The Trust of a Billionaire

by Michelle Pennington

  “Addilynn, this is Ms. Rhodes. She’s going to be your new nanny.”

  The little girl looked her over with the same critical thoroughness her grandma had but didn’t say anything. As if on cue, Carter’s mom followed them into the room and walked over to sit down in a chair. Hannah nearly sighed. This introduction was awkward enough without Mrs. Prunes making it worse. Well, she was a professional right?

  Smiling warmly at the little girl, she said, “You can call me Hannah.”

  “She will call you Ms. Rhodes,” Mrs. Ellis said. “I’ve taught her to show respect to her elders, and I won’t have you undermining that.”

  Clenching her teeth for a moment, Hannah bit back the words on her tongue and determined to clear the matter up with Addilynn later. “I’m looking forward to getting to know you,” she said, addressing the little girl as if they hadn’t been interrupted. “We’ll have a lot of fun together this summer.”

  “Can we go swimming a lot?”

  “Absolutely. I love it too.”

  Carter pulled gently on one of his daughter’s curls. “She’s had lessons and swims like a fish, so you shouldn’t have any worries there. Just be careful if you go to the beach. She’s never had to worry about currents.”

  Hannah smiled at him. “I understand. I’ve lived here all my life so I know how to be safe. And if the gulf is being cantankerous, there are enough pools here to keep a frog busy.”

  A small chuckle burst out of Addilynn, and Hannah laughed at the way she clapped her hand over her mouth as if it surprised her. Carter looked down at her looking pleased. But of course, Mrs. Ellis was not so easily won over.

  “I don’t approve of swimming in the ocean. But regardless, you need to use plenty of sunscreen because she burns easy. Also, only use the brand you’ll find with her things. It doesn’t have any cancer-causing chemicals. Be sure she rinses the salt and chlorine out of her hair. It’s too unmanageable as it is. I always apply a heavy coat of leave-in conditioner.”

  Carter sighed and went to the kitchen. “Mom, I think we can handle all this.” He opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water.

  Mrs. Ellis got up and went to the big island in the kitchen. She picked up a piece of paper and waved it delicately at Carter. “I’m making a list of all the things you need to remember.” Then looking to Hannah, she said, “Men just don’t remember all the little details you know.”

  So, what? They were supposed to be friends now? Not to mention, this reminded Hannah that she knew absolutely nothing about Addilynn’s mother. The amount of control her grandma had made Hannah think she wasn’t really in the picture. Regardless, it was likely to be a touchy subject so she decided to ask about it later when Addilynn wasn’t around.

  She eyed the list as Mrs. Ellis handed it to her, but just smiled, refusing to agree with her opinion of men. Carter, especially, didn’t strike her as a clueless, uninvolved father. Hannah suspected Mrs. Ellis’ elevator didn’t go all the way to the top.

  Resorting to her teacher persona, like when dealing with a difficult parent, helped Hannah keep her cool. But the redneck rebel in her wanted to dish out a healthy dose of southern sass. Instead, Hannah looked at Carter. “Am I going on duty today? I don’t remember if you said.”

  Carter put his bottle of water down on the counter and crossed his arms. “I had intended for you to, but under the circumstances…” His eyes shifted toward his mom. “Maybe it would be best if you started Monday. I’ll be happy to pay you for today for the inconvenience.”

  Hannah almost refused his offer but reminded herself that she did need the money. Carter was extremely wealthy and he had cost her any other chance to earn money today. “Thank you. I live close if you decide you need me after all.” She turned back to Addilynn, who was still standing as still and poised as a beauty pageant contestant at the edge of the living room rug. “Enjoy spending the day with your grandma. I’ll see you soon.”

  “I’ll see you down to the lobby,” Carter said, stepping forward quickly as she moved to the door.

  She smiled her thanks but didn’t say anything further until they were closed in the privacy of the elevator. Then she swallowed and took a deep breath. “Can I ask about Addilynn’s mother? I noticed you aren’t wearing a ring, and no one has mentioned her.”

