Page 63 of Nanny for the Bodyguard

I do my best to struggle forward, but before I know it, the book hits me in the face.

Jade doesn't notice at all. She's already comfortable, the sound of her heavy breathing filling the space where my reading was before.

As I set the book down, Jade snuggles deeper, grabbing one of her favorite stuffed animals, a little cat with gray stripes, and eventually, she is completely asleep.

I’m eased, too, by the feeling of her breathing, her chest going up and down, and before I know it, I fall asleep right next to her.

I wake up sometime later, I'm not sure how long, to the feeling of the bed moving. I crack open an eyelid and see that it's Easton getting into Jade's little full-size bed on her other side.

She's sandwiched between us now, and I cock my head as he settles in.

“Just trying to keep her calm,” he whispers. “I could hear her making noises. Go back to sleep.”

Easton offers me a smile, closing his eyes as he lays his head down next to Jade’s. His cheek comfortably rests on the top of her head.

I smile in the darkness, allowing the tiredness to claim me again.

But it still surprises me that he's in here alongside her. I know that he's just looking to comfort her. And again, I'm impressed by how much he really does care for her.

He may not have been in Jade's life for long, but Easton is making up for lost time by being the best damn uncle he can be.

The sight of him lying next to her, me here on her other side, tugs at my heartstrings.

It really is like we are a little family.

As we lay there, I don't know what to do with the conflicting emotions that swirl through me, except to ignore them for now.

It's late; it's still raining, and it's dark inside Jade's room, so the best thing to do right now is to let Jade and Easton keep sleeping.

I know that our worries will be there for us in the morning, and maybe more, but for right now, I can lay comfortably in this tiny little bed with the two people I care for so much.

In fact, I'm beginning to fall in love with them both in unique ways, so I’ll pretend like we truly are a happy little family.

Still, I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to be able to put on this facade.

When morning does come, and Easton and I finally find the chance to talk to each other about what happened the other day, I don't know how it will go.

How much longer can we continue to convince everyone that we're dating and claim it's fake? When, with each passing moment, it feels more and more real.

I'm terrified of what this could mean, because he's left me once before. And I know that if he said he would stay with methis time, if he promised to be mine and make it official, I'd be happier than I care to admit.

NINETEEN

Easton

I wake up with a terrible pain in my back and then remember I fell asleep next to Jade when I heard her having a bad dream.

This was a terrible spot to make camp for the night, and I don't think it's been very long, maybe just a few hours.

When I adjust and try to get more comfortable, I notice that Hazel is stirring, too. She looks over at me, a sleepy smile on her face, before she winces and grips her own back.

I look down at Jade, who is still completely asleep, and whisper, “Should we move things? I don't think I can lay here anymore.”

Hazel fights back a laugh and nods.

It takes some doing, like a game of Twister being played on this little bed alongside my niece, but we're able to extract ourselves from her bed and then make our way out of her bedroom before she wakes up.

When I look back at her as I'm closing the door, Jade just rolls over with her stuffed cat and gets more comfortable.