“Thanks.”
“The place is nice, though? You’ve got decent rooms this time?”
“Yes, it’s lovely! I’ve got a whole floor to myself,” I said, smiling as I looked around the room again. I hadn’t been expecting anything nearly this swanky, but it was basically a fully furnished luxury flat that was almost as big as some of the places I’d actually rented in the past.
The stairs from the second floor led into the living room, which had a plush sofa and armchair, a large TV, bookshelves and units, and a fully stocked kitchenette complete with a fridge and freezer, hob, kettle, toaster, microwave, and several large cupboards. Beyond that was a bedroom with a king-sized bed, wardrobes, a chest of drawers, and bedside tables withlittle lamps attached to the wall above them, and an en-suite bathroom that had both a bath and shower.
Everything was beautifully decorated and well-maintained, and from a quick nosy at some of the labels, none of it was cheap either. Matty had gone to a lot of effort to make sure that whoever lived here was comfortable. He’d even said when I moved in that if I was missing anything, to let him know and he’d sort it, which was wild.
It was also the complete antithesis of his behaviour in the last few days, when he’d been grumpy, standoffish, and rude. I totally understood that having me here was a change and that he was protective of Jack, but jumping down my throat and virtually accusing me of harming his son wasn’t acceptable.
Bad behaviour from parents was my biggest irritation, and I wasn’t about to let myself be pushed around. I was a damn good nanny and I had the experience to back it up. If Matty wanted to be a dick, then he’d better practise his apology skills because he was going to need them.
“A whole floor?” Marissa whistled. “Sounds posh.”
“It is. I feel like I’m living in one of those fancy holiday cottages, like the one we stayed in for Leigh’s wedding.”
“Sounds like all you’re missing is the pool.”
“Pretty much,” I said with a soft chuckle as I used the back of my hand to nudge my glasses up my nose.
My sister Leigh’s wedding had been in Italy three summers ago and was one of those “no expense spared” kind of affairs, but she had been marrying a tech millionaire, so that hadn’t been surprising. But even though I spent a lot of time around wealthy people as part of my job, I’d still been stunned by how lavish the whole affair was. It’d almost made me uncomfortable.
I had made good friends with several of the nannies working for various attending families, though, and a couple of us had even been on holiday together a few times since.
“Oh, and that friend of Nick’s that Leigh kept trying to set you up with,” Marissa said teasingly. “That blond guy from California with the super obvious veneers who kept talking about how he was planning to retire by thirty-five and wanted a trophy twink.”
“Derek! Oh my God, I’d forgotten about him! He tried following me on literally everything and I had to block him because he kept messaging me about how I could come and be his trophy boy.” I laughed while Marissa made a choking noise.
“You and trophy boy are two things that will never go together.”
“You don’t think I’m hot enough to be a kept man?”
“I think you’d hate every fucking second of it and within two days I’d have to try and find you a really good lawyer to get you off a murder charge.”
I snorted then hissed as a little hot squash dripped onto my thigh. “You would find me a lawyer, though, right?”
“Depends.”
“On what?”
“I don’t know. I’ll think of something,” she said, and I could hear her smiling.
“I’m going to put my camera on,” I said, sliding my phone out from under my ear so I could tap the button on the screen. “I miss your face. Plus this way I can pout at you when you try to deny rescuing me.”
Marissa laughed as her face appeared, her blonde hair scraped back with a pink towelling hair band and her skin covered in a green face mask. “You can see me in all my frog glory.”
“It suits you,” I said. “Green is definitely your colour.”
“Aww, thanks.” She blew a kiss at me as she sat back in bed. “So, how’s life in Lincoln? Have you had a chance to get out much?”
“No, not yet. But I’ve got some time off this weekend, so maybe then. I need to have a search, though, because I have no idea what’s on.”
“Just log onto Grindr and find someone hot to take you out,” she said with a wicked grin.
“How about no?”
“Oh, come on, why not? It’s a foolproof plan. You get an evening of fun with someone who actually knows the place you’re living, and you get dicked down at the end of it. It’s not like you have to do anything drastic like date him. You don’t even have to stay the night.”
