I get him out of his carrier and hand him over, and it feels like a photo op. Literally. Mr. Bradley shows up as if out of nowhere, snaps a few photos, and then she hands the baby back to me.
It’s all very strange, but I feel better with the baby in my own arms anyway.
I spot Dex talking to a group of men, and I excuse myself to a table so I can sit and feed the baby. He may be my husband, and we may have some confusion about where our relationship is actually headed, but I’m still being paid to be a nanny to this little boy, so I settle into do my job.
Happily.
Gladly.
It’s a joy and a privilege to take care of this happy boy, and I think, not for the first time, how wrong I was to go into freakingcommunicationsinstead of education.
I’m in my own little world when a woman slides into the chair across from me.
“So you’re the one who landed Dex Bradley?” She looks me up and down, and the look of disdain in her eyes makes it very clear that she doesn’t think I’m worthy.
I press my lips together in a fake smile. “That’s me.”
She leans in a little closer to me. “Come on. Tell the truth. Is it for the press? His image? What is it?”
The truth is that there are probably dozens, maybe even hundreds, of women just like her. Women who were with him once upon a time. Women who were hoping to be the one who landed him.
But it was me. Or, at least for our purposes, it was me. It wasn’treallyme, though, and that thought pulses a dart of sadness through me.
Did he just tell me he was falling for me to get me to sleep with him? I have no idea. The heat between us tells me otherwise, but I’m letting insecurities creep in now that I’m faced with a woman who might’vealsoslept with him. Who I’d have that in common with when we did the deed wasn’t a consideration that ever crossed my mind. But now that I’m faced with her, it sure as hell is.
“I’m the image consultant in the family, and Dex isn’t one of my clients,” a voice behind me says, interrupting me before I get the chance to respond.
I turn around and find Everleigh, the oldest Bradley sister, standing there. She’s got her arms crossed over her chest and she looks like she means business…until her eyes fall onto the baby.
“Oh my God! Is this my nephew?” she asks, turning her attention away from whoever that woman was.
I nod. “Want to hold him?”
“I’d love to.” I hand him over, and she takes over the bottle, too. “Oh, he’s just so precious,” she murmurs, staring down at him. “God, my brother’s afather. It’s hard to believe.”
He’s thirty-three. At this point in his life, it shouldn’t really be that hard to believe. But given Dex’s history, I get it.
I look around the room for him, and when I finally spot him, he’s talking with his father, but he’s looking at me.
And I’m starting to wonder whether we’re rewriting history.
CHAPTER 32: Dex Bradley
Your Side Project
I glance across the room at her. I’ve had my eye on both her and my son the entire time I’ve been here, and when I see that Everleigh is with her, I know she’s fine. I didn’t like leaving her alone, but she walked away to feed the baby, and then my dad pulled me aside.
“Not here, Dad,” I mutter.
“We’re opening the front room this weekend. I’ll have someone bring you the details and the keys. I have some big whales coming your way, and I need you there every Tuesday night to host.”
“Fuck that,” I say.
“What did you just say?” he says.
“You heard me. I’m in season now, Dad. I can’t just hang at your side project on my one day off. I have shit to do.”
“Be that as it may, this is now one of the items on your list. You agreed to it. You signed a contract.”
