Page 67 of Nanny for the Bossy Billionaire

“I guess… Apparently, she’s been in therapy ever since I took Ethan and fled Austin. She says it helped her come to terms with her workaholic tendencies to the point that it forced her to create a reasonable work life balance for herself. She told me she’s better at prioritizing now, and knows that Ethan should come first.”

“Oh wow, that is good.”

“Yes, it is, but talk is cheap. I’m going to have to look into all of this and see whether it’s true.”

“Are you going to have your creepy private investigator follow her around with a camera again?”

He blushes.

I smile then continue, “Okay, and if it is true, what then?”

“I don’t know.”

I offer a chuckle. “Care to elaborate?”

He runs his hands through his hair. “Ethan and I have gotten to a good place. I’m not sure that I want to disrupt that for June. She doesn’t deserve it. My son almost died because of her. I can forgive her for that, but putting Ethan in a position where that could happen again seems ludicrous to me.”

He continues, “Even if what she said is all true, what if it doesn’t last? What if she goes back to her old ways? As it is, Ethan has no memories of her. If she comes back into his life, and I have to cut her out again, he will be much worse off.”

“Okay, all that makes sense. If you decide to go on the way things are for the reasons you just stated, I wouldn’t blame you. The question I would ask, however, is, why then did you meet with her?”

He throws his hands up. “Because you were right. It will be better if Ethan had his mother in his life. I’m not a behavioral psychologist, but even a layperson knows that kids stand a better chance at life having both parents raise them. I don’t want to deny Ethan of that if I don’t have to.”

“Well, it’s a good thing you’re torn about this. It’s not an easy decision. It isn’t one that should be made lightly. Just remember, you have time. You can think about it. Neither June nor Ethan are going anywhere.”

“You’re right.”

“When am I ever not?” I smirk at him.

That gets a chuckle out of him. “You know, I told her about you.”

The smile jumps from my face. “You did what?”

“I told her about you,” he repeats.

“Why would you do that?”

“Because if she wants to be back in Ethan’s life, she needs to know that you exist, and know the position you hold in mine and Ethan’s lives. If she had a problem with that, it would have affected my decision.”

“Absolutely not,” I snap.

“Excuse me?” His face scrunches up.

“Ethan is the priority here. We need to do whatever is best for him. Although I love him, I am not his mother. In the grand scheme of things, June is better for him than I am. If she isn’t comfortable with me, I would leave. It would hurt like hell, but in that situation, that’s what would happen.”

“I agree, Ethan comes first. However, how does it benefit Ethan to have you ripped from his life? He has become very fond of you. Also, how does it help Ethan to have a heartbroken dad? The only person who wins in that picture is June.”

“It’s not about winning and losing. It’s about right and wrong.”

“Why are we even bickering about this? She doesn’t have a problem with you and I being together.”

“Oh. Really?” My eyebrows draw together.

“No, she doesn’t. She was taken aback when I first told her about the age difference and your role in Ethan’s life, but ultimately she got over it.”

“You see, she’s a reasonable person. I would’ve been surprised if the details of our relationship didn’t give her pause, but what’s important is that she’s accepted it. I think that should count as a point in her favor.”

“I’m sorry, but are you her lawyer?” Reid says as he walks towards me, closing the distance between us. He puts his hands around my waist and pulls my body against his.

---