by Tia Louise
A tiny smile curls my lips, and the side of his mouth moves upward. That dimple appears briefly, and I have to shift in my seat. Damn, he is so effing good-looking.
No, I don’t think the F-bomb in church.
Yes, my mom is in my head.
Back to my hot boss… I can’t believe he’s lived here four years. Granted, I don’t make it to church every single Sunday, but hell, I must be sleeping through a lot of sermons. Maybe he misses the Sundays I’m here and vice versa. Yes, that has to be what happens.
His head is turned to the side, and I admire his square jaw as he listens politely to Pastor Hibbert talking about helping others. A few natural highlights are right at the tips of his brown hair. I didn’t notice it in the bar last night, and I bet as soon as he gets a haircut, they’ll be gone. The thought makes me sad.
I tune in for a second, and the verse is about some deaconess who helped the apostles. Finally, the pastor tells us to close our eyes and ask God to help us see people in the community who need a little time, a little friendship, a little faith.
Clearly, this is a direct sign God wants me to accept the job working with Remi. I was meant to see he needs help and offer to give it to him. Mission accepted, God.
The Amens ring out, and we’re on our feet, headed to the door as the organ plays the Doxology. Once we’re outside, I linger on the front lawn, wondering if Remi might want to chat while we’re all here together.
“What are you waiting for?” Ma stops her progress toward the parking lot and walks back to where I stand.
“I’m meeting someone… Do you know Remington Key?”
“Remington?” Her head cocks to the side like a bird.
“Um.. yeah. I’ll explain later.” I don’t really want to go into the details with her. No telling what she’ll say when she hears I’m moving into his house and how much he’s paying me.
Anyway, here he comes, and my heart beats faster. Why the hell am I nervous? I don’t know.
“Thanks for waiting.” He walks quickly to where I’m standing, and thankfully Ma falls silent.
“Hi.” I feel like I’m smiling too big, so I clear my throat and glance down at my black platform shoes. I’m so glad I wore them, since he’s tall. “I thought I might hang around and meet Lillie.”
“Eleanor went to get her from Sunday school.” He reaches up to rub the back of his neck while he looks toward the building running parallel to the sanctuary, and I can almost see that bicep flexing in his arm. “I guess that’s something you could do. If you still want the job, I mean.”
I glance across the lawn at the dozens of children, from toddlers to elementary school-age kids, running out the doors of the other building to meet their parents.
More nerves flutter in my insides. Am I really doing this?
Fifteen thousand dollars, Ruby.
Yes, I am.
“I can do that.” I don’t want to make it seem like I’m not worth it. “It’ll be one of my many tasks.”
Those golden-hazel eyes meet mine, and the flutters turn to butterflies. His eyes graze over my white lace blouse, and I swear I can feel them touching my skin. It’s like he’s undressing me, but carefully, delicately…
It’s fucking hot.
What? We’re on the church lawn.
Blinking away, he pulls a long, white envelope from his breast pocket. “I took some time this morning to write up the contract. You can look over it and bring it back this evening. Once you’ve decided.”
“Sure.” I take it from him and slip it into my bag. “I’m about a hundred percent decided.”
Or fifteen thousand percent.
At last Eleanor emerges holding a little girl’s hand. As soon as she sees us, she tosses her grandmother’s hand aside and takes off running toward her dad.
Light brown pigtails bounce around her shoulders, and she’s wearing a cute green dress with a navy bow and a white collar. She has a little white cardigan on top, and when she reaches Remi, she jumps.
He lifts her to his chest almost as if it were choreographed, and she throws her arms around his neck. “I made you a picture, Daddy, but Gigi said she has to hold it because it’s all wet.”
“I can’t wait to see it.” He kisses her cheek, and I swear to God, my insides are just all mush at the cuteness overload… and possibly a teensy bit envious.
I can’t imagine doing what she just did with my dad.
Not that I care anymore, of course.
