Chapter2
When Charlotte awoke in the morning, she dressed in a pair of form fitting jeans and a thin soft pink sweater. She braided her hair behind her head and let it fall down her back. She went downstairs to the kitchen, thinking she might find Brady there, as it was only seven in the morning. It was clear that he had already left the house.
She saw that he’d made breakfast for her and left it along with a note by the coffee pot, wishing her a good day with Abbie, and leaving her a list of phone numbers where he could be reached if she needed him. There was also a new cell phone beside the note, which he told her was hers. She gave her head a shake in continuing wonder at his unprecedented generosity, and poured herself a cup of coffee.
With the morning to herself in the big empty house, she ate the breakfast he’d made for her and then took a couple of hours to walk around and get a good look at everything. She found many more amenities that he hadn’t bothered to show her the day before on their tour together. She couldn’t imagine a more wonderful home, and she felt excited to be living there.
At half past eleven she was curled up on one of the sofas in the sitting room, reading a book and waiting for Abbie to arrive. Precisely at noon, the front door opened and she heard little footsteps come running into the house. She put her book down and felt her heart begin to race with anticipation as she headed into the foyer.
A woman closed the door and turned to look at her. She was as elegant in person as she was in the photographs around the house. Her silvery white hair was cut at chin length, and she wore just enough makeup to emphasize her natural beauty. She was dressed in a blue skirt suit and a white silk blouse with a tie at the neck.
“Well hello!” She said with a smile, reaching her hand out. “I’m Elaine Douglas. I’m Brady’s mother and Abbie’s grandmother.”
Charlotte reached her hand out to the older woman. “I’m Charlotte. It’s so nice to meet you.”
“My son told me you’d be here today. Are you all settled in? Everything going alright so far?” She asked with a hopeful smile.
“It is. This is a beautiful home and Brady has been very generous to me. I am going to do my very best to take care of his little girl.” Charlotte smiled and clasped her fingers together before her.
“Well then you’d better meet our little princess! Abigail dear, come here to granny. Come along! I want you to meet your new friend.” From five steps up the staircase, the little girl held fast to the railing and came bouncing down one stair at a time, heading for her grandmother. She was adorable, dressed in a pink shirt with a pony on it, and blue jeans. Her tennis shoes were pink and her hair was up in a ponytail with a pink bow on it. She ran to her grandmother and reached for her hand, holding on to it while she turned and looked at Charlotte with a shy smile on her face.
“Abbie, this is our new friend. This is Charlotte. She’s going to live here with you and daddy and take care of you. Isn’t that nice?” Elaine asked in a friendly voice.
Abbie hesitated a moment, watching Charlotte in silence, and Charlotte knelt down low to the floor. “Hi Abbie!” she began with a warm smile. “I’m so glad to meet you. I’m really happy that you are going to be my friend! We’ll do a lot of fun things together. We’re going to go to the park and swim in the swimming pool!”
Abbie lifted her chin proudly. “I can swim!” She announced happily.
“Good! I’m going to help you so that you can swim really good!” Charlotte promised brightly.
Abbie let go of Elaine’s hand and took a few steps toward Charlotte. “And we can go to the park?”
“We will go to the park. I promise.” Charlotte answered.
The little girl turned and looked at her grandmother in excitement. “I’m going to go to the park with my new friend!” She cried out in excitement.
“Yes, you are darling! That’s so wonderful! Now, granny has to go, but you stay here and play with Charlotte, and you be a good girl. Okay?” Elaine bent over and gave her a big hug.
“Okay granny. I love you.” Abbie said, kissing her grandmother’s cheek.
Elaine handed a piece of paper to Charlotte. “I’m certain my son has given you my phone number, but in case he hasn’t, here you are. Please call me if you need anything. I’m not far away.”
“I will, thank you.” Charlotte stood up and took the paper from her.
Elaine waved goodbye to the little girl one last time and then left. Abbie stood in the foyer, facing Charlotte, with one hand up to her mouth, touching her lips shyly.
“Well, Abbie! What would you like to do first? I saw a tea set in your room. Would you like to have a tea party with me?” Charlotte offered. “I thought I saw some chocolate chip cookies in the pantry that we could use. Do you like chocolate chip cookies?”
“Yes!” Abbie shouted, flinging her hands outward, her green eyes wide. Charlotte was taken for a moment, seeing so much of Brady in his daughter.
“Good! Let’s go get some cookies and have tea.” Charlotte held her hand out, and Abbie went to her and took it. Together they walked into the kitchen to prepare for their tea.
By afternoon, they had celebrated a tea party together, picked flowers from the garden to make a bouquet in a vase, colored a few pictures, sung the ABC song, and by three o’clock, Abbie was ready for a nap. Charlotte put her to bed and read her a story until she fell asleep.
