“Honey, this is Dante and Gracie’s new nanny,” Cecilia informs Silas.
Sam reaches out a hand toward Silas first. “Hi, Samuel Castello. Pleasure to meet you both.”
Silas stares down at his hand with fury running through his eyes, then turns to his wife next. “You said her name was Samantha,” he says through gritted teeth.
“No, I said his name was Sam. If you came to the conclusion that it was a woman, that’s on you. Not me.” She narrows her eyes at him.
He growls deeply, closing his eyes momentarily and breathing through his nose, nostrils flaring. “Minnie… you’re really testing my patience right now.”
He then opens his eyes and looks at Grey, a silent conversation passing between them. This whole time, Sam still waits patiently with his outstretched hand.
Finally, both men nod at each other before turning back to Sam. “Nope. Absolutely not. Nah-ah. No,” Sy says, letting go of Cece and crossing his arms at his chest while Grey does the same.
They look at each other once more, both shaking their heads. “No. Not happening. You can take your things and go. We won’t be needing you. Nope.”
“Silas, don’t be ridiculous.” Cecilia scowls at him.
Sam finally lowers his hand, realizing he won’t be getting a handshake from the boys any time soon. I kind of feel bad for him now, but he seems more amused than bothered or uncomfortable with the situation unfolding in front of him.
“And anyway, the contract is already signed. He’s going to be the kids’ nanny whether you two like it or not,” I say with a hand to my hip.
“Woman,” Grey warns.
“No. You two no longer get a say in this. If you both hadn’t been so picky over who to choose, then it wouldn’t have come to this. But we had enough with your stupid list of demands, so we hired who we wanted and thought best fit for the little ones,” I rebuke them.
“Yeah, well that’s not going to work with me. Last I checked it was our bank accounts paying his salary. So if we say no, it’s no.” Sy looks directly at me, daring me to defy his order.
A devilish grin spreads over my lips, and his rage grows as he watches me. “Then I guess it’s a good thing we putmybanking info in the contract,” I deliver with a wink. Cece and I knew the guys would bring up payment as an argument, so we decided to put it under my name instead.
Silas gasps furiously.
“Are those my shorts?” Clay says out of nowhere, looking down at Sam’s shorts.
“Clay! This is not the time.” Cece looks at him with furrowed brows.
“Yes, they’re yours. It was that or his tight boxers,” Morgan answers in a hushed voice.
“How the hell do you know he has tight boxers?!” Silas interjects, getting angrier by the second. In the back, I hear Ronnie and Aubrey snickering, as well as Gabe and Noah.
“That’s enough, Silas! Samwillbe the kids’ nanny, so get on board unless you want to sleep on the couch for the rest of the month,” Cecilia threatens him.
He stares at her with his mouth wide open in shock. “Minnie! You can’t be serious right now?”
“Try me just to see. Now watch your son, I need another drink.” She tosses him Dante before he has time to react and walks into the house.
Sy fumbles for a moment, not sure what to do, before turning around and following his wife into the house. “Wait, Minnie! Don’t make me sleep on the couch again. Please! I’m sorry. I love you!” are the last words we hear before he wanders farther into the house.
I giggle and look back at Sam, who smiles. “Well, that went better than expected.”
Grey squeezes the back of my neck once more, whispering into my ear, “Don’t think you’re off the hook for this. Bunny’s going to get a real spanking for this tonight.” He turns my head toward him, smacking his lips to mine in a claiming way, letting everyone know who I belong to.
He then lets go of me and walks over to the pool, ripping off his shirt and removing his pants, leaving himself in tight black boxers. Grey dives into the pool, his muscular, tatted back flexing with the movement.
Mmm, Bunny can’t wait for that spanking.
When he comes back to the surface, he slides both his hands through his hair, pushing it back. He then comes to the side of the pool, gesturing for me to hand him Gracie. I hurry over, passing Little Tulip to him, then kiss his lips quickly before standing back up and turning to Sam, who’s watching Greyson with a heated look.
Well, shit. Am I going to have competition?
