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“I understand, Spencer. We should just pretend this didn't happen and never talk about it again.”
“Good. I'd appreciate that,” I said, standing up tall and taking a deep breath. “I think we should both go to bed now. Tomorrow, we start early with the French lessons.”
“Got it,” she said meekly.
She didn't look up at me as she hurried from the kitchen, leaving me alone once more with nothing but an empty glass of wine, a throbbing cock, and memories of what could have been.
CHAPTER FOUR
AVERY
The sound of the alarm was shrill, piercing, and entirely annoying. I cracked my eyes open and immediately wished I hadn't. The sunlight streaming in through the windows burned and made me wince like I was a vampire. My eyes were grainy, and they stung, and I wanted nothing more than to pull the covers over my head and go back to sleep for the next three days.
But, I knew I couldn't. I knew the girls wouldn't be taking the day off, regardless of how much – or how little – sleep they got, which meant that duty called.
It had been a long and mostly sleepless night. Mostly because my head was still spinning around what had happened with Spencer. I still couldn't believe we'd gone as far as we had. I was glad I stopped it when I did. I couldn't get used to the idea of sleeping with my boss – although he was a gorgeous, sexy man, and it was powerfully tempting.
But, no. It wouldn't have been right.
After relieving the pressure myself upstairs in my bed a little later, I heard Lola crying out. When I rushed into her room, she'd been lying in bed, practically screaming, in the grip of a night terror.. Spencer rushed in, but I waved him out quickly. I just held Lola to me, whispering to her and stroking her hair softly, trying to soothe and comfort the poor girl.
It had taken some time, but I'd finally been able to get her back to sleep. After that, I'd trudged into my own bed and had collapsed, utterly exhausted. When my alarm went off, I had to fight the urge to throw it against the wall.
Grumbling to myself, I threw back the covers, got out of bed, and shuffled my way to the bathroom. I took a shower so warm, I was practically par-boiling myself. When I was finished, I dried off and got dressed in a pair of jeans, a button-down shirt, and tennis shoes. I pulled my hair back into a ponytail and decided to forgo the makeup – though I was tempted to put a little on, just to make myself look nice for Spencer.
I pushed that thought away quickly though. Regardless of what had happened the night before he was still my boss. I was powerfully attracted to him, found him sexy as hell, and damn near irresistible, but he was still my boss. I couldn't lose sight of that. This was my dream job and I wasn't going to do something that would jeopardize it.
I bounded downstairs and found the girls already in the kitchen eating breakfast with Spencer's maid hovering nearby, keeping an eye on them. I gave her a smile and a nod, letting her know I was on duty. She said a few words in French to me. I nodded and replied to her, still kind of thrilled that I was putting my education to work for me. Finally. The woman smiled and left the kitchen to see about her other tasks.
“So, what's for breakfast girls?” I asked. “It smells really great.”
Maisie was eating with gusto, while Lola picked at her plate, obviously not real thrilled with the fare. Or maybe, the night terrors were still on her mind. Or maybe, it was just being in France, so far away from home that was bothering her. “Emilia made us omelets,” Maisie announced around a mouthful of food.
“Oh yeah?” I asked. “Well, lucky you!”
Maisie nodded. “There's mushrooms and avocado, and cheese... ”
“That sounds amazing,” I said. “What do you think, Lola?”
The little girl shrugged. “It's okay, I guess.”
I nodded but decided to not push her just yet. I was going to need to crack her eventually, but I knew to do that, I was going to need to earn her trust. I felt like if I pushed her too hard right now, I'd force her to retreat even further inward. So, for now, I would let her take things – like opening up to me – at her own pace.
“Well, we have an exciting day, girls,” I said. “I’m going to start teaching you some French. How does that sound?”
Maisie squealed and clapped her hands, excited by the prospect. Lola though, remained silent and just picked at her food. Maisie elbowed her and rolled her eyes.
I stepped in before Maisie made Lola feel bad. “Just finish your breakfast and when you're done, we'll go from there. How does that sound?”
“Good,” Maisie said brightly.
Lola just nodded and refused to meet my eyes, popping a little piece of her omelet into her mouth. That was about the best I was going to get out of her, so I nodded and went to the refrigerator. Grabbing a yogurt and tossing some fresh berries on top of it, I walked out of the kitchen, happily munching way on my own breakfast.
“Hey, Avery.”
Spencer's voice stopped me in my tracks. I turned to find him striding down the hallway toward me. He was wearing nicely tailored slacks and a sweater. My heart beat a staccato rhythm in my chest as he drew near. I really hoped he wasn't going to want to talk about last night. I already felt awkward enough about it and I knew that talking about it would only make it that much worse.
It was the excitement of being in France, mixed with a little too much wine, and the company of a gorgeous man – and things just got a little bit out of control. I just wanted to write it off and forget about it, personally. I didn't want to have a heart-to-heart about it. “I just wanted to say thanks for last night,” he said.
