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“Great job!” I cheer, clapping my hands.
“Miss Scarlett,” he says, suddenly serious. “Why are you different from the other nannies?”
“Different?” I feign innocence. “What do you mean? How many nannies have you had, Niko?” I smile as I deflect the question.
“Not many. There was only one I can remember, and she was…boring.” He lowers his voice.
I chuckle. “I guess your Papa just didn’t look hard enough.”
“Hard enough for what?” a voice says from the doorway. I immediately suck in a breath. Anton’s broad shape casts a shadow into the room.
“I- I never saw you there,” I stammer.
“Clearly not,” he says mildly, then walks into the room. “What have you got there, Niko?” he asks his son.
“We did a puzzle,” my little charge says, displaying his handiwork proudly. Anton nods with approval, though I sense he’s observing me. A hint of something I can’t quite place crosses his face. Something like jealousy? Is he jealous of the time I’m spending with his kid? That’s nuts.
“Ty khorosho spravlyayesh’sya, synok,” Anton says, the words rich and fluid in a way that makes me clench my thighs together.
Holy crap.
Who knew that Russian could sound so hot?
Nikolai grins at him before teasingly replying, “Remember, we’re supposed to speak English for Miss Scarlet!” He grins at me and my face breaks into a smile. “Papa says he thinks I’m doing very well, Miss Scarlett,” he translates. I incline my head.
“Maybe because I’m not one of those boring nannies.” I wink and he giggles.
Anton watches the exchange silently for a moment, before speaking. “Well, enough of that,” he says gruffly, breaking the tension. “It’s nearly time for dinner, Niko.”
The little boy takes my hand and leads me out of the room, a mischievous grin on his face.
“Come, Papa!” he calls over his shoulder.
I catch a glimpse of Anton as we pass him. His jaw is tense. I almost feel guilty for usurping his role in Niko’s life – even if only temporarily – but he’s the one who wanted me here goddammit!
In the kitchen, Niko chatters away while I take out dinner plates for us. There’s a meal in the warmer, ready for us to eat. I learned the day after my arrival that Luka, the driver who brought me here, seems to double as a cook, among other things – though I doubt I’ll ever know what they are; the man is pretty much mute. There also seems to be someone who cleans around us, though I’ve yet to see anyone else. I’ll put it down to magic elves for now. But I’m guessing Anton doesn’t like a lot of people around.
There’s definitely something up with the man.
“I won’t be joining you,” he says as I’m about to take out a plate for him. “I ate earlier. I have work to do tonight.” I see Niko’s face fall but it brightens slightly when his father ruffles his hair, then reaches for an apple in a nearby fruit basket. “I’ll make it up to you, Niko,” he says. Strong white teeth bite into the plump fruit and my mouth dries as I find myself staring at his lips. When I glance up, his eyes are coolly amused.
Dammit Scarlett.
Stop eyeballing the man.
“This is for you,” he says, handing me a thick envelope. “Payment as agreed.”
I want to scowl. I never agreed to any of this. But I take the envelope, opening it.
“There’s a little more for…the inconvenience,” he says.
Inconvenience?
That’s rich.
I make a show of counting it out, hiding my surprise at the extra thousand dollars he’s added.
Four grand. Holy crap! At this rate, I’ll be out of here in a month.
