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The downstairs had an open-plan living room, dining room and nice modern kitchen, plus a small room that was Morgan’s home office, a TV room that doubled as a guest room, and a workout studio with a few pieces of equipment but mostly an empty floor space.
Upstairs, they first went to one end of the hall and Morgan gestured to a bedroom that was his. They did not go in, and Blake tried really hard not to picture him sprawled out naked on a bed. The second floor was almost triangular in shape, with a walkway that partially overlooked the first floor that had a cathedral ceiling.
“This one is my room!” Ciara said of the large room framed by the point of the triangle. Bouncing up and down, she turned to Blake. “Is turquoise your favorite color?”
“It is,” Blake said. “How did you know?”
“Because of what you’re wearing.” Ciara pointed to her blouse.
And then Blake noticed the girl’s bedroom walls were that color. “Is it yours too?”
“Yes! Daddy said I could have my room painted whatever color I wanted. And here are my books and my desk, but he hasn’t gotten my computer set up yet. This is my stuffed animal collection. And my…”
Blake nodded and smiled, listening as Ciara pointed out everything in her room. The girl looked exactly like Morgan, except for her pale yellow hair. She was delightful and, ironically, it seemed she liked many of the same things Blake did. Another thing Harper was right about.
They walked to the other end of the hall. “This would hopefully give you enough privacy when you want to get away from us,” Morgan said, as he opened the door to a short hall that had a room on each side. “I had a carpenter connect the two bedrooms on this side so one could be used as a private sitting room. It also has an en suite bathroom.”
Blake wandered from the large furnished bedroom, to the connecting room that had a balcony that looked out on the water. She was speechless. This was bigger than the Manhattan apartment she’d been living in, and while the “starter” house she and Kendall had bought was nice, it had been modest. This whole house had a special beauty to it, and Blake had to wonder what this choice said about Morgan.
“Do you like it, Blake?” Ciara asked, her sweet voice sounding a bit worried. Blake realized she had been quiet for too long and they were waiting for her to say something.
“It’s wonderful. I didn’t expect…” She faltered slightly, afraid her voice would crack. The constant weight of her financial uncertainty after losing her job had taken its toll. Even before that, she’d been just scraping by over the last two years, kicking herself for the paltry settlement she had agreed to with Kendall. But she had been so hurt by him and filled with shame and self-loathing over her childlessness that she just wanted the divorce over with and ran away as fast as she could.
Morgan gave her a gentle smile as if he understood more than he possibly could have. “The furnishings are minimal because I was not sure who would be in here and what she might want.”
“This is fine,” Blake said. It had a simple bed, no headboard, but it looked queen sized. A dresser and nightstand, both pale wood. A standing lamp. And the “sitting room” had a small desk and chair, but nothing else.
“No, it isn’t,” Morgan said. “Think about what you would want in here and I’ll get it.” He paused. “That is, if you do want to—”
“I do,” Blake said, her eyes meeting his, and for a moment the words almost seemed to mean more than the acceptance of a nanny job.
Ciara shrieked, ran up to her, and gave her a hug that had Blake giggling too.
“Welcome to our home,” Morgan said, his deep voice both comforting and sexy. “Ciara, Blake and I will need to go to my office and talk business, so why don’t you go to your room and continue unpacking.”
Downstairs in his office, Morgan gave Blake the desk chair and he sat on a rolling stool. From the way he moved the stool around with such athletic grace, the balls of his feet pushing on the floor, his strong thighs wide, she would bet he used that more often than the chair that belonged to the desk.
Focus, Blake, she admonished herself, as he went over some rules and boundaries. She would get a generous salary and even a health plan he would cover. A better deal than she’d gotten teaching part-time college-level courses last year. Her general duties included helping Ciara with schoolwork, daily hygiene, bedtime, enforcing social media restrictions, being a supportive companion, and overall keeping an eye on her well-being. Some cooking would be appreciated but not required. He and Ciara both liked to cook. He would drop Ciara at school each morning, but Blake would pick her up daily and take her to and from any after-school lessons or activities she may have. A cleaning person would be in weekly.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “The housecleaner has been checked out and has been working for a friend of mine for years.”
“Do you need a background check on me?” Blake asked.
“I already did one.” When her eyebrows shot up, he added, “I’ve been in the protection business for so long and work with many contacts in security firms.”
“Then you know I was downsized from a college teaching position and I have never done anything like this before.” When he nodded, she went on. At this point Blake knew she had to tell him her goal. “I feel it is only fair to tell you I am looking for another teaching position. But I can definitely commit to eight months. Probably more,” she hastily added, not wanting this to fall through.
He did not look happy to hear it, but said, “Unfortunately, Ciara is used to not having a permanent female figure in her life. She has been through several nannies—not because she is a difficult child. Because one got married, another, believe it or not, died in a car accident, another got a job in a town closer to her family, and the last one of course was lost because I moved our home to the East Coast.” Morgan shifted in his seat, looking like he had something else to say but was not sure how to say it.
Guessing it was about the elephant in the room that had not yet been mentioned, Blake said, “You know from my public records, and I assume from Harper as well, that I am divorced. And so are you, right? Are there any rules I should be aware of concerning Ciara’s mother?”
“That is exactly what I was getting to next.” He set those penetrating eyes on her and she felt he could see into her soul. “I need what I am going to tell you to remain confidential. I thought about requiring an NDA, but I trust your brother and your Uncle Phil and, unless you have a secret life they do not know about, they say you are good as gold. My gut tells me the same thing, and my gut has only been wrong once in my life. And that one time was over Ciara’s mother.”
Blake cleared her throat, unsure of what to say. “Thanks for your faith in me. I really like your daughter and will try to do my best for her.”
He nodded, took a breath, and said, “I let people assume I am divorced because it’s easier that way, especially for Ciara. But the truth is I was never married. Ciara’s mother and I met in LA, and at twenty-five I had no idea what real love was—and her mother still does not. But at the time, I thought I was in love. We were both having a rough time trying to make it, but I happened to get taken on by a good protection agency and started getting some better paying work when we found out she was pregnant. Shortly after Ciara was born, Fawn—that’s her mother’s name—got a call from her LA agent offering her what she believed was the role of a lifetime. She is an actress, by the way. She was twenty-one at the time and it turned out the role was of a teen and they wanted to present her as a younger lily white newbie. So, she had me sign an agreement not to tell anyone her real name or that she’d had a child. Out of wedlock, no less, which would be fine for many in Hollywood but not for the ingenue image they had in mind for Fawn. She even suggested we give Ciara up for adoption.” His nostrils flared in anger. “Give up my daughter, this child I adored from the moment she was born.”
Blake’s heart was breaking for him, her breath tight in her chest at the irony of hearing this story after the breakdown she’d had yesterday over her own childless fate.
