5. Maddie
CHAPTER 5
MADDIE
M addie checked the address that Eli had texted to her and then looked back up at the house in front of her. “No way,” she murmured.
She had known the Sinclairs were probably well off, of course. Nobody had a live-in nanny who didn’t also have a pretty hefty disposable income. And when she had turned into this neighborhood, her suspicions had been confirmed. She had been embarrassed to drive her beater car through the streets of a ritzy place like this, afraid that the residents were peering out at her through their bespoke curtains and clutching their expensive phones in case they decided she looked like she was coming to rob one of these houses and they needed to call the police on her.
She was grateful not to have been stopped yet. It felt like a small miracle.
But now she was standing on the driveway, looking up at the house that matched the address Eli had given her, and she couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing.
Even calling this a driveway seemed a bit ridiculous. It was the size of a small parking lot, but it was much too glamorous to be called that either. It ran in a wide horseshoe shape from the street up to the double front doors, with immaculate shrubbery and flowers on either side. Obviously Eli wasn’t handling the groundskeeping himself if he couldn’t even find time to relax over ice cream with his son. He must have someone on staff to do that too.
How many people work here?
Who is this guy?
She was beginning to wish that she had insisted on having the job interview at his house instead of a coffee shop. It wouldn’t have changed anything for her — she was already feeling a stir of anticipation at the thought that she was actually going to be living in this insane house — but it would have helped to be a little more prepared for what she was walking into. Had Eli thought about that? Had he kept this a secret from her on purpose for some reason? Or was he just so used to this kind of luxury that hadn’t occurred to him that she might need to be warned?
It was the biggest house on the block. It was the biggest house in the whole neighborhood. Maddie glanced back at her car and felt even more embarrassed at having needed to drive that thing, packed full of all her stuff, to get here. This was not a place she was ever going to fit in, and she knew it.
Even so, she’d made a commitment, and besides, she had already moved out of Tess’s house. It was time to see this through.
She walked up the wide, shallow steps that led to the front door.
Eli had the door open before she got there. “I see you found the place.”
“I could probably have found this place from orbit,” Maddie blurted. Then she felt her cheeks go hot. “Oh my God. I can’t believe I said that. Inside thought, Maddie.”
But Eli was laughing. “It’s all right,” he said. “You’re right. It’s a big house. Too big for the two of us, really, but I like to take care of my staff too. You’ll have your own suite, so there will be plenty of privacy.”
“My own suite?” Maddie hadn’t expected that. When she had told Tess she was taking a job as a live-in nanny, the two of them had joked about how she would probably be sleeping on a twin-size bed in a small room and sharing a bathroom with Charlie. It was what Maddie had expected with a job like this one, and she hadn’t even minded. It had seemed like an adventure.
But her own suite ?
“Would you like to see it?” Eli asked. “Maybe get settled in a bit?”
“I’d love to,” Maddie said. “Let me grab my duffel, and I’ll come back for the rest of my things.”
“No, there’s no need,” Eli said.
“Oh, God, don’t tell me — you’ve got a butler or something who’s going to bring my stuff in?”
Eli burst out laughing. “No, I don’t have a butler,” he said. “But I do like to be courteous. I’ll bring your things up for you.”
“I can’t let you do that.”
“Yes you can. Let me take you up and you can start to get settled, and I’ll start bringing things up and putting them in the hall so I won’t disturb you while you’re getting the lay of the land.”
“All right,” Maddie said. That did sound pretty good. “But I will bring my duffel with me.”
It had been in the passenger seat of the car, and she pulled it out and slung the strap over her shoulder. The bag had all the most important things she owned, the things that would make her new room — no, her new suite — feel like her own once they were arranged within it.
It was quiet inside the house. They walked into what felt to Maddie like a massive foyer — the ceiling must have been three stories up. She looked around. “Is Charlie here?”
“He’s having a playdate with a friend of his,” Eli said. “I thought it would be better if he was out when you arrived, so he wouldn’t be all over you.”
Maddie nodded. That had been thoughtful, but actually, she thought she would have preferred it if Charlie had been here. A child’s presence would have made all of this feel a little more relaxed.
But maybe Eli had a point. It would be nice to unpack her things and settle in without feeling like she was on the job, and she couldn’t deny that Charlie’s presence would have made her feel like she needed to engage with him and entertain him. This way, she could have a few hours that were just about her and her new life.
He led her up the stairs to the second floor and down the hall. “Your room is in the same part of the house as Charlie’s, but not too close,” Eli said. “I want you to be able to get to him easily in the night if he needs you, but I don’t want him bothering you at all hours. My intention is that your rooms should be a place for you to go when you want to be alone — when you’re off duty — and Charlie won’t be allowed to bother you here unless it’s an emergency. I know living in can be hard, and I do want you to feel as if you have your own private space while you’re here.”
“I appreciate that,” Maddie said honestly. She had wondered what to expect in that regard, whether she would be expected to always be on call and to tend to Charlie’s needs day and night. Tess had been shocked to learn that she hadn’t cleared that up in the interview and had warned Maddie that she was going to be taken advantage of by her new employer, and Maddie had been at a bit of a loss to explain why that was a risk she was willing to take. The truth was that there was something so exciting about this new opportunity — and about Eli, who she couldn’t seem to take her eyes off of — that she would have accepted almost any working conditions in the short term. At least it meant that her life was moving forward.
