She opened the door for us and squeezed my arm, which I flexed for her. “Tomorrow. Good night.” She then let me go and hugged my son. “Thanks, Bradley, for the flowers.”
“Tomorrow morning. We’ll have breakfast together,” I said as we crossed the threshold.
She nodded and closed the door.
Then I gave my son a high five. He’d been right to go there, though if she did become the nanny, I wasn’t sure how to mix business with pleasure. For the first time in my life, I was ready to cross that line.
Chapter Three
Olivia
My hands trembled as I brushed powder onto my eyelids. It was light and meant to cover the dark circles.
After Dr. Dawes had left my home, I practically wrote a novel in my diary of what I wanted him to do to me. Then not even a cold shower cooled me off. All year, I’d imagined him in my arms.
My sleep had been filled with remembering our kiss and how I ached to touch him and wanted him in my bed.
Until I met him, I would have sworn my head was on straight. Our flirtations were nothing I could follow through on, as I was his son’s teacher, and there were rules. Well, probably, but those were gone now. Now my knees melted from one of his kisses. My entire body was achy with unmet and never-existed-before needs.
I applied a light lipstick and hoped I at least looked decent.
Done. I checked my pocketbook, then my phone rang. I grabbed my keys and answered, though I read the caller ID. It was my sister Stephanie, in London, and we usually talked while I headed to work.
She didn’t say hello and instead said, “I almost thought you weren’t going to answer and intended to sleep in.”
Hmm. I checked the missed call log. She’d called five minutes ago. I opened the door but heard neighbors talking near their cars. I hoped no one paid me any attention.
I said to my sister, ignoring them, “I was in the shower, and I’m heading out.”
I locked up, and the hairs on my arms stood on end as I headed toward the parking lot as Stephanie said, “Didn’t know you had to head to work again. I thought it was summer now.”
I jumped into my car and locked the door, feeling better immediately. I tried to start it, and at first, the engine didn’t turn.
Oh no. My heart raced as I told my sister, “It is, but I might take a summer gig.”
She sounded so relaxed and happy. “I get it. You and I are the working stiffs of the Steel family.”
I tried again, and that time, my twenty-year-old car turned on. Yeah! I put Stephanie on speaker then clicked the phone into the holder. As I drove off, I asked, “How is London?”
“Now that my evil flatmate moved out… better.”
Good. Her ex-roommate had slept with her ex-fiancé. And as she lived in London, none of the other Steel sisters had been close enough to help much.
I swallowed and said, “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I have interviews for her replacement, so it will be fine.”
Moving forward with clarity was amazing. Stephanie always had a great sense of adventure and what she wanted in life, unlike me, who’d become a teacher to figure out what I wanted. I drove past the school and started heading toward the nicer homes.
“Good. How was the Jane Austen festival?”
On the main road, I spotted the coffee shop and thought of the job. He’d mentioned six figures. I tapped the wheel. I wasn’t completely poor yet, and that coffee always got me through long days at work. I headed to the drive-through as Stephanie said, “It was good, though I have a rip in the dress I wore to the costume ball. But what about you? Tell me about the summer gig, and why does it sound like you’re up to something?”
“So not true,” I said quickly, though she was my sister, and I could be honest with her. “One second. I’m ordering.”
I put her on mute and ordered two drinks, hoping he liked the same thing I liked, then grabbed Bradley a chocolate donut, which he’d always taken when I brought the class treats.
Done. I pressed the mute button again and said, “I’m back.”
“We’re sisters. I know you. So spill, or I’ll call one of the married sisters to weasel it out of you.”
“None of them live here anymore to bother me that much.”
Stephanie said, “Okay, just spill because we love each other.”
“True.” I was one car away from the window, but I took a breath and said, “I was put on the surplus list yesterday, so I’m joining the jobless.”
After quickly putting myself on mute again, I paid for my coffees.
“I didn’t know that happened to teachers.”
I pressed the button then said, “Nothing in life is secure.”
I took the drinks and the snack then headed out.
“Any chance the summer job might be something permanent?”
I drove down a side street where trees lined the road and gates surrounded the mansions. They were estates, and it was a fancy part of the city where, once upon a time, the Carnegies and oil barons had homes. I’d never known any of my students actually lived there. I’d assumed the residents all put their children in boarding school, but then I hadn’t even realized Bradley’s nanny wasn’t related to him.
I checked the address, and I saw the driveway in front of me as I answered Stephanie, “Yeah, but I’m not sure I want the job.”
“Why?” she asked.
My chest felt hollow as I drove onto the property, which had a guard. I handed over my ID. “Because…”
Stephanie said, “Whatever you’re about to say is juicy.”
I took my ID back and was waved through. “How do you know?”
Wow. This is seriously a mansion. I drove up, and my eyes widened at the old brick house, which looked more like a museum than a home.
“Because you hold back when it’s important. I’m all ears when you’re ready.”
I saw cars parked on the side with a sign that read Employees and pulled in there as I said, “Okay, so I’m outside his mansion now.”
“His?”
My face heated as I turned off the engine. It sounded like it had been stabbed when I took out the key. But I ignored the sound and said, “Yeah. Look, I had a boy in my class this year. Total sweetheart, though he tried to be the bad boy of the first grade.”
