Chapter 14 What The Hell Is This Woman Doing To Me
I knew about the photos before Amelia did.
That was the problem with being me.
News reached me first.
Always.
My phone started buzzing at 6:12 in the morning.
Not messages.
News alerts.
Which usually meant one of two things.
My company.
Or my personal life.
Considering I did not have a personal life, that narrowed it down.
I picked up the phone.
First headline.
Blackwood Heir Seen Laughing In Public With Mystery Woman
I frowned.
Second headline.
Who Is The Woman With Dominic Blackwood's Son?
My frown deepened.
Third headline.
Photos Of Blackwood's Child Smiling Circulate Online
I sat up in bed.
That one caught my attention.
Smiling.
I opened the article.
And there it was.
A photo of Noah on a swing.
Laughing.
Actually laughing.
I stared at the screen for a long moment.
Then I noticed the woman behind him.
Amelia.
Of course it was Amelia.
Pushing the swing.
Looking like she had just said something ridiculous because Noah was laughing like it was the funniest thing he had ever heard.
I scrolled.
Another photo.
Noah holding her hand.
Another one.
Her sitting on the swing next to him.
Smiling.
Bright.
Carefree.
Completely unaware that someone was photographing them.
I leaned back in the chair slowly.
Mystery woman.
Apparently that was what the internet had decided to call her.
I opened the comments.
That was a mistake.
Thousands of them.
"Who is she?"
"Is that his girlfriend?"
"Blackwood never appears with women."
"The kid actually looks happy."
I stopped reading.
Girlfriend.
Ridiculous.
I did not date.
I did not have relationships.
And yet the internet had apparently already decided that the bright, slightly chaotic nanny living in my house was secretly involved with me.
My phone buzzed again.
Ryan.
Of course.
I answered.
"What."
Ryan's voice was already laughing.
"Oh this is fantastic."
I pinched the bridge of my nose.
"What are you talking about."
"Oh come on Dominic. The whole internet thinks you have a girlfriend."
"I do not."
Ryan ignored that.
"I like her already."
"You have met her."
"Yes but now she is famous."
I stood and walked toward the window.
Outside the city was already moving.
London never really slept.
"She is Noah's nanny," I said.
Ryan laughed again.
"Sure she is."
"I hired her."
"Yes but now she is your mysterious park girlfriend."
I hung up.
I had no patience for this.
Unfortunately that did not stop the teasing.
Because ten minutes later Sebastian called.
Unlike Ryan, Sebastian did not laugh immediately.
Which meant the teasing would be quieter.
But worse.
"You saw the articles."
"Yes."
A pause.
Then he said calmly,
"The kid is laughing."
I looked at the photo again.
Noah was throwing his head back in the picture.
Pure laughter.
"Yes."
Sebastian spoke again.
"He never laughed like that before."
I knew.
That was the part I could not stop staring at.
Amelia was behind him in the photo.
One hand on the swing rope.
Smiling like she had just accomplished something important.
Which apparently she had.
Sebastian sighed softly.
"I told you hiring her was a good idea."
I ended the call before he could say anything else.
The house was quiet when I went downstairs.
Mrs Miller was already in the kitchen.
She glanced at me knowingly.
"You have seen the news."
"Yes."
Her lips twitched.
"I think it is wonderful."
"I do not."
"You should."
I did not respond.
Because the truth was I was not thinking about the headlines.
Or the journalists.
Or the speculation.
I was thinking about Amelia.
Which was becoming... a problem.
She was different.
Very different.
Too loud.
Too cheerful.
Too energetic.
Too unpredictable.
And yet Noah followed her around like she was the center of his universe.
I had seen it happen slowly.
First the short answers.
Then the small conversations.
Now full sentences.
And laughter.
Actual laughter.
Which meant one thing.
She was good for him.
Very good for him.
That should have been the only thing I cared about.
Except there was another problem.
Amelia Carter was beautiful.
Not in the obvious way women usually tried to be around me.
She did not try at all.
She tripped over things.
She talked too much.
She argued with me.
She looked at me like I was just a person instead of the man whose name ran half the business world.
And somehow that made her more noticeable.
More distracting.
Which was incredibly inconvenient.
Because I had never been distracted by anyone before.
Not once.
Ryan liked to say I was emotionally unavailable.
Sebastian said I simply did not care.
Both were correct.
Until Amelia Carter walked into my house.
My phone buzzed again.
Ryan.
Again.
I answered with a sigh.
"What."
"I forgot to mention something."
"What."
Ryan's voice was full of amusement.
"The internet also thinks she is out of your league."
I closed my eyes slowly.
"Ryan."
"Yes?"
"Stop talking."
He laughed.
"You like her."
"I do not."
"You absolutely do."
"I hired her for Noah."
"Sure."
I hung up again.
Then I opened the article one more time.
The picture filled the screen.
Amelia was laughing.
Noah was laughing.
And for some reason I could not explain...
Seeing them like that made something in my chest feel strangely warm.
Which was new.
Very new.
And slightly concerning.