Page 65 of Nanny for the Bossy Billionaire

“Yes.”

“Do you not see how inappropriate that is?”

“It’s not inappropriate. Naomi and I are in love.”

She laughs. “Please be serious.”

“I am being serious.”

She’s silent for a moment, then finally says, “Fine, even if you are in love with each other, still, this is such a stupid idea. What would possess you to date Ethan’s nanny? What happens when you break up and she sues you for sexual-harassment?”

“Naomi isn’t like that.”

“Please, Reid. You’re not stupid enough to believe that. People do all sorts of crazy things and tell all sorts of lies in the throes of heartbreak. What happens if she accuses you of sexual misconduct? How is that going to reflect on your son? Also, I’m sure he has bonded with her. When you break up she’ll leave and break his heart. Also, a 22-year-old? I never took you for a cradle robber.”

“First of all, stop saying ‘when we break up’ as if that’s a given. Secondly, as far as whether Naomi will try to ruin me if our relationship ends, that is a risk I am willing to take, and quite frankly it’s none of your business. About the age difference, again, none of your business. I only told you about Naomi because she worries about what your re-entrance into our lives means for her.”

June scoffs. “I’m sure she does.”

“Don’t say it like that. The only reason I’m here right now is because of Naomi.”

June gives me a sideways glance.

“Yes. I was quite content to never see you again, but Naomi felt it would be cruel and that I would be doing Ethan a disservice by keeping his mother out of his life. So she’s not some ditsy young girl who doesn’t know the ways of the world. In a lot of ways, she’s more mature than the both of us.”

She clears her throat. “Well, if that’s true then I guess I owe this Naomi person my thanks.”

“You do, indeed.”

June takes a deep breath. “So what do you say? Can I see my baby boy?”

Given everything she’s told me, I think it would be good for Ethan to have her in his life, but I’m still not sure.

“I need to think about it.”

“That’s fair, but I would like to just reiterate that I am no longer a threat to Ethan. He’s my son and I love him and I want to have him back and I want him to have me. I don’t care what it takes. I’ll even move back up here. All I want is to be the mother to my son.”

With that she stands up and walks out of the coffee shop.

That didn’t exactly go smoothly, but it went better than I anticipated.

Like I told her, I’m going to have to think about it. I keep having flashbacks of the day my son almost died. She was the cause of that, so it’s going to take some time to get over it, if I even can.

Whatever I decide, I’ll let her know in a couple of days.

23

NAOMI

When Reid told me he had made plans to meet with his ex-wife, I went through a jumble of emotions all at once.

First, was jealousy.

This is a woman with whom he had a connection at some point in the past. I haven’t seen them interact. So I can’t be sure of the status of their feelings toward each other.

At the moment, Reid is angry at June, but if you take away the anger, what’s under it? It could be either love or apathy. Of course, I hope the romantic relationship is over for good, but I worry that it isn’t.

Next, I felt relief for Ethan, because this could lead to him having his mother back. I honestly think he would benefit from that if she’s no longer a danger to him.

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