  Carter held up his left hand and looked down at it. “Did you?” Then his eyes flashed to hers. “Interesting.”

  Hannah took a deep breath, hoping to fight off the flush she felt rising on her cheeks. “I only looked when I was being offered the job”

  “Ah well, that’s put me in my place.” The elevator opened then and they stepped out together. Fortunately, the lobby was empty for the moment. His expression tightened. “Addi’s mom terminated her parental rights, at her request, not mine. She did so as part of our divorce when Addi was just a baby. We haven’t had any contact with her since.”

  Hannah gaped at him. What he was saying just didn’t compute. How could a woman want to give up her rights to her children? True, she’d never had children herself, but she had loved a great many children in her life and hoped to have her own someday. What effect had this had on Addi? A wave of compassion swept over Hannah at the same moment that she realized how closed off and uncomfortable Carter looked.

  Treading carefully, she said, “Thank you for telling me, Mr. Ellis. What time should I be here on Monday?”

  “Eight o’clock, please. And I want you to know how much I appreciate you taking this job. I know this must have been uncomfortable for you with my mom being difficult.”

  Hannah laughed. “Yes, it was. And I was afraid you might crack your molars a few times from the way you were clenching that manly jaw of yours. But don’t worry. Now the tricky part is all on my shoulders.”

  “What’s that?” he asked, flashing a smile at her.

  “Getting Addi to like me enough to relax and have fun,” she said before turning to walk away. But she hadn’t told him the other tricky part—not letting herself be too attracted to him. That wasn’t just going to be tricky. It might be downright impossible.

  When she walked outside, the heat of the early afternoon was just coming on. The new-found freedom of her day called to her, but she knew she should spend some time preparing for her new job. Her instincts told her this was going to be more challenging than anything she’d ever taken on.

  She was used to students who lived in difficult situations and struggled with personal demons, but usually she didn’t have so much one-on-one responsibility for them. On the flip-side of that, however, she realized she’d never before had a chance to be such an influence for good, to really make an impact on a child’s life. The thought was powerful.

  Hannah suspected that besides more time with her dad, Addilynn needed to learn how to be a kid. And no one knew how to do that better than her.

  Chapter Seven

  Carter had just gotten out of the shower Monday when he heard the doorbell ring. “Oh man,” he said out loud, rushing to finish getting dressed. After pulling on a pair of slacks, he grabbed a shirt at random and started pulling it on as he hurried for the door. He’d taken a longer run than usual so he was behind on his regular schedule. He glanced at the clock in the kitchen. And Hannah was early. How… punctual of her.

  He only had the bottom two buttons done on his dress shirt, so he paused two feet from the door to finish. It opened abruptly, and Hannah came in. He put his hands up instinctively, catching her shoulders before she crashed into him. She had similar reflexes it seemed, since she pressed her hands flat against his chest, in places against his bare skin where his shirt gaped open. He froze. All he seemed capable of doing was staring at her as the heat of her hand drew all his attention.

  After several tangible seconds, she took a deep, shuddering breath and stepped back. “I’m so sorry. I…waited, but when you didn’t answer I thought maybe you wanted me to come right in. And, you gave me the code so—”

  Retreating to a safe distance, Carter
finished buttoning up his shirt. “Yes, absolutely. Just come on in from now on. I’ll plan on you being here.”

  “Okay. Great.” She sounded as awkward as he felt.

  It was rather nice to know that something could discompose her. “Addi hasn’t woken up yet. When she does, order room service for her—whatever she wants. She’s a bit underweight, so I’m trying to fix that. And if she wants to say good morning to me, you can bring her down to my office as long as it’s before ten. I have a meeting then, so…” Was he babbling? Mortified, he clamped his mouth shut and went to make some coffee.

  “Will it be the same routine every day?”

