Total pages in book: 45
Estimated words: 41725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 209(@200wpm)___ 167(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 209(@200wpm)___ 167(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
Liza reached over to squeeze my arm. “It just made me realize I don’t want to be far away from the girls anymore. When I first left, I was convinced there was something bigger and better out there for me. But after that scare, I began to realize that I was missing precious time with the people I love. The girls. You.”
“Liza,” I began, shaking my head.
She continued. “Look, I’m not saying I’m sticking around town permanently, but at least if I found some projects to work on in California or even in the States, I’d be able to be in your lives regularly.”
“That would be good. Especially for the girls.” Although I would have a hard time sharing time with them now that I’d gotten used to only sharing them with her a few weeks a year. “But you and I… you remember I’m gay, right?”
Liza nodded. “Of course. I wasn’t expecting that we’d get remarried or share a bed, for heaven’s sake. But I did think maybe I could stay here for a while, with all of us under one roof.” She sat back in her chair, crossed her legs, and gave me a sardonic smile. “I wasn’t expecting that you’d have had a midlife crisis and marry the nanny since the last time we spoke.”
“He’s a full-time childcare specialist,” I muttered. “At least, he was.”
“Not the point, Grant. How the heck did that happen? Has work been that stressful?”
I looked out at the girls and debated my answer. I didn’t want to tell Liza the truth about my arrangement with Brody, but I’d known her a long time, and I wasn’t used to keeping secrets from her. And more than that, I wanted a gut check. Last night had been so wonderful—so unexpectedly, almost impossibly wonderful—that now, hours later, I found myself questioning it. Was I missing a crucial emotional… something? Had I, for once in my life, been too impulsive? Wasn’t it all a bit too good to be true?
You couldn’t really find your life partner by accidentally convincing them to marry you as part of a business deal…could you?
“I really like him,” I admitted, twisting my wedding band with my thumb. “I’ve had feelings for him for a long time—”
“Lust,” she said knowingly. “Physical attraction.”
“No! I mean, yes, but not just that. I…” I swallowed hard. “I love him.”
“But… how?” she asked, mystified. “What could you possibly have in common? He’s a college kid, Grant. Practically a newborn baby.”
“Shush. Brody’s hardworking, smart, and successful,” I said, peeved at her for being so dismissive and equally peeved at my own rush to defend him. “More than that, he’s loving and kind. He’s helped me to be a better parent. A better doctor. A better person. And he loves the girls like they’re his own.”
“But they’re not. Yes, he’s an excellent nanny,” she allowed, “but you can’t ignore the fact that he’s still at the very beginning of his adult life. He’s not their father. And no matter how magical he is with the children, that doesn’t make him the right person to be your lifelong partner, either. Surely you see how ridiculous that would be. And aside from all that, as your friend, I have to wonder what his angle is. What’s he hoping to get from you?”
I sighed. “Liza, you’re coming at this the wrong way. It’s not like that—”
“Are you sure?” She gave me a sympathetic grimace. “Because anyone can see the two of you have a passion. Hell, in ten years together, you never kissed me the way you kissed him back there—” She hooked a thumb toward the kitchen. “—or acted all possessive and protective like you do with him. And if you think I’m feeling petty and jealous about that, even though you’re gay as fuck and our relationship has been over for years, you’re damn right. But maybe Brody’s using that. You wouldn’t be the first man to be seduced by a good-looking younger guy who—”
“He didn’t seduce me!” I darted a glance at the girls to make sure they hadn’t heard my outburst, then scrubbed a frustrated hand through my hair and lowered my voice. “If anything, I seduced him. It started out as a necessity, to keep the girls at Mountbatten…”
Slowly, haltingly, I told Liza the full story. About the school, Brody’s dreams of starting his own company after graduation, and finally, about crossing the line between fake and real the night before.
Her eyes grew wider and more troubled as I spoke. “Grant. Jesus,” she said when I was done. “You need to let the kid go.”
My heart dropped. “What? But why?” Everything inside of me railed against the idea. I didn’t want to ever let Brody go. Not now that I had him.
“Can’t you see he didn’t have a choice but to say yes?” She shook her head. “You said yourself how much he loves the girls. He wasn’t going to break their hearts by refusing to participate in this.”