Lana steps into my peripheral. “Were you two close? You and your mother?”
I bite my lip, desperate for a new kind of pain. “That’s not really any of your business.”
Her mouth struggles to shut, and she’s quickly apologizing, lines forming on her forehead as she starts to leave.
“Wait,” I say, reaching out toward her. I don’t touch her, though. “I’m sorry, Lana. It’s just… we don’t really talk about her anymore. It’s sort of this really private thing for me now. That’s all.”
Something changes in the way she holds herself and she waves me off. “I’m not some girl you have to impress, you know. I’m your nurse. But, keep in mind that if you ever want to talk to me, you can.”
“I’ll make sure to write that down and add it to the list of things I’d rather fight a shark than do, but I appreciate it,” I say, a grin working its way across my face.
She grins, too. “Well, I better leave you to your Judge Judy. I’ll be back later.”
I nod and watch her hips as they sway under her uniform, reminding myself to give the ol’ pump another squeeze later tonight.
--
Something wakes me from the groggy sleep I was dozing in and out of, and when I look up, I realize someone’s at the door.
A small girl with big brown eyes and long shiny dark hair cracks the door, peering in and looking around. It’s Olivia. “Come in.”
“I’m looking for my mom.”
“Oh. Well, uh, she’s not in here,” I say, straightening myself in bed. It hurts so badly to move but I try not to grimace. I don’t want to scare Olivia. “But I can call her if you’d like.”
With a firm shake of her head, she says, “No. that’s not necessary.”
What kid talks like that?”
She sighs, her eyes darting down. “She probably wouldn’t be much help, anyway.”
“Help with what?” I ask, curious.
Olivia bites her lip before opening the door wider. “It’s a math problem. A hard one.”
“I’m sure your mom knows math, I mean she kinda has to, right?”
She doesn’t seem so sure. “I don’t know, it’s a really hard one. Do you want to see it?”
I wonder for a moment if I shouldn’t send her away to someone more qualified, but ah, what the hell. Math was always one of my better subjects, anyway. “Sure.”
Olivia throws open the door and runs to me, carrying a tablet under her arm. She thrusts it into my hands, waiting expectantly.
I’m surprised to see the equation on the screen. “Are you… do you understand any of this?”
Sighing, she looks up at me with those same eyes as her mom. “I think the question is, do you understand it?”
“Good point,” I mutter, trying to pull up everything I learned in my college classes. After carefully going over the screen, I try and explain the best I can how to solve the problem. Half-way through, Olivia calmly takes the tablet back from me and with a few swipes of her small finger, she finishes the equation. “Like this?”
The screen pops back up with a big green checkmark and I’m stunned. “Uh, yeah. Like that. Good job.”
Without the smug pretense I would expect out of an obvious child prodigy, she chirps a quick thank you, before bounding back out of the room with the tablet.
“Hey!” I call out to her. “Is that what you’re learning in school?”
She leans back inside the doorway, rolling her eyes in a way that looks exactly like Lana. “No. I get bored with my school work, I found this online.” She thanks me again and leaves, shutting the door behind her this time.
I smile, unable to help myself.
Kids are not something I’ve given much thought to, and it’s funny to find that I like having one around.
8
LANA
It’s like the moment we had a few days ago where Joseph finally broke down and felt something for a change, hadn’t happened. Everything I do just doesn’t seem to work, and Joseph’s pissed.
“You’re trying to cut me completely off, cold turkey!” he spits at me, a vein throbbing on the side of his temple.
“No, I promise you, I’m not. That would be highly irresponsible of me, Joseph, but you are building up a tolerance to the medicine.” Which to me, only means one thing.
“You’re lying! It doesn’t work like that. My body can’t do that this quickly,” he shouts again, panic rising in his voice. I understand why he’s freaking out, but I’m damn sure not about to let him treat me like this. Gorgeous face and sexy body, or not.
