"There is a party!" she tells me excitedly. "I forgot." Am I going to get blamed for Aurora forgetting about the party too? The one I didn’t know about?
"You're down for a party?" It’s hard to stay mad when she’s so excited.
"I'm down to get dressed up,” she says and does a little dance.
"Great. I hear there’s a lady coming to help us get dressed."
"She's already here." Aurora grabs my hand and pulls me toward the stairs.
We go down the hallway that leads to her room, but she pulls in through the open door into the bedroom across from hers. She squeals when she sees a rack full of dresses that are clearly for her.
“Hi,” I say to the woman waiting on us. I would guess her to be in her forties, and I can tell from her own outfit that she knows what she’s doing.
“Hi, I’m Sonja.” She introduces herself with a soft smile, her eyes assessing me.
“I hope we have a lot of time to get ready,” I joke as she looks me up and down.
"Oh, we won’t need much." Sonja gives a slight shake of her head. "Mr. Eve was very particular about what you were to wear tonight. He picked it out just for you. It's hanging in the closet if you'd like to go try it on, and I can do any alterations right now."
"Okay," I agree, my throat tightening. There it is again. This could all be a sweetly possessive gesture, or it could be that he’s dressing me up to simply please himself.
Aurora is already plucking different dresses off the rack. "I love them all," she announces, hugging a purple one against her. "How will I ever pick just one?" She sounds thoroughly distraught, and I love that it’s why she's upset. These are the things little girls should worry over.
"I think Mr. Eve will let you get them all, but we have to pick one for tonight," I hear Sonja tell Aurora as I head into the walk-in closet to see the dress that was selected for me.
It dawns on me that Sonja's remark about her being able to have them all is true. Kellan does spoil her, giving her everything she asks for. One thing Aurora made clear at dinner the other night was that she wanted siblings.
"That's it," I whisper to myself in a gasp. That has to be the whole reason for all of this. This isn't about anything else but him giving his niece what she wants. A sibling. I’m nothing more than an object for breeding.
Chapter Fourteen
KELLAN
By the time Edith arrives to point people in the right direction, I’ve bitten off the head of nearly everyone who works for me.
“Is there a reason you’re more agitated than usual?” she asks as I release the bowtie on my tuxedo with a frustrated growl.
“No,” I say far too quickly as she comes over and stands in front of me.
We’re in my office where I’ve had to make a few calls while the guests arrive. I had my tux brought in here earlier, and all I had left to do was my bowtie when Edith came in.
“Let me help you with that.” Edith takes my bowtie in her hands, and I lift my chin to let her tie it. “Does this chipper attitude have anything to do with the new nanny?”
“Why do you say that?”
“No reason. I’ve just known you for over a decade and never seen you so tied in knots.” She steps back from my perfectly tied bowtie, grinning. “Pun intended.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to lie and tell her there’s nothing going on, but my shoulders sag with the weight of what I feel for Nova, and I blurt out the first thing that comes to mind.
“I can’t control myself around her.” To my surprise, Edith lets out a bark of laughter. “It’s not funny.”
“Oh, it’s hilarious,” she says as she picks up her tablet off the coffee table. “I’m going to be honest with you, Kellan. Your control issues have made you an incredible success. It’s the reason you’ve got all of this.” She waves her hand around, indicating the estate. “But people don’t operate like a corporation. You’re someone that can’t function without being able to control every aspect of his life, and you think that applies to people.”
“That’s not true. With Aurora?—”
“With Aurora you had to change because you didn’t have a choice,” she interrupts. “She walked into your life and reminded you of all the emotions from your past that you buried deep. The same emotions that kept you and your brother apart for all those years. And to your credit, you’ve been wonderful with her. Distant at times, but that’s because you’re still learning. The difference with Nova is that she doesn’t have to rely on you. You feel something for her, but she could walk out that door at any moment, and you can’t stop her.”
I clench my fists at my sides, unable to tell her she’s right because I don’t want to face those facts.
