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)
“It’s not going to work if that’s the only reason you’re doing it. Maybe you should try and get to know her. She did make you dinner tonight, she is trying.”
I don’t know if that’s true or not, but Star deserves her parents to have a decent shot at things.
“Yeah, I fucked that up.”
“It takes work on both sides, maybe put a bit more into it and you might find you two have something to connect over.”
He glances at me. “What about you? You got a man?”
God.
My stomach flips.
I don’t have a man, but I do have a problem. An ex that, it’s safe to say, is toxic. And yet I find myself unable to detach myself from him. I’ve tried. I tried with Rhett, and that nearly cost me my friendship with Gabriella. I have tried to date. Tried blocking his number but, somehow, he always gets back in, making me believe that he has changed only to show me time and time again that he is the same narcissistic person he has always been. I swore this time I would cut contact for good and, so far, I’ve managed to keep that promise to myself.
“No,” I answer Hugh. “I want to focus on saving some money and getting out of here.”
Too many bad memories lay dormant in this town for my liking. After I lost my mom, everything just went bad. I never felt like I had a home here after that, I never felt like I fit in. Things just...don’t feel right here.
“You don’t like it here?”
I shake my head. “It’s not that I don’t like it, I just don’t ... I don’t fit here anymore.”
That’s the best I’ve got.
“Fair enough.”
I stand, placing my empty beer bottle in the recycling bin. “Thanks for the beer, I’m going to have a bath and turn in for the night. Are you okay listening out for Star until Delilah gets home?”
He nods.
“Night, Hugh.”
“Night.”
I give him a smile and walk into my room. I close the door, glancing back at him one more time. He’s staring at me in a way that makes my body feel funny, a good feeling, a feeling of ... connection.
God.
I can’t afford to end up tangled in something like this.
Not after Rhett and Gabby.
Not after him.
No.
This one has to stay exactly how it is.
No matter what.
2
“Hey.”
Someone is holding my shoulders, shaking me.
My eyes flutter open and it takes me a moment to realize it’s Hugh. He is staring down at me, shirtless, hair a mess, hands firmly gripping my shoulders as he jerks my body trying to wake me up. “What?” I croak, shoving his hands off and sitting up. “What’s going on?”
“Star is crying.”
I blink, rubbing my eyes. “What?”
“She’s crying.”
Huh? Who’s crying?
Oh. Shit. Star.
“Where is Delilah?”
“She’s not home. I don’t know how to make a bottle.”
“Fuck me,” I mutter, climbing out of bed. “Are you serious? Can you not read? I’m sure you could figure it out.”
His jaw tightens. “I don’t even fuckin’ know how to change her, don’t get snippy.”
“Me?” I say, running my hands down my face. “You’re the one waking me up at two in the morning because you can’t figure out how to take care of your own child.”
He glares at me. “Can you just fuckin’ help me?”
I reach down, grabbing my robe as I shoot him a look so vile I hope it stays with him for a good long time. It’s safe to say I’m not good with being woken up in the middle of the night. I’m a nanny, yes, but I also get paid to do everything during the day. I don’t take night shift, I work with families who want to do that part themselves, and Delilah made it clear that night time was for her and Hugh. So why he’s in here, looking at me like a helpless puppy, is beyond me.
I stomp out of my room and into the house, walking into the kitchen and throwing a pointed finger at the perfect row of sterilized bottles on the counter. “See those,” I mutter, “all ready to put formula in and take to your daughter.”
“Don’t know how much,” he grunts.
“Can you read, Hugh?”
His look should scare me; it doesn’t.
I can hear Star crying, her little wails softening my angry mood. Poor bubba, it isn’t her fault her parents don’t know how to get their shit together. I scoop enough formula out for her bottle, and then shake it up, popping it in the bottle warmer. “While I’m doing this, you could go and take her from her crib and change her.”
“What for?”
I growl. “You can’t be serious? You don’t know how to change her?”
“We hired a fuckin’ nanny for a reason, I told you, I didn’t even fuckin’ want kids and you expect me to just magically know how to take care of one? I haven’t had to change her, Maggie.”