Page 12 of Because You Loved Me

I change into my cut-offs and t-shirt. I feel so underdressed in this fancy mansion, like I should be wearing a frilly dress with white gloves and a parasol. I look out the window and try to get my heart under control. I watch the waves hitting the beach. It calms me. This is the ideal life.

The smell coming from the kitchen is amazing as I walk down the stairs. I walk into the dining room and see a large stack ofpancakes with ham sitting on a platter, and my guess is Skyler chose the meal tonight. It makes me grin. Pancakes were always my favorite dinner growing up, too. Skyler climbs into her chair. Tobias scoots her to the table, then sits next to her.

I can’t tell if Tobias was affected by what happened because he won’t look at me. Maybe he’s embarrassed his brother caught us slow dancing in his daughter’s bedroom while I was wearing someone else’s wedding dress. My face still feels hot.

I notice an empty place setting next to me as I sit down. “Who’s coming?”

“Micah, my youngest brother. He’s late. If we wait for him, the food will get cold.” He picks up the platter and passes it to me. “Let’s eat.”

I slide two pancakes and a piece of ham onto my plate and pass it back to him. I’m so glad I don’t have to eat gas station food tonight or sleep in that dingy hotel.

“I put the paperwork in your room.” Tobias avoids my gaze. “If you can fill it out tonight, that would be great.”

I try not to react as my stomach clenches. “Okay,” I say casually. I wonder how long I can put off filling out the paperwork before Tobias will start to suspect something. Why did I think I could just come be his nanny without him wanting details from me, like my legal name?

Skyler happily munches on her pancakes. I focus on her and her smile. She looks so much like I did at that age, it’s amazing. I can also see a bit of Randy in her, but I don’t dwell on that. I regret so much of that time of my life. I want to forget about Randy.

A teen walks in and sits at the empty seat, and I assume it’s Micah. Tobias shoots him an annoyed look. “You’re late.”

“Sorry,” he mumbles. He looks at me through his long hair. “Hi.”

Tobias motions to me. “This is Kiki. I told you about her. She’s going to be living here and taking care of Skyler. Kiki, this is Micah.”

He raises his chin and grins at me. “Nice to meet you, ma’am. My brother didn’t tell me you were so pretty.”

Heat rises to my cheeks, and I know I’m blushing. Tobias looks like his eyeballs are going to pop out of his head. I quickly grab the pancake platter, passing it to Micah. “You must be hungry.”

“Thanks.” He takes a stack of pancakes. He’s cute, in a teenager kind of way. I bet all the girls at school swoon when he walks by.

“Do you play any sports?” I ask him, trying to engage in conversation.

He shakes his head. “I ran track for a while, but I’m not into that anymore.”

I raise my eyebrows. “What are you into?”

“Music. I play the guitar. I’m saving up for some better recording equipment.”

“Oh? Do you have a job?”

He grins. “Even better. A YouTube channel.”

His grin is infectious and makes me smile back at him. “Does that bring in money for you?”

“Not yet, but it will. I’m almost at a thousand followers.”

“Nice.” I grin at him.

The conversation falls as we eat. I glance at Tobias. “You have three brothers, right? I’ve only met two.”

He nods and swallows. “Yes. Levi is in Atlanta attending college. But he’ll be coming home soon. The semester ends in a couple of weeks.”

“He didn’t tell you?” Micah says, leaning forward.

Tobias stares at this brother. “What?”

“He’s coming home early.”

A vein on Tobias’s neck bulges. He slowly shakes his head. “No, he didn’t tell me this.” His voice is measured.

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