Page 37 of Nanny for the Damaged Ex-SEAL

She laughs. "No, silly. What I noticed is that the city can be lonely sometimes."

"Aren't all cities like that? They're big and everyone is lost in their grind."

"It just makes you realize we all need true friends."

"Yeah, we all do. You know what, we should have dinner at my place sometime. I'll cook."

Her eyes sparkle. "Really? Oh, that would be great. Can we do it this weekend?"

"This weekend?" It’s a bit too soon for me, but heck, maybe she's the distraction I need from Aria. And she could be my “show Aria true jealousy” plan.

"Perfect. This weekend is just fine," I say.

On Saturday evening, I pull up to the house with Miranda in the car. She cranes her neck to have a good look at the house. "You didn't tell me you were rich."

"I'm not rich. I just got lucky."

"Houses this size in Long Beach cost a fortune. You're really lucky. I wish I was this lucky. Do you earn a lot as a SEAL?"

"Not that much, but my pension takes care of some of the bills and my job at the gym does the rest. From what you told me, you aren't doing too bad yourself."

"I'm not," she says, and opens the car door.

As soon as I open the front door, Ethan runs to hug me, but when he sees Miranda he shrinks back.

"Hey there, little one," Miranda says to him.

"This is Miranda, say hi to her," I urge him.

He twists his toes on the floor. "I'm not a little one. I'm a big boy."

Miranda laughs out loud. "Oh, he's so adorable. What a cutie."

"I'm cute," Ethan says.

"Yes, you are," Miranda responds.

Ethan runs to go meet Aria where she's seated with Ethan's books in front of her. She's helping him with his homework.

I point over at her. "Oh, yeah. Miranda, that's Ethan's nanny."

Aria looks our way with a scowl on her face and says a cold hi to Miranda, then pulls Ethan to her and goes back to helping him with his homework.

Chapter 13

Aria

That'sEthan'snanny.Ethan'snanny. I'm not even worthy of being referred to by name? That's what he thinks of me? My name isn't important. My name has just three syllables, for God’s sake. A. RI. A. It's not that hard to pronounce, is it? So why did he have to introduce me as Ethan's nanny.Oh, yes, look, that's the servant.The one who doesn't mean anything to me. The one who shouldn't be referred to by her name. Why doesn't he just tell Ethan to call me nanny then? He should just erase my name altogether, make every random stranger refer to me as nanny. I bet he’d like that.

Oh, he could get a big placard and write the word nanny on it and put it around my neck. That'd be swell. That'd be perfect. Oh nanny, can you come get his shoes? Oh, nanny, can you come feed him? Oh, nanny come comb his hair. Oh, nanny, nanny, nanny. It'll be fantastic if he gets my family to refer to me as nanny too.

I'm not mad about being called Ethan's nanny. What infuriates me is that I know what Connor is getting at. He could have introduced me as Aria. Of course, I love being Ethan's nanny. I love taking care of him. I love my job because I love this kid so much. But I feel so disrespected tonight. And there's nothing I can do about it.

Ethan says a low ouch; only then do I realize that I've been holding his fingers around the pencil a little too tight. I apologize to him for being distracted.

Connor is laughing with the woman on the other side of the living room. I've never heard him laugh like this before. This is another side of him. The fact that this woman is the one making him laugh so much makes me want to study her. I only glanced at her once when they came in. I want to know what her eyes are like. I want to know what color they are. I know her hair is ash-blonde, but I want to know what Connor sees in her. I want to know what it is that draws him in. What's it about her? What does she have that I don’t? Does she make him moan like I made him moan the night we had sex? Does he moan into her ear like he did mine? Does he kiss her like he kissed me, or does he kiss her better? Who is she? What does she do? Where did he meet her? Did he talk to her first, or did she make the first move? I’m panicking as all these questions scroll through my mind. He’s never brought a woman home before. If he’s bringing this one home, then he must feel something for her. He must really like her. Or does he love her? My heart aches at the thought. If he's in love with her, then why did he have sex with me?

I could ruin what they have right now by going over there and letting her know we had sex. I'd like to see Connor's face when I do that. I'd like to see him stop laughing. I'd like to wipe that look right off his face.

---