechly)

Chapter Thirteen: Distance

Cold. Luke was cold. "Where are all the blankets?" he thought subconsciously as he curled up under the thin sheet before dosing off again.

Naked. He was naked. "Where are my clothes?"  He wondered once he came through again. He always wore a t-shirt and boxers at least in case Isla needed him. 

Slowly, he broke through the drowsiness. Memories flooded his mind. Memories of sweet, sweet Lydia. Well, maybe sweet wasn't the right word. At least, not after last night. Oh, how that sassy, southern belle wasn't as innocent as he'd thought. A smirk graced his face at that thought.

Suddenly, the smirk faded and reality set it. He had slept with his daughter's nanny. "Shit" he cursed throwing the sheet off and finding white v-neck and sweat pants in his dresser. Taking note of the deep purple dress on the floor and his missing blanket, he tried so hard not to reminisce, not to smile, that would do no good.

Giggling from downstairs brought Luke's attention away from what he considered a massive screw up. Going to investigate, the sound became more prominent as he descended the stairs. As he rounded the corner, he found Isla sitting at the island laughing at Lydia as she attempted to make pancakes. But what caught Luke's eye more than the flower all over the two girls' faces was how relaxed and laid back Lydia seemed. Not that she wasn't normally. In fact, she was one of the most laid back people he knew but something about her now said she was in a different zone of relaxed.

Perhaps, Luke took more notice of the way she leaned against the counter when Isla was talking. As her head tilted to the side, her brown hair seemed to cascade over her shoulder making the man smile. At the thought of her soft brown locks tangled in his fingers, his heart fluttered. The thought sent chills down his back.

"Daddy!" Isla lit up as she spotted her father.

"Morning baby," Luke walked over kissing her head. "Morning Lydia." He smiled softly.

"Morning," she mumbled back, diverting her attention to the pancakes on the griddle, not able to meet his eyes and her demeanor instantly changing.

"We made pancakes," The little girl grinned.

"I see. Are they good?" He asked, referring to Lydia's disastrous attempt at pancakes the week before. Needless to say, there was a little confusion with a few key ingredients. 

"They're not as bad as last week," Isla giggled.

Luke chuckled expecting a quick, witty reply from the nanny. None came. Her full attention seemed to be on the pancakes in front of her.

Suddenly, fear coursed through the linebacker. She wasn't even able to look him in the eye. Was she ashamed? Embarrassed? Scared? Regretful? In a way, he wished it hadn't happened, but Luke also didn't regret it as much as it didn't make sense.

As she finished the last of the pancakes, Lydia turned the griddle off, mumbled something about calling her if they needed anything, and excused herself upstairs. For a majority of the day, she kept herself locked away in her room. This only seemed to confirm Luke's fears about how much he had screwed up. He couldn't stand to lose her. He couldn't find a new nanny at this point in time. If he was honest with himself, that wasn't the only reason.

Life continued like this for almost a week. Lydia did her job but kept her distance from her employer. Out of respect, Luke kept his distance waiting for her to approach him first.

Late one night about a week later, Luke sat in bed typing away at his laptop when he heard a soft tap on the door. "Come in," he spoke softly looking up, a bit surprised to see Lydia. He had been expecting his daughter.

The woman stepped into the room only a few feet making sure to keep the door open. At the sight of the handsome man in his glasses, her heart fluttered. She loved when he wore them. "I wanted to ask about getting time off for Christmas? I have a friend who is also a nanny and she said she could cover for me."

The NFL player closed his laptop placing it beside him on the bed. "As long as you promise to come back afterward," a smile played across Luke's face, half teasing and half-serious.

"Why wouldn't I?" The nanny furrowed her eyebrows.

"I just figured that after everything that happened..." he trailed off distracted by the way Lydia bit her lip.

Why couldn't they have a relationship? He couldn't help that she was the one who always made his heart skip a beat. Maybe, it was frowned upon to date your nanny; quite frankly, he didn't give a damn anymore.

"I wouldn't leave you in the lurch like that," She answered honestly. There was nothing but truth showing in those pretty, baby blues of hers.

"When do you plan on leaving?"

"The 23rd and I'll be back before New Years."

"Alright."

"Alright," Lydia repeated.

So many unsaid words hung in the air between them as they made nothing but eye contact. Slowly, the room seemed to fill with more and more of them until Lydia couldn't stand the tension anymore. Without saying another word, she left closing the door behind her.

Sighing, Luke closed his eyes and rested his head against the headboard. Since when did life get so complicated?

Since you decided sleeping with your nanny was a good idea, the voice in his head replied.

Perhaps, it would be a good thing that Lydia would be gone for a while. This way they would both be able to get some much-needed space and room to think.

A slight smile reached his lips and his soft, green eyes. As Luke opened his laptop once more, he knew something would change once Lydia came home. He didn't know what or when, but he knew something would. Then, another thought struck him, he had called his home her home. The slight smile grew into a large grin. This was indeed her home. She belonged nowhere but here... with him.