“I want you to meet someone.” Remi turns to me, and I see how much they look alike. Her hair is lighter than his, but they have the same eyes, the same cute dimple in their cheeks. “Lillie, I’d like you to meet Miss Ruby Banks.”
She squirms forward, and I totally remember meeting them six months ago. Holy shit. She was squirming all over him, and I took one look and looked the other way. I could kick myself in the pants. Whatever. We’re here now.
“How do you do, Miss Ruby Banks?” Lillie holds out her little hand, and I squat down to her level to take it.
“Very well, thank you.” I shake her hand, and we both smile. “You’re very polite.”
“My Gigi said good manners show people you care.”
My eyebrows rise, and I glance up at her father. Remi shrugs.
“You’re very smart, too. I bet you make good grades in school.”
The little girl nods. “I do. You’re pretty.” Lillie looks up at her dad. “Is Ruby coming over for a playdate?”
“Ruby might be coming over to stay with us. If that’s okay with you.” He lifts the little girl to his hip again just as Eleanor reaches us.
“Like for a sleepover?” Lillie’s voice is loud, and Eleanor’s face is pure shock.
“I’m sorry. What did I miss?” A fake smile stretches her cheeks, and Eleanor’s voice sounds exactly as I expected it would—old, refined, and a touch bitchy.
She places an elegant hand on the top of her chest as Ma finds her voice as well.
“Ruby?” Her tone makes me wince. “What is he saying?”
“Sorry.” Remi steps forward. “I’m Remington Key.”
Ma takes his hand briefly. “June Banks, Ruby’s mother.” She looks at Eleanor. “We met at the ladies’ auxiliary brunch.”
“Yes,” Eleanor nods. “You’re the church secretary.”
Ma hated that brunch. She talked about it for two days, how the ladies there were not very Christlike. I never knew exactly what she meant, but now I think I have an idea with the way Eleanor says secretary. Like it’s a dirty word.
What she doesn’t know is just because my mom is tight-fisted and works as the church secretary, she has a shit-ton of money socked away. Still, even though my dad made us wealthy, Ma never allowed us to act materialistic or better than anyone. To her, valuing people simply because of how much money is in their bank account is as bad as lying.
“Remington.” Eleanor touches her son-in-law’s arm. “What is going on here?”
Remi’s eyes meet mine, and I swear in that moment, the decision is made. “Why don’t we discuss it over lunch.”
I follow his lead, taking my mom by the arm. “Come on, Ma. I’ll tell you everything over dumplings.”
“I made Sundubu-jjigae,” She is not amused, and I know she didn’t miss a thing.
“Sounds great.” I love her spicy tofu soup. “I’ll fill you in at home.”
Elegant bowls of steaming brown soup sit in front of us, and the Asian Inquisition continues. “A babysitting job?” Disgust permeates her tone.
“A full-time nanny position.” I have the contract out on the table beside my bowl, and I’m quickly scanning the list of duties. It’s exactly what he said they would be. “I’ll take care of his daughter, basically like her mother would.”
“You are not her mother.” She spoons the soup, keeping her eyes on mine. “What about your work at the clinic?”
“I’ve been there almost a year.” My lips tighten, and I say what I haven’t even told Drew yet. “I�
�m not sure I like the work.”
She accepts this, lifting her chin after she takes another bite. “Still, childcare is a step down.”
Nodding, I eat some of my own lunch. “Normally, I’d agree with you, but this is different, bigger than just babysitting, and he’s paying me a lot of money.” That yearning is in my chest again. It makes me feel like I can’t breathe. “I’ll actually be able to pay my own bills. I can get my own place. After all, I can’t live with you forever.”
I add the last bit with a laugh, but Ma emphatically objects. “Nonsense! I lived with my parents until I married your father.”
“You were twenty-three when you married Dad.”
“And we had a long and happy life together.”
“Did you?” I can’t keep the skepticism out of my voice. It’s hard to believe Dad was nice to anybody.
“Ruby Banks. Your father was a good man. He had very high standards.”