“And?”
I let out a sigh as I stepped out and smelled the flowers. The home had to cost way more than a doctor’s salary. My heart thumped as I said, “And his father is a doctor, and he’s…”
“Yes?”
The hairs on my arm stood on end, but I took her off speaker phone as I walked toward the front door on a path lined with trees. “The hottest guy I’ve ever met, and he kisses to the point that I forgot where I was or who I was. I couldn’t even breathe.”
“Oh fuck no.”
I covered my face and asked, “What?”
“I’m going to be the last Steel sister not married.”
She’d been engaged. I was the one who never met guys that interested me. I usually ended up on dates with someone who made my skin crawl, and all I wanted to do was run in the other direction. Except it wasn’t like that with Johnny.
I stood next to the front door, though I didn’t ring the bell. “Yeah, right. Look, I’m here. Talk to you later.”
“Have fun with your sexy doctor.”
I stepped back so that no one could hear me, and I let out a sigh and said, “More like the cocky doctor.”
I hung up and turned around to lips curved into a smile and bright-brown eyes. “Talking about me?”
Heat coursed through my face as I put my phone in my pocket. “You heard that?”
He nodded and pointed at the open door behind him. “I was waiting for you.”
He waved for me to come in, but seeing him in his white T-shirt, which clung to him, I paused. He was too handsome. My pulse zipped. Part of me wanted to race back to my car, but I ignored the impulse. When I neared him, my skin had goose bumps. “Wher
e is Bradley?”
Vaulted ceilings, a crystal chandelier, and blue Persian rugs made the foyer bright, and when I looked behind him, I saw crisp white couches with splashes of yellow to offset the blue carpets over mahogany floors.
Johnny didn’t notice my reaction at all, though he took the coffee and donuts to carry for me and said, “Still in the shower. I let him sleep in, as school is over, then he was mad at me, since he wanted to be here to greet you.”
Good. It was better if we were professional. More kisses might make me wish for more than I should. He waved for me to follow, and we headed into an open-floor-plan white-marble kitchen with pops of gray and blue tile. Cooking there would be amazing. “I’ll happily spend the day with him, but I’m glad we’re alone.”
He stopped, put the coffee and bag down on a counter, and came closer. My heart did a little pitter-patter as he asked, “You are?”
My lips went up like I wanted to beg for a kiss, but I played with my cross, which my father had given me for my first Communion and I often wore to remember family. “Yes. It’s hard to imagine you’re a responsible father.”
He traced my side, and my chest heaved as he asked, “What do I seem to you?”
The opposite of how I grew up. I didn’t blink as I said, “Naughty.”
He curled his arms around my waist. “It’s hard to imagine you as a stuffy teacher who spends all her days and nights in a classroom.”
Tingles rushed through me as I held on to his muscular waist and said, “I don’t sleep there. I like to roll in my soft bed.”
“Roll?” He lowered his head and whispered, “Then you, too, have a naughty side.”
Then his lips met mine, and the rest of the world fell away. My fantasies about Johnny roared, and my fingertips held him tighter.
Wow. As he let me go, I shut my eyes until my impulse to throw caution to the wind slowed. I wasn’t capable of speaking right then. I rocked on my feet and tried to think of why our being together was a bad idea, other than that he was my complete opposite, but I was losing that internal battle. “Johnny, I’m not sure about anything, but I’m here for now.”
His hand left a trail of goose bumps down my body as he reached for my hand, but he picked up the coffee and donuts. “Why? My son already loves you.”
Bradley was a great child, and maybe being a nanny would be fine if I lived with a couple and watched a few children. Johnny, though, made me forget myself.
And I wasn’t good at pretending. I knew Johnny wasn’t interested in me for more than a night or so. I wasn’t stupid, and I needed to focus on my own problems, like finding a career, but I said, “He’s a good kid.”
We left the kitchen and went to the dining room, where a buffet was set up.
I glanced at the offerings and the sparkling-clean room. Did he order in?
He handed me a plate and said, “You’re the first woman who’s ever thought that about him.”
I took some fruit and saw some silver carafes. When I read the labels, I realized he didn’t need my coffee, though he put it on the table.
“You’ve had horrible nannies.”
He grabbed a bagel and put one on my plate as he said, “I picked the same types my parents picked for me. Maybe it was a mistake for him, but I wasn’t sure how to raise a child.”
Carbs had never been my friends, but the bagel smelled fresh, so I grabbed some cream cheese and picked a seat. “What about your own parents?”
He pointed at one of the coffees I’d brought, and I nodded. He then took it and sat beside me. “They were always too busy for me, and they’re not interested in either Bradley or me as anything more than possessions.”
Wow. I patted his arm. As the baby in my family, I’d been coddled, but I also knew I’d been loved. I missed my parents, so I swallowed and said, “That’s hard.”
He sipped his coffee then set it down and pivoted toward me. “How do you know about picnics?”
“Know?” Despite myself, I leaned closer. “You haven’t been?” I wasn’t sure where the question had come from but smiled and said, “I like picnics.”