“Don’t you call me a liar. I have never lied to you. You’re only lying to yourself, denying the fact that you know I’m right!” Unable to take any more, I storm off, nearly smacking right into Michael as I head into the living room area.
He’s holding his briefcase, full of papers for Joseph to sign, no doubt, tilting his head to the side. “Everything all right?”
I resist the urge to whine about Joseph and quickly nod. “It’s fine.”
But Michael is a smart guy. “I’m sorry about my brother. He’s, well, like I told ayou in the beginning, he can be difficult to deal with sometimes.”
“It’s all part of the job, don’t worry. He’s getting into a new phase of the healing process, and it’s a painful one. He’ll have to start physical therapy very soon, and it’ll only get worse.”
I can almost see the gears turning in Michael’s mind as he sets the briefcase down. “You’ve been a huge help to him, and me, for that matter. Perhaps a break would do you good? There’s a full-service resort-style spa downstairs. I can book you an appointment this evening.”
That sounds amazing but it wouldn’t be right to let him treat me like more than the employee that I am. “That’s okay. I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you, plus there’s still things I need to do…”
“I insist,” he says with a polite smile. “You’ve been working hard and deserve a little R and R. Trust me, you’ll feel much better afterward.” There’s a finality to the way he says it as though effectively ending the discussion on it.
I rub at my wrists unconsciously. After hefting Joseph up to help adjust him and his solid muscled body, they’re sore from the effort.
When Michael takes another step closer, his blue eyes searching me over, I can feel his cool breath on me. “Are you okay?”
I try to wave him off. “I’m fine, really.”
But he’s not put off in the slightest, and in fact, takes my hand in his, flipping it over and examining it. As he presses on my pressure points I bite my lip. “Look, I need you to stay in good health, for my brother’s sake. Take the time and let me cover the pay, call it furlough if you wish. You don’t even have to go to the spa, you can go wherever you’d like—”
“But, uh, I um, it’ll throw me off my routine. I’m not used to taking time off,” I manage to stammer lamely, trying but failing at keeping myself calm under Michael’s amazing touch. Even without the pleasure running through my veins, pulsing down to my core, I’ve never had a man seem so genuinely interested in how I’m feeling. I don’t know if it’s the intensity in his blue eyes or his soft touch that’s ramping up my heart, causing it to race.
He doesn’t seem to notice, taking my other hand in his and starting to massage it. “Routines are overrated.”
I look away from the way his long, thick fingers move along my sensitive palm. “What if something happens to Joseph while I’m gone?”
An amused smirk takes over Michael’s handsome features. “Is my brother in some kind of imminent danger I don’t know about?”
I struggle to respond. Inside, all I can think about is the kind of danger I’d be in if I let the Wrights know what I really think about when I lie in bed at night. “Well, no. But, uh…”
He chuckles. “I get it—you care. I like that about you, Lana. But let me ask you this—when was the last time you and Olivia had some mother-daughter bonding time? And I’m not talking about helping with homework, o
r anything like that. Just hanging out together, I mean.”
“Well, it’s been a while,” I admit.
That same polite smile forms on Michael’s full mouth. “Then it’s settled. I’ll call down to the spa and make sure they have everything in order for you two.”
The door behind us opens, and I jump back, yanking my hand from his grasp as I hear Olivia come out of the bathroom.
“Did someone say something about a spa?” she asks. “Are we going to a spa, Mom? I’ve always wanted to get in one of those cool mud baths.”
I’m quick to shake my head. “No, and besides, you’ve already had a mud bath. In our backyard. When you were three.”
She plants her hand firmly on her hip. “It’s not the same thing, though, and I don’t even remember that.”
Before I can say another word, Michael chuckles, catching my eye. “Looks like it’s two against one.”
Feeling the pinch from both of them, I throw up my hands. “Fine. We’ll go.”
“Yes,” she hisses under her breath, cautiously giving Michael a high-five once he sticks his hand out for her. He winks at her, grinning back over at me.
