Page 58 of Redeem Me

Fuck. I scan the article with a sinking sense of dread. Thankfully, Ivy isn’t identified, but if Dermot sees this, he will rip my head off and shit down my neck.

I snatch up my phone and dial my brother, James. He answers immediately.

‘I see you got papped with your hand in the honey pot,’ he chuckles. ‘I knew you were fucking the nanny!’

‘I wasn’t then, but I am now.’ I rub my hand over the prickly stubble dotting my jawline. ‘Can you get it taken down?’

‘It’s already done, little brother.’ James says smugly. ‘Moneycanbuy privacy, and it can also buy pain.’

‘Thank you,’ I sigh. ‘Dermot will not take kindly to me defiling his little sister, even if she enjoyed every second.’

His low chuckle rumbles through the phone. ‘I like her. She’s got sass.’

‘By the bucket load,’ I agree. A warmth heats my chest.

‘She’s good for you, you know,’ James says. ‘Scarlett adored her. They swapped numbers and they’re planning to meet up.’

I don’t know how I feel about that, so I don’t answer. I click the link again, but the article’s no longer accessible. Looks like my head might remain on my neck for another day. Unless Dermot has already seen it.

But I don’t think so. If he had, he’d have been at my house by now and dragged Ivy home with him. I’ve been keeping a close eye on the cameras and that hasn’t happened.

‘Oh, by the way, I’m sending a driver around this evening to collect the kids for a sleepover. Harper is desperate for her cousins to stay, and that way you can have some alone time with Ivy.’

I blink hard. ‘I’m in Monaco.’

‘Well, leave Monaco,’ he says, like it’s that simple.

‘I can’t. I have meetings.’

‘Are you sure you’re not just avoiding the nanny now that you’ve fucked her?’

‘I’m not avoiding anyone.’

‘You know Isabella wouldn’t want you to be alone forever,’ James continues wistfully.

‘Yeah, so everyone keeps telling me.’ I purse my lips.

‘But can I make a small suggestion?’ There’s a cautioning note in his tone.

‘Go on.’ I hate it already.

‘If you’re serious about Ivy, you should probably tell your best friend you’re shagging his kid sister. Imagine it was Dermot and Zara. We’d line up to tear his limbs off.’

‘It’s not serious,’ I lie. I’ve broken all my own rules for Ivy.I’ve kissed her on the mouth. Fucked her in my house. And I think about her all-damn day. I have done from the night she walked into that bar. It’s about as serious as it gets, whether I like it or not.

‘Whatever you say, bro.’ James chortles.

‘I’ve got to go.’ I’m not ready to get into a deep and meaningful conversation with my brother about Ivy when I’m still processing what it all means.

It’s after eleven when I get back to my hotel suite. I shower, then crash on the bed, opening the home camera app on my iPad. The kids are at James’s house and I’m keen to see how my new nanny is spending her night off.

Now I’ve seen her naked, I have zero qualms about clicking on the camera in her bedroom. It’s not like I’m looking at something I haven’t already seen. Something I haven’t already licked, kissed and fucked.

Ivy’s sitting up in bed, squinting at her Kindle, tapping the screen every thirty seconds or so. Her legs are beneath the duvet, which is tucked around her waist. Her thin strappy top does nothing to conceal the pert swell of her breasts, or the outline of her nipples. Her wavy hair cascades over her tanned shoulders, wafting slightly from the breeze coming in from her open balcony doors.

I dial her number, watching as she pats around the bed for her phone.

A small smile flickers over her face as she peers at the screen.

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