Kissable

1.

The house looming in front of me is bigger than I could have ever imagined. Two stories high with a cul-de-sac and a pretty little garden circling the cul-de-sac driveway. The exterior is marbled white with a grey slated roof and columns supporting a shaded staircase up to the front double-doors. I suck in a deep breath to prepare myself before I finally get out of the car. The driver looks straight ahead and not at me; I'm grateful he wasn't trying to rush me to get out.

As soon as I'm out of the car, the driver moves to the trunk to pull out my suitcases; only two. My little bit of belongings fit right inside them. He sets them on the road beside me and gets back into his car to drive around the cul-de-sac towards the garage, leaving me alone to figure out what I should do next.

Unsure of myself, I grab a suitcase handle in each hand and pull them with me up to the front double-doors. Letting go of one, I press the doorbell beside the left door and listen to it ring inside. There's a shout behind the door before it opens to reveal a middle-aged man with graying hair, exhausted green eyes and stubble across his chin. Behind him, just slightly in view, I can see three kids peeking through the round railings of an elegant staircase.

I swallow hard and as quietly as I can.

"Mr. Kensington, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm your nanny and maid, Kenzie Forst."

I stick my hand out politely and he takes it. His hand is firm and calloused, rough against my softer, smaller one, but I smile at him anyway. Our hands part and I grab my other suitcase again.

"Come inside, Kenzie." He steps aside for me and I pull my suitcases just within the foyer. The curious children, each seeming to only be a year or so apart, study me with big eyes. They're a bit younger than I was led to believe; somewhere between the ages of five and eight rather than assumed eight and older.

Nonetheless, I know I can handle it.

Mr. Kensington turns to appraise his children. His thin lips turn up a tiny bit in an amused smile. "Children. Come down and say hello to your nanny."

Without delay, the three children scamper down the tornado stairs and stop in front of Mr. Kensington and I. From left to right, my new boss introduces me to them.

"These are Noah, Jackson and Scarlett. Noah is the eldest and Scarlett the youngest. Children, say hello to Kenzie."

Noah is a cute kid with blonde hair and brown eyes and an athletic build to him, possibly from his father's request. Jackson is smaller with brown hair and brown eyes, and Scarlett has brown hair and green eyes. The only one that mostly resembles their father is Noah from what I can see without having met Mrs. Kensington.

"Hello Kenzie." The children chime together. I can't help but smile.

I turn my attention back to Mr. Kensington. "Will I be meeting Mrs. Kensington today?"

Mr. Kensington waves the children off. They linger for a moment, each one as curious as the other before they turn and reluctantly head back up the spiral staircase. The house inside is much bigger than it appears on the outside. I'm a little intimidated by the size. The odds of me getting lost for a while are high.

"Soon. Right now, my darling wife is out at the spa enjoying her afternoon with her friends. When she comes home for supper, you'll meet her then. Come, I'll show you to your room."

I follow Mr. Kensington up the staircase, being careful not to scuff the glossy wooden steps with my suitcases. I carry them instead of dragging them; I can use the workout. These stairs will be plenty enough to keep me fit while I'm here.

As we reach the top, I'm amazed to find that there is a railing continuing from the staircase down the hall where the top floor by the stairs is open to look down over the foyer. I take a second to admire the view before Mr. Kensington clears his throat. I scamper after him further down the hall to stop in front of double-doors. I try to hide an amused smile as I realize that double-doors seem to be the style for rich people.

Mr. Kensington pulls open the doors and I gape at the huge room before me. The bed sits in the middle of the room, and even seeing that it's a king size, it barely swallows up the space the room gives. There's a large dresser against the right wall and a vanity with an elegant sparkling mirror on the left. Beside the vanity is a door which either leads to a closet or a bathroom, and on the side with the dresser is another door. There's not much else in the room, but Mr. Kensington chuckles at my reaction.

"The door on the left leads to your bathroom and the door on the right leads to your closet. I know there isn't much else in here, but you're free to add things to it. Should you being here not cause any problems, that is."

I turn to look at him in amazement. "You mean that? Mr. Kensington, when I took this opportunity, I only expected to get the bare minimum and be treated like it's a job. I don't want to intrude."

"Nonsense." He waves away my words. "Hiring you is not just a job. Ambrosia and I don't have as much time as we'd like to be with the kids and take care of things here. In order to maintain our ability to live this way, we sacrifice a lot of our time for working and traveling. Having you here is a job, yes, but more than that, it's welcoming you into the family."

I set my suitcases down fully and give Mr. Kensington a wide, genuine smile. "Thank you, sir. I won't disappoint you, I promise."

"I know you won't." He runs a hand through his graying brown hair and stifles a yawn. "Take some time to settle in. Explore the place. I must attend to some paperwork before Ambrosia comes home."

"Of course, thank you." I watch him walk down the hall towards the stairs.