Chapter 20
TWENTY
WILLA
It was so sweet, how upset Shane seemed to be about the meaning of my heart necklace.
He told me that next month, Margo would be in town for five days during spring break, so she’ll have the kids at her house.
He told me that he wants me to stay with him for those five days, even when the kids aren’t around.
He told me that he wants to take me out for a real grown-up date and do all the things that twentysomething Angelenos do, all night long.
I said sure, as long as “all night long” means until ten p.m. After showering together again, we went to pick up the kids from school—together—for the first time since my first day on the job.
We got frozen yogurt on the way home. I had the kids help me cut blooms from the front yard, and we made bouquets for them to give to Mrs. Babcock for her birthday.
I took a bunch of pictures of them with the flowers and posted my favorite one of them—where you can only see them from the back—on my Instagram.
Shane and I both gave them a bath together, and then once the twins were asleep, we made out in the laundry room downstairs for fifteen minutes and then he went off to read while I worked on the fragrance for Margo. It was perfect.
This morning, after one of the greatest Mondays ever, I woke up to an e-mail from Margo Quincey, informing me that by posting an image of her children on Shane’s property on Instagram, I have violated one of the terms of the nondisclosure agreement.
She told me that she would let it slide since I didn’t name them, as long as I take down the post immediately.
Then she asked me how her fragrance is coming along. My fragrance, she called it.
I deleted the post and wrote her back, apologizing once and telling her that I think she’ll be pleased with my design when she samples it next month.
I didn’t hear back from her.
And I’ve been annoyed about it ever since.
I was annoyed about it while I fed the kids breakfast and while I took them to school.
I was annoyed about it while I bought groceries with the credit card that Shane gave me for buying things for the kids.
I was annoyed while I went to the stationary store and the toy store to get gifts for the birthday party the twins are going to next weekend.
I’m annoyed now that I’m putting away the groceries that I bought for us and getting out the things I’ll need to bake cookies for the kids to snack on after their karate class.
I get that she’s the mother and I’m just the nanny.
I get that she’s the ex-wife and I’m just the girl who had a massive crush on her ex-husband many years ago and is currently having awesome sex with him for who knows how long.
I get that I did not pay close enough attention to the NDA when I started working here because I was so overwhelmed by Shane’s pheromones.
But fuck.
This feels like my family.
This feels like my home.
It feels like Grammie was right about me—I’m still prone to flights of fancy when it comes to Shane Miller.
No matter how I’ve grown. No matter how confident I may be. No matter how direct I can be with him. I can’t stop feeling like he’s mine. That I belong with him. And his kids.
Oh my God, am I like the psycho nanny from that movie?
Have I imagined everything?
I haven’t seen Shane yet this morning because he had a breakfast meeting with a producer and then he had his personal training session at the gym afterwards.
I don’t want to feel like this when he comes home. I need to get these feelings out of my body. So, I go to an open space in the kitchen, take a deep breath, and jump around, punching and kicking the air. I huff and puff like a furious maniac. It feels good.
Until I hear someone quietly laughing behind me.
I freeze and cover my face.
“No, please, don’t stop.”
“Oh God. You’re never going to want to put your pretty penis in me again, are you?”
“On the contrary.” I feel his warm hands on my shoulders. “I’m actually hoping you still have a little of that angry energy left for when my penis is inside you.”
My own hands drop from my face so I can inhale the air around him.
Without seeing him, I can tell that he is still glistening with sweat from his workout, and oh God the pheromones.
I spin around to face him. His skin is flushed, and his fitted sleeveless Nike shirt is damp, his muscles are taut, and I want to lick every single inch of him.
“I have all kinds of energy left for when your penis is inside me.” I kiss him on the mouth, but he pulls back, letting his hands slide to my waist.
“There are a few things we need to discuss first, but I’d be happy to undress you while we talk.”
“Proceed.” I stand straight so he can remove my clothes.
He starts to unbutton my blouse. “First of all, I got an e-mail from Margo this morning. She told me she asked you to take down a picture from Instagram. I’m sorry about that.
” I start to apologize, but he continues.
