Page 26 of The Nanny Contract

Suddenly, Betsy snapped her fingers, grabbing Veronica’s attention.

“Veronica, darling,” she said with a smirk, “you do raise a good point. Maybe I should reassess the inheritance decisions. Just to make sure I’m making the wisest choices.”

Mother winked in Casey’s direction, leaving Veronica fuming.

Veronica stormed out of the room, mumbling something to herself that I couldn’t hear.

It was clear she was angling for a bigger piece of the pie. But at this point, I wasn’t sure if Veronica would receive any piece at all.

Betsy patted me on my shoulder. “Well done, Logan. It’s nice to see the Westbrook fire come out in you.”

She turned to Casey and said, “Casey, don’t worry about Veronica. She’s just jealous she hasn’t found someone with half your charm.”

Casey’s posture relaxed. I could sense that he was truly starting to feel welcome in the family.

“Pastries!” Betsy called out, nearly flying out of the room to retrieve something from the kitchen.

Martin followed her immediately.

And suddenly we were alone, just the two of us.

Me and Casey.

With the tension lingering from the previous night.

My heart raced. We hadn’t talked about it, but it wasn’t like we could pretend.

It was clear we’d both felt it.

The doors clicked shut behind us and the room suddenly felt cavernous in Betsy and Veronica’s absence.

The air felt charged, like the stillness before a thunderstorm.

Casey stood by the fireplace with his hand resting on the marble mantle.

Our gazes were locked—it was as if we were two opposing forces about to collide.

Casey’s shoulders were rigid, and his jaw was clenched.

I wished I could read his mind.

“Well,” Casey said with a smile, “that was… something.”

I rolled my eyes with a laugh. “It always is when Betsy and Veronica are in the same room.”

Casey squinted at me as the fire roared behind him. “Is it always this… overwhelming?”

I shook my head, moving slightly closer to him. “You get used to it. The chaos. The expectations. But it doesn’t make it any easier.”

Casey’s eyes showed something I hadn’t expected—something vulnerable and raw. He didn’t move as I stepped closer, closing the distance between us to just a few feet.

His voice was barely a whisper as he said, “You don’t seem like the type of man who lets things get to him.”

A faint smile crossed my lips, laced with tension. “You’d be surprised.”

I studied Casey’s face, my heart racing as I watched for even a flicker, a momentary crack in his walls that I could pierce through.

I decided to speak up. “Last night, at the carnival…”

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