  “Pretty much,” he said over his shoulder before turning back to his task. He could get coffee in his office, but he needed something to keep him steady and not paying attention to how gorgeous she looked. Today she wore a flowing, ankle length skirt and a t-shirt tied in a knot at her waist. An inch of her smooth skin showed between the two. Really, such a small hint of what lay beyond, but it was totally distracting. At last, the aromatic stream of salvation flowed into his mug. He was drinking it black this morning.

  Hannah had gone over to sit on the couch, presumably to wait for Addi to wake up. She picked up the book of wildlife photography on the coffee table—one he’d never done more than glance at. Why did he have a sudden urge to sit down and go through it with her? He really needed to get out of here. As he walked to the door, he said, “I’ve got to go. Good luck, Ms. Rhodes.”

  “Oh, come on. You’re not really going to call me that are you? That’s what I hear all day during the school year. During the summer, I’m Hannah.”

  “I’ll try to remember that.”

  He left then and headed for his office. It was a short and luxurious commute, but today, it felt too far.

  Working hard for an hour, he finished a lot of the tasks Brenda had lined up for him. From contracts with vendors to hiring staff, there were plenty of minor fires to put out. It gave him a headache just thinking about all that they still needed to do before the grand opening. They had a few hand-picked guests coming in tomorrow to give the staff their first real trial, so there was plenty to stress about. By the time Addi came in to say good morning, he was totally ready for a quick break.

  Addi came wearing a sundress with the straps of a swimsuit showing. She still walked in a precise way that looked way too mature for a six-year-old, but she was smiling.

  “Going swimming?” he asked as he hugged her. He glanced up at Hannah. Was she wearing a bikini under that outfit? His brain malfunctioned for a moment before he focused on what his daughter was saying.

  “Miss Hannah says that since I only ate a few bites of my breakfast, we needed to go swimming and build up my appetite before lunch.”

  “Sounds like a great idea to me.”

  “Can you come with us?”

  She would never know how badly he wanted to say yes, for a multitude of reasons. “I’m sorry, sweetie. I have a lot of work to do and a meeting in an hour. But you’ll have fun with Hannah and I’ll see you for dinner.”

  Addi’s nose wrinkled. “But I don’t want to go with Miss Hannah. I want to go with you.”

  Carter tried to breathe out his frustration and remember that it was good she was showing spirit. “I understand, but it isn’t possible today. We already talked about this. Now go along with Hannah.”

  Addi looked broken as she turned and left. Carter looked after her, watching as Hannah followed in her wake, rubbing her shoulder to console her. It killed him that Addi wanted him and he couldn’t go with her. He just hoped Hannah would be able to help her have fun without him.

  ***

  The first thing Carter noticed when he returned to his condo that evening was the big collage of sea animals made from bits of construction paper stuck on his gleaming industrial fridge. It was held on with a couple of souvenir magnets that he guessed came from the gift shop in the lobby. The second thing he saw was that the whole dining room table was heaped with stuff. Art supplies, sunglasses, Hannah’s shoulder bag, a plastic cup full of sand and a few little seashells, and a snorkel and mask. To his surprise, instead of being irritated by the mess, he wanted to celebrate. Surely it meant things had gone well between Hannah and Addi.

  “Daddy, you’re home.”

  Carter turned and caught Addi in his arms. Her curly hair hung loose and wet and she wore pajamas. “Hey, sweetie. Did you have a good day?”

  “It was pretty fun. Did you see what I made you?”

  “I did. I like the octopus with purple tentacles.”

  “Yeah. Miss Hannah says with art you can make things whatever color you want.”

  “Sounds liberating.”

  “Huh?”

  “Never mind.” Hannah came in then from Addi’s room and smiled at him, making him lose track of the conversation.

  Without saying a word, Hannah moved to the table and started clearing away the mess. Moving quickly, he went to help her.

  “Sorry it’s all still a mess. It took longer to comb Addi’s hair than I expected.” Hannah reached out and pulled on one of Addi’s curls. “This is some high-maintenance stuff, let me tell you.”

  Carter smiled. “I’ve gone to battle with it a time or two, but I’m pretty hopeless when it comes to girls’ hair.”

