I looked around what used to be the hotel lobby, and felt like I could have cried. Dad was long gone, and I was alone.Finally, I was ready to close it up.Well, saying I was ready might be a bit of an overstatement. I was closing up, but it was more because I didn’t have much of a choice, than because I wanted to.After Dad left, I’d tried to hold on, before I realized I couldn’t. The next thing I tried was selling, but that wasn’t any easier. I’d been trying for months, and still nothing.I couldn’t keep it, though. Not even for my brother’s sake, after Dad had given up on it. He knew all the business side of things, all I ever did was clean and cook and take care of the guests. That was not enough to run the hotel. Not to mention the fact that Dad didn’t leave any money for running the place, like he was silently encouraging me to close up.Damn you Harry, I thought to myself, using my dad’s name for the first time in a while. This place is supposed to be your fucking responsibilit
“Dan?”The voice that called my name was tentative, and when I turned back to Scarlett, she was fidgeting in place, looking anxious.“Don’t worry about them,” I said, taking a guess as to what had her so worried. “They’re friends of mine. They all have children of their own, so they’re helping me with the baby. I don’t know the first thing about children, you know.”She winced. “Well, I didn’t either, technically. Imagine losing your virginity, then finding out you’re pregnant, and the man responsible just up and left without a word.”I flinched again, and she definitely caught it. I’d hoped she hadn't. She pursed her lips, then sighed.“I mean, I’m not exactly blaming you. You came with issues, and you were going to leave. It’s not like you had to say something to me, but…it would have been appreciated, Dan.”I looked away from her, feeling guilty. It had been a shock when she told me I’d taken her first time. And I hadn't exactly been careful about it. Thinking back now, there was p
“Now what?” I asked after a long silence.Dan sighed and started pacing. He looked about as bad as when I’d seen him for the first time, a thick beard on his face and his hair overgrown and left unkempt back in the clinic, but now he looked a little bit better. Even though he was in a rumpled suit. It was how I’d recognized him, actually, though he’d changed suits and had at least taken a shower since then.“I don’t know, Scarlett,” he admitted. “I mean, I do understand your situation, at least a little bit. But you have to understand that I don’t think I can take care of a baby, either.”Again, the fear that he would dump the baby on me was back.“I’m sorry about that, but I can't, either. And I don’t want to give him up for adoption. I was…thinking I could try school again or something. I’ll probably get a crappy job where I can earn enough money to at least take some classes at a community college, then look for something better afterwards…”But it wasn’t as if life was so simple.
I watched Scarlett as she hugged herself, her shoulders hunched as she watched me with wide eyes. I felt…strange, like I held this woman’s world in my hands. Or, well, the fate of a child that belonged to the both of us.It really would be better for everyone involved if I gave into the adoption idea. I hadn't actually thought of it, because I hadn't had time. I’d been left with some stranger’s baby, and all I could think of was how to find the mother and return the child. But, it wasn’t that simple anymore.I didn’t know how I felt about Scarlett, or the baby. I’d had fun with her, but this was all too sudden. My wife had left me because I’d been reluctant to have a child in the first place.When I thought of it that way, the current situation was pretty ironic, how I’d fallen into the exact kind of situation I’d been running from with Laila.But…is this really the same?With Laila, I’d felt panicked every time she mentioned children. I’d done everything to try and get her to forget
I woke up in a large bed, alone, and for a moment, I was disoriented. Until I remembered I’d moved in with Dan. It had been a few days already.Everything had happened so quickly. There wasn’t anything left in the hotel anyway, so after he’d called his friends to pick us up, I’d locked it and we’d left. I still had to do something about it, but I had time and a place to think.Dan’s house was bigger than I’d expected, big enough for our little family of three. He’d told me he hadn't planned for a family any time soon, but he had a couple guest rooms. He was letting me sleep in his room, while he took one of the guest rooms. His friends had bought a crib for Makas, and when we got back, they’d helped to turn the extra room into a nursery where he slept.I didn’t like sleeping alone, and I didn’t like the idea of the baby asleep in a room on his own, so he was in a crib just a few feet from the bed. I got up and walked over to him, smiling down at him when I found he was still sleeping.
