Falling for the Nanny Read online

  Ida was already gone, or perhaps she never really came home. Sometimes she disappeared with a boyfriend and stayed gone for a few days at a time. She was such a free spirit. She would have told Darren no and then spent literally no more time thinking about it. I was obsessing over whether or not I was doing the right thing.

  I was happy. And if I was happy with the way things were then why was I thinking about making some changes. Did I think that they would make me happier somehow? I was rather sure that they wouldn’t.

  I fixed myself a cup of coffee and went foraging in the pantry for donuts. I found some hiding behind bags of potato chips and I dipped three large ones onto a small plate. Then I took my coffee with me into the living room.

  I found some movies to watch on a streaming service and settled into my lazy morning. All the while, the snow was falling faster and faster outside. Within a few hours we had a couple inches on the ground. I could hear the snowplows out there working on making the streets safer. But I wasn’t relishing my nice little commute to the university.

  But when the time came for me to leave, I was pleasantly surprised that I was mostly seeing ice free roads. The snow had stopped and the salt was doing its job. I got dressed reluctantly and went to my abnormal psychology class.

  The class was pretty interesting actually. It was one of the few classes I had this semester that actually had something to do with psychology or the human mind. It seemed that somehow my school had decided to cram all of my general education requirement classes in this semester. I had an English, a biology, and a history class. It was a bit boring, and it felt a lot like high school. But I was almost done with the degree. That was all that mattered. I’d just have to get through it.

  As I sat there in the class trying to listen to the professor’s lecture, I kept getting this sinking feeling inside of me. It was like this huge wave of guilt that was just echoing right through me repeatedly in a single flash. It was almost sickening. I wanted to run off to a small, dark corner to hide in and no one was letting me do that.

  I was still terrified of the new relationship. Maybe I wasn’t ready to be in a thing with anyone. Was it a mistake to let myself fall so hopelessly in love with Darren so quickly? Yes, but I wasn’t sure it was something that I helped him do. It just happened so naturally and I wasn’t sure I could help it. No, I could not change the way I felt about him and I couldn’t change how I felt when I first saw him. That love, that passion that came together between the two of us almost instantly wasn’t something that ever really happened in real life. It was the type of thing that you fantasized about, that you dreamt about. It wasn’t real.

  Except this time, it was. I knew it was. I felt it and I couldn’t deny my feelings. But why was I denying them now? I wanted to live with Darren; I was just afraid. There was too much unknown and was fear the reason I wasn’t going to do anything? That was what got me in trouble before where I was alone for so long. I didn’t realize how much I wanted to be in love until I met him. I knew it was cheesy and silly to the older generation but that was the way I felt.

  After class, I rushed out of the classroom towards the parking lot. I needed to talk to someone. I decided I might go to my parent’s house and have a chat with my mom. She was great at giving advice sometimes.

  I walked out of the building and headed for the parking lot. I was about halfway across when suddenly, my foot slipped on a piece of ice. I went down quickly to the pavement. It was a hard fall and it hurt, even though I caught myself with my hands on the ground. The pain of the icy asphalt dug itself into my hands.

  I winced with the pain and I struggled to stand up, but then I felt the pain in my knees and it felt like there was a sheet of ice right underneath me. My feet started to slip again and I had to catch myself a second time to steady my weight.

  That was when I heard the squealing brakes of a car coming at me. I barely had time to react. I tried to scramble and move my feet but they were stuck on the block of ice and I was going nowhere. The car was coming fast. It would nail me within a second. I had to do something, but I was frozen in place. I was going nowhere.

  I took a hit to the side and I went down a few feet away. At first I thought the car had somehow hit me, but then I saw that car spin away totally trying to avoid any responsibility of a hit and run and it ran right past me.

  I watched it go as it writhed in pain and tried to figure out what was happening to me. Then I saw her. Another girl who had pushed me out of the way. She was about my age, pretty, and from the looks of it she was athletic. And she’d just saved my life.

  “Thanks,” I said. “Shit, thank you so much.”

  “Sure,” she said. “That bastard was going way too fast. I hope they get him stopped somewhere. He was definitely up to no good. He should be in jail.”

  “Yeah,” I said. “I have to go. Thanks so much.”

  I carefully walked over to my car and ignored the bruises that were aching and growing on my body right now. I wasn’t sure how badly I’d been hurt, but I knew if that car had hit me then I would have been a grease spot right then and there. It was a minor miracle that girl had come by when she did to save me in the nick of time. I had almost died. I kept thinking that. It was spinning around in my head over and over again.

  I knew what I had to do. I realized in that moment exactly how silly I was being with everything. I was letting fear and perceived logic rule my fate. I wasn’t going to do that anymore. No.

  I had to see Darren.

  Chapter 9

  Darren

  A knock came at the door of my office.

  I groaned. I’d been busy all morning and now this afternoon I finally had a chance for a little bit of me time and I was planning to take a few drinks from the new whiskey that I was given the other day by a generous investor. And the door starts knocking.

