Nanny Wanted (A Bad Boy Romance)

by Mia Carson

  Reider scratched at his chin. “Why is this so important to you? What happened that you’re not telling us?”

  Ashford sighed and sat back in his chair. “If your parents ever came to see me, they would realize who was actually teaching their children, but since they don’t, I’m safe to do as I please.”

  “Ashford, who are you?” Johanna asked quietly.

  “Once upon a time, I was a Marquette,” he told them, his eyes drifting as if seeing someone else in the office. A light smile touched his lips. “And I, too, fell in love with a Chadwick—Johanna’s mother.”

  Silence fell over the office. Reider’s face screwed up in confusion.

  “You… you’re from my family?” he finally asked. “I would know you.”

  “No, you wouldn’t. I’m your dad’s cousin, and when I was found out—her mother and me—I was disowned at the age of eighteen. Sent away,” Ashford said. “Jameson Marquette, that’s who I was until I tried to love a Chadwick.”

  “Did she… did she love you back?” Johanna asked, and with help from Reider, made it to her feet.

  Ashford smiled sadly. “She did, but she was scared. She, like you two, knew the risks we faced. I never blamed her for leaving me that day and staying behind.”

  “Why did you come back?” Reider’s head ached as he studied Ashford’s face and picked up subtle hints of recognition he should’ve seen before. The way his eyes angled down like his dad’s, or how his smile was crooked on one side. He even had the blue mole on his neck, small and usually hidden by a collar, but it was there, just like Reider’s dad’s. Just like his.

  “I was tired of running. I changed my name after I left Nebraska and figured it was time to come back home and see how bad it was.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “Worse than I imagined.”

  Reider glanced down when Johanna’s hand slipped into his and she squeezed it hard. “So you’ll help us?” she asked, and the hope in her words filled Reider with warmth. “You’ll make sure they don’t find us?”

  “I will do my best,” he said. “I won’t watch you two be torn apart.” His gaze turned to Reider. “I’m glad to see you did not turn out like your dad.”

  “Me too,” he agreed. “Thanks, by the way, for doing this.”

  As he got to his feet, Ashford opened his arms to them both. “This is what families are supposed to be for, Reider. Never forget that.”

  The next hour was spent with James. Reider was told to call him that unless they were in class—they were family, after all. Once their plan was laid out, Johanna texted Izzy to see if it were safe to return home. Reider waited with her in the parking lot, sitting in his Wrangler while James sat in her Coupe to drive it back to the mansion. The whiskey was still affecting her, and she leaned against Reider while he put his arm around her shoulders, planning on touching her as long as he could in this stolen moment.

  “Do you think this will work?” she asked. “Think we’ll make it?”

  He kissed the top of her head. “I hope so. I don’t want what happened to James happening to us.”

  “My mom,” she mused. “I can’t believe he was in love with my mom and she let him go.”

  “She was scared, and they were younger than us,” he told her. “Don’t hold it against her.”

  A chirp sounded from her cell, and she checked it. “Izzy says my parents are asleep and the brothers are out for another hour or so. Now’s our chance.” She texted her sister as Reider flashed his lights at James. The two vehicles exited the campus lot and drove towards Johanna’s home. “I wish we could go back to our place instead.”

  His lips curled into a grin. “Our place? You mean the barn?”

  “It’s our place now. Feels like it, anyway. I wish we could live there and no one would bother us,” she said and wrapped her hand around his arm.

  “Don’t worry. Soon, we’ll really have our own place. I swear it.” He wanted to believe the words as he said them, but a nagging voice in the back of his mind said this was going to go terribly wrong. It would blow up in their faces, and the fear of seeing Johanna heartbroken, locked away by her family, tore at his chest until a sharp ache made him grunt.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “Nothing,” he said with a smile. “Rest for a bit. You need it after all the whiskey you drank.”

