Page 10 of Forbidden Kisses
Duncan lived on the top floor, and from what I could tell, the view had to be scrumptious.
I knocked at the door, listening intently. A woman was speaking softly, and then she opened the door. "Hi, you must be Riley," she said. "I'm Duncan's mom, Susan."
"Nice to meet you." I said, stepping inside. She shook my hand with Jeremy right next to her. "And you must be Jeremy." I smiled at him.
"Wow! You’re young. And so pretty."
I started laughing. "Nice to meet you too."
"Oh, Jeremy," Susan chastised.
"What? You said I couldn't tell people if I thought they were ugly, but I think she's pretty. That's why I told her that."
The innocence of kids. I loved it.
"I appreciate the compliment," I assured him.
Susan shook her head but smiled. "His previous nanny was in her sixties, so that’s why he's so excited. Duncan is at work. I picked up Jeremy from school, but you’ll have to do it from now on."
"That's no problem." I took my tote off my shoulder and put it down on the gorgeous console that was clearly custom-made because it fit in the entryway perfectly. I also took off my shoes.
"I’ll show you around," Susan said. Jeremy walked right next to us.
The loft was decorated in shades of blue, black, and gray, but it didn't look dark in the slightest. Metallic lamps hung from the walls and the ceiling. The enormous couch was made of leather, and I could see myself relaxing there with Jeremy when he got tired. We could make popcorn, and I could even make some peanut-butter-and-jelly snacks. I wouldn't have to worry about him getting the couch dirty because the leather would be easy to clean.
My soul was happy that this job had popped up, and not just because I didn't have to wait tables. I was getting paid a handsome amount, so I wouldn’t have to worry about additional employment to get by. No, I was genuinely happy to be here. The place had a great vibe.
"This is the master bedroom." She pointed to a door, but we didn't go inside. Fair enough, I didn't have to see it. "This is the home gym." She pointed to another open door. There was a treadmill, a bike, and a rowing machine, as well as a weights section. "Next to it is Duncan's office."
"And this is my playroom," Jeremy said.
I poked my head inside. The room had floor-to-ceiling shelves full of toys: cars, puzzles, Legos.
"We’ll have so much fun here. And this is my bedroom." He took my hand, leading me into the room next door.
I glanced at Susan for permission, and she nodded, smiling. Clearly she was at ease that he seemed to accept me so quickly.
Duncan wasn't kidding when he said Jeremy was going through a Spider-Man phase. His whole room was a mix of blue and red, and he had a human-sized Spider-Man figure hanging from the ceiling. It creeped me out a bit, but Jeremy looked at me with pride.
"What do you think about Spider-Man? Isn't he awesome? He's my favorite Marvel hero."
"He's definitely great." I had zero knowledge about the other Marvel heroes, but I was going to catch up so we could discuss it at length.
The living room and the entryway were clearly professionally decorated, but the playroom and bedroom were quite obviously designed by Jeremy himself. I liked that Duncan didn't mind letting his son do his own thing, that he wasn't insisting on using a color scheme for his bedroom or something.
I turned to Susan. "If you need to leave, we’ll be just fine."
"Are you sure?" she asked, looking from me to Jeremy.
He nodded. "Yes, Grandma. I can show Riley all of my cars."
"Good luck," Susan said.
"And all of my video games."
"When do you usually play games?" I asked.
Jeremy sighed. "Only on Saturday morning. Dad allows me an hour. Sometimes, if I'm really good, then also Sunday mornings."
