Chapter 8 Amber
AMBER
Ever since Roman ushered me and the twins out of his office at that hotel, he seemed different. Not cold, but more serious. Not tense, but lacking that more easygoing, relaxed state that he’d shown me at home.
As the days passed and we took care of the twins, he began to spend more time setting up his home office and then taking calls there.
It seemed like his sabbatical of being only at home to adjust to having the twins was coming to an end.
I was disappointed because spending time with him had been the highlight of my life.
Yet, it was inevitable. I knew I had been hired to handle the twins while he was busy. And being busy with a job was a given.
With him pulling back, though, I felt more invested.
Drawn deeper into his household, I was the one in charge.
Not like I was a nanny, but like this was my home and the twins were mine.
It wasn’t just in his penthouse, either.
Since we celebrated Sofia’s birthday at that brunch, the others asked me to bring the twins over.
Claire, Natalie, and Sofia all included me more, and it was sweet to see Emily and Henry get used to their relatives.
Owen, so far, did not seem impressed with more babies around.
But Maisie was adorable, acting like a mini mommy, Anya often babysitting her.
Still, despite the joys of being included, I knew it wasn’t real. It couldn’t last. And I wasn’t one of them. The wariness that ate away at me about leaving the safety of this building hadn’t stopped.
Roman had called me out on it, picking up that I was afraid to go out.
I had been. I was petrified that William or someone who knew him would spot me.
“How are they doing?”
I glanced up from wiping a rag over the kitchen counter. Roman came in, sweaty and tempting from another workout.
“Still napping,” I told him as I glanced at the clock. “They’ll probably get up soon, though.”
He nodded, striding through the rooms. “I’m going to shower, but I need to take a quick call afterward.”
“Okay.” I ceased blushing at the mere mention of him showering.
That didn’t mean I ceased thinking about him wet and naked.
Not at all. That was my naughty secret to keep to myself.
I realized that he was only being considerate, giving me a warning that I’d need to be in charge of Emily and Henry until he could join us.
“A quick call for what, though?” I wondered aloud as I went to check on the babies. Henry was already waking up, and the big smile he gave me melted my heart. “Huh? What does your daddy do, sweetheart?”
I picked him up and cuddled him, inhaling a deep breath of his smell. Clean baby. If they could bottle that up, it’d sell millions.
Because I wasn’t finished tidying up yet from the lunch that Anya and I had earlier, I put Henry in the baby carrier and resumed. He loved being carried, and both twins enjoyed the carriers.
“What do you think your daddy does?” I murmured to the baby boy.
He flung his legs out a little as I cleaned up.
The office was at a hotel, but he’d explained that he only owned it. Only owned it, like that was some small thing.
Furrowing my brow as I thought back to that one time I was there, I tried to pick at my memories and really focus.
I hadn’t heard one of them. I couldn’t have. But when Dino and a security guard helped me hurry Emily and Henry out of Roman’s office, I assumed it was because he was expecting an important meeting. Which made perfect sense. We would’ve been a distraction.
With how quickly we’d been moved to another room, it was impossible not to think we were being hidden. Stashed out of sight. And that nagged me because for a blip of a moment, I could’ve sworn I recognized the voice of one of the men coming down the hall.
That it was the sound of one of them.
The associates William knew.
Because it all happened in a blur, I’d dismissed it. I shoved the thought out of my mind, telling myself that it was paranoia talking, nothing more.
“I’m safe here,” I told Henry in a quiet voice as I folded some kitchen towels.
There was no denying that layers of security were in place here for Roman and his wealthy family. But inside this safe haven, so many secrets remained.
Like what he did for work to warrant bodyguards.
Like if he could ever be in the same circles as William.
I frowned, not so na?ve to dismiss that. William was a banker. I knew that much. And I unfortunately had witnessed what his wealth and power had led him to do. How comfortable he felt being corrupt and evil.
What if these Orlovs are capable of the same?
What if Roman does deal with some of the associates and friends William knows?
I winced, hating that his world was full of shadows. But I hated even more how I wasn’t any better.
“My secrets can’t hurt him, though,” I told the baby.
“And they’ll never hurt you,” I reassured him, just talking for the sake of having quiet noise as I folded the towels.
I dodged all his questions about my life, but that was for his own good.
What he didn’t know couldn’t hurt him. And that was a valid worry.
By escaping William and hiding here with Roman and his family, I could be exposing them to the threat that Willaim could get me here.
That he’d punish Roman for keeping me guarded here.
No. That’s not going to happen.
Almost two full months had passed now, and not a single sign of William had popped up.
“He can’t find me,” I whispered.
William wouldn’t be able to get to me after I bought that fake ID, got a burner phone, cut my hair to half its length, and got hand-me-downs from a thrift store. I was a new woman, not his victim or asset.
So long as I stayed here and let Roman need my help, I would be safe.
Just in case, though, I intended to stay vigilant and keep my eyes open.
Secrets were always an obstacle in starting any relationship. Lies were even worse. But that wasn’t in the cards.
Roman and I were friends. Almost like partners for the sake of the twins. No matter how many heated looks I thought I saw from him and all the times I was drawn to his warmth as we lived together, I wouldn’t fall for him.
I couldn’t.
He was my boss, my savior for giving me this job and letting me have a chance to love his children.
But that was it.
It had to be with the past I was burying under the surface.