I watch her sleep. She’s still battered and bruised, but she’s stronger than any other woman I’ve ever met, so I know that she’ll heal, physically and mentally. We smoked tonight and drank, and I just held her. Fuck, I’m glad she’s here—finally home.

Glancing at the clock on the nightstand, I decide to get up for the day. I need to talk to the kids before Giovanna wakes up. I know that they’ll be okay with her living here, especially Isla and Ronan. I think that Elowen will enjoy it, too, I have a feeling they bonded on their shopping trip. She was pretty upset when Giovanna was taken.

Once I’m dressed, I make my way downstairs. All four children are sitting around the breakfast table. They’re eating cold cereal, and I frown. I have a nanny for a reason. She’s supposed to give them a proper breakfast, something that even Fallon had agreed on.

“Where is your nanny?” I bark.

Caleb grins. “She’s hungover. Like always,” he shrugs.

My eyes narrow, my conversation about Giovanna living with us forgotten as I march toward the nanny’s quarters. I throw open her door without knocking and glare at her. She’s face down on the bed, wearing her clothes from yesterday.

Reaching for her shoulder, I grip it and tug her onto her back. Her eyes widen, and she lets out a small scream. At twenty-five, she shouldn’t be getting drunk all night, unable to perform her duties, especially with the amount of money I pay her.

“You’re fired,” I growl.

She sits straight up, reaching for my arms and takes ahold of me. “No please, I can’t lose this job, I’ll do whatever you want—whatever,” her voice turns husky at her last word and she lifts a brow. “I know you’re single, you’ve got to have needs.” She smiles.

I chuckle, and when I open my mouth to speak, a soft voice talks over me. “I do believe that his needs have been met just fine.”

I turn my head to the side and look at Giovanna. She’s leaning against the doorjamb, wearing nothing but my shirt from yesterday. She looks so goddamn sexy that my cock starts to harden, pressing against my zipper.

“I do believe you’ve been fired. I would pack your shit if I were you,” Giovanna announces. She sounds almost bored, but I can see the fire in her eyes, she’s pissed—maybe even jealous.

Releasing the nanny, I make my way back toward her and slip my hand around her waist. “Morning, A rùnsearc,” I mutter against her neck, brushing my lips on her skin.

Slipping my hand in my pocket, I pull out my phone and call one of my security guards. “The nanny’s been fired, please escort her off of the premises,” I announce.

Without another word or a glance back, I turn Giovanna around and we leave the stupid bitch’s room. “Fuck, now I have to interview nannies,” I grunt as we walk back toward the kitchen.

Giovanna hums, resting her head on my shoulder. “Don’t,” she says.

“Don’t?”

Stopping in my place, I tug her against my chest. Giovanna places her hands on my chest and tilts her head back to look into my eyes. “Let me take care of them. I can’t go out and get a job, but I can help you around here,” she says shyly.

Lifting my hand, I cup her cheek as I look into her eyes. My thumb runs along her bottom lip and I give her a small smile. “You want to help me raise my children, A rùnsearc?” I rasp.

“I would like to try. I would like to really try,” she says, closing her eyes. When she reopens them I see tears in them. “I’ve always wanted children, I didn’t think I’d ever have a chance to be a mother.”

Lowering my forehead, I press it against her own and close my eyes as I inhale deeply. “Whatever you want, Vanna, I’ll give you.” It seems like a pussy thing to do, offer a woman the world, but when it’s your woman, I don’t think you could give her enough.

“All I want is you and them,” she whispers.

“Giovanna?” a voice calls out in surprise. We turn around and Elowen is standing not too far away from us. Her eyes are wide, and she looks scared for a moment, but then she smiles. “You’re okay,” she cries.

Giovanna releases me, and they hurry toward one another. I watch as they embrace, and I can’t stop the smile from tipping on my lips. Isla appears a few seconds later and joins in. I hear Elowen ask Vanna if she’s okay and Vanna assures her that she is. Even if her words aren’t exactly true, she’d never tell her that she was hurt.

“Sir, the nanny has been taken care of,” a deep voice rumbles behind me.

I turn around and lift my chin toward my security, mumbling, thanks. He ensures me that she’ll be watched for a while, in case she attempts to retaliate in any way. He turns around and walks away, leaving me alone with my girls, my girls, all three of them. My heart beats rapidly at the thought.

I didn’t think it would be possible to have another woman in my life again. After Fallon, I was sure I’d never even think of marriage again, or even just having another woman share my home. Yet, this feels right—Giovanna feels right, she always has.

