Page 23 of Nanny for My Billionaire

That’s not to say there aren’t plenty of actors who make good parents. I just don’t think she is one of them. What she did seven months ago is all the proof I need to make that judgment where she is concerned, and I sure hope any judge who is given Adam’s case will be able to see that, too.

I am in my own room right now and Sara and Megan have stopped over for a visit. Sara is downstairs with her brother and the boys, and I’m more than happy to spend some time with Megan, who has only just learned from Sara what happened here yesterday.

“Miss, come on, you guys get into a fight because you lied, and then all of a sudden his ex shows up and you’re suddenly on the same side again?” she scoffs. “Don’t you think Adam just found it convenient to keep you around the same way you found it convenient to trick him? What sort of a relationship are you going to grow from that?”

“I don’t know,” I grumble. “I don’t have all the answers. I probably shouldn’t have just had sex with him, either. Nothing like adding another layer of complications to the pile.”

“You had sex with himtoday?As in, after that whole fight and you agreeing to afakeengagement with him?”

“I couldn’t help it, Sis,” I admit. “Being in a room with him is like living in libido land. I don’t know what it is, but he’s got what I want, and it sure seems like he feels the same way about me.”

Megan shakes her head. “Well then, it’s too bad that a real relationship that would last doesn’t hinge on great sex. You know there has to be more to it than the bedroom, especially when there are kids involved.”

I frown. “I mean, we mostly get along just fine. I think our main trouble seems to be dealing with unusual circumstances.”

She keeps going. “Boy, isn’t that the understatement of the year? So, you’re just going to what, pretend you’re his fiancée for a while and then once some judge deems him a worthy father, he’ll just kick you out? That doesn’t seem fair.”

“I don’t think we’ve finished negotiations on all that yet,” I admit ruefully. “I’m not even sure if this relationship is fake anymore since we haven’t talked again since this afternoon.”

“You can’t base your own life on what Adam wants, Melissa,” she scolds. “You’ve got to figure out what you really want, and he does too. And then you have to figure out how to meet somewhere in the middle. If you don’t, the whole thing is liable to blow up. Don’t forget, he’s already been divorced once. That always ups the odds that it might happen another time.”

“That’s harsh, Meg,” I complain. “I’m the one who’s the statistician here. Don’t think I haven’t read that report myself.”

“I mean, let’s talk about that too,” she adds. “You’ve only picked up one client, and it’s the same guy who says he can’t trust you but can’t even keep his hands to himself, and you guys already crashed and burned in your first attempt three years ago.”

“But it wasn’t really an attempt back then,” I protest. “We were just having fun until Adam took it seriously. Looking back, I realize we probably should have started off with a coffee date instead, but even back then the attraction was way too powerful. I don’t really think there’s any way we’d ever be able to separate sexual tension from the rest of our interactions.”

“Girl, you’ve got it so bad,” she says, shaking her head at me. “I don’t know, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe sometimes youcanstart with the sex and work your way up to something meaningful. Just tell me this isn’t yet another experiment for you. Ethan and Evan don’t deserve another woman in their life who’s only interested in playing games.”

I sigh. “I told you already. If I leave this house, it’ll only be because Adam decides he doesn’t want to try, or because we actually do try but it doesn’t work out for us. I know how stupid that sounds, but I promise you I’m not putting anything on hold where my own needs are concerned. You know that the business I want to build can easily be done from home. I don’t know, maybe we could still set it up at the mansion like we planned, and I would just have to commute a few blocks once in a while.”

“You know what I think?” she says. “I think you got a taste for taking care of kids from that nanny gig you did, and you like the idea of a ready-made mom role if you take up with Adam.”

“There is that,” I agree, shrugging. “I love those kids, not just because they are Adam’s, but because they have fallen in love with me too. Didn’t you notice how they never once even tried to run me off like all the other nannies? That makes me feel really special.”

“Just wait until you’re the heavy trying to make them do their homework,” says Megan with a chuckle. “Bet you’ll find their evil side during that scenario.”

“I never had any problem with the other three,” I insist. “But I think that’s because I found ways to make homework fun. I think making a game out of it kills the ‘have to do this’ vibe and makes it more like an ‘I want to see how well I can do’ thing.”

“Weird enough it might work,” she tells me.

“So, there is one other thing,” I say, blushing slightly. “I wasn’t planning on having sex recently, and I’m not on anything. I’m not dumb enough to think the sex isn’t going to happen again, so I made an appointment at the clinic to get on shots again.”

She rolls her eyes. “Well, here’s hoping your spontaneity won’t bite you in the ass this time, then. I mean, I know you’d never dream of ending it if anybody did decide to take up residence in there.”

“Ew, no way!” I agree. “Let’s just hope that’s not an issue. Anyway, we should probably go down and see about dinner. It’s practically three already, and Adam leaves at five.”

“Do you want me to come to your appointment with you?” Megan asks out of the blue. “I mean, I assume the first step is a pregnancy test, so you might want to have some moral support.”

I roll my eyes at her. “God, don’t remind me. Do you really think they’d be able to get a positive result after just eight days, though? That’s how many it will be when we get there.”

“These days those tests can hear a pin drop from a mile away,” she says, grinning wryly. “So, dinner? Maybe we could just order in some pizza. I know a couple of little boys downstairs who wouldn’t mind. So, maybe you should at leasttryto not have sex again this week. What do you think?”

I laugh and shake my head at her. “I can’t make any promises I probably won’t keep.”

Megan laughs with me. “This time next year I’m going to be an auntie.”

I can’t tell her I’ll be good all week when I am pretty sure I have designs on creeping right back into Adam’s bed tonight if he doesn’t creep into mine once he comes home from work. Maybe I should come clean about my lack of preventive measures before he leaves so he can pick up a few more little rain jackets just in case.

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