My lip wobbles. I bite down on it hard.
“Miranda?” Brooke is watching me.
“Your dress got ruined last night,” I mumble, overcome with emotion.
She doesn’t say anything.
“The one you lent me,” I continue because she hasn’t moved. “The waitress knocked a full glass of red wine across it. I was going to tell you. I was going to replace it myself.”
Brooke stares at me. At the dress. At the white box, which looks like it was purchased somewhere with a lobby and a standing appointment with interior designers. “Miranda. This did not come from your salary.”
I don’t answer.
“Who sent this?”
I fold the tissue paper back over the dress because I need something to do with my hands. “The same person who wants me to look after his son.”
Brooke sucks in a breath. “Wants you to look after his son,” she repeats slowly. “Or wants you for himself?”
My mouth is dry. “I—He doesn’t want me. Why would he want me? There’s nothing I can offer him. He just—He just felt bad for me.”
Brooke looks at me for a long moment. “Why would he feel bad for you?”
I meet her gaze now. “He saw what happened at dinner with Dr. Hudson. He was there.” I know I have to explain what happened if Brooke is going to take this dress. “Brooke, Axel was a jerk, okay? He spent the whole time talking over me. He ordered for me without asking. He was just an asshole. And then I saw him slip a waitress his number at the table, and he pretended like nothing happened.”
Brooke’s mouth drops open.
“When I tried to leave, he got aggressive and grabbed my wrist. He wanted me to sleep with him in return for dinner. I didn’t even eat anything.”
Brooke’s face is pale. “Oh, Miranda, I’m so sorry. I had no idea he was such a pig.”
I rub my hands over my face. “That same waitress was the one who ruined your dress, and then my friend showed up and got me out of there. I felt so guilty over the dress. He must have realized it and replaced it.”
Brooke presses her lips together. “Honey, the dress I got was for three hundred bucks. This is four grand. I’m telling you, nobody spends that much money for a nanny. The guy wants you.”
I think of how Grayson and I sat outside together. I blacked out after drinking his beer, but for the first time, we were able to sit together without bickering. It had been kind of nice. However, Grayson Wolfe is a celebrity in a way, and I’m a nurse, knee deep in debt. There’s no way he wants me.
“Whatever, Brooke.” I shake off the ideas she’s putting in my head and focus on shoving the box in her hands. “Here. This is yours.”
My friend’s eyes widen. “I’m not keeping it. This is more than a month’s salary.”
“You are absolutely keeping it.”
“Miranda—” she begins helplessly, but I step back.
“I mean it.”
She stares at me for a long moment. Then she sighs through her nose and picks up the box.
“You’ll tell me who this friend is eventually,” she says.
“I really won’t.” I give her a small smile.
She gives me a look that says this conversation isn’t over and hurries away.
I just roll my shoulders and get back to work.
The day is long, and Axel is determined to make it worse as each hour passes. I’ve been forced to stay past my shift when I climb all the way to the roof to take a breather. It’s an hour shy of sunrise, and my feet are killing me. The roof is three floors of stairs and one heavy fire door away from everyone. I push through the door, and the wind hits my face. I breathe it in until the vise behind my eyes loosens by a fraction.