“I Skyped her and told her not to communicate with you directly regarding nanny issues, since I’m the one who hired you.
She can run things through me, and I’ll decide if it’s something I need to bring up with you or not. ”
“Really?”
“With everything you do for me and the kids, it just pissed me off that she reprimanded you like that for something so insignificant.” He pulls my shirt off and lets it fall to the floor.
“Thank you,” I say as he stares at my bra. “You’re such a thoughtful boss.”
He shakes his head, grinning. “Don’t even joke about that.
” He unbuttons and unzips my pants. “Second item of business…” He pulls his phone out from the pocket of his workout shorts and taps on his e-mail app.
“My publicist forwarded something to me. Apparently someone got a few shots of us picking up the kids at school yesterday and getting Froyo after. Must have been a slow celebrity news day.”
He shows me the online images on his phone.
There’s a shot of us walking toward the school from his car with his hand barely touching the small of my back.
Just thinking about the way it had felt to have his hand on the small of my back in public makes me swoon.
The shots of us through the window of the frozen yogurt place make the tip of my nose tingle.
We look like such a fun, happy little family.
“Does that bother you? That these pictures are out there?”
“I mean, I’m not crazy about the expression on my face in this one, but…of course it doesn’t bother me. I’m a little surprised someone bothered to follow us all the way to the Palisades from the school, but… Does it bother you?”
I shake my head. He pushes my pants down past my hips, and I step out of them.
“Good.” He reaches into another pocket and pulls out a small box. “Final item of business.” He looks down at my lacey bra and panties, clearing his throat. “You are so fucking hot.” His fingertip traces the edges of my bra. He squeezes one breast and grunts.
“Final item of business?”
“Right.” He pulls his hand away from my boob and uses it to open the box, holding it up for me to see.
There is a gold heart necklace inside. He removes the necklace, drops the box to the floor.
The chain is slightly longer than the one I’m wearing now, and the heart is a little bit bigger.
He unhooks the clasp. “Turn around. Hold your hair up.”
I do as he says.
“This is my heart,” he whispers into my ear as he places the necklace around my neck. “I want you to wear it to remind yourself that it belongs to you now.”
The new heart pendant hangs just below the old one.
“Shane. I love it.” I have to bite my lower lip to keep from saying “I love you.” I let my hair down and turn to face him again. “That is so sweet.”
“I know. I’m going to do filthy things to you right here on the counter now so we can both forget how fucking adorable I am.
” He picks me up and places me down on the center island.
The smooth cement is cool on my skin, but his hot breath over my panties warms me up immediately.
“I’ve been thinking about you all morning.
” He rubs his hands up and down my thighs, pushes my panties to the side, and licks me.
“I’ve been thinking about this since last night. ”
I lean back on my elbows, sighing. “I know I’m not supposed to joke about this, but I really like this job… Before I forget—Summer wanted to know if you’re coming to their first karate class today.”
“Wouldn’t miss it.”
“They’re really excited about it. Oh shit, that feels so good.”
“Maybe don’t talk about my kids while I’m going down on you.”
His tongue flicks rapidly at my clit, and I forget what we were saying. “Oh my God, Shane!”
“Ay, Dios mio!”
It takes me a second to realize that what I just heard was not, in fact, my vagina crying out in Spanish.
Plastic items fall to the floor somewhere behind me, near the entrance to the kitchen.
Shane pops up from between my legs, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “Consuelo!”
“Ay! So sorry, Mr. Miller! So sorry! I clean upstairs first!”
I am too mortified to turn around, but I hear her hurry down the hall.
“Consuelo!” Shane picks up my clothes and hands them to me. “Shit. I forgot she was coming today.” He goes to the door to call out to her. “I’ll pick this stuff up for you!”
I can hear her apologizing again from the stairwell.
“That poor woman,” I mutter, covering myself with my shirt. “I should probably bake her some cookies.”
“Or possibly something that won’t remind her of me eating your cookie. And this is why we have NDAs.”
I slide down off of the counter and find Shane putting bottles of cleaning liquids back into the plastic carrier the housekeeper dropped.
“Are you saying you’ve had domestic employees walk in on you like that before?”