Page 40 of Risky Game

Progress, indeed. Hopefully, once I talked to Vanessa, which I planned to do first thing in the morning, I’d be able to figure out the rest of some of Amelia’s struggles, and the rest would follow much more smoothly than it had already.

Leaving work early. Be home soon.

Because why would I stay behind my desk, thinking of my nanny, when I could enjoy ice cream with her and my daughter and enjoy them both in person?

Yes, sir.

She probably didn’t mean anything by it. Was most likely just being her sassy, smart self.

But that sir. God, she had no idea what she was doing to me. What she was starting.

Yeah. I was going home to my nanny.

The house was completely quiet when I walked in. A stark change from how it’d been all week, I would have wondered if Amelia and Ruby were gone somewhere, but her car had been in the driveway. After dumping three different flavors of ice cream and two fresh boxes of popsicles into the freezer, because I was a sucker for treats and my daughter was too, I went searching for them. There was no movement out by the pool, so I headed upstairs. I only went up there to put Amelia to bed. I didn’t need the temptation of being on the same floor as Ruby any more than necessary, so I’d avoided the floor as much as possible.

But their whispers grew louder the closer I got to Amelia’s room. A giggle sounded from far away and my chest swelled.

Amelia was giggling. With Ruby.

I was grinning as I pushed open the door to Amelia’s bedroom, but it was empty. Not a single toy or shoe or piece of clothing in sight, almost like it was empty.

Had to be Ruby. My girl was messy. She could throw her entire toy basket across the room and step on it for weeks if we let her. Another quick peek proved they weren’t there, so I left her room and headed back toward the stairs.

Maybe they were watching a movie in the theater room. Or in the workout room?

Another giggle and I spun back around. No, they were in Ruby’s room.

I almost didn’t enter. Shouldn’t have, but her door was open, and I couldn’t help myself. Outside the first night Amelia was here and we were all together, I hadn’t even glanced in Ruby’s bedroom’s direction. I was laser focused. Amelia’s room. Downstairs. No side-eyeing the bedroom where the nanny was doing who knows what, wearing who knows what in her bed.

I stepped closer, put my palm on the door, and when I found her room empty of the occasional giggler, I frowned.

Damn. Light shone from beneath her bathroom door. That was too personal, right? Too much of a boundary crossing?

Somehow, my feet took me in that direction anyway, and I paused before the door.

“Think my daddy will think I’m pretty, Miss Ruby?”

Something clattered on the bathroom surface. In her rich, soothing voice, Ruby said, “I think your daddy always thinks you’re pretty. Do you know why?”

“Cuz he’s my dad and he has to?”

“No.” This time, it was Ruby’s giggle. “Because you are pretty. You have wonderful hair and very pretty eyes, but did you know it’s not your hair or your eyes that make you pretty?”

“It’s not? Mommy says she gets her hair done to be bootiful.”

“Well, nice hair can make a woman feel pretty. Sure. But prettiness really comes from inside, in your heart, and how you treat people. You’re nice to people, right?”

There was a beat of silence. “Most of the time, I think.”

Another of Ruby’s giggles. I should have backed away. Left. I should have given them this moment, but my chest ached to see the expression on both of their faces. I wanted to see the seriousness in Ruby’s as she imparted wisdom to my daughter, and I wanted to watch Amelia soaking it up.

I couldn’t without ruining the moment. Something had broken through with them today, and I needed to give them this.

“Well,” Ruby said, and her voice was softer. Lighter. “We can’t be perfect all the time, but I think you’re nice. And I know your dad does. He says wonderful things about you and how you treat your friends, so I know you’re pretty on the inside, too.”

“Oh.”

A moment. She whispered something I couldn’t hear, but then there was Ruby’s equally quiet, barely audible, “You’re welcome. Now, blue eyes or purple?”

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