“I’m going to go change into something nicer,” says Olivia, dashing around the corner to our apartment.
I fold my arms across my chest, unable to help myself as I laugh softly. “I suppose I should thank you.”
Noticing the way his eyes crinkle in the corners as he watches Olivia leave, I start wondering to myself just what kind of father Michael would be. I never thought I’d see a man like him seem so at ease around a child. “No need to thank me, it’s my pleasure, Lana.” My name in his mouth rolls right off his tongue like syrup, and I find myself wishing he was massaging my hands again, so I shove them into the pockets of my blue scrubs.
He smiles one more time before leaving me standing feeling completely overwhelmed. I have to remind myself not to get all worked up. It’s like Rita said before, he wants to make sure his employees are well taken care of. There’s nothing more to it than that. I’m Joseph’s nurse, and that means something to me, as it should. I can’t just let my unrequited and silly feelings cloud everything else and leave me delusional about Michael and his intentions. I’m just the help, and I need to remember that.
--
Once Olivia and Iare in the elevator, she turns to me and smiles. “I think I like Michael and Joseph. They’re pretty cool.”
I find myself smiling too. “They’re good people, yes.”
“Do you like them?” She puts a little more emphasis on the word ‘like,’ than necessary, and I raise my eyebrows.
“What do you mean?”
Olivia just shrugs. “They’re nicer than Papi, that’s all.”
The elevator dings, alerting us as the doors open, and Olivia goes right through them. She’s got a good point, there, but that’s the troubling part.
This is only a temporary job. We won’t be here much longer than three months, and my fears about Olivia getting too attached seem truer than ever and my heart aches for more than just myself. Both of us carry a little bit of emptiness that is just longing to be filled, but as much we might like them, Michael and Joseph Wright are not the men for the job.
9
MICHAEL
"It won't take that long to get the x-rays and MRI done, so stop being so impatient." Lana scolds Joseph, who's sitting at the edge of his bed resembling a child who's just been told he has to wait for dessert. The frown on his face is almost petulant and I want to laugh.
I expect to see a frown on Lana’s face too but her expression is soft and worried. It’s the look of someone who cares and I experience a flash of pure bright jealousy. She’s been caring for Joseph for a while now, so I understand that they might have built a rapport. I understand, but I don’t like it. I want her to look at me like that.
When Joseph goes to try and pull himself up to a stand, Lana immediately leans over to try and help him but Joseph’s stubborn ass decides to push her off, glaring at the both of us. "I've got this."
I can see the tension working in Lana's jaw as she fights to keep calm. "If you insist. Be my guest." She sweeps her hand to the side to allow him to maneuver past her slowly, Joseph grunting with all the effort it takes to reach the doorknob.
Over the past month, he's actually been doing a pretty good job working through the pain to take his first real steps, steps assisted by either Lana or myself, but steps nonetheless. I have to admit that seeing the smallest of smiles on my brother’s face as he works his way out the door to where the medical transport has been set up outside, helps reinforce the fact that it was a good idea to bring Lana in to help.
"Do you have everything you need? All the paperwork?" I ask the hospital staff worker who’s helping to load Joseph into the van. He gives me a quick nod before they take off with Joseph, leaving me and Lana standing, watching the van disappear around the corner.
"You know, you're a real miracle worker," I finally say to her just as she’s starting to turn away and head back up the driveway. Lana does the usual rolling of her eyes, but I can just tell she's secretly pleased by the compliment.
"No, I mean it, Lana. You’ve done everything you can to help keep Joseph comfortable making sure he gets his medicines at the right time, seeing to it that he moves around enough, and even dealing with his well… lesser traits, if you will. It takes a special kind of person to be able to handle something like that."
Her walking slows down but she keeps going anyway, brushing her hair out of her face. When she looks back over her shoulder at me, her warm brown eyes regard me carefully. "Just doing my job. That's all."