  Hannah smiled, absently, and threw some trash away in the kitchen. When she was done, she picked up her sandals and put them on, then faced Addi. “Don’t forget what we talked about. I’ll see you tomorrow, moonbeam.”

  Addi smiled. “Okay.”

  Carter followed Hannah to the door. “Thank you. I really appreciate all you did today.”

  “No problem. See you tomorrow.”

  Carter shut the door behind her and a smooth, melting warmth spread through him as he realized he would see her tomorrow. And most days after that—at least for a while. Still mulling over the way he felt about that, he walked back over to join Addi at the table where she poked at the shells in her cup.

  “Why did she call you moonbeam?”

  Without looking up at him, Addi said, “Oh, because I told her that I wished I was as pretty as she was and she told me that I was as pretty as a moonbeam and that I should never want to look like anyone else.”

  “She’s right about that.” Leaning against the counter, Carter crossed his arms, and asked gently, “What did she talk to you about that you’re not supposed to forget?”

  Addi looked at him then and squinched up her nose. “Oh that. She says that I need to be patient when you have to work and that it doesn’t mean you don’t want to be with me. Daddy, why does she talk funny?”

  “She has a southern accent.”

  “It kinda sounds like she’s singing when she talks. But she says things I don’t understand sometimes.”

  “Like what.”

  “I asked where she lived and she said over yonder. Where’s yonder?”

  Carter laughed. “Who knows.”

  “And when her friend came over to talk to us on the beach, she said it was hotter than blue blazes, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t wear a shirt.”

  “He?”

  “Yeah, his name was Brant. He kept showing off his muscles to Miss Hannah.”

  This was less funny but caught his attention even more. “Oh yeah? Did she seem to like them?”

  “I think so, but I thought it was gross. Boys are so weird.”

  “You keep thinking that for about fifteen more years, and I’ll be happy. What do you want for dinner? Room service or delivery I guess, since you’re already in pajamas.”

  While he and Addi debated what they should get for dinner, Carter couldn’t stop wondering about the guy named Brant who’d been flirting with Hannah on the beach. But that was ridiculous. It was none of his business and it was hardly surprising that such a beautiful woman would get attention.

  But if muscle guy kept coming around, he’d have to go and scope the guy out, make sure he was okay to be around Addi. Then he spent the rest
of the evening assuring himself that was the only reason he was concerned.

  Chapter Eight

  When Hannah arrived at Carter’s condo for her second day of work, she came in and found it quiet and empty. Maybe Carter was still in his bedroom getting ready. Remembering the glimpse of his chest she’d gotten yesterday, she decided not to think any more about him getting dressed.

  She sat her bag down on the dining table, but as she walked toward Addi’s bedroom, she glanced through the window and realized Carter was sitting out on his deck.

  Pulled toward him by some force she didn’t want to examine, Hannah walked over to join him. “Good morning, Fort Knox.”

  Carter turned in his seat and welcomed her with a smile. “I was kind of hoping the nicknames would stop now that I’m your boss.”

  “Tough luck, then.”

  “Ah.”

  She sat down in the tall deck chair next to him.

  “Want some coffee?” he asked.

  “No thanks.” She looked away from the bright morning sky and glinting water to see his brows furrowed. “You look pretty stressed out for someone in paradise.”

  Carter smiled, but it was a twisted, half-attempt. “See that house down there?” He pointed at Hannah’s house and her blood chilled.

  “Yes.” Did her voice sound squeaky?

  “I’ve done everything I can to convince the woman who owns it to sell, but she’s proving to be one stubborn lady.”

  “Well, she’s probably attached to it. Homes mean something to people, you know?”

  Carter shrugged. “I don’t, actually. I have never had any attachment to the homes I’ve lived in.”

  “No way. Not even the home you grew up in?”

  “Nope. We were always moving into bigger and bigger houses where I saw less and less of my parents.”

  “But what about your first home with your ex-wife. I mean, even though things didn’t work out with her, surely you were happy for a time.”