Page 4 of Brazilian Fantasy
I take a deep breath, let it out slowly, and run the words around my head so they come out right before I vocalize them. But when I open my mouth, I find myself saying, “I—I’m sure Maddie and I will do just fine.”
Dammit!
Chapter Two
Lucas
With the household still asleep and the sun rising over the ocean, I shift back and forth in my office chair. The wheels squeal under my weight, and I wince, not wanting to wake anyone just yet, as I go over the events of last night.
I glance out the open window and listen to the surf on the shore below but can’t seem to shake the feeling that Piper had no idea she was here to babysit Maddie. But that can’t be right. A couple of months ago, when Alyssa called to tell me she was moving to Antigua, we
discussed Maddie and her need for a caregiver while Eugenie, her regular nanny, took a much-needed vacation with her husband.
With a degree in child psychology and numerous years of experience under her belt, Eugenie, an old family friend of my in-laws, came out of retirement as a favor to me to care for Maddie. I can only hope that with enough time she’ll be able to bring my little girl out of her shell and back to me.
Piper, however… Well, she’s no Nanny Eugenie. In more ways than one.
Stop fantasizing about the new nanny, already.
Caralho.
I tap my fingers on my keyboard, unable to concentrate on the open program in front of me. Not when sexy Piper Young is snuggled in one of the guest rooms upstairs, ready to take on an assignment I’m pretty sure I’d just sprung on her.
Why did she agree? Why didn’t she just come right out and explain the mix-up?
Maybe there isn’t a mix-up. Maybe I’m just thrown off by the hot new nanny. It’s been a long time since my dick jumped like it was hooked up to a bunch of electrodes.
I toy with my phone then punch in the number for Alyssa, needing to get to the bottom of matters. A few minutes later, her sleepy voice answers. Shit, I didn’t stop to think she’s an hour behind me and might still be in bed.
“Hey, Alyssa. It’s Lucas. I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“Is Maddie okay?” she asks, her voice rising.
“Yes, she’s fine,” I reassure her quickly, and her breath of relief comes over the phone. “It’s just that Piper…she showed up yesterday.”
“And?” she asks, a new lilt to her voice.
“She’s a lovely girl.”
“A lovely girl?” When she gives a very unladylike snort, I wonder what happened to my sweet cousin, who always used to walk the straight and narrow. Now she’s practicing medicine in Antiqua and living with two men. I don’t have a problem with that. I just wonder what it was that made her stand up to her family and live the life she wanted to live.
“Lucas, you sound like you’re a hundred-year-old man with one foot in the grave.”
“I’m twenty-nine and very much alive, thank you.” But I thought “lovely girl” was safer than telling my cousin her best friend is as hot as fucking hell. I haven’t thought about sex in a very long time, and I definitely shouldn’t start with Piper. Lusting over the nanny is wrong.
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
“You’re far from alive, Lucas.” Her voice is soft this time, sympathetic. “Jenny’s been gone a while. I just want to see you happy again.”
My stomach clenches as I rake my hands through my hair, not wanting to rehash this conversation with my cousin. Yes, she cares, I get it. But I don’t deserve happiness, or happily ever after. Not after the tragic way Jenny died—thanks to me.
I might not have been directly responsible for the accident, but she was in that car because of me. If only I hadn’t gone into the office that day.
As guilt eats at me, I redirect the conversation. “I get the feeling Piper didn’t know she was here to babysit.” I wait for a response, and when none comes, my gut tightens. “Alyssa. What have you done?”
“Well…” she begins.
I pinch the bridge of my nose, the ache in my jaw sliding to my temple and giving me a headache. When she doesn’t continue, I say, “Well, what?”
