Page 17 of Baby Contract

Is that disappointment in her voice? Is she disappointed that I’m using Violet to secure a deal, or is there something else driving her regret?

“You’ll enjoy it. Osaka is beautiful, the people are kind, and the food is great. You like noodles and seafood?”

“Not necessarily together.”

“There’s plenty of variety, and if you don’t like what’s served, I’ll hire a chef for you.”

“That’s not necessary. I’m not a picky eater, but to be honest, I’m not much of a traveler. In my past nanny job, when the family went on vacation, I got those days off.”

“Are you saying you don’t want to go?” That hadn’t occurred to me. Where I go, these two should go too. Always.

“No, but I don’t even have a passport.”

“Leave it all to me.”

She seems doubtful when I leave. Inside, Ben is in the kitchen eating some snack Errol has prepared. “I need passports for Addison and Violet.”

“ I’ll work on it. Where are you headed?”

“Japan.”

“You be careful with those two girls,” he warns. “They’re fragile.”

“I’m not doing anything that would hurt them, Ben. It’s a little trip overseas to a nice, safe place.”

“I’m not saying that the country is the danger here.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? That I’m the threat?”

He shrugs. I glance toward Errol, who holds up his spoon. “I’m just the chef,” he declares like a coward.

I shake my head toward the men. “You are seeing problems where there are none. Violet is better off with me than Dex and Megan, and Addison, well, there are worse places.” Like in Remington’s home.

Chapter Ten

ADDISON

“Addison.” My eyes flutter open at the sound of Carr’s voice.

He’s standing over me. I smile, thinking maybe I’m still dreaming because why else would he be so close when I’m in bed? Those things only happen in dreamland.

“Why do you always look so handsome?” I sigh. Then my heart sinks when a voice comes over an intercom letting us know the plane will be descending soon. I’m not asleep. “Oh my God.” I sit up, wiping my mouth to make sure I wasn't drooling in my sleep. Maybe he didn’t hear me.

“You think I’m handsome?” Carr smirks, letting me know he without a doubt heard every single word I said. Heat immediately rushes to my cheeks.

As if he doesn’t know he’s handsome. Not to mention charming with his quirky personality. I’m never sure what he might say, but it always surprises me. Plus, he’s crazy rich and smart. I try to halt my thoughts, knowing I can go on and on.

I don’t think he needs to hear from plain Jane me that he’s handsome. I’m sure women fall all over him. He’s the total package. So far, the only slight downfall I’ve seen in him is that he can be a bit of a workaholic. While most times, I would consider this a bad trait, I've been thankful for it over the last week. I needed to maintain some distance from him. It was in the best interest of everyone.

“The flight felt faster than I thought it would be.” I skip right over his question. “How’s Violet?” Maybe if I ask enough random things then he’ll forget what I said. I mean it’s worth a shot.

“She’s still asleep.” Carr sits down in the seat next to mine.

I raise mine back up. It reclined all the way down to lay flat like a bed. The plane is actually pretty cool. It has all these small pods, and we're the only people up in this area. Carr had booked the entire section off due to concerns about Violet's first time flying, but she turned out to be an angel.

"So you think I'm handsome?" Guess my little plan didn’t work.

"Carr." I laugh. "I think you and everyone else know you're handsome. I didn't mean to say that out loud. I thought I was dreaming."

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