Kissable

5.

I wake Scarlett up first. As she argues with me in her sleepy muffled voice beneath her pillow, I pull an outfit for her out of her closet; a pretty red dress with black stockings and a light jacket that I drape along the end of her bed. I pick out a pair of black flats to go with it and give her a tiny nudge on her shoulder. Through the walls, I can hear Jackson moving around inside his room.

"Come on, Scar. You have to get up and get ready for school."

"I don't wanna." She pulls her blankets over her pillow-covered head.

I roll my eyes and pull the covers down before I grab the pillow. "You don't have a choice. I'm not leaving your room until you get up. I'll stand here all day and be loud so you can't sleep."

She lifts her head some and glares at me, but it's still too sleepy to really be intimidating. I hide my smile so she won't get any more irritated than she already is. I point at her clothes at the end of the bed and give her what I hope is a stern look.

"Get up, Scarlett."

Throwing her other pillow at me, Scarlett reluctantly gets off the bed and disappears into the bathroom. Pleased that she's up, I set the pillows back onto her bed and leave her room. I'll have to tidy up later, but that was a future me problem to handle. I knock lightly at Jackson's door and lean my forehead against the cool wood.

"You up, Jackson?"

"Yes." He calls back.

I leave him be. I move to Noah's room and knock. Silence greets me on the other side of the door so I try the knob and open it. The room is dark; the dim light of the hallway gives me enough coverage to fumble along the wall and turn the switch on so light shines down on the room. From the bed, Noah groans and turns to hide his face from the light. It makes me smile to see that he and Scarlett are similar here.

I cross the room and perch on the edge of his bed before reaching over to muss his hair. Noah tries to bat my hand away blindly, another little muffled groan coming from him; this one is far more annoyed than the first. I smile a little wider.

"You going to get up, Noah?"

He ignores me. He burrows deeper into his bed unsuccessfully. I pull the comforter off him some.

"Come on, Noah. The faster you get up, get dressed, the faster you can have breakfast and get the school day over with. If you do this for me, I'll have a fun activity planned for after school. I'll even let you put off your homework for a little while."

Noah responds a little bit to my bribing. Just enough for him to lift his head and squint his eyes at me in the light. I bite back my giggles at the sight. He nods at me and pushes his comforter off to get up. Satisfied with his progress, I leave the room and lean against the railing overlooking the foyer to wait for the children to join me.

The massive house is still too quiet for the amount of activity occurring. The upstairs is muffled noises I can hear emanating from the children's rooms, but downstairs any noises that may be happening doesn't quite reach up the spiral staircase. I can smell breakfast though. My mouth waters at the thought of digging into some bacon or eggs, maybe even pancakes.

Jackson joins me first, kneeling to poke his head between the railings and look down at the foyer. He's the quietest out of the kids, I've noticed. He's also the most willing to follow directions, and doesn't need as prompted to do things. I smile almost fondly at his head, then turn as Scarlett bounds over and tries to climb on his back.

"Carry me!" She demands him.

Jackson tries to knock her off. "No! You're too heavy!"

"I'll carry you, Scar." I lean down so she can clamber up on my back and hook her arms and legs around me. Noah joins us just a moment later and the four of us make our way downstairs.

In the dining room, I let Scarlett slide down my back to land on the floor and help her settle into her seat. Mr. Kensington sits in his spot at the head of the table, and to his right is Mrs. Kensington; her silky night gown hugs her chest a little too obviously, but it doesn't seem as though Mr. Kensington minds that she is dressed like that.

I avert my gaze, my cheeks turning a light pink as our eyes meet for just a split second. A knowing little smile crosses her lips that makes my heart race in my chest; nerves make my hands shake as I sit beside Scarlett and grab my glass of water to sip.

Noah and Jackson plop down beside their mother and immediately begin to talk her ear off. She listens to them with full attention, nodding along and asking questions in a way that Mr. Kensington hasn't displayed. Even now, he keeps the newspaper up and drinks coffee as he reads it rather than invest himself in the family conversation.

While chatting with Scarlett and participating only slightly in the conversation with Ambrosia, I find myself chancing glances at her. Her long hair is braided now so it's pulled away from her face. Her makeup is gone but her skin is still smooth, her lips pale, and every time her tongue darts out to lick along her bottom lip, my heart skips a beat.

"Josh, would you put the newspaper down and join the conversation with our children?" Ambrosia reaches to smack his paper lightly.

He frowns at her from over the reading material. Seeing them sitting beside each other, I realize how much younger Ambrosia is compared to Josh. His graying hair is an indication of being in his late fifties, but Ambrosia's smooth skin and sleek hair put her at maybe her early thirties. With the children appearing to be between the ages of five and nine, she must have married him and started their family when she was young.

The thought of a younger Ambrosia getting caught up with an older gentleman and throwing her life away makes me feel almost sick.

"The newspaper has important news." Josh replies shortly and pulls it back up to block her from interrupting him again.

Ambrosia looks over at me as if to remind me of our conversation last night. I look away from her and over at the doors leading to the kitchen just in time for Don and Ruth to come in with breakfast. My mouth waters at the sight of the dishes being set down; eggs, bacon, sausage, pancake, hashbrowns, even sausage gravy and biscuits. Those are personally my favorite.

I help myself while the kitchen staff serve the rest of the family. I catch Ambrosia watching me curiously and my cheeks flame at the idea that maybe I'm doing something wrong that she doesn't approve of. It seems worse somehow to have her disapproval than to have Josh's.

The atmosphere goes quiet as we eat. Ambrosia and I share glances here and there, sometimes lingering, most times not. The children don't seem to notice what passes between us, and Josh is too busy reading the paper to look up and see.

After breakfast, I walk the kids outside to the car and wish them a good day. The driver takes over so I don't have to do any driving or leave the property, but with them gone, I find myself at a loss of what to do next. Nannying is the biggest part of my job while cleaning is a minor.

"Josh will be going to work soon as well."

I turn to look at Ambrosia leaning in the doorway. Her nightgown is knee-length and clings to her skin all the way down to her thighs before it seems to loosen up. I swallow hard, grateful that the nature noises surrounding us hide the sound.

"Do you work today?"

Ambrosia shakes her head and the glint in her eye beckons me.

"What will you do today then?"

She smiles. Again, that knowing smile.

"I guess you'll find out." She turns and heads back inside.

I watch her until she turns the corner and disappears down the hallway.