Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 61900 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 310(@200wpm)___ 248(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61900 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 310(@200wpm)___ 248(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
“She hates this place. Said she could never live in something so small and was certain you’d hate it.”
I spin around. “Hate it? You can’t be serious. It’s perfect.”
He shrugs. “Her words. Anyway, I’ll show you through the house and get Starla settled. I have to go to the club and Delilah is working until five.”
“Straight in the deep end, hey?” I say, putting my things down. “Lucky for you I’m good at my job.”
“How hard can it be?” he mutters, walking out.
Wow. Rude.
“Have you taken care of a baby for a night?”
“I was here last night, she woke up, I didn’t even fuckin’ hear her. She’s always happy, smilin’ and shit, I don’t see the problem.”
I laugh and shake my head. “You just wait until those teeth come in. I’ll ask you again then.”
“Well, that’s what you’re here for.”
“You’re also her dad ...”
He gives me a look as we enter the door back into the main house.
“And?”
“And what?” I say, shaking my head. “That means you have to take on some of it.”
“I didn’t ask for this.”
I gasp and point to Starla. “She’s right there. Maybe watch what you say.”
“She’s a baby, she doesn’t know what I’m saying.”
“Wow, I’m starting to think I might just get along with Delilah because surely she is as shocked by you as I am.”
He stares at me, face tight. “She was the one who insisted I come in this fuckin’ house and play happy family. I didn’t ask for a kid, never wanted one.”
I take Starla from him, pressing her little cheek to mine. “Then you should wrap it up next time, buddy. I don’t know if you learned much in school about the birds and the bees, but if you do the naughty without a condom, then you get this ...”
I point to Starla.
“Did you just say do the naughty?”
“I’m holding a baby.”
“She can’t understand you.”
“Watch yourself, she can.”
He sighs. “Fuck. I have to get going. She has a nap at lunchtime, I think. I don’t know. Call Delilah.”
I frown as he walks away, not even saying goodbye to this gorgeous little angel. I sit on the couch with her facing me, bouncing her on my knee. “Don’t you worry, sweetheart, he’s going to love you so hard that you won’t ever remember a time when he didn’t. I promise.”
“She can’t understand you,” Hugh yells from God knows where.
“I thought you were gone.”
“I am.”
“Why are you still talking to me then? Eavesdropping is rude!”
“You’re talking out loud.”
“So?”
“Fuck me.”
“Watch your language.”
“God damn.”
The front door slams, and I can’t help but smile.
“Well, girlfriend, this is going to be a blast. I just know it.”
Starla smiles.
She knows it, too.
1
“You’re a nanny,” Delilah says, arms crossed, staring at me like I’m the absolute worst thing she’s ever had to lay her perfect eyes on. She holds Starla in her arms, just far enough away that I can’t reach out and touch the beautiful little girl and wipe the dribble running down her chin.
I mean, can she not feel it dripping over her arm? It’s making my fingers twitchy; all I want to do is wipe it up, but instead I have to pay attention to the woman staring at me, her nose slightly scrunched. Delilah is gorgeous, no doubt she knows it, too. She has this perfect blond hair, thick lashes surround her gorgeous, deep-blue eyes and she’s petite, curvy, and perfect. Not a thing out of place, not her clothes, not a hair. Her skin is unflawed.
She is everything.
I wish she could take a shot at my hair for a day, maybe then she might show me a little respect.
This thick mop takes some wrangling to get through.
I’m a mixed bag, so to speak. A little English, a little Filipino, and whatever the hell my father was. My grandma was this gorgeous Filipino woman—I remember her being so incredibly stunning she would stop people in their tracks. She married my grandfather, a tall, handsome, English man who was the sweetest guy I’ve ever known. Together, they had my mom. The perfect blend of the two of them, with her beautiful olive skin, thick hair, and almond shaped eyes.
I don’t know who my father is, but Mom told me he was this rich white guy she had an affair with. She thought he was the one, until he upped and left her pregnant with me. So, here I am. A strange combination of them all. My skin is pale, like creamy porcelain. My mother used to tell me I looked like a doll when I was growing up. My hair is thick, so thick it’s hard to tie up because it’s so heavy. Locks and locks of dark hair, my mom always told me it comes from the Filipino side and it is my greatest asset. My eyes are brown, and the same almond shape as my mother’s. I’m tall and more lean than curvy, but I have a great booty so that counts for something.