It had been my decision to ask Scarlett to move in with me. I’d all but said I would support her.Days later, and I was sort of having second thoughts.A while after I’d retreated into the bedroom to hide from my friends’ wives, Makas had woken up, and immediately started crying. Because Scarlett was busy, I’d picked him up to try and calm him down, at the same time trying to figure out what had him in a bad mood. I checked what I feared most, first. But there was no smell, and his diaper didn’t seem heavy, so it wasn’t soiled. I breathed a sigh of relief and rocked him gently. There was a bottle on the nightstand by the bed I knew Scarlett had left for last night. Scarlett had told me she breastfed him, but Martin had told me it wouldn’t hurt to give the baby some formula as long as she didn’t stop nursing him.The bottle still had some formula in it, so she must have added more after she fed him last night. I figured it would be fine, and I tried to give him the bottle. He wouldn’t
I heard him crying, so I rushed from the kitchen, leaving the fire low on the food I was making for lunch. A minute later, I was picking Makas up and rocking him gently, quieting him.“Is he hungry again?” Dan said from behind me. “I can feed him, if you’d like.”I glanced over my shoulder at him, giving him a smile.“It’s fine. You can head back to your office and I’ll take care of this. Lunch will be ready soon.”Dan shrugged. “I don’t have much left to do right now.” He pushed off the doorjamb, walking over to me with his arms held out. I passed Makas over to him, pouting. He smiled down at our baby, bigger now though no less fragile at one year and a few months old. “Working from home has a lot of perks. I can help you out when I’m bored.”I snorted. “As long as you’re actually working.”He shot me a grin. Makas had calmed down. He’d had plenty of time to get used to Dan and calmed down pretty quickly when it was Dan holding him. I would have been a little bit jealous, but I lov
I found out that I had to be two things that I never thought I’d be in life. One was a cowboy, and the other was a daddy!Arrogant.Greedy.Selfish. Those are the words that spit out of my family’s mouth whenever they say my name. My twin brother, Noah thinks that he knows it all, even when we were little. The idea of going back to this life was something that I didn’t want to do. Living and working in the city suited me just fine, that was until I had something to prove, not only to myself but Rachel. The girl that I left behind because I found out that I was a daddy. Two things that I never thought I would be in life. One was a cowboy, and the other was a daddy.
“Thank you so much, ma’am,” the woman sitting across from me at my desk said as she rose. “I didn’t know how I was going to get through this on my own.”“You’re not on your own,” I said soothingly, getting up and holding my hand out to her.We shook hands, then she made her way out of my office, and I sat back down in my chair with a sigh. I gave a quick look at the documents I still had open on my desk, then I put them together and found a folder to put them in.I leaned back in my seat and relaxed, letting out a sigh. With my last client for the day gone, it was about time for me to close up work.My phone buzzed where I had it on the desk, and I picked it up to read my message. Seeing it was from Sebastian, I smiled as I opened it. The message was short, let me know he was on his way to pick me up and about five minutes away. I texted back quickly, letting him know he could pick me up outside. Then, I got up and started packing.I hadn't forgotten what day it was, and I’d made sure
After the dinner I spent at Willow’s place, I invited her to my home after I confessed that I lied to her friend. It was funny watching her ask about why I was divorced, and what happened, sure I have a fucked up sense of humor at times, but the look on Ivy’s face was priceless.I didn’t include the protective best friend that would attack her with a bunch of private questions. I teased her a lot for it since it happened, and she blushed and grumbled every time, but I was glad she had a friend that was so fiercely protective of her, even if it was aimed at me.We went our separate ways at the end of work, and Willow arrived at my place early. I hadn't even started cooking yet, but I didn’t mind it. I went to open the door for her and pecked her lips as I let her in through the door.“Hey,” she said, looking around. “Where’s Andy today?”I hummed, leading the way to the kitchen. “I wanted it just to be the two of us today, so he’ll be staying at his mom’s for tonight.”In the kitchen,
Ivy and I moved between the kitchen and the dining room, setting the table up. She’d left the kids at home with Chad and had insisted on joining me at home for dinner when she heard I was inviting Sebastian to my place for the first time.My mom didn’t know about this, but I was pretty sure Ivy planned on taking that position, and it left me exasperated, but I wasn’t going to push her away, either.“Why hasn’t he arrived yet?” she asked critically, narrowing her eyes at the front door. “You let him know dinner starts at seven, yes?”I sighed at my friend’s antics. “I did let him know. He’s probably busy making arrangements for Andy before he even comes here. Cut him some slack, would you? Besides, it’s only five minutes past seven. He should be here soon.”“Men need to know how to be punctual,” she said defensively. “If he can't even keep the time, how can he keep you happy?”I stopped whatever I was doing to give her a look. She wasn't difficult on purpose, I knew she was truly worri