Eli stopped outside a large wooden door. “All right,” he said. “This is yours.”
“Should I…?”
“Yeah, go on in.”
Maddie opened the door and stepped inside. She was immediately stunned by what she saw.
The room she’d walked into wasn’t a bedroom. It was more like a living room or a sitting room — a tan couch, deep and soft-looking, positioned in front of a wide-screen TV. There was a little mini-refrigerator in the corner of the room. She went over and opened it and saw that it was stocked with a variety of drinks.
“Those are still the drinks my last nanny ordered,” Eli explained. “But give me a list of what you like and we’ll have it ordered for you. A few small snacks can go in there too — and non-refrigerated snacks can be kept in that cupboard. You’re always welcome to anything in the kitchen, but if you want to have access to something in the middle of the night, it’s easier to have it here. All I ask is that you don’t drink alcohol when you’re going to have Charlie.”
“Oh, God, of course not.” Maddie wouldn’t have even thought of doing that.
Eli nodded. “If you need help figuring out the TV, let me know, but I think it’s pretty standard.”
“I should be able to handle it.” It was the same brand that Tess had owned, though a nicer model.
“The bedroom is through there, and the bathroom opens off of it,” Eli said. “I’ll let you start settling in and go bring up the rest of your things.”
“Thank you,” Maddie said. “This is amazing. I really appreciate all of it.”
“No, you’re the one who is doing me a huge favor here,” Eli said. “You have no idea how good it is to have this nanny problem solved — and to know that it’s going to be someone my son actually likes. He’s really excited about this.”
“So am I,” Maddie assured Eli.
Eli grinned at her.
Maddie caught her breath. That expression on his face was enough to make her feel weak in the knees. It was an entirely different experience from noticing how handsome he was, because it felt as though he was trying to charm her. As if he wanted her to notice him.
But that couldn’t be true, of course. She was reading into things, seeing what she wanted to see. She was indulging her own fantasies. He was smiling at her because that was a polite way to act toward a person — that was as far as it went.
He turned and left the room. Maddie was glad — and she was also glad that he had promised to put her things out in the hall instead of bringing them in. She closed the door behind him and, after a moment to ponder whether what she was doing was allowed, decided it was okay to lock it. She didn’t have childcare responsibilities right now, after all. It was okay to be on her own.
She took her laptop out of her duffel bag, plugged it in, and checked the charge on her phone. There was enough, so she placed a video call to Tess.
Tess answered in one ring. “You all moved in?”
“Tess, you wouldn’t believe this place. It’s insane.”
“Show me,” Tess urged.
Maddie flipped the camera on her phone and began to walk around the room. “I haven’t even seen the bedroom yet,” she said. “This is just the… I don’t know what to call this. The living room, I guess.”
Tess let out a low whistle. “That’s this guy’s living room?”
“No, this is my living room. Part of my private suite.” She walked down the hall toward the bedroom. “This whole space is mine.”
“Oh, you’re kidding,” Tess said enviously. “Maybe we should swap places. You come back here and live with Damian, and I’ll live in the rich guy’s house.”
Maddie laughed. “You’d have to be a nanny,” she reminded her friend. “I don’t think you’d like that part very much.”
“No, you’re right, I wouldn’t, but… wow. Is there a bathroom?”
“I haven’t looked at it yet. I bet this is it.” Maddie opened a door off of her bedroom. “Oh — no, this is a walk-in closet.”
“A walk-in ? What else do you have, a butler?”
“No butler. I already asked about that, actually. But he is downstairs bringing my boxes up for me.”
“He — you mean the guy you’re working for? He’s bringing up your stuff for you?”
“Yeah.”
“Sounds like he’s the one working for you.”
“He’s just being nice.” Maddie sat down on the bed and immediately felt herself sink into the mattress. This was going to be so comfortable to sleep on. “He’s a really nice guy.”
“Yeah, seems like it,” Tess said dubiously.
“What’s that all about?”
“You said he was cute.”
“He is cute. I’ll take a picture for you.”
“You’re going to send me a picture of your cute boss?”
“When I do, you’ll have to agree that he’s the cutest guy ever. Only don’t let Damian see it,” Maddie warned. “He’ll probably be jealous.”
“He’s not going to be jealous because I looked at a picture of your boss. How cute can this guy possibly be?”
“Heart-stoppingly.”
Tess grew serious. “You need to be careful, Maddie,” she said. “You know that, don’t you? I mean, you know you can’t get involved with your boss.”
“Of course I do,” Maddie said quickly. “Do you really think I would do something like that?”
“Generally, no, but I also didn’t think you’d quit your job lifeguarding and become a live-in nanny for a guy you just met. You’re surprising me quite a lot lately, and I just want you to be careful. You cannot get involved with this man, no matter how cute he is. There’s no way that would end well.”
“I know,” Maddie agreed, half grateful for her friend’s advice and half annoyed that Tess felt the need to give it. “Nothing is going to happen.”
But as they ended their call, Maddie had to admit that she wasn’t completely confident in her ability to stay away from Eli Sinclair.
I can do it, she told herself firmly. It’s just a crush, and this is just a job. I can look, but I won’t touch. It’s as simple as that.