  She laughed, and soon, her breathing steadied and she fell asleep against his side. Twenty minutes later, he parked along the curb and nudged her awake. Izzy rushed out the front gate to meet them and helped get Johanna out of the Wrangler. Reider worried at first when Johanna told him her sister knew, but everything he knew about the young woman told Reider she was a mini version of Johanna and wanted nothing to do with her controlling family.

  “Thanks for bringing her home,” Izzy said. Johanna mumbled under her breath, but she was slipping further into a drunken sleep, her sister holding her up.

  “Izzy, I want you to know, we’re coming back for you,” he promised.

  Her face brightened and she nodded. “I believe you.”

  As she walked back towards the gate, James pulled the Coupe up the drive, and a few seconds later, rushed towards the open passenger door of Reider’s Wrangler.

  “They get inside alright?” he asked.

  James nodded. “She’ll be fine. You both will.”

  Reider didn’t speak. They had made their plans. Now, all they could do was pray nothing went wrong.

  13

  The night of the party arrived, and Johanna’s hands wouldn’t stop trembling as she tried to fix her hair and makeup. After nearly stabbing herself in the eye with her eyeliner, Izzy, who was getting ready with her, took it away and offered to help.

  “I can’t look so nervous. They’ll know I’m up to something,” she mumbled. “Maybe this isn’t a good idea. My gut’s telling me it’ll go wrong.”

  Izzy sighed, and her eyes narrowed as she focused on her sister’s face. “You have to have some faith.”

  “Faith? We’re about to take a huge risk with our lives, and you’re telling me to have faith?” she snapped. She inhaled deeply and reached out for Izzy’s hand. “I’m sorry, didn’t mean that.”

  “It’s fine. This is a big deal, but I still can’t believe Mom was the first Chadwick to fall for a Marquette.” Her voice turned dreamy as she finished Johanna’s makeup and worked at taming her curls. “To think she could’ve run off and had a completely different life.”

  “Yeah,” Johanna agreed. “She might’ve been happy.”

  Izzy met her gaze in the mirror and smiled. “Maybe. At least you’ll be happy.”

  Johanna turned around and hugged her little sister close. “I never thought I’d run away with a Marquette,” she whispered. “You sure you’ll be alright until we can come back for you?”

  “Don’t worry about me. Tonight is about you and the man you love, and it’s so damn romantic,” she said, hugging Johanna tighter for a second until she let her go to finish getting them both ready. “Everything’s ready to go?”

  She nodded, thinking about the last few days of preparation for their leaving. She had taken all the cash she’d stashed over the years and packed it with a few clothes and the bare essentials she needed for the trip. Reider had done the same, and their bags waited with James in his office at the college. Izzy would keep everyone busy during the party while Johanna and Reider snuck out the back, drove to the campus, picked up their things, and got away. Their first stop was a motel near the border of Nebraska and South Dakota. In the morning, they’d drive straight through to Montana and start their new lives together. It was a simple enough plan, but Johanna’s hands hadn’t stopped twitching all day. Every time she was near her brothers, anxiety threatened to scare her out of running.

  She’d dreamt that they ran away and almost made it, but her brothers caught up and nearly killed Reider. Johanna woke with a scream and covered in cold sweat. It took a few moments for her racing heart to calm down and for her to realize it was not
hing more than a dream.

  As the time drew closer to run away with Reider, the possibility of that nightmare coming true hovered over her like a dismal cloud, ready to suffocate her with fear. It didn’t help that her brothers had invited Brandon. She would have to entertain him for a few minutes here and there or her brothers would get suspicious—Frank would anyway. Fredrick hadn’t spoken to her for the past two days, and she wondered what he was hiding from everyone.

  “There, you’re ready to go,” Izzy said, clapping her hands together, and stepped back.

  Johanna observed her perfectly done up face, and the curls tamed and pulled away from her face so they trailed down her back in little ringlets while the rest piled on her head. “You were always better at this than I was.”

  “I picked up a few things here and there,” Izzy said. “Ready to go downstairs?”

  “We don’t have a choice,” she said and took Izzy’s hand, squeezing it tightly. “You’re sure you’re okay with doing this?”

