Page 47 of Matteo

“Mama.” Layla pats my cheek. Did I seriously forget my daughter when she was in my arms? I’m losing it.

Knock it off, you’re the housekeeper, and that’s it. Don’t go dreaming of things that will never happen.

Amy

Sherry arrives exactly when Matteo says she would. And is so freaking nice. She’s also more grateful than Matteo for me taking over for her. I was given the dry-cleaning phone number and told they pick up and drop off. She sent everything he owned off because she didn’t have time to do laundry and advised me to do the same with my clothes.

I’m given an array of cleaning products because I’m shocked to find she’s right—there’s only dishwashing soap and laundry detergent in the condo. She also gives me a few recipes to get out stains and walks me through how to clean things like the tubs with the jets. And how to use the washer and dryer, just in case.

Once she’s gone, I have breakfast with Layla. Layla says ‘dada’ about a hundred times, leaving me cursing those shows he let her watch. I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or not she keeps looking for Matteo. He’s only been gone a few hours and she already misses him.

I deep clean the kitchen and the dining room, not missing the baseboards.

The black phone rings, scaring the shit out of me. “Hello?”

“Ms. Goff, you have a guest—Ms. Nancy Calder. Should I let her up?” the man asks.

I’m surprised he called me by my maiden name. I never got around to changing it legally, but I used Danny’s last name daily. “Um, yes, please.”

As I wait for her, I’m tortured by thoughts of the need to file for divorce. Fear has me flinching at dealing with Danny at all. I’m grateful as fuck I never changed my last name, but Layla has his name, and I hate it. I don’t want her to have anything to do with him.

I don’t know all the legalities of how to do it. I also have no doubt he’ll sign away his parental rights if I give up child support. Once he does that, I can stop being afraid he will try to take her from me. His threat of filing for custody and how he would get custody because of his family still eats at me. He promised I would never see her again if I left him.

But Matteo promised me it wouldn’t happen. That his family is mightier than Danny’s, and I believe him. Except does he really want to get involved with a divorce and custody case? Layla, feeling my turmoil, lays her head on my shoulder and babbles softly.

I’m grateful for the knock on the door, pulling me away from my thoughts. She’s older than I thought she would be. I’m guessing she’s in her early forties, with a few streaks of gray throughout her dark hair. “Hello, thanks for coming. I appreciate it. I’m Amy.”

She smiles and waves at Layla. Layla smiles and waves back. “Hi, I’m Nancy. I can never say no to Elizabeth. She’s such a sweetheart. And who are you?”

Layla buries her face in my neck. “This is Layla. She can be a little shy with strangers.”

Well, she was until Matteo. Then again, I wasn’t awake for how their first meeting went.

“Hi, Layla. You’re so pretty.” Her voice is lower.

The minute Layla hears that, she peeks out at Nancy. “She loves to hear how pretty she is. Can I get you anything to drink? I can put on more coffee.”

“Oh no, thank you. I’ve had my max on caffeine today.” She lifts a tumbler. “This is the eight thousandth attempt to drink more water. I’ve been promised this is what will help me get my eight glasses of water in a day.”

I laugh. “I’ve never been good at it either. If I get more than three glasses, I’m proud of myself.”

“Me too. It’s a little easier on the days when I’m working because I keep to a schedule. That is another reason I didn’t mind working today. I’m also never going to say no to more money. I love this family. They’re so giving. Which is shockingly rare among the wealthy. I once had a family say I had refrigerator privileges. Then would deduct everything I ate from my pay at the end of the week. They charged me two dollars for a pickle.” She shakes her head. “Never mind, she’d spend thousands of dollars on clothes she never wore. Rafe and Carrie are so down-to-earth and sane. I love them.”

“Wow, I can’t imagine working for people who did something like that. Thank you for your help today. I would never have asked for a nanny myself—Matteo was insistent.”

“I’m happy to help. I get so bored on my days off with the weather a question of what it’s going to be on a given day. I’m not okay driving when it’s raining out. So, I can’t make plans. I end up staying in my room, vegging in front of the television. Elizabeth paying me for a day and a half helps.”

I’m stunned. “A day and a half? I keep thinking I won’t be surprised, but I am every time I find out what Bitsy spends—I mean Elizabeth.”

Her eyes go wide. “You got Bitsy already? She really does like you.”

“I’m confused. Why is it a big deal she referred to herself as Bitsy?”

She chuckles. “Because in rich people's land, it means you’re in the inner circle. She gave you permission to call her Bitsy in public—which is the only place you’ll call her that. At home, in private, you’ll call her Elizabeth. Only someone who is a good friend would dare call someone Bitsy in public.”

“Huh. I wondered why Matteo rolled his eyes when he referred to her as Bitsy.”

“Are you looking for a nanny? I have a friend who isn’t happy where she’s at. If you are, she’s also a native Spanish speaker—the way the Castillo family wants their nannies to be.”

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