Billionaire's naughty nanny

31

Cassie

Ihad mixed feelings when I checked my phone for the last time.

It was late, and I hadn't heard from Alex all day. Not since I hung up on him earlier.

I knew it wasn't the most mature way to end the conversation, but it was the most reasonable thing that came to mind since he was clearly in a rush. I was still tightly wound after the argument when he was leaving, and that put me over the edge.

I knew I was being sensitive toward him, and it didn't help that I was dealing with the surging hormones. Throwing into the mix, I had to make sure I was happy and acting normally in front of Lucy, which only added to the stress I was feeling. She didn't need to know I was arguing with her father.
After all, with what she had been through already with her mother, I didn't want her to worry that there was going to be something bad between Alex and me. Something that would make me go away, too. It would break my heart for her to think I would leave like that, though I was already wondering in the back of my own mind what to do with the way Alex was behaving.

I had taken Lucy back to her house in the afternoon, and we had spent the rest of the day playing and hanging out together. I tried not to think about how it felt so normal. So much like I was the nanny again, and I was just keeping her company while waiting for Alex to get home.

So much had changed in so many ways, but at the same time, nothing had changed at all, and it was difficult for me to even wrap my mind around it.

By the time I was putting her to bed that night, I was wracked with guilt. I wanted to call Alex again and tell him I was sorry twice over, but I held back. It hadn't gone so well the first time I called to apologize, so I worried if I were to try it again, I would just make things worse. And I wasn't sure if I could handle things getting worse on that front. He was the first boyfriend I had had in years; I didn't want it to turn into just a fling.

"Is Daddy coming home tonight?" Lucy asked as I helped her into bed.

"No," I said. "But he's not going to be gone very much longer. I bet you we'll see him tomorrow."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

I forced a grin. I wasn't sure, but I would deal with it then if I was wrong.

"Yes," I said. "He is only going to be gone for a couple of days, and we already made it through one day. So, one more, and he should be home, right?"

"Right," she said.

I wasn't sure how much she believed that, but she went to bed all the same. I chose her favorite book to read to her as she fell asleep, then I laid down next to her. I was tired, and I didn't even realize I myself was falling asleep until I woke up with a start.

It was dark.

Lucy was asleep next to me, but she wasn't what woke me. I was sure I had heard something downstairs. I knew I locked the door, but something had been loud enough to wake me.

My heart raced. I couldn't remember for sure where Jordan was supposed to be, and it wouldn't come as any surprise to me if she had come back to the house. Was she even out of jail? Would she be bold enough to ignore the protective order?

On the other hand, it wasn't a secret Alex was rich. Was there some burglar who had broken in when they saw his car was gone all day?
I didn't know, but I wasn't going to lay there like some scared rabbit waiting for the fox to find me. I would go on the offensive. I had to take care of Lucy, after all – and the baby that was in my belly.

I quickly scanned the room for anything I could use as a weapon. It wasn't like there were a lot of options for a three-year-old girl to have in her room. But I found a small pink baseball bat. It wasn't very heavy, but I figured with the right amount of force, I could turn it into a functioning weapon.