Page 5

Lux

A ny minute. She’ll be here any minute now, and then I can finally have a bit of my peace back.

I looked at the hands on my watch as it counted down the seconds. Bella was in the backyard again, this time thoroughly ignoring me. It was better this way.

Today was the day that I finally got a new nanny.

I had decided not to sue the nanny company because they assured me this was the right one.

And it wasn’t like the other nannies were horrible—I mean, if I was being painfully honest, they weren't that great—but Bella wasn't the easiest to deal with.

She didn't want any of them. Hell, sometimes it felt like she barely even wanted me. She would try everything in her power to get them to quit.

But we couldn't do that anymore.

I didn’t like the rift between us, but I needed my time. I had a company and businesses to run. I needed to make money. For both of us. And I couldn’t do that if I was forced to be around her twenty-four seven.

Nor did I think she liked it very much. Me . Didn’t like me very much.

I tried to tell myself that it wasn't dislike. That maybe she was just placed in a situation that she didn't know how to handle, and this was her way of expressing her feelings. But I needed someone who could be here to help her through that.

To help us through that.

At this point, I needed someone who was more than just a babysitter, and I hoped that whatever person they were sending me would be the answer.

My phone was already blowing up. More messages about when I was coming in and if I could attend in-person meetings and events. It wasn’t just Dominic, but every other person who had heard the rumor that I was coming in today.

Though Dominic specifically had been bugging me for the exact time when I’d be in the office. I had about 10 messages from him alone.

He acted like he cared about me and Bella and pushed me to stay home, but I knew he was struggling inside. He was a good man. He tried to shield me from most of what he was dealing with over there, but it still got to me.

The employees were asking. So were the contractors, the board members, everyone. Each day that I was gone, the rumors got worse and worse, and their confidence in me lowered by the minute.

It wasn’t just because I was usually the person who was in the office every single day. They had heard about the accident, and to them, that made me a very unstable CEO.

I didn't want them to think that I was some struggling, grieving woman. It had already been hard enough to maintain my position. I needed to prove that I was still capable.

I had more than enough shares if the board decided they wanted to do some funny shit, but in order to protect my position, I needed to fucking be there. There were just too many things that could slip by right under my nose.

If this nanny doesn’t work…

I didn’t even want to go there. I was out of options.

When I heard the car driving over the gravel out front, I was up and marching to the door.

My hand was around the knob, opening it before she’d even gotten out of the vehicle. She was sitting in a beat-up, old car, grabbing her things from the passenger seat, and I watched as she turned to the rearview mirror to quickly fix her hair and check her makeup.

I was still watching as she got out of the car, her face hidden by the curtain of shiny blonde hair.

She was wearing a light pink sundress with one of those soft fabric tops that hugged her breasts.

The rest of it had a small pattern that I couldn't make out from where I was standing.

The dress was long enough to cover most of her legs, except for a small portion at the end.

It was enough to call my attention there and to her white tennis shoes.

I was sure it was meant to be cute, girly… But my mind immediately went to the gutter. Specifically to my night with my own blonde beauty. To her legs that looked so similar to these wrapped around my shoulders. I remember trailing kisses from her hip to her knee and down to her ankle.

She rounded the car, her head down as she looked in her large tote bag, not looking up until she got to the steps.

Alarm bells started ringing in the back of my head. Suddenly, the girl in front of me morphed into the girl I had spent the night with. My angel. The same lithe fingers. That same slender neck. Those beautiful blonde locks.

Actually, she really does look like ? —

My breath caught in my throat and my grip tightened on the door, my fingers aching as I applied a bit too much pressure.

The world turned on its side and slowed down to the millisecond. All the noise from the background lowered until it was nothing but a hum. She turned to look at me, and I immediately knew she was the angel I met at the club.

The mask had obscured a little bit of her face, but not enough for me not to know who she was right away. Those large blue eyes that were once pleading for me to put her out of her misery were now looking straight at me. Wide-eyed and just as shocked as I was.

The same ones that had looked at me with a devotion I’d never seen before. Like she trusted me more than I’d ever even trusted myself.

I watched as her large smile quickly dropped when she realized who I was too. The realization was daunting for both of us, and suddenly my mind was working a million miles an hour.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Not good.

Without warning, I slammed the door shut before she even got up the stairs.

I wanted to meet her again. That was all I'd been thinking about. I had to, somehow.

But if I’d known that all those thoughts would manifest into this very awkward moment, I would take it all back.

Meeting at a coffee shop was one thing. Her, the girl I fucked at a queer BDSM club, being my new nanny? No fucking way.

“What did I just do?” I said with a light groan and leaned my head against the cool wood of the door. I focused on my breathing because at that moment it was the only thing that I could do.

Please. Please tell me this is a bad dream.

But I knew it wasn’t, because I could still hear her outside, climbing the steps with a slight bit of hesitancy.

Maybe if I don’t answer I can pretend she’s not here?

Just then my phone gave a few quick buzzes, letting me know that I actually did need to get her inside because she was undoubtedly Bella’s new nanny.

Maybe she’s just here because she’s stalking you.

I scoffed at the unlikeliness of it. No, this had to be the universe fucking with me. There was no possible way. Especially when I had just hired a fucking information broker to find her.

The doorbell rang throughout the foyer. Fuck.

I wondered how long I could keep her out there before she walked away. She would probably stand out there for a few moments before calling her boss, who would then call me. I wasn't sure that she would leave, though. She didn't seem like the quitting type.

Two more vibrations.

“Fuck it.”

I opened the door and gazed at the woman who threatened to turn my life upside down right in the eyes.

She was even more breathtaking in the daylight.

Her hair had that sun-kissed golden sheen to it.

Her makeup was light but complemented her large eyes and button nose.

I saw the few freckles on her face, which were barely noticeable.

One right under her left eye, one by her nose, and another by her lips.

And the dress. I forced my eyes to stay on hers instead of roaming her body the way I wanted.

There was no denying that she knew who I was too, especially since I had been stupid enough to take off my mask. Now I wish that I'd actually abided by the club rules. I never thought something as simple as showing my face would fuck me over so badly.

Because I thought I’d never fucking see her again.

But I could play it off like I had no clue who she was. The power was in her hands because, at the end of the day, she was the one who could decide whether to accept the little game I was going to play or call me out right away—and probably leave then.

But the sad truth was that I needed her.

At least for the day.

Tomorrow, I could figure out what I wanted to do about my one-night stand and million-dollar purchase invading my life.

“Hi, I’m Juliette Hayes, Bella’s new nanny.”

And there goes the last bit of hope that I had that she was some type of stalker.

I opened the door and motioned for her to come in.

“I’m Lux. Nice to meet you, but come on in. I have places to be.”