Page 34 of The Forbidden Sitter
Slowly, I got up and hobbled to the bathroom that was attached to my bedroom. A hot shower limbered me upquickly.
After getting Braiden up and getting him cleaned up and dressed, he and I headed down to breakfast. I was feeling a little shy about seeing Gannon at the table that morning and pretending in front of the staff that he hadn’t completely rocked my world the nightbefore.
When I rounded the corner to the breakfast nook, I found myself smiling away, not able to help it as I thought about seeing Gannon for the first time after our firsttime.
But I didn’t see him at the table. I looked toward the kitchen, finding Consuela and the rest of her staff cooking away. “Has Gannon come downyet?”
All I got were a lot of shaking heads before Consuela asked, “What will you and Braiden be having this morning,ma’am?”
Looks like a steaming bowl ofdisappointment.
The hunger I had had vanished in an instant. “Um, scrambled eggs for us both. And don’t forget his fresh fruit.” I put Braiden into his high chair and tried not to show how sad I was that Gannon wasn’tthere.
Had he still been in hisbedroom?
I should’ve knocked on his door and checked. But he always beat us getting up. But maybe last night’s activities had him sleeping in. Maybe he was just wornout.
Whatever his reasons were for not being at the table that morning, I was sure he hadn’t intentionally meant to hurtme.
Or hadhe?
Was this his way of telling me that he regretted what we had done? Or worse. Was this what all the other girls who’d ever fallen for his charms hadexperienced?
Now that he had had me, could it be that he didn’t want meanymore?
God!
I sat down and tried not to look as if I was about to burst into tears, which I was on the cusp of. But I swallowed hard and thought about the fact that I didn’t want anyone to see me breaking down for what they would see as no good reason atall.
But the man I loved, the man I’d given myself to, wasn’t at the damn breakfast table the one morning when I was positive he would be sitting there, waiting forme.
God, I was sostupid.
Brad had warned me. He’d tried to keep me from doing anything stupid with Gannon. But I’d fallen for the man’s deceitful charmsanyway.
What afool!
Sarah came with a carafe of fresh coffee and one cup. One stupidcup!
I was about to tell her I didn’t want any damn coffee. I only drank it because it made me feel like Gannon and I had a little connection. A thing I only did with him: drinkcoffee.
He wasn’t there, and so I didn’t want any. But I kept my mouth shut and even went so far as to add sugar and cream to the cup of steaming hot coffee like I alwaysdid.
I had to keep up the act of everything being perfectly fine. No one could ever know what had transpired between us. And if I acted the least bit off, I knew the people who watched us every morning would know something was going on between our employer and hisbabysitter.
Moments later, Sarah brought the food for Braiden and me. “Here you are,ma’am.”
None of the staff referred to me as anything else other than ma’am. Ashe was the only one who called me Brooke. Everyone else regarded medifferently.
Was that because they saw throughme?
Was that because they secretly thought that Gannon and I were messing around and always hadbeen?
Was I being foolish to think the people who were around us the most couldn’t see how we looked at oneanother?
Perhaps the staff was aware of how we’d fallen in love with each other. Perhaps they wouldn’t tell a soul. Perhaps we could be open with our relationship within thesewalls.
If we still hadone.