That’s one way of putting it. “Well, I’m taking this job.”
She shakes her head. “Remington Key is a good-looking man. You cannot work for him.”
I snort a laugh. “That’s just… Looksism!”
“You made up that word.” Her voice is stern as she sips another spoonful of soup. “You don’t know how to cook.”
“I’ll learn.” How hard can it be? I also don’t know anything about kids, but Lillie’s not a baby.
“You will be living in sin with him.”
“I will be living in the lap of luxury, getting paid a lot of money I will then use to figure out what I want to do with my career.”
She sits back in her chair and crosses her arms, still not smiling. “What you will do is get in trouble.”
My stomach squirms, but I won’t give in to this feeling. I will not let her be right. Emotions come and go, and I will not blow a great opportunity just because the guy holding it out to me happens to be obscenely handsome.
I’ve dated more guys than I can count, and I’ve always been in control of the situation. There is no reason this time should be any different.
Even if it is, I will not let my hormones or Ma’s negative attitude screw it up. Steeling my resolve, I focus on my vow to myself in the bathroom mirror.
“Will you have a little faith? Please?” I can’t believe how calm my voice is. “I will not get in trouble. I’ll get what I want.”
“Only if you know what you want.”
That’s the problem—I think I do.
4
Remi
Lillie chases a macaroni noodle around her bowl with her fingers, and Eleanor grabs her wrist, wiping her small hand with a cloth. It’s the only thing that breaks her lecture.
“Use your fork, Lillian.” Just as fast, she’s back on me. “You cannot hire that girl to live in this house.”
“I can do whatever I want.” My voice is level. “It’s my house.”
Eleanor’s voice goes low. “I saw the way you spoke to her at church. You have chemistry with that girl. It’s a bad idea.”
“If I thought it was a bad idea, I wouldn’t have given her a contract and asked her to start this evening.”
Lillie looks up from her plate, where she’s putting mac and cheese on her fork with her fingers. “What’s chemistry, Daddy?”
Her question makes me grin. “Remember Bill Nye the science guy?”
She nods quickly, that cute little dimple appearing in her cheek when she smiles. I wasn’t sure I could love someone this much until she was born. Now I can’t imagine my life without her.
“Well,” I continue. “He does chemistry.”
Her little eyes widen. “He makes things go boom! Will you make Ruby go boom?”
I cough a laugh, shifting in my seat and imagining how that might go… and how it might sound. “It’s different with people, honey.”
Of course, Eleanor’s face is a disapproving, I told you so. “Lillian, take your hands out of your food.” She wipes my daughter’s hand again. “What are her qualifications?”
Sitting back, I cross my arms over my chest. “She has a master’s degree, and she’s a licensed therapist.”
“Therapists are all crazy. It’s why they do what they do.”
“She is not crazy.” A little nutty, maybe, but not crazy.
“We don’t need her.”
“We do.” I fight to keep the edge out of my tone. “Friday night was the perfect example.”
“I was right Friday night.”
Anger rises in my stomach, but I fight it down. I won’t let her bait me.
Instead, I take a different approach. “You’re her grandmother, Eleanor. You should be spoiling her, not worrying about following my rules.”
She sits back, daring to act offended. “I guess you think I was a horrible mother.”
“I do not think you were a horrible mother. I think we need boundaries, and you need a break. You’ve been taking care of Lillie for four years now.”
“So it’s not about me?” Eleanor huffs, straightening her blouse.
I don’t respond to the snark in her tone. I don’t say it’s very much about her, and that I wouldn’t have been in that bar last night if it wasn’t for her.
“It’s about making things easier for all of us.”
“I just hope you remember those boundaries when that girl is in this house.”
“I’d rather not discuss that here.” I tilt my head toward Lillie, who’s studying her plate, but who I know is not deaf. “My goal is to have more time to focus on my work. I need to get more accomplished if I’m going to grow the business. It’s what I hope Ruby allows me to do.”
