Page 33 of The Desire

“Are you sleeping in your clothes or am I helping you undress?”

“Clothes, all clothes, lots of clothes.” I stumble over the words that are pouring out of me while my body shivers at the thought of him stripping me naked.

Fuck my life!

This is going to be torture on a daily basis, and no amount of money will be worth it.

I wonder if he will be angry if I change my mind.

I feel my body being lowered, then the comfort of the mattress under me, and thankfully Rem starts putting distance between us. Sleep starts to claim me, or the alcohol is taking over my body, one or the other.

The blanket from the end of my bed is tucked in around me, and all I can hear as I drift off is Rem’s voice.

“Trouble, fucking trouble.”

Same, Rem, same.

This morning was a lot.

My head was pounding, and I wasn’t letting on to anyone. Rem kept checking, but I refused to admit to him that my hangover was as bad as it was.

I sent a message to Tori telling her how much I hated her, but it just came back with several laughing emoji and the words that she hated me too. She was struggling through Monday-morning meetings, but at least I got to be here.

But then we had to go through Adeline leaving and Blaise crying. Although he handled it better than I was expecting, but then again, it is probably a novelty at the moment, meeting his papa and all the toys and flashy things. When the reality that she isn’t coming back sinks in, then I expect things to get harder.

He has just woken up from a nap, and now Rem has sprung on me that we are taking him to see a pediatrician this afternoon to get a checkup. Which I would have waited a few days to do, but of course, I shut my mouth and just agreed. He is only four years old, not an adult, and too much in one day is overwhelming. I guess that will be my problem later when he starts acting up because he is grumpy and tired.

Sitting in the back seat with Blaise, we pull into an underground parking garage not far from the Darby Hotels office. The building looks posh, and knowing Rem, the doctor is probably the best that money can buy. Probably how he got an appointment so quickly.

Getting Blaise out of the car and taking his hand, he looks a little frightened. The parking area is dark and I think very daunting to him.

“This way.” Rem points, not aware of the anxiety that Blaise is feeling, and starts to walk beside us. His long legs take big strides, and Blaise’s little ones are struggling to keep up. In the end, it was easier to pick him up and walk with him on my hip. He snuggles his head into my shoulder, and then I feel him relaxing a little with the comfort of being so close to me.

I start talking in a whisper to Blaise in French, explaining to him what is happening and trying to put him at ease. Rem just looks at me, and I can see him getting frustrated that he isn’t part of the conversation, but I don’t care now. My job is to look after Blaise, and that’s what I’m doing.

The ride in the elevator is silent, and to be honest, my head still hurts too much to use the energy to fill the void with useless chatting.

Walking through the glass doors, the waiting room looks bright and cheerful, just like you would imagine a pediatrician’s office would look. The walls are painted like a forest, with of course animals, fairies, and elves. Blaise finally lifts his head off my shoulder and looks all around him. I take him to the corner of the room where there are toys, a small table with coloring set up, and books to read. I can hear Rem talking to the receptionist behind me, but I’m too busy helping Blaise choose a picture for us to color together.

We were still busy trying to stay in the lines in our picture when I hear a male voice calling us.

“Blaise Elders.”

Picking up Blaise into my arms again, I turn, and Rem is standing with his hand outstretched to the doctor.

“Dr. Keats, I’m Remington Elders, and this is my son Blaise.” What is with all the hot-looking men in this town, seriously.

“Nice to meet you.” His voice seems kind, which I suppose goes with the job.

Before Rem even has time to strike up a conversation, Doctor Keats turns to me and talks to Blaise.

“Hi, Blaise, I’m Dr. Keats, but you can call me Dr. Drew.” He smiles softly at Blaise then lifts his eyes back up to me. “And you must be Mrs. Elders?” He holds out his hand to me, and I almost choke on my spit.

“No, sorry, no, I’m just the nanny,” I say, fumbling over my words, and I’m already annoyed at myself for saying it, although to be honest, it’s what I am, and I need to get over that and move on.

Rem breaks the awkward moment as he steps closer to me. He sets his hand on my back, and I’m not sure if it’s for comfort to stop my embarrassment or to stake some weird claim on me.

“My apologies, this is Elouise Patterson, a good friend of mine who is helping me with Blaise until he gets settled in. Did your secretary pass on the details?” I can tell in his voice that Rem is a little frustrated.

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