  “What is it?” I asked as I poured the glass. I didn’t give a damn who was at the door, I was enjoying this drink right then. I desperately needed it. The day had been hectic and I felt like pulling my hair out. People could be so damn infuriating sometimes.

  Teri entered through the door with Patrice. She smiled at us and then Patrice walked back to her desk. I was surprised to see Teri there. She was smiling but her eyes were filled with emotion. Tears were just starting to cloud over her eyes as she saw me. She half jogged the rest of the way into my office. I rose quickly to meet her standing and I hugged her tightly. Then she let the emotions go with me.

  Teri buried her head on my shoulders and began to sob. I didn’t say anything at first. I just let her cry it out as I patted her head and held her close to me. I’d missed her so much that day. I’d buried myself in my work and tried to keep my mind occupied, but my thoughts were elsewhere. I hadn’t let on how much her rejection of my suggestion that she move in with me bothered me, but it actually stung quite a bit. I suppose it was silly for me to feel that way, but that was the way it was. The emotions were real.

  “Baby, what’s wrong?” I finally asked.

  She took a few deep breaths and calmed herself down. “I love you,” she said.

  “I love you, too,” I replied.

  “I was wrong. I do want to spend my life with you,” she said. “And I do want to move in with you. I was stupid to be scared by that. Please, is the offer still available?”

  “Of course. What made you change your mind?”

  She told me about the accident and my heart leapt to my throat. The image of her about to be run over by a car speeding recklessly through a parking lot was terrifying to me. I tried to hold it together and not let on, but she was really scaring me with this story.

  “I just realized that life is too short to let any sort of fear stop me from any experience. I want to be with you always. I want to live with you. I’m sorry if I hurt you.”

  “It’s ok,” I said. “You are amazing. I love you and I would do anything for you, but you never have to worry about hurting my feelings to tell me how you really feel. Never do t
hat. If you don’t want something or if you do want something then that is important. You must do what is right for you my dear.”

  I stroked her cheek with my finger and gave her a huge smile before I leaned in and kissed her. She kissed me back hard and her body melted against mine and we felt like one being. I loved this woman with all of my heart and soul and I never thought I would be able to love again. I thought that part of my life was over and gone for good. But here I was being given a second shot. I was not going to blow this. I needed this woman by my side and to see that she cared about me and Bobby just as much was overwhelming to me. I don’t often cry, but I had to hold back the tears right now.

  “Baby, I want you to go away with me. For the weekend. I have a cabin about forty minutes from here. It’s a little get away I go off to every now and then.”

  “That sounds great, but what about Bobby?” she asked.

  “I’ll call my mom and have her watch him for the weekend. Her place is on the way. I’ll drop him off there. He loves nana time.”

  “Ok,” she said.

  “We can leave now if you want to.”

  “I have classes tomorrow.”

  “You can’t skip? I don’t want to get you into trouble young lady.”

  She shook her head. “I can’t skip. But how about we leave in the late afternoon?”

  “Sounds like a plan. I’ll set everything up with work and with my mom to take care of Bobby.”

  “Great.”

  I kissed her again and we held each other for the longest time.

  “This is amazing,” Teri said.

  She sipped her glass of champagne and leaned back in the Jacuzzi. I had to agree with her. The hot water and the lights, with the clear skies, but snow all around us made for a pretty magical time of year to be up here. I came up to the cabin a few times a year, mostly to do some fishing, some hiking, and to just get away with things. I was trying to teach Bobby some outdoor survival skills, but at his age there were few things he could really pick up on. Still, he loved the outdoors and teaching him that respect for nature was enough of a reason to bring him up here.

  And sometimes I came alone when I needed the solitude. And my mother was always happy to watch Bobby. She loved him dearly. If she’d lived closer to me then I would have been happy letting her be his nanny. She would have adored this also, but she was stubborn in her ways and she refused to move to the city.

  I looked around and watched the sky above me. The moon was almost full but very bright. The air was cold and crisp in sharp contrast to the hot water surrounding our naked bodies and the little buzz from the alcohol was warming us up nicely as well.

  “It is,” I said. “This is the perfect place to be sometimes, in my opinion.”

  “It is precious,” she said. “How many personal properties do you own in the country?”

  “In the country I own four mansions and three cabins. In the world outside of the country I own two houses. I have one in Paris and one in Tokyo.”

  She looked astonished. I didn’t want to come off as bragging but she asked so I answered. “You travel a lot?”

  “I used to travel a lot for work, but now I don’t as much because of Bobby. But I still do have the properties and can’t bring myself to get rid of them. “

  She nuzzled up against me in the Jacuzzi, her naked ass grazing against my hardening cock. Oh, she knew what she was doing. And I hoped we’d get into some naked fun soon.

  “So, what would you say if I said I wanted to ask you something very important?” I asked.

  “Well, that would depend on the question you were going to ask me, but I would tell you not to be shy and to go ahead and ask it.”

  “Ok,” I replied. “Well, then I think I’m going to. But first, you have to close your eyes.”

  “What?”

  “Yeah, you have to close your eyes. You have to trust me.”