Lillie’s head snaps up. “I like Ruby. She talks to me. She shook my hand and said I was polite.”
My smile to Eleanor is conclusive. “That is what matters most to me.”
I pace the large foyer of my house as I wait for Ruby to arrive.
She texted me earlier saying the contract was agreeable, she would sign it, and arrive here with her things at seven. It’s seven, and I can’t sit down. I have to move.
I’ve prepared the room down the hall from Lillie. They’re on the third floor of the house. My suite and offices are spread out on the second. Eleanor’s master suite is on the first.
As I walk back and forth in the large entrance, I realize this house probably is considered a McMansion. The grand staircase curves up to the second-floor landing, which has a balcony overlooking the downstairs.
Doors close it off from my quarters, and the stairs continue up to the third floor. When she was a baby, we had Lillie’s bedroom and playroom on the first floor near Eleanor’s. As she got older, she wanted to move to the top floor. She went through a Tangled phase, and I guess it made her feel like a princess in a tower. Naturally, we have monitors in her rooms.
Her playroom is still on the first floor, however, and I hear her little voice talking to her dolls. She won’t be awake much longer. My hands are shoved in the pockets of my jeans, and the tail of my button-up shirt is untucked.
I didn’t want to appear too formal when she arrived or make her feel uncomfortable. Honestly, the only thing I know about nannies is from what I saw as a kid in The Sound of Music, which my mother made me watch one day when I was sick, and which I mostly slept through.
Still, I remember whistles blowing, kids marching like soldiers, and running from the Nazis.
I’m pretty confident none of that will happen in my house, so I have no basis for what to expect.
A knock sounds at the door, and my boat shoes squeak on the marble as I rush to open it. Ruby’s hair swirls around her shoulders when I do. Her brown eyes widen, moving up and down my body quickly. God, she’s so gorgeous.
“Hi.” I manage to say.
The air hums and crackles between us. I wonder if she feels it, too. Then her cheeks flush that pretty shade of pink, and I know she does.
Jesus. I want to fuck the nanny. Don’t get a boner. I cannot adjust my fly right now.
“Hi!”
She smiles nervously. “I… um… wasn’t sure where to park. My car is down there.”
She points to the right, along the circle drive, and I step out on the flagstone landing to see a lime green Subaru almost at the street behind Eleanor’s Crown Victoria.
“That’s fine.” I nod, stepping back and holding the door for her to enter. “You can park in the garage next time. I’ll make sure we have a remote for you.”
“It’s the little things.” As she passes me, I catch the faint scent of roses again. I wonder if it’s her hair or her perfume.
A navy backpack is on her shoulder, and she’s rolling a white suitcase with a pink kitten outline on it. Everything she does turns me on.
“Can I help you with your bags?”
“It’s okay, I’ve got them.” She looks up, all around the entrance. “Your home is beautiful.”
I close the door, leaning my back against it as I study her. She’s dressed in black leggings and a white tank top with a long-sleeved chambray shirt unbuttoned over it, and she looks perfect. Her hair is up in a high ponytail, and the ends fall just past her shoulder. She turns in the entrance to face me, and for a moment I don’t know what to say.
The long, white envelope is in her hand. “I guess you’ll be wanting this.” She holds it out to me, and I step forward to take it. “I signed everything.”
“I added the bit about the one-month trial period. To be sure you’re happy here.”
“Right.” She nods slowly, her eyes staying on mine. “It looked like you covered everything we discussed.”
“I tried to be thorough.”
It’s like a low current hums between us, silent but powerful. As much as I try to dismiss Eleanor’s lecture, keeping my hands off this girl might not be as easy as I anticipated. I feel like I’m waking up from a long sleep…
What? No. Of course, I’ll keep my hands off Ruby. I’m not some creepy 1950s-era sexually harassing male employer. This is a business arrangement. A mutually beneficial business arrangement. She is here to help care for my daughter. That is all.
“Is something wrong?” Her soft voice is higher, and I realize I’m frowning.