He took my hands, and a spark rushed through me. “Good, because I have a dilemma that you can help me with.”
“You want to have a picnic?”
Johnny’s lips curved up, and he worked some magnetic charm that kept me glued to his side. He patted the back of my hand. “Yes. You see, apparently one of the nurses thought you were my girlfriend, and now my boss has requested I bring you to the staff picnic.”
Adrenaline coursed through me. Damn, I caused that mistake for him. I held my necklace and asked, “They thought you and I…”
He shrugged, but his face was slightly red. “I thought I was careful when I pulled you into the closet to have my way with you, but maybe not.”
I pressed my eyes closed and wished I knew how to make it easier, but then I met his gaze and said, “I can’t lie. That part was nice, and it’s probably my fault. When the nurses came to help me with my clothes… I let them believe we were… something more.”
He cupped my knee and said, “So you are a bad girl.”
“No.” I shook my head, though it was true that I wasn’t myself near him.
He then pressed his head to mine, so we shared the same air as he said, “There is more, and I have some problems. My parents are determined to find me another wife, but this time, I want to make my own choice. You need a job. My son needs a mother. I need a wife. Personally, I think if we join forces, it’s a win-win all around.”
My eyes widened, and I sat back, giving us space. “Wait… what?”
He glanced around like he was checking for Bradley or someone else to catch us. Then he took my hands in his and lifted them up to his chest. “I want to fuck you. My son wants you as his mother. And my bosses want to meet you.”
His reasons weren’t completely bad. My body ached for his touch, like he could fill me in a way no one else ever had, and his son was a great kid.
But I shook my head and said, “We can’t.”
He scooted closer, so our bodies were touching everywhere, and said, “It gets you out of that apartment of yours. We get to have fun in the bedroom. And I can provide more than what you need.”
I’d always hoped for falling in love and getting married, but what we were doing was more like falling in lust. Marriage wasn’t just about mind-blowing sex. I turned away from him a little but said, “I’m tempted. I’m not going to lie, but people get married because they love each other.”
He still held my hand on the table. “Not in my world. My parents picked Ruby for me and absolutely intend to find me another wife unless I pick someone suitable soon. With you, I get what I want, and everyone’s pleased.”
His phone rang, and as he reached for it, I asked, “Everyone?”
He kissed my cheek, and my skin came alive. “I’ll make you happy.”
I shook my head and ignored the voice in my head that whispered Yes. “I can’t accept.”
The hospital number flashed on his screen, and he let me go as he said, “Fuck, I have to go to work. I’ll be back tonight, and we can talk.”
I stood, as I was used to getting up when others needed to, and said, “Okay.”
He quickly curled his hand around my head and kissed me. My foot went up behind me as I met his passion with my own.
The kiss ended as fast as it started.
“Thanks again for today, and tonight, we talk.” He turned to leave, and blood rushed in my veins.
However, as he took a few steps away, distance made it easier to breathe. Once he was out of sight, I glanced around the large room, which had been designed for times when homes were where business deals were made.
I ran after him and grabbed his wrist. “Wait.”
Johnny curled his arm around my waist and asked, “Miss me already?”
He kissed me. I didn’t stop him. Instead, I held him tight, and as the kiss ended, I ignored how my body was fully aware of him.
“Wow. Where is Bradley’s room?”
“Right there.” He pointed, and right then, my charge showed up. He nodded at his son and said, “Bradley, I have to go now. Can you show Olivia around so that she knows the house before you get her to do something fun? And the keys to the car are in front of the door to the garage.”
Bradley felt like the only constant I had at the moment. My voice cracked as I asked, “Car?”
Johnny kissed Bradley goodbye then waved from the front door as he said, “Whichever one you choose is fine, in case you two want to go out. Bye.”
Once the door closed, my mind started to work. Bradley headed to the dining room with me, and slowly, the morning replayed in my mind like it was someone else’s life. Doctors made good money, but the house and multiple cars were next level. Maybe Bradley could explain where all of the money came from. My sisters had married well above how we’d grown up, but that hadn’t been my plan. I wouldn’t be comfortable living there. Johnny and I were absolutely not meant to be.
In real life, teachers were not beauty queens that rich guys married, and while my sisters had married well, I wasn’t blessed like them.
Chapter Four
Johnny
When the patients were taken care of, I finally circled back to my office to start on paperwork.
I closed the door to be alone, but my gaze instantly went to the pieces of paper in my trash can that had Olivia Steel’s name on them. One had hearts. One was a rudimentary drawing of a family with Bradley, Olivia, and me.
The day before, I’d misjudged Bradley. It wasn’t just a crush on his teacher. He must have been seriously missing having a mom. No wonder I’d never had a bad parent–teacher conference since I’d put him in that school. He’d attached himself to her more strongly than I’d thought at first glance, and I’d offered hope that he would get the family he wanted.
I put the picture into my pocket as my phone rang. I glanced at the number. My parents must have just finished their breakfasts in Southern California, as it was only nine where they were. I answered and said, “Mom. Dad. How are you?”
Cocky M.D.: Single Dad Fake Fiancee Romance (Steel Series Book 5) Page 3