Page 15 of The Billionaire's Virgin

Chapter Five

Reed

When I had decided to work from home this Saturday, I had completely forgotten about the fact that Taylor would be there. It was slightly uncomfortable to admit, but I was a little too affected by her presence. It only served to remind me that it had been a long time since I’d been on a date with a beautiful woman.

She had spent most of the day with Jenna, and I had been working while Jenna and Taylor had eaten their lunch in the kitchen. But now Jenna’s evening nap had rolled around and so Taylor was doing some tidying up in the living room. I probably should have moved into my bedroom to finish the rest of my work, but I hated working in there. I much preferred the tons of natural light that flowed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

She had asked me if she was disturbing me once and when I’d assured her that she wasn’t, she had just gone about her work, seemingly oblivious to me. I had to admit, a part of me was curious about her. Maybe I was just feeding into all the stereotypes, but I just imagined an attractive woman in her twenties would want to do more with her life than look after other people’s children. I reminded myself that most nannies took the job for money. It was just that Taylor didn’t strike me as that type.

I closed my laptop screen and pulled up the large box of manuscripts that I had brought in from my car the previous night. There were probably around thirty manuscripts in there, and I knew I would only be able to get through a couple of them this weekend. If I just breezed through, maybe I could manage five or six. I decided to take a little break and make myself a cup of coffee. When I stood up, I realized that Jenna was no longer in the living room. I hadn’t even heard her leave. I went into the kitchen and found her chopping vegetables at the counter.

“Oh,” she said, looking up when she saw me. “Can I get you something?”

“Um, no,” I said quickly. “I just wanted a cup of coffee.”

“I can make it for you.”

“Don’t be silly,” I said, hoping that didn’t sound too harsh. “I can make it myself.”

She nodded and turned back to her chopping.

“You’re starting dinner already?”

“Just a little light prepping,” Taylor responded. “I’ll save the main work for when Jenna wakes up. She really enjoys helping me in the kitchen.”

“I’ve noticed.” I nodded. “She spent the whole of last evening telling me about the French toast you guys made for breakfast.”

Taylor smiled. “She’s an easy kid to be around. I’ll admit, I was a little nervous.”

“You thought she’d be a brat?”

The smile on Taylor’s face told me that I was right. “Well, I wouldn’t use that word,” she replied. “But somewhere in that ballpark, yes.”

“I’d like to take credit for that,” I said. “But in all honesty, I can’t. She was just always a good kid. I never had to do much disciplining.”

“You’re lucky.”

“I am.” I nodded. “Um, would you like a cup of coffee?”

She seemed a little surprised that I had made the gesture, so she hesitated as though she wasn’t sure if it was a serious offer or not.

“Go on, have one,” I said. “Might as well take a little break before Jenna wakes up.”

Taylor nodded. “Sure,” she said. “I’d like a cup… thanks.”

By the time Taylor had finished her chopping, the coffee was ready, and we went back into the living room to drink it. We sat down opposite each other, with enough distance between us to be comfortable. I could sense that Taylor was a little self-conscious and I had to admit that I was too.

“Can I ask you a question?” I asked.

“You can ask me as many as you like,” Taylor replied readily.

“What made you decide to look for work as a nanny?”

“Well… to be honest, I was desperate.”

I hadn’t expected her to be so honest and I raised my eyebrows in amusement. She must have felt that her answer reflected badly on her so she rushed to explain herself.

“I just mean… well, I moved to New York about a year ago, and I’ve tried to find work as a teacher since I got here. It’s been virtually impossible.”