“Okay, well, drinks and snacks are down this hall three doors. If you reach the bathroom, you’ve gone too far.”
He giggled. “Thank you,” he said, rushing to the break room.
“You’re welcome,” I said softly, watching as he ran off, a stuffed lion tucked under his arm. And in that moment, I knew exactly what I would do.
Even if it shredded me inch by inch.
I pushed into my office before I could chicken out, keeping my gaze focused on the stack of forms instead of the man bent over my desk. I felt the weight of his gaze, hot and assessing.
“You’ve made a decision?” he asked.
“I have.” My voice was surprisingly steady. “I’ll give you thirty days to start. We’ll reevaluate after that. I can’t abandon my business for longer without planning.” I didn’t wait for his reaction. “Did you finish the paperwork?”
“No,” he said. “I need this to be strictly… analog.”
“Fill out the paperwork,” I insisted. “I need the information, and I promise it won’t go into the system. But whether I’m the nanny or someone else, these details are important.”
He held my gaze a moment, then lowered his eyes and began writing again.
I leaned against the edge of my desk and crossed my arms. “I’ll need two days,” I said. “To get things in order here. So just give me the address where you’re staying, and I promise to be there in two days.”
He shook his head. “I’d prefer if you came with us. Now.”
I let out a long, exhausted sigh. “Enzo, just because I loved you once doesn’t mean I’m willing to be at your beck and call.” My chest squeezed painfully around the truth. “I have a life. I need time to prepare to leave it for a little while.”
He stopped writing. His shoulders dropped, and the tension left his broad shoulders. “You’re right,” he said quietly. “And I’m sorry. I’m on edge, and honestly, I’m fucking scared for my son, Ren.” He swallowed hard. “How about this? Take forty-eight hours and get everything settled. Then Matteo and I will come for you. That way as few people as possible know where we’re staying.”
It was reasonable. Annoyingly so. “Yeah,” I said. “That works.”
We exchanged phone numbers with all the formality of two business acquaintances. He completed the forms and stacked them in a neat pile inside the folder before sliding them across the desk. Enzo hesitated as if he wanted to say more, but he didn’t, and I refused to push. Instead, he nodded once and stood, leaving my office with the same intensity he’d entered more than an hour ago.
I collapsed in relief the moment the door shut behind him. My hand flew to my sternum, pressing it down to slow my heart. What the hell was I doing, I mean, seriously?
Nannying for Enzo DeRossi wouldn’t end well. It couldn’t.
Right?
I knew that, yet here I was, willingly walking back into the orbit of the only man I’d been foolish enough to give my heart to,choosing danger and a little boy I didn’t know over the things I’d worked a lifetime to achieve: safety and distance.
I’d already given my word, and I never went back on it. Not even if it meant living in a house with Enzo.
Unlike some people.
I tipped my head back and stared at the ceiling, breathing in through my nose, out through my mouth, reaching for a calm that felt completely out of reach.
“Forty-eight hours,” I whispered into the empty office. “God help me.”
Chapter 6
Enzo
Two days later, I pulled into the parking lot of Elite Nanny Service with my pulse pounding in my throat. Ren had refused to let me pick her up at home. She said she was so busy at the office and it was the simplest option, but what she meant was that she wanted distance, a clear boundary between her professional and personal life.
I’d give her that. For now.
Matteo bounced in the backseat, legs kicking the air excitedly. “Papa, will she like me?”
“Yes,” I answered without hesitation. “She will.” Ren had always loved kids, and we’d planned to have at least three and adopt a few more. I had no doubt she’d love Matteo.