I’m not sure why I offered to take care of these four children on my own. I think I was having a moment of bravery. Now that I look at them across the kitchen as they shovel in cereal, I start to sweat. I can’t cook, and I don’t know anything about children. The only thing I can really do is clean. I grip the edge of the countertop as Aidan explains our new living situation.

All of the kids smile, excitement clearly in their eyes as he tells them that I’ll be moving in and living here full-time. He states that I’m officially his girlfriend, and we’ll most likely get married someday.

I blush when he says the part about marriage. It’s not as if he has to marry me, I am technically his with or without a certificate, but it’s sweet that he’s even mentioned it as a possibility.

Once the kids are finished, their driver appears and says that it’s time for school. They all run and grab their book bags before rushing back in and giving Aidan a hug. My breath hitches when they give me one as well, every single one of them.

“They like you,” Aidan murmurs, sliding up next to me.

I hum, my teeth sinking into the corner of my bottom lip. Aidan places his index finger beneath my chin and tips my head back. His eyes pierce mine as he gazes into them. “You’re going to be great. Trust me.”

“I can’t cook, and I don’t know anything about kids,” I explain.

Aidan grins with a shake of his head. “You’ll be fine,” he mumbles, lowering his head and brushing his lips across my own. His tongue sneaks out and tastes my bottom lip. “Trust me, yeah?”

“Okay,” I breathe.

His hands move to my waist and he grips me before picking me up and plopping my ass down on the counter. I open my thighs as he fits his hips between them, then returns his hands to my waist. His blue eyes look directly into mine and his lips twitch.

“Now, your clothes will be packed and delivered here by this afternoon. Our next focus is the house. Do you want to sell this one, and look for something else, or do you want to remodel?” he asks, keeping his voice low and gentle.

I think about his words, about his offer. My initial reaction is to sell the crazy ostentatious house. However, my stomach twists at the idea of selling the only home the children have known. I let out a shaky breath.

“Remodel. I don’t want to uproot them. I feel like we’ve made a lot of changes in a short amount of time,” I explain.

Aidan smiles, his hand wrapping around the side of my throat. “If I could fuck you right now, I would. That’s exactly what I was hoping you’d say,” he rumbles. “I don’t have an attachment to this place, but like you said, it’s the only home they’ve ever known.”

“So, remodel?”

He lowers his head, brushing his lips against my own, his tongue sneaking out to taste them. “I’ll call someone,” he exhales against my mouth.

Aidan tells me to go get dressed for the day in preparation for the movers and a meeting with a designer. I hurry upstairs and into the shower. There isn’t anything of mine here yet, so I wash with Aidan’s soap and use his shampoo and conditioner. I’m actually surprised that he even owns conditioner, but I’m glad for it.

Once I’m clean, I look around for something to wear but the only thing I have that’s mine is what I came here in, and I honestly never want to see that outfit again. I pick it up off of the floor, balling it, and throwing it into the bathroom trashcan.

Deciding to wear something of Aidan’s, I rifle through his drawer and pull out a black tank top and a pair of sweatpants. I roll his sweats about five times to keep them from completely dragging on the floor, then I make my way downstairs.

The house is quiet, and I pause at the bottom of the staircase, listening for his voice or any sign of where he could be. When I still don’t hear anything, I decide to look around for him. I don’t quite know my way around the small mansion yet.

I decide to go in search of Aidan’s office, assuming that’s where he’ll be if he’s still here. I hear his voice echoing through the house, and my legs quicken toward the sound. When I’m just outside of what I assume is his office door, I hear another voice. I freeze with my hand on the doorknob.

“She’s back in town,” the muffled voice says.

Aidan’s growl is deep and low. “Fuck,” he curses.

“She’s going to come here, to see you.”

Aidan lets out a sigh. “Yeah, I know. Fuck. I have Giovanna here now, what am I going to do if she shows up? She can’t see Vanna, it will be a fucking nightmare.”

My heart breaks, it’s immediate as it shatters inside of my chest. I assume he’s talking about his wife coming back, or ex-wife as he claims her to be. I’m not so sure now. Maybe they’re still married? Why else would he care if she saw me or not?

I leave his office door. I don’t need to listen in on his conversations, it’s not my place. Heading toward the kitchen, I decide to busy myself with making lunch. I haven’t eaten much lately, and although I’m not really hungry right this minute, my body needs fuel, and my mind needs distracting.