Chapter 8
I think I said too much—big mouth that I am—but I don’t regret it.
My problems with him have nothing to do with the child.
She needs his affection. I know all too well how much the absence of a father and mother hurts.
I’ll leave him to his thoughts and go take a shower so I can wake up that wonderful little girl.
I was falling in love with her, which couldn’t happen, but she was enchanting—impossible not to love. I went to my room and took a shower. Once I finished, I put on comfortable clothes and headed straight to the little one’s room.
“Good morning, beautiful, time to wake up.”
“Good morning, Li.”
“Did you sleep well last night?”
“Yes.” She sat up in bed and rubbed her little eyes. “What are we going to do today?”
“First we’re going to take a bath, then breakfast, and after that we’ll decide what to do. Okay?”
“I want to go to the park.”
“We can do that. If you want to go see your little friends there, we’ll go.”
I gave her a good bath, dressed her in warm clothes, and we left the room, running into Mr. Carter in the hallway.
We went down the stairs together, with Ellie holding both our hands.
At the kitchen entrance, Marcus couldn’t take his eyes off the three of us and smiled.
I made a face at him—I didn’t even want to ask what he was thinking.
“Mama, please set a place for me at the counter, with everyone.”
We all looked at him. He noticed right away and said,
“Can’t I have my breakfast here today?”
“Of course, it would be an honor to have you join us, wouldn’t it, Ellie?”
“Yessssss!” the girl shouted, clapping her hands, thrilled to have her father there with her.
Mrs. Marta set another place at the counter where we usually have breakfast, and it was such a lovely moment watching the interaction between father and daughter. Ellie needs that affection.
Of course I hadn’t forgotten why I came here, but that didn’t mean the girl had to suffer. Whatever I could do to make him realize what a wonderful daughter he has, I would.
We finished breakfast, Owen grabbed his briefcase to head to work, and I finished getting Ellie ready for the park. We got in the car and left. She played a lot with the little friends she hadn’t seen in a few days.
After a few hours, we returned home. She was quite tired, so I gave her a bath and put her to bed. Taking advantage of the free time, I called my grandmother—I was dying to talk to her. She answered on the second ring.
“Grandma, I miss you so much! I’m going to visit you this weekend.”
“Hi, sweetheart, tell me how everything’s going over there.”
“Ellie is a sweetheart. I’m being treated very well here, so you can rest easy.”
“I know you can take care of yourself, but I already told you to be careful, right?”
“Yes, Grandma, I know. Don’t worry, I’m fine.”
“I’m relieved to hear that. Come visit me, I miss you.”
“Yes, Grandma, I will. And who knows, maybe next time I’ll bring Ellie—you’ll love meeting her.”
“You’re in love with that girl.”
“Yes, she’s adorable. Impossible not to love her.”
“Don’t get too attached, Amy. You’ll have to leave eventually, or if the judge finds out about you, he’ll throw you out. I don’t want you to suffer.”
“I’ve already fallen in love with Ellie, Grandma. There’s no going back.”
“That’s what I was afraid of, but it’s okay—she’s just a child. Who wouldn’t love one, right?”
“Exactly. And everyone here has been so welcoming. I’ve been treated so well.”
“And couldn’t that be a reason to just let things take their natural course?”
“Grandma, don’t ask me that. You know better than I do that it was wrong. I just want to do the right thing. Dad was always a good man—after Mom’s death he had some problems, but he never hurt anyone.”
“I understand, sweetheart. That’s why I supported you in this craziness.”
“This weekend is my day off, so I’m going to visit you. But I have to go now—Ellie should be waking up from her nap soon.”
“All right, dear. Don’t do anything wrong, okay? Be a good girl.”
“I just want the documents, then I’ll leave. Kisses, Grandma. I love you.”
I hung up, slipped my phone into my pocket, and left my room to check on Ellie, who was still sleeping. I’d let her rest a little longer. We’d agreed to make cookies today. She’d been so excited—she loved making the cake, so I’d realized she really enjoys helping.
I went down to the kitchen, sat at the counter, and was chatting with the girls when Marcus arrived.
“Hey, ladies, got anything to feed this hungry guy?” he asked, pointing at himself.
“You say that like you’re some kind of victim, right?” We all laughed.
“I’m a poor soul who does nothing but work and still has to put up with all these women, not to mention the men who can’t do anything right.”
“At least here you’ve got it good, surrounded by so many beautiful women.”
“I have to agree with you on that one, little one.” I’d earned a new nickname from my newest friend.
“I’m going to check on Ellie again, she’s dying to make cookies.”
“The boss was lucky to find you, Amy.”
“I’m the lucky one. Ellie is a wonderful girl, and I already love her. I don’t know what I’ll do when I have to leave.”
“What do you mean, leave? I know you’re in college, but it’ll still be a while before you finish. In the meantime, you can stay here with us.” Damn my loose tongue that only spouts nonsense.
“What I meant is, one day I’ll have to go, right? I’m going to check on my girl, see if she’s awake yet.”
And I run out of the kitchen. I’ll end up giving myself away one of these days, because if there’s one thing I can’t do, it’s control my words.
Before I know it, I’ve said everything I should have—and everything I shouldn’t have.
I open the little girl’s bedroom door, and she’s sitting quietly on her bed.
She’s so well-behaved. I keep wondering why the nannies who came before me didn’t stick around.
“Hi, sweetheart, did you just wake up?”
“Hi, Li, yes. I was being quiet waiting for you. Are we going to make cookies now?”
I look at her and smile, give her a kiss on the cheek, and pick her up. We leave the room, heading straight to the kitchen. Before we start our work, I need to feed her.