Page 24 of The Desire

“He’s already awake and asking for you. Now just get back there and sleep on it tonight. Call me if you need me, otherwise I’ll be there in the morning whether Rem likes it or not.”

Tori’s words are like a virtual hug, knowing that she is so close and if I called her, she would be here as fast as humanly possible.

“Thanks, hun. I’m okay. I’ll message later tonight. Bye.”

“Talk later.” Her voice is gone, and there’s silence in my head again.

Turning the corner of his street, I can see his house in the distance, and I know I’m so far out of my depth.

I don’t belong here in this world.

But can I manage to survive it for a year and blend in? Or more to the point, be confident enough to be more than the hired help, which is what I will be. When we are out somewhere, how will he introduce me? As Blaise’s nanny, someone who works for him?

How did I go from his one-night stand to the friend zone and now the hired help? I’ve gone the opposite direction of every fairytale romance ever told. I guess I’m no Cinderella who went from the maid to the princess.

I push the button on the gate, and it opens automatically; he has obviously been waiting for me.

Seeing Rem standing at the open door and the warm lighting of his home behind him, I know what I need to do.

“El, are you okay?” He steps back so I can pass by him at the front door.

“I will be. We need to talk,” I say with determination in my voice that I’m not feeling deep down inside.

But isn’t that what they say? Fake it till you make it.

Well, this is me faking it. When really, I want to crawl into a ball in my own bed and forget this all happened.

Suck it up, Elouise, and show this man that you can play in his world too.

Or at least try to.

Chapter Five

REMINGTON

Where the hell is she!

She’s out there wandering around in a foreign place, talking to Tori. I knew that’s what she would do. Just like I called Nic to let off some steam about how goddamn frustrating women are, to which he laughed hard at me, and I didn’t appreciate it. He totally understands what I mean, having Tori. She drives him crazy every day, but somehow, he loves her for it.

Beats me how.

It’s one of the things I love about being single. When a woman annoys me, I can simply walk away. Except this time, I need Elouise, so that’s not possible. It’s going to be a long year with her living under my roof, but I have no other choice. And to be honest, I don’t know what I will do once that year is over. I will still have to hire a nanny to care for Blaise when I’m not here, which does grate on me slightly. I grew up with my mother a stay-at-home mum, which meant she was there in the morning before school, and when I came home, she was there to greet me and my sister with open arms and usually some homemade afternoon tea.

I haven’t thought about that for years. It’s funny how you take for granted the things your parents did for you, until one day, something triggers you to look back and understand how hard they worked to make your life so easy.

Blaise and Adeline woke up, and I managed to communicate with her that there are some snacks in the kitchen for them and that Elouise is out taking a walk. Adeline mentioned that as soon as Blaise woke up, he was asking for the pretty lady and where she is. I felt like answering, “Yes, I’d like to know that too.”

I messaged Nic to find out if Tori was still on the phone with her. At least that way I knew she was still safe and hasn’t done a runner on me. Not that I think she would, and I know it’s the sense of panic I’m still feeling, which is so uncomfortable and not something I’m used to.

I hate not feeling in complete control!

Sitting in my office, watching the security cameras, I see her a few houses down the street walking slowly back toward my home. Head down, shoulders slumped, her body language tells me that she is struggling. After walking to the front door, I continue watching the security screen so I can see her approaching the gate. Stopping for a minute, she seems to contemplate coming in but finally reaches for the buzzer, and I’m already opening the gate.

As I open the door and watch her walk toward me, I feel an overwhelming sense of relief which is unexpected, but one that I shake off as just relating it to my Blaise anxiety that I can’t seem to settle.

“El, are you okay?” That’s not what I thought I was about to say, but the words overtook my original thought of telling her that she should have been back before now.

Fuck, thank God I didn’t say that. I’m not her father, and she’s a grown fucking woman. That would have just started the screaming match again, and that is not what either of us need.

---