Chapter Three

Evelyn

I was a nanny.

When the call had come in from my brother that Cassian had agreed to hire me as his daughter’s nanny if I was willing to consider it myself, I had thought that he had only agreed to it so that my brother could stop pestering him.

He probably thought I would say no.

That had been my reason for saying yes to my brother after all.

Yet, here we were.

I still could not believe that Cassian had actually agreed to this arrangement. More than that, he had even agreed to let me stay in his own house.

It had come as a shock to me.

Everett had somehow managed to push the both of us to make this work. He suggested that I save up the money I would have spent on rent for two months, by staying in Cassian’s house as a live-in nanny.

Cassian had agreed to it. It would afford him the time he needed to take care of work without having to worry about picking up his daughter, or having to return so that the nanny could go home.

I knew that this was actually a logical solution. I would be able to save more money than I had expected for my move to San Francisco… but I had thought that Cassian would be difficult about it. It had come as a shock that he wasn’t.

Now, I stood in front of Cassian’s building, carrying a travel bag that only contained the things that I would need during my stay..

With Everett’s help, I had shipped off the rest of my things to my new home in San Francisco. Everett was having movers move all of my belongings for me.

I stood back to admire the building. It was a very gorgeous structure, more beautiful even than I had expected it to be. Of course, he owned the entire building although he lived on the penthouse with his daughter.

I adjusted my bag and walked into the building with the simple bag that I was carrying. The doors opened and I stepped out of the elevator, going over to the lone door on the penthouse floor. I pressed the buzzer and waited.

The door swung unlocked and I stood there, surprised.

Automatic doors? Fancy…

I quickly got over my surprise and stepped in, coming face to face with Cassian again, for the first time in six years.

My grip tightened around the leather straps of my bag as I looked at the man in front of me. Safe to say that I was completely and totally floored.

All boys had to go through the awkward phase where they were either incredibly skinny, or they were fat… neither in the way that was particularly attractive.

Even when they were muscular, it was a lean type of muscularity that did not fit in well with their body and it showed.

However, now, as I stared at him, there was nothing of the awkward phase… nothing lanky about him now.

I tried to pull up my memories of him back when I had last seen him and thought he was an annoying boy who thought too much of himself… but now, all of that was gone.

I struggled to keep my breath steady as I took in the man in front of me.

That was exactly what he was now…

A man.

Suddenly I could see why some of the women who had come for the position had tried to seduce him.

Cassian had become healthily hefty. His muscles were heavy and paired perfectly with his 6’4 height. His gray eyes looked even more piercing now as he stared at me and his long, dark lashes framed them beautifully, adding even more intensity to his already intense gaze.

His hair was tousled in a way that seemed like he had not run a brush through it in a while, but he still managed to make it look fashionable.

How the hell did Cassian become so hot?

Wait why am I thinking of how hot he is?

My eyes widened in shock as I realized the kind of thoughts circulating through my head.

This was not good.

This was not how things were supposed to go.

I was supposed to see him again and then we would argue like we usually do but then I would be introduced to his daughter, Amelia, and would choose to stay for her sake because she was a sweetheart unlike her father.

I frowned as my mouth suddenly turned dry and I swallowed nervously.

“Hi Cassian,” I said, finally getting my brain and my mouth to work together in producing words that did not have anything to do with his muscular body.

I looked up at him as he stood there with a bored expression, his face void of any sort of reaction to seeing me after so many years, or for having me in his space like this.

“Are you just going to stand there all day or are you going to come in?” he asked me.

I frowned at his tone. There it was.

Of course, he was still his annoying self. However, my brain was relieved to have the man I knew back.

At least now I would not have to worry about whatever was going on in my head as he had managed to fix it by uttering the words he had just spoken.

He might have been hotter now, but he was still a piece a shit.

All I had to do if I ever found myself slipping around him due to the hotness of his body was to wait until he opened his mouth and then I would be fixed.

I dragged my bag in and put it by the door before looking back up at him.

“That is a rude welcome if I have ever heard one. One would think you would be more polite since we are just meeting again,” I said, glaring at him.

“Just meeting again? You are still the same dip shit I knew six years ago,” he said, rolling his eyes.

“Ha! What?” I laughed incredulously. “I am sorry, what did you just call me?” I asked.

He really had not changed, had he? The silly brat. I guessed there was not much to expect from someone like him. He stuck to his horrid ways unrepentantly.

“Oh, please. Do not pretend you did not just call me worse in your head,” he said pointedly.

I opened my mouth to deny his accusation but then I paused.

I mean, I suppose it was true… I did just cuss him out in my head, but at least I had the courtesy to not say it to his face.

I could not exactly say the same about him though, could I? Clearly that made me the better person and him the dip shit.

“Can you not be an asshole for two seconds? We are adults now, we should be over this,” I said, choosing to put all of this aside.

I was not here to reignite old enmity, nor was I here for him. It was his daughter I needed to see.

“I don’t know about that… seeing your face has already put me in a bad mood,” he said.

I caught myself just in time before my mouth dropped open in shock. Even when I was calling a ceasefire, he still could not help himself and be the bigger person.

“Ha! I’m pretty sure it is your sullen personality that has made it difficult for you to be able to find a nanny,” I said, taking back the metaphorical olive branch I had offered. There was no more peace to be offered from me, that was for sure.

“What?” he exclaimed as a frown settled on his face. “Okay, I do not know what Everett told you but the problem with me finding a nanny isn’t that nobody wants to work for me but that I do not like them."

“You do not like anyone,” I said, raising my brows at him.

“I like Everett though. Considering we have known each other almost all our lives and I only like Everett, I would think that says more about you than it does me. Don’t you think so?” he smirked at me.

“Ugh, considering I also grew up with Everett and I don’t hate my brother but I definitely don’t like you, I think that says more about you than me.”

We had ended up so close to one another during our silly argument, with his head bent until he was hovering over me. His face looked so goddamn perfect that for a moment, I wanted to lean closer and…

I shook all over in shock and disgust, stepping away from him.

“Just… show me where I am supposed to stay, Cassian,” I said as I turned to go grab my bag.