Page 41 of Nanny for the SEAL

Sam’s eyes are wide as saucers, and I can see the guilt her face.

“Shit, I’m so sorry. I was using the bathroom and got distracted by my phone. Shit, I feel terrible.” She shakes her head, her eyes flicking to the ground before they come back to me. “I should have been there. God, yeah, please go home. Get some rest.”

“It’s not your fault, Sam. Thank you for even thinking of me tonight.” I smile weakly, the adrenaline receding and making me shake.

“I promise to get her home safe, and I’ll text so that you have my number and can confirm.”

It’s such an oddly sweet thing to do, ensuring that Sam has his number as an act of trust. I really wish more men were like Xaden, but tonight just reminds me of what I’ve learned so very thoroughly over the years.

You can’t trust men.

Images of my parents roar to the front of my skull, making my steps falter as Xaden guides me toward the exit.

It wasn’t just my dad. It was my mother, too.

And you can’t trust the women who believe their lies.

Most of thedrive back home was a blur, and before I knew it, we arrived. The car is quiet now, and there are too many thoughts rushing around in my head.

But there’s one I can’t ignore anymore.

Xaden shuts off the engine, and the rumbling noise that once filled the silence disappears, making the lack of noise around me press down even harder.

“Why…” My voice cracks, my throat dry and unprepared to talk after clamming up for the entire trip. “Why did you help me?”

There’s an obvious answer, sure.

But I need to know if it’s the sincere one, too. I’ve been betrayed by the very people who raised me, and thinking that Xaden did this out of the goodness of his heart seems too good to be true.

“I wanted to help you. I…” Xaden looks over the dash, and I can see the cogs work in his brain. “I was there with a friend drinking. I happened to turn and see you and…I saw what that guy was doing.”

Bitterness clings to me, and the sharp words come out despite how objectively kind Xaden has been.

“So now what? Do you expect me to reward you?”

His eyes snap to mine, flaring wide as his jaw drops. “Absolutely not. I swear to you, it wasn’t like that. I don’t expect you to trade one predator for another.”

Tension bleeds from me, and I fight against a sob that threatens to break free.

“I’m sorry. I’ve just…I’ve been through a lot in my life. This was, umm, triggering.”

Xaden turns toward me in the car, angling his long legs in a folded crumple so that he can look at me head-on.

“You have nothing to be sorry for. I’m not delusional, Ivy. I know the kinds of people who exist in this world, and it can be so hard. I have a daughter that I worry about constantly. But I want you to know that youaresafe with me. I will not harm you. Ever.”

They are words, pretty and perfectly chosen, but the thing is, I actually believe them.

There is something about Xaden, the sincerity that he offers me, that makes me feel safer than I have…maybe in all of my life.

He’s being genuine, and it occurs to me that he is the first man I’ve seen like that in years.

There is no pretense with him, and whether that comes from a place of premeditated effort or because he’s just too busy with raising his child, the fact that he places “acting like a man” so far down his priority list is refreshing.

I also quickly put together that this particular character trait of his is one of my favorite things about him.

“Thank you, Xaden.” My chest quakes as I let out a shakey breath. “I appreciate it more than you know.”

His brows furrow together, that particular side of his mouth lifting and making his dimple stand out.

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