AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“But you loved me once! I didn’t know what was wrong with me then. Now that I do, I’m able to control it,” Patricia says. “You’re always saying people deserve a second chance!”
“That doesn’t mean repeating mistakes or traveling the same road twice. It means forgiveness and moving on. I forgave you, and I moved on!”
“It’s because of your new nanny, isn’t it?” she asks Aiden with disgust. “You know that she’s only after you for your money. I read the papers. She’s a beauty queen that’s fallen from her throne. You’re her meal ticket!”
“She’s not just Penny’s nanny, Patricia. She’s my fiancée! I’ll not have you disrespecting her in my home. If you can’t mind your manners and spend this time with Penny like you said you would, then there’s the front door!”
I gasp at his declaration that we’re engaged, and I almost turn red with anger. No one gets to make a decision about my love life except for me. I take a step to tell Aiden as such when Roger stops me.
“Do not embarrass that man when he’s defending you, Savannah. Do not jump to conclusions, and do not assume the worst. You’re undercover as a nanny to keep him and his daughter safe. You might as well go undercover as his fiancée so that he can protect you, even if it’s from nasty and mean comments.”
I take my mentor’s words to heart and inhale deeply several times. I look down at my right hand and see the beautiful emerald ring. I gently remove the piece of jewelry from my right hand and adorn my left finger to validate the ruse. Roger nods in approval.
“Good call, Savannah. Now, go help the poor boy out. We’ll slip out the back and get in position for the party.”
“Thanks, Roger,” I say before plastering on a smile and bouncing down the remaining steps.
Turning right toward the living room, I do a quick search for Penny, but I don’t see her anywhere. “Hi, Sweetheart. Where’s Penny?”
Aiden stands stock-still like a deer caught in headlights until I slip an arm around his waist and look up at him like a girl in love. I’ve done it countless times before with some of the men on my team when we were undercover as a married couple, but this time it doesn’t feel forced. It feels natural, and I can’t deny that we fit together perfectly.
“Um, she’s outside with Grandma. Anna, have you met Patricia, my ex-wife?”
Patricia’s face turns beet red when Aiden emphasizes the “ex” in ex-wife. “We’ve met,” she says scathingly, not offering her hand or any form of polite greeting. “Really, Aiden. You can do so much better than a nanny.”
Aiden’s body goes ramrod straight at her slight against me, but I don’t let him get in the final word. “He probably could. But for some reason, God aligned our lives in such a way that our paths were destined to cross. I’m but a lowly nanny, so who am I to argue with God?”
Although I had meant the comment to be sarcastic, it didn’t come out that way. It came out as unfettered, and it rang with truth.
Chapter nineteen
Aiden
Imanage to hide my smile when Anna stands up to Patricia, but I can’t help myself from what I do next. The words Anna says do me in, and I lean down, pressing my lips to hers. I’m pleased when she doesn’t flinch from my touch like she had earlier.
Anna smiles and places her right hand on my chest, just over the spot where my heart is beating rapidly. “Baby, I’m going to head outside and help your parents. Do I need to send Penny back in?”
“That won’t be necessary, Savannah,” Patricia says with a hint of derision. “However, I would like to speak with Aiden privately, if you don’t mind. Maybe this time without the interruption?”
“It’s Anna. And if you want to speak privately to Aiden, that’s up to him.” Anna lightly kisses the spot just below my ear and winks before sashaying out of the room to give us the privacy Patricia asked for.
“There is no way you got engaged after knowing a woman for four days, Aiden. I’ve known you for years, and that’s not your style. Plus, Penny would have mentioned it with the rest of her scathing commentary.”
I do my best not to laugh. Penny spoke her mind during the quick visit, and Patricia didn’t like what she heard. It started when Patricia had asked Penny to call her “Mom,” and my daughter adamantly refused. Then Penny quoted something she had read and said, “Anyone could be a Mother, but it takes someone special to be a Mom.” If that wasn’t harsh enough, Penny continued her rant by telling Patricia that she was nothing more than a stranger and no one special to her. It went downhill from there as Penny released all the hurt she had bottled up over the past five years.
“I haven’t told Penny yet because the change in Anna and my relationship is new, but she already loves Anna. We haven’t told anyone, but we plan on announcing it at the barbecue when the players and their families arrive. I knew from the moment I met Anna that she was someone special and that I didn’t want to let her go,” I tell Patricia, hoping that would be the end of it.
“You can’t know a woman after four days, Aiden. It’s going to bite you in the rear.”
“It might. It might not. I’ve read stories of couples getting married less than 24 hours after meeting and living happily together for the rest of their lives. I’ve also known couples that wait ten years before getting married and divorce after six months. Time is irrelevant when you plan to spend a lifetime getting to know the person,” I say with conviction.
My mom interrupts us to inform me that guests will be arriving soon, which is a verbal nudge for me to wrap things up. “I think it’s time for you to go, Patricia.”
“You promised me an hour, and it’s been half that. I want to spend time with Penny.” Her argument is a feeble attempt to regain a life she left long ago, and I refuse to cater to her whims any further.
“Then you probably shouldn’t have wasted the opportunity to be with Penny by trying to convince me to give you another chance. If Penny agrees to see you again, I’ll let you know. Until then, I would appreciate it if you kept your distance.”
“You can’t keep me from my daughter, Aiden. I have rights!”