I had my chin resting in my and, elbow braced on the desk, with my other hand tapping out a restless rhythm. I was staring blankly at my computer, knowing I had work to do, but I didn’t have the concentration for it.My mind, at that moment, was full of thoughts of Willow.Like I’d promised her, she no longer needed to follow me around constantly. It wasn’t as if she was my assistant or anything, she’d just been following me to learn the ropes on her own. I hadn't liked her following me around, but it was more for personal reasons and not because I didn’t have faith that she could manage on her own.Now that she was working on her cases, not only did I not see her as often, but I couldn’t just keep interrupting her work to have her come to my office for insignificant things. I was technically her boss, and I should be encouraging her to work, not the other way around.At least she was no longer ignoring me outside of work, though. That time it happened, I’d been worried about blowing
I stood in front of Sebastian’s desk in his office. I had my hands clutched in front of me nervously. I had been standing for a whole minute, and he hadn't let me know what he wanted yet.Is it…because of that? No way, right?After worrying about him only wanting me for sex for weeks, I did something about it. I didn’t have the courage to ask him outright, but I did do something for myself. I stopped taking all his summons. One out of five times he asked, I still went, but I was tired of getting led by the nose already.If he was going to ignore me at work, unless I needed to work with him, I was going to do the same. Also, if all he was going to do was ask me over for a fuck and nothing else, I didn’t always have to do what he wanted. I didn’t know if he would get tired of me or what, but if he stopped calling me over, I would be disappointed, but I would move on.Does he want to talk about it?This was what I’d been hoping for when I started changing my attitude. We’d been in this s
I started to object, but he pressed himself against me, and suddenly all I could think about was the prospect of getting to explore that body in detail, the one that I’d dreamed about touching every night. His muscles were hard, as I took my time dragging my fingers through every groove and channel as he slowly started to strip in the living room. I felt like a born-again virgin. Every part of him was so well defined. It was even sexier now in the flesh and not covered with his shirt and tie. This was the real strength, potent and dangerous. I loved the way his body tensed at those brief moments of contact. I assumed he was almost as ready to explode as I was. I spun him around, and teased him, brushing my breasts across his skin while my hands cupped his ass, because I was naked in his bedroom and I wanted complete control. He tried to take me in the living room, like a hungry wolf. I refused, and he carried me up the stairs like a caveman ready to take me.His ass was tight and per
Several days after I left for my trip, I landed back home early on Wednesday morning. Since I’d left my car at the airport when I left, I just picked it up and made my way back home.I was happy to be back in the country for several reasons. For one, I was in a country where just about everyone spoke the same language as I did. I’d had a translator following me everywhere on my trip, and it only made me think of Willow trailing behind me all day at the office.The other thing I was happy about was getting to see Andy again.I’d been too busy to try and check up on him. Even when I had time, it wasn’t enough to do much. I was either being entertained by my hosts, or being led around, or in a meeting with a bunch of executives. I had almost called back a few times, especially after I saw how many times Willow tried to contact me, but I didn’t want to be distracted, either. By both Willow and Andy.Hopefully, she was fine while I was away. Andy, too. He could be a handful, but she did sa
“When is this guy going to call me,” I muttered to myself, pacing around the dining room.There was entirely no way I could work with that brat around. Not to mention, even with my boss away, I would still have to go to work. It was Sunday, Sebastian was supposed to come back on Wednesday. But I figured he would at least call to ask how the little guy was doing.Not that I knew what I would tell him. I couldn’t say that his son was a little demon and that I couldn’t keep looking after him, especially not after I’d spoken with such confidence.Really, what had I thought when I did that? Though it was more like I hadn't been thinking at all. The conversation we were having was awkward enough already, so when I heard his nanny had quit and he needed someone to look after his son quickly, I said I would do it.What am I supposed to do, though? I understand why that nanny quit, now.Besides, it wasn’t like he was paying me for this, or I would get extra pay at work for this. I wanted to k
What the fuck was I thinking?Saturday wasn’t even over yet, but I was already regretting my decision to agree to be a nanny for my boss’s son. Andy was just too much for me to handle.Why did I even offer in the first place? Because whenever I saw Sebastian, I couldn’t help but get all weak in the knees. He was sexy, and with the arrogant way he carried himself while at work, he knew he was right in more than just his looks. Whenever I was around him, I tended to find myself so damn quiet like a sinner in church, but I wasn’t in church I was in the office.Where did I even get the confidence to claim I’ve babysat before? I wasn’t good with kids, not one little bit.I heard something else crash, and I winced. I felt more weary than alarmed, though, because this wasn’t the first time I’d listened to the noise. I got up from my small dining table and walked back into the living room, where Andy was. The living room and small dining room were connected through an archway, so I could keep