  “Causing mass panic at one of these things? Hell yes, I’m sure,” she said with a laugh.

  “Don’t get yourself into too much trouble,” Johanna warned. “And as soon as we’ve got a place, we’ll come back for you.”

  Izzy and Johanna walked out of the bedroom to the hall and spotted Frank and Fredrick leaning over the railing, looking down at the foyer. Their tuxes fit them perfectly, as always, but their smiles didn’t reach their eyes. Johanna sighed inwardly. Her brothers could’ve been great guys, but they chose to flash their wealth and act the part of rich snobs, turning nearly everyone against them. Frank nudged Fredrick, and the brothers moved to stand by their sisters, ready to escort them down the steps. Fredrick held out his arm for Johanna, and reluctantly, she slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow while Izzy and Frank lined up behind them.

  “Later, can we talk?” Fredrick whispered, leaning closer to Johanna’s ear.

  She frowned as they walked slowly down the grand staircase. “About what? The thing you’re hiding?”

  His face paled, and he tugged at his bow-tie. “Yes, actually. Please, it’s important. I don’t think Frank will understand, and, well… look, we really need to talk, alright?”

  Johanna rolled her eyes, debating what to tell him, but finally nodded. “We will, after the party,” she told him, knowing she would be long gone. He smiled, but it trembled on his lips before disappearing altogether.

  They reached the main floor, and she stayed with him for a moment longer as he led her to Brandon, who was currently speaking with their parents. “Johanna,” Brandon said, and with a flourish, he took her hand from Fredrick’s arm so he could kiss the back of it. “You look marvelous in that gown.”

  She smiled while reminding herself not to yank her hand away in disgust. “Thank you, Brandon.” He grinned and offered to fetch her a drink. “Yes, please,” she said. “I’ll wait here, if you don’t mind.”

  His face fell, put off by her words, but he nodded and said he’d return. Frank and Fredrick went with him, the first telling Izzy they would come back with Brandon’s cousin who was dying to meet the other Chadwick woman in the family. Izzy made a face behind her brothers’ backs, and Johanna covered her laughter with a hasty cough.

  Their parents shot her a glare until her mom turned to the front door and grimaced before plastering a smile on her face. “Ah, the Marquettes have arrived.”

  Johanna’s heart skipped in her chest, but she forced herself not to look for Reider. They agreed that, during the party, they would avoid each other completely until the time came to leave. She knew he’d parked his Wrangler farther down the street, out of sight of the mansion, and the gate in the garden wall towards the very back was unlocked. She had unlocked it earlier that morning before anyone was awake.

  Izzy brushed by her sister, saying she was going to hide before they returned with Brandon and the cousin, leaving Johanna to smile and greet the other guests. When Reider spoke close by, the caress of his voice sent a wave of heat through her body, but she didn’t turn. Didn’t look. Frank and Brandon returned a moment later, a young man with them looking as annoyed to be there as Johanna was.

  “This is my cousin, Phil,” Brandon said as he handed a glass of champagne to Johanna. “Where’s your sister? He’s dying to meet her.”

  “No, actually, I’m not,” Phil snapped and tugged harshly at his collar. “I’d rather be at home.”

  “You can leave your paints behind for a few hours and be civilized,” Brandon muttered darkly.

  “Paints?” Johanna chipped in. “You paint?”

  Phil glanced at her quickly then away. “Try to, if I could be left in peace.”

  “You, like me, need to branch out within the elite of our circle and find yourself a woman of the same status,” Brandon said sternly. “Go and find Isabel.”

  Phil opened his mouth, but Johanna moved closer and rested her hand on his shoulder. “Phil? Izzy shares some of the same interests as you,” she told him quietly so Brandon and her brother couldn’t hear. “She’s an artist, too. You might actually have something in common.”

  “You approve of them setting us up like this? You can’t tell me you like my cousin.”

  “No. No, I don’t,” she said, hating the way Brandon’s laugh sounded so smug behind her as he spoke with Frank. “Neither does Izzy, but sometimes, it’s better to play along for a few hours. Izzy’s probably by the food table.”

