Page 120 of The Nanny and the Nerd
“Contact the pilot and tell him I need the plane ready to go within the hour,” he answered robotically. “We leave now. There’s no time to lose. And have someone from Gale Gaming go to my place and pick up my laptop.”
“On it,” Jerome replied, hammering away on his phone.
“I’ll grab my things and get Phoebe packed,” Penelope said, her voice barely a whisper.
He stared at her. “Why would you do that?”
She looked from him to Jerome. “Because we’re leaving, aren’t we?”
“I’m leaving. Jerome and I are leaving,” he answered with a searing finality to his tone. A crew member walked down the steps, and he waved him over. “Prepare the speedboat. We need to make a trip to the mainland.”
“Now?” the young man squeaked.
Rowen clenched his jaw. He didn’t have time for this shit! “Yes, now! Prepare the speedboat. Do you understand?”
“I’m sorry, sir. Yes, sir,” the kid replied, hurrying toward the other side of the yacht.
“I’ll grab my bag and let David know. I’ll meet you at the speedboat,” Jerome said, taking the stairs two at a time.
Penelope stood in front of him and took his hands. “Rowen, you’re shaking.”
How he wanted to melt into her touch! One kiss from her, and it could all go away. But he couldn’t live in that fantasy land. Not with everything on the line. “I’m fine,” he mumbled.
“You’re not fine. Let me help you,” she pleaded.
He released her hands. “You’ve helped enough, Penelope.”
“What about your things? I can—”
“There’s nothing here that I need,” he said, cutting her off.
She flinched. “But you have to say goodbye to Phoebe before you leave. You said you would, Rowen.”
“No, you said I would. I didn’t make her any promises,” he bit back, hating himself more with each cruel word.
Color rose to Penelope’s cheeks as anger replaced the concern in her eyes. “Why are you doing this, Rowen? What happened to you? Where’s the man I—”
“Penelope,” he bit out, again stopping her. He blew out a tight breath. “Phoebe is tough. She’ll be okay. She’s lost her parents. My mother can’t care for her, and she’s left with me. I’m all she’s got. And she might as well come to terms with who I am.”
“And who are you?” she hissed.
He stared into her eyes—those gorgeous pools of rich sable. They’d captured him. But they’d also blinded him. He’d lost his way, misled by the lure of a life that was never meant for someone like him. He’d fallen prey to her sweet smiles and soft kisses. And in this haze, he’d failed to notice how far off track he’d veered.
And then he was that little boy again.
Rowen Teagues.
The frightened child who’d opened the door to find two police officers staring down at him. And he couldn’t forget what he saw in their eyes. The judgment. The derision. Though he was a child, he knew they’d assumed he’d end up like his lowlife father. A drunk. A nobody. A drain on society.
Pack a bag, kid. You need to come with us.
He’d known in that very moment that his father was gone. After he placed a wrinkled T-shirt and pair of tattered pants into his worn backpack, he’d reached beneath his mattress and retrieved his treasures. Gingerly, he’d added the Game Boy and the box of dominoes into the bag. And despite the officers telling him to hurry up, he stared at the wooden box. Instead of thinking of his father, his thoughts had gone to the kind man who’d given him the gifts. He’d never get to ask the man where the missing domino went. Did he have it, or was it lost somewhere inside his filthy home?
“Rowen, come back to me,” Penelope pleaded. But he was too far gone.
He’d slipped. He’d gotten sloppy. And in this Penelope Fennimore haze, he’d fooled himself into thinking he could be more. He’d lost himself in her eyes when he should have had his eyes on the company he’d built. Despite coming from nothing, he’d started a business that was now worth billions. Unwanted and unloved, he had become a success. But that success came at a price. For a fleeting moment, he thought he could have it all—be the loving companion, step into the role of father, live a life that he simply wasn’t built for.
It was in his genes, his DNA.