"But you know Joseph isn't the best of taking care of himself. And God knows I'm too busy most of the time with work, especially having to do double with him being out of commission at the moment. Running back and forth between here and everywhere else… I didn't realize it would be such a mess."
I stop short, realizing I've probably already said too much.
Even though I know I should be doing roughly a hundred other things, I follow behind Lana until we're back in Joseph's room, watching Lana start to strip the bed and get everything ready for him to come back home later on today. Feeling somewhat helpless, I take the new bed linens out of the closet in the room and hand them to her, my breath quickening when her skin brushes against mine as she takes them out of my hands.
"You don't have to help me," she says softly. Maybe I wasn't the only one affected by the touch…
But I just wave her off. "Of course I'm going to help. I might as well since I'm already here, right?" I see the way she's working up to refusing, but I cut her off again. "I'm not taking no for an answer, Lana. It's really no big deal, I promise. It'll only take a few minutes."
There's the slightest of nods from her, and I see the way she's worrying at her bottom lip as she gently tugs the corner of the fitted sheet down, smoothing over the top with her hand. It's quiet, and neither one of us are saying anything. The only sound in the room is the rustling of the sheets, the scuffing of our shoes across the hardwood floors. I can almost hear her breathing.
Once we’re finished, Lana gives me a small smile and heads out of the room. Something pulls at me, and I follow after her. I’m avoiding the huge pile of paperwork that’s currently stacked up on my desk. As she checks something on her cell phone at the kitchen island, I breeze past her to the wet bar, pulling out my personal favorite Chardonnay, searching for two empty wine glasses. "Would you like a glass of wine?" I call out to her.
"I… I don't think so."
I can already envision Lana's face screwing up with her refusal, trying to think of the easiest way to let me down. That's just the kind of person she is, but I've already poured two glasses and as I walk back around the corner, I hand her the glass of wine, shrugging, unable to keep the smile off my face. "Don't worry, I think your boss will be cool with it." And I smile wider at the way her cheeks flush red. "Besides, Olivia's at school for the day. My brot
her will be gone for a few hours at the hospital anyway. This is kind of like your time off. I think you could do with a break, don't you?"
Our eyes meet only for a moment before hers quickly dart away as she takes the glass for me. "Just the one, though," she says, looking warily grateful.
I hold my other hand up, laughing. "Just the one, that's fine. Cheers to unexpected friends," I say raising the glass of wine.
Lana mimics me slowly, her dark eyebrow raised. "Unexpected friends?"
"You know. It's just that Joseph and I are both getting used to having you around, that's all. I mean you and Olivia both, obviously. I think having a woman's presence here is nice, it's a good change for us. There's plenty enough testosterone in here."
Lana just snorts, slowly shaking her head. "Maybe, but Rita's here every day. I would say she helps to balance things out."
"Well, yes, perhaps. But Rita's…well, she is a different story." What I want to say is that Rita is sort of like our unattractive aunt who we consider closer to family. Not a beautiful young woman with gorgeous dark curls that I'm desperate to get my hands on, but I don't say that.
And because I don't say that, Lana presses me, tilting her head to the side with a slight grin. "She's what? What kind of different story?" And surprising me, and perhaps even herself, she playfully pushes at my hand that's resting on top of the kitchen island. The flush that runs under her cheeks catches my attention almost immediately, making it harder for me to find the right words.
I stumble over them, ungracefully. "It's just different with you, you're not her. And she's not…you."
Her eyes flash, her lashes fluttering as she takes in my tone, and I can only imagine what she's thinking. What my words must've sounded like. The truth, probably, and though I fully expect her to pull away as she always does, the moment tension between us starts to bloom, she stands her ground, searching my face. Finally, Lana looks away, carefully sipping her Chardonnay. It's in this moment that she suddenly looks more beautiful than before. It hits me like a ton of bricks, how much I want her, how much I've been wanting to touch her.
BILLIONAIRE BROTHERS: A MFM MENAGE ROMANCE Page 5