All night, I couldn’t stop thinking about the way Gavin had stared at me yesterday. All through lunch, I had felt his eyes on me, as if he were attempting to peer into my soul. It made me feel exposed but beautiful in an odd way, and I hoped to heaven on high that Camila hadn’t caught me staring the way I thought I was at Gavin over lunch. Because if she had, the entire spa would know about it come Monday morning.
Nevertheless, I yawned and stretched my arms above my head. I reached for my phone on my bedside table and noticed I didn’t have any missed calls or texts, so maybe I had gotten off scot-free in terms of Guadalupe’s niece seeing a little too much. Not that there was much to see. Oh, no. Just a lonely girl, gawking at a Hollywood dreamboat while he onboarded me to be his nanny.
“What a fucking life I lead,” I whispered as I set my phone against my chest.
Suddenly, my phone lit up. It started vibrating against my pajama shirt, and I tossed my arm over my face. For a split second, I thought maybe the jig was up. Perhaps it was one of the girls calling to fill me in on my own gossip, or possibly it was Gavin letting me know that he wouldn’t be needing my services. Something—anything—to burst my delightful bubble.
I didn’t bother seeing who was calling. “Hello?” I asked groggily. “Eva, I know I told you that you wouldn’t be working Sundays, but Camila just called out sick.”
Once I heard his voice—and the panic inside of it—I bolted upright in my bed. I shook my head. “So much to unpack with that.”
“I know it’s early, and I’m sure I’ve woken you up, but I called Camila last night and asked her to work some overtime for me because of a work emergency today. She agreed but then called this morning mid-vomit to tell me—”
I waved my hand in the air and interrupted him, “Weak stomach, sorry. But, I get the point.”
He sighed. “I’ll make the overtime well worth it. But, I need someone to watch Asia while I’m gone for the day. Can you get here in an hour or so?”
I drew in a sobering breath. “Give me thirty minutes, and I’ll be knocking on your door.”
“Thank you. Thank you so much.”
I nodded. “See you soon.”
My mind focused on only one goal as I hung up and tossed the covers off my body—getting to Gavin. He sounded almost frightened. And while I had no idea why, I certainly didn’t want his daughter catching the brunt of that insanity. I washed the critical parts of my body down with a washcloth before throwing my hair into a bun. Then I pulled on the comfiest clothes I could find. Thunder boomed in the distance, and the sun was quickly swallowed up by dark clouds forecasting a lovely afternoon of rain and fog to punctuate the weekend. And as I grabbed my to-go bag that I was thankful I had packed the other day, I slipped into some house shoes and booked it out the door, racing to Gavin’s to get there within the specified timeframe.
“I’m so sorry for this,” he said as he opened my car door, “there’s just been a shit-ton of wrenches thrown—”
I held my hand up again before I eased out of the car. “You get going. Let me take care of things here. Any time when you might be home so I can let Asia know?”
He walked me up to the front door. “Sometime around dinner. Six, at the latest.”
I walked into his foyer. “All right, sounds good to me. We’ll be here!”
“Eva.”
My eyes met his. “Yes?”
He smiled softly. “Thank you for this. Really.”
I reached out and placed my hand on his shoulder. “Go, Gavin. I’ve got this.”
I watched his body lean in toward mine, and my heart leaped into my throat. Is this man really about to kiss me? I wondered what might happen if he actually did. If those wonderful, impeccable lips that had kissed so many leading ladies might actually want to kiss my own. But, as fleeting as the motion was, his back stood straight again, and he moved away from my touch.
Before waving at me as he jogged off toward his multi-car garage.
Wheeze.“D—Daddy?”
I whipped around at the sound of Asia’s struggling voice. “Hey there, pretty girl. How are you?”
Her eyes widened as she wheezed again. “Daddy’s gone?”
I closed the door and rushed over to her before I scooped her into my arms. “Just for a little bit. But, I promise I won’t leave your side. Okay?”
Asia clung to me, and it broke my heart. I felt her chest jumping with a need for air as her wheezing got worse. I walked over to the massive staircase and sat her down, then crouched in front of her and took her hands in mine.
Then, I peered into her panicked eyes. “With me. As slowly as you can. You’re safe, Asia. Daddy’s gonna be back around dinner, and we’ll all share a wonderful meal. We can even cook it ourselves; how does that sound?”
Tears lined her eyes. “Promise?”