  “Ok,” she said.

  I waited until her eyes were closed and reached behind me to the towel I’d strategically placed there. I reached under it and grabbed the small box. Then I opened it quietly and held it in front of her face. I was prepared to see her go into shock and start hitting at it.

  “Keep them closed,” I said.

  “Ok…”

  “Teri, you’ve made my entire world complete. I love you with all my heart and soul. I don’t think I can spend another moment on this earth without knowing the answer to one question. Will you be my wife?”

  She opened her eyes and gasped as she brought her hands to her face. Staring right at the box she leapt backwards as if it was a snake that was about to bite her, but then the tears and gasps of total joy came to her face when she realized what was happening and that this was totally serious.

  “Are you…really?” She asked crying her eyes out.

  “I am,” I said. “I want you to be my wife.”

  “Yes! Yes! Absolutely yes!”

  She screamed loudly as she twisted around and hugged me tightly. She kissed me hard on the mouth and began shouting to the sky. “Yes! Yes!”

  Then she started laughing and her laughter was mixed with tears.

  “Baby, you just made me the happiest man in the world,” I said.

  I kissed her again and then I put the ring on her finger. Then we embraced, holding each other, kissing, and under the bright light of the moon in that hot Jacuzzi we made sweet love.

  This was the beginning of a world that I never thought I would have again. I never knew I could be this happy again. And for the first time in a long time I was very optimistic about the future.

  We left the cabin two days later and went back to our normal lives. On the way we stopped and picked up Bobby. We told my mother and Bobby that we were planning to get married. My mother was thrilled. Little Bobby was a little confused, but we sat him down and Teri explained everything to him so sweetly.

  “Honey, your daddy loves me and I love him. And he has asked me to marry him. I said yes. Would that be ok with you? It would mean that I would live with you and daddy all the time.”

  “You my new mommy?”

  “I’ll never replace your mommy. You will always love her and have her in your heart, but I will always be there for you as your friend and anything you ever need I will be there, too. Ok, sweetie?”

  “Ok,” Bobby said with a big smile. He hugged her tightly and kissed her on the cheek. It warmed my heart and I had to fight back the tears. In time Bobby would begin to call Teri his mother, and she accepted that rule perfectly. She loved it; she loved him. And he loved her as well. But we made sure he never forgot his biological mother. He always had her picture beside his bed and he would never go to bed without saying goodnight to it.

  “I’m so happy for you both!” My mother exclaimed as she hugged us together. She’d really hit it off with Teri the other day when we dropped Bobby off and though she thought we were crazy for moving so fast, she was happy for us. It meant a lot to me to have her blessing.

  “Thanks, mom,” I said.

  We put Bobby in the car and continued our drive back to the city, back to our home. We had a lot of things to plan. Teri kept talking nonstop about the ideas she had for the wedding and of course she had to tell her family and friends and she wanted to do that in person.

  I was happy to let her dream about whatever she wanted. She kept saying, “No, that’s too extravagant, or that’s too expensive.”

  I had to remind her that money was no option and she had no business worrying about it. But she was still so humble. She didn’t want me to spend a bunch of money on a party. I told her I wanted to give her whatever she wanted and I absolutely meant it.

  She had to get used to that. She was going to be getting a bit pampered, whether she liked it or not. It was my privilege to do so and I relished every second of it.

  Chapter 10

  Six months later

  Teri

  I drug my toes through the sand and felt the grains squishing between my toes. Ah, that
felt good. I closed my eyes and laid back in the lounge chair and just let the warm sunshine hit my chest.

  I stared down at the rock on my finger and then I glanced over at my new husband lounging by my side reading the newest Stephen King novel with an odd smile on his face. The man loved to read his horror novels. I didn’t get it. But whatever made him happy. He did so much to make me happy.

  The wedding was still very fresh in my mind. It had happened just three days ago. I was so nervous walking down the aisle in front of all my family and friends. Hell, we’d even flown many of them out from various corners of the country to see our union and set them up in great hotels. Darren wanted to make sure that everything that happened at the wedding was absolutely perfect.

  And it was. It was the type of wedding that all little girls dream about when they think they are marrying some handsome, rich prince. But it turned out to be real. Yes, it was real for me. I was marrying a rich prince, in a manner of speaking. The money didn’t mean anything to me; I loved Darren for him. But when it came to having the wedding of my dreams (even though it took him so much time to convince me that money was no object) it was nice to have it to spend. This was our one special day, the day when I would feel like that princess I’d dreamt about as a little girl.

  And it was wonderful, far beyond my wildest dreams. Bobby was the ring bearer. He looked so adorable in his little tuxedo. It was hilarious. And it was so sweet. He did really well. He even held the little flower girls hand when they walked down the aisle, and he was embarrassed because everyone kept smiling at how cute it was.

  And when I saw Darren standing at the altar waiting for me, my heart nearly stopped. Wow… he was so amazing looking. He looked like perfection. There was my handsome prince waiting to take me home, to our beloved castle where we would live out our fantasy.