Page 11 of Billionaire Wolf Needs a Nanny

"That's not how Mommy makes them."

"Oh. Why don't you tell me how to make them, then?"

"It needs to be sweet and fluffy," Emilia said. "Woosh!"

Lacey glanced over at me and shared a look.

"Do you mean whipped cream?" I asked. Of course. It all made sense. I went over to the fridge and pulled out a can of whipped cream.

My niece's eyes lit up and she clapped. "Yeah!"

"Okay, Emilia. Show me how you want it." Holding the can upside down in position, I let her little hands guide me. We squirted the sweet topping onto the pancake until the entire thing was covered under a mound of fluffy whiteness. I had my doubts that my sister let her child eat this much sugar for breakfast, but if this was what it took for Emilia to eat her breakfast, then so be it.

"And eyes," she demanded imperially like the little dictator she was.

Lacey spotted the bowl of blueberries by the stove and brought them over. She let Emilia do the honors of adding two blueberries to the pile of cream.

Finally satisfied that the pancakes were to her standards, Emilia picked up a fork and dug into her breakfast.

My phone buzzed on the counter. Picking it up, I scrolled through the message. It was Anna, informing me that I was late for my meeting. I pocketed my phone and picked up the rest of my things. "Be good for Lacey, okay?"

"Yes, Uncle Blake." To my surprise, Emilia didn't even look up from her pancakes.

"Go on, I've got it from here," Lacey reassured me. "If I need anything, I'll ask Rosa."

Despite my doubts about her abilities, she had handled Emilia's tantrum with flying colors. She was good at her job. Really good.

The day at the office dragged on. For the first time in my life, I didn't care about new products our research department created, or how much market share we gained in the Chinese market. As I listened to my employees talk about sales figures and customer value, all I wanted to do was go home and eat pancakes with my girls.

By the time I came back home, Emilia was already tucked in bed, and Lacey sat in a chair next to her bed reading a bedtime story to her.

I watched them from the doorway as Lacey finished the story. Emilia blinked sleepily, giving me a little wave with her fingers before she clutched Mr. Snuffles close to her chest and snuggled into her covers. Lacey put her finger up to her lips and turned off the light, leaving a single nightlight on before stepping out into the hallway.

Together, we made our way downstairs and toward the kitchen.

"How was she?" I asked.

"I could say that she was an angel, but then I would be a liar," she said with a grin.

I let out a chuckle.

We walked into an empty kitchen. It was late and Rosa was already off duty. I went to the fridge and pulled out a beer. I offered Lacey one. She shook her head.

"Are you sure? If you don't trust my driver to take you home, I can do it."

"Oh, it's not that." She paused for a moment, as if unsure if she should say more. "I plan on getting some writing done when I get home."

I raised my eyebrows. This was interesting. My nanny was full of surprises. "What's your book going to be about?"

"It's a paranormal romance novel about vampires with mind-reading powers. I know it sounds cheesy."

I shook my head. "No, it's an intriguing premise. A romance novel published at the right time riding the market trends can become a major hit." I gestured at the espresso machine. "What about a coffee, then?"

Lacey gazed longingly at it. "Black coffee sounds wonderful. I wanted to make one during the day, but I didn't want to break the machine."

"You're free to use anything you need while you're here." I gestured for her to come closer. "Come on, I'll show you how to use this thing. It's not hard."

She moved close enough that I could smell her delicious scent. I swallowed hard. It took all of my focus to keep my hands steady as I showed her how to tamp the coffee grounds and start the machine. Even though she didn't want any milk in her coffee tonight, I demonstrated how to use the frother. Covering her hand with mine, we moved the container of milk around until it was filled with the perfect amount of foam.

---