  Phil eyed her curiously but nodded and told Brandon he was going to find Izzy. Brandon frowned and mouthed ‘Izzy’ before his cousin wandered off.

  “Did he call her Izzy?”

  “Yes, it’s what I call her,” Johanna said with a smirk. “Just like she calls me Jo.”

  Frank sputtered on his drink as he glared at his sister while Brandon stared at her, dumbfounded. “That doesn’t seem very ladylike,” he commented. “I believe I would much rather call you Johanna.”

  “By all means, call me whatever you like,” she muttered. “If I answer, that is a different story.”

  “Johanna,” Frank snapped when Brandon sniffed hard and looked dejectedly towards the floor. “She’s had a rough week of classes. I apologize for her bad attitude. I’m sure a dance around the ballroom might knock it out of her.”

  “A dance, I think, would do us both good,” Brandon said and set his glass down on the tray of a passing butler. “Johanna?”

  He emphasized every syllable of her name. His face lacked a smile as he held out his hand for hers. For a second, she debated not taking it, but Frank’s eye twitched and his face was a dangerous shade of red. She handed her drink to her brother and let her hand slide into Brandon’s, but unlike the heat that always came with a touch from Reider, all she felt was a chill. Even his eyes were a cold shade of blue, and when he swung her around to place his hand on her waist, the look turned icier.

  “I’m afraid I don’t understand your hesitation,” he said as they moved with the other couples around the dance floor.

  “Hesitation over what?”

  “Why you won’t simply date me and marry me as your brothers wish,” he said intently. “As I wish for us.”

  “You don’t even know me,” she argued. “Why the hell would you want to marry me?”

  “I know your last name and the family business,” he said with a shrug. “In our world, that’s enough. What you do in your spare time does not interest me in the least. You must understand, I am in the market for a wife to display on my arm and be my partner.”

  Johanna’s feet stumbled at the bluntness of his words, but his grip tightened and he prevented her from falling. “And you expect me to go along with it?”

  “What else are you going to do with your life?” he asked, sounding genuinely confused. “You, my dear, are a Chadwick, and there is nothing else for you to worry about but the family business. I assumed your mother taught you that.”

  “I must’ve missed that day,” she spat and tried to pull away, but Brandon didn’t
release her. “Get your hands off me, you asshole. I don’t want to date you, and I’m sure as hell not going to marry your ass.”

  He chuckled darkly. “Oh no? Are you holding out for that one special person?”

  She straightened and glared at him. “So what if I am? Don't you believe in love?”

  “I believe in power. Everything else is pointless,” he said simply. “It makes life so much easier.”

  Johanna forced him to a stop when she purposely moved the wrong way and stomped hard on his foot. He cursed, hopping up and down and shooting her a glare. “And that makes you a cold-hearted bastard who will be lonely for the rest of his life. If you’ll excuse me, I need another drink.”

  Hoisting up her green dress, she hurried away before Brandon managed to recover and snatch her arm. That was the man her brothers wanted her to marry? He was beyond horrid, and if she had any doubts about running away before, those few moments giving her a glimpse of her possible future solidified her plans with Reider. She would leave her family tonight and start a new one.

  “What the hell was that about?” Frank snapped, grabbing her arm as she passed.

  “We had a misunderstanding,” she said and yanked her arm free. “Your friend is a jackass who wants a trophy wife. Do you realize that’s who you’re trying to set me up with?”

  “He’d give you a good life,” he argued.

  “No, that’s not a life, that’s a form of prison. God, you and Fredrick—what happened to you?”

  Frank stepped back as if her question shoved him. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “The hell you don’t. Before you left for college, the two of you acted like my brothers. You cared about your little sisters, but now… now you’re using us as pawns!” She shook her head, saddened by the man standing before her. “I used to look up to you both.”

  His face fell, and for a second, Johanna thought she had busted through the wall he put up, but he straightened his collar and stood to his full height. “We haven’t changed. You have.”