Page 38 of The Billionaire's One-Night Stand Nanny
She smiled wryly; she was thinking the same thing.
“Well,now,” I said, “you could. If you wanted.”
“Sure. I’ll just be your live-in,” she said glibly, and I didn’t ask her to clarify: nanny or girlfriend. Both options were equally impossible. She stuffed a bite of omelette into her mouth, chewing slowly, her pink lips pursed. “Mmm,” she said. “Sogood.”Topic, changed.
“Thanks,” I said, letting a smirk return to my face. “You seemed to think so last night, too.”
“Watch it, Ryan,” she pointed her fork at me. “Or I’ll go right back to readingRavished by the Rakein my own bed instead of sleeping over in yours. I’ve done it before, I can do it again.”
I laughed out loud. She was shameless–or rather, unashamed–and it never failed to surprise me. In bed, sure, but also in her love of naughty romance novels.Ravished by the Rake.I laughed again as she grinned at me.
Or maybe it was that she waspassionate. I thought of the joyful way she accompanied Maddie to the park in the mornings, the breathless way my daughter retold their adventures rowing boats on the lake and reading in the shade of a folly castle. “Flora’s reading me her book,” Maddie had reported one evening over dinner, and I’d had to pick my jaw up from my spaghetti bolognese before asking, carefully bland, “Oh? What book is that?”
“The Blue Fairy Book,” she’d announced. “It’s a fairy tale book but it’snotfor little kids.”
And Florawasthe type of person to know just what story would be perfect for my little girl who wasn’t so little anymore, who could command a room of ten-year-olds, who would give two thousand dollars she didn’t have to her sister, who could confidently tell her one-night stand’s ex-wifeI’m the nannyand then bethe best fucking nanny we’d ever had. Who could tease me with those deep blue eyes of hers until I was desperate for her touch and then–
“What time are Maddie and her mom coming over?” she asked, setting down her fork–not before it punctured the dreamy wonder I’d been losing myself in while she was working her way through her omelette.
“Ten,” I said automatically. It was always ten. Except when it wasn’t. “Reallyten this time,” I added, with an apologetic smile.
“I should go, then,” she said. My chest tightened. She’d be back tomorrow–Monday morning–but it wouldn’t be like this. “Long commute.” Her smile matched my own.
“Let me call you my driver,” I said. “Actually, I insist.”
“Youinsist,” she echoed. “Well. In that case, I accept.”
“Thank you,” I said, but as I trailed her to the door, pulling her against me for one last coffee-scented kiss, my chest ached that I couldn’t give her any more than this: an omelette, a private ride home, a night spent forgetting. A summer, and at the end of it–
Charlie had emailed me back a few days after my email with ano problem, on it. She’d have a job, too, if I could help it, and she wouldn’t need me anymore.
But in the moments between when Flora left and when Maddie ran through the front door, happy and excited to see me, my house had never felt more empty.
And I wondered if maybe I would need her.
CHAPTER20
Flora
Buzz,buzz.
It was early–5:54–and I was in the bathroom, brushing my teeth before I headed out toward the subway station and…
Maddie’s.
Ryan wouldn’t be there, I reminded myself, quelling the flutter in my stomach, or at least, not for long. He’d be dressed in another of his dark suits, coffee in hand as he strode out the door, all business and broad shoulders. What was he like at work? Was he as patient and kind with all his underlings as he was with his daughter? With me? He probably was. I couldn’t imagine him as the gruff, brusque type, brushing off interns because they asked one too many questions…
Buzz, buzz.
I spat my toothpaste out and rinsed off the toothbrush, then grabbed my phone. The flutter in my stomach was back when I saw his name on my screen: Ryan Walker. Such a normal name to make my heart beat faster. He’d sent me a text.
I insist.
I frowned, staring at the words, before my eyes widened. I ran to my window, looking down at the street below.
A black car idled at the curb.
I grinned.