As she sat near her, gazing at the little girl, she realized that it was possible that she had accepted the best job ever. Abbie stayed asleep until five, when she woke up on her own and Charlotte brushed her ponytail out and straightened her clothes, readying her for dinner.
Brady came home shortly after that and wrapped Abbie in his arms, carrying her into the kitchen. Charlotte followed them, loving the way that the two of them talked to each other about their days.
“Daddy! Daddy! I have a new friend! Her name is Charlie!” Abbie told him excitedly.
He turned and looked at Charlotte with a raised brow. “Charlie?” He smiled at her and she felt her stomach do a flip. With a shrug, she looked away.
“It was easier for her to say than Charlotte.” She explained, willing herself to have more control over her reactions to him.
“Well, I like it. So, what did you and Charlie do today?” He asked, turning his attention back to his daughter. With a grin on her face, she rattled off a long list of many of the things that they had done together.
Brady listened intently to every word as he prepared the meal, and Charlotte watched, impressed, as Abbie helped him in little ways. She got measuring cups out and measuring spoons, and when he picked her up, she poured the measured ingredients into bowls and pots. She handed him things and taste tested things, and it was easy for Charlotte to see that one of Abbie’s favorite pastimes with her father was to help him cook.
They were just about to sit down at the table when Abbie, still full of excitement, ran and stood beside Charlotte, holding on to Charlotte’s hand. “Look Daddy! Charlie and I are matching! We both have pink, and we both have jeans!”
“I see that!” Brady replied, as his eyes traveled slowly up Charlotte’s figure. “Very pretty.” She felt her belly tighten and her nipples harden, pushing against the soft thin fabric of her sweater, betraying her to him. His gaze rested there at her breasts for a moment before lifting to touch on her mouth and her eyes. He chuckled softly and she turned away, busying herself with the water glasses on the table.
Charlotte sat down with them, wishing that she had more control over her body. Brady talked with them both about their day, and Abbie asked him if he worked in the city that day, to which he replied that he had.
Their dinner conversation wandered over many things, most of them revolving around Abbie. When the meal was over, Brady and Abbie loaded the dishwasher together and Charlotte rinsed the dishes, handing them to Brady, and wishing as he worked beside her that he wouldn’t stand quite so close to her. The nearness of him made her heart beat a little faster.
When dinner was done, Abbie announced that she was ready for her bath. Brady took her up to her bathroom and he and Charlotte bathed her and then put her into her pajamas. It felt more to her like a family than she had felt since she had left her own home. Brady sat in the rocker in the nursery and read to her while the crystal carousel played softly, and Abbie finally fell asleep. He gently put her to bed and he and Charlotte walked out quietly. He left the door open between her room and Charlotte’s, and then walked with Charlotte to her bedroom door.
“You’re doing very well with her.” He said in a low voice, watching her eyes. He was standing too near her again, but she felt it would be awkward if she stepped away from him. Instead her heart just beat rapidly, and she hoped that he couldn’t hear it.
“Thank you. She’s a wonderful little girl.” Charlotte replied with a smile. He nodded and kept his eyes on her as the silence in the room seemed to fold itself around them. Brady took another step toward her, his eyes never leaving hers. She was sure that her heart was going to beat right out of her chest.
“Is there anything that you need?” he asked, glancing for a moment from her warm brown eyes to her full lips and then looking back up at her again. She willed herself to keep breathing as regularly as she could and she prayed that he couldn’t hear the blood rushing through her.
“No, I’m fine. I have everything I need, thank you.” She cleared her throat softly and lifted her brows a little. “What about you? Do you need anything?”
A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth and his eyes twinkled a bit. “If there is, I’ll be sure to let you know.” He took one more look at her mouth and then walked to her door. “Have a good night.” He gave her a wave and headed out down the hall.
She hurried to her door and closed it, pressing her back against it and closing her eyes, letting the breath in her chest gush out like a balloon deflating. “Charlotte!” She whispered to herself, “What on earth are you doing? You can’t think about him like that! You can’t react to him like that!” She covered her face with her hands and groaned inwardly.
Dropping her hands, she went to her own bathroom for a long bath, during which she chastised herself some and promised herself that she was going to focus on Abbie and not on her dad, and that she would stop any kinds of thoughts or reactions to him that weren’t appropriate.
When she woke the next morning, it was the same; he was gone, and he’d left a note for her and for Abbie, with just a few comments about the day. She and Abbie went to the park and played, and when they came home, they swam in the pool for a little while, enjoying the sunshine. She and Abbie went over colors and shapes, playing games with learning devices for toddlers about pictures, letters, and numbers.
It was a fun full day, and the evening was much as it had been the day before. Brady came home and his focus was on Abbie, though Charlotte felt that some fraction of it had been shifted to her. She was included in all that they did, and she liked it, even though she made no progress whatsoever in harnessing her involuntary reactions to Brady’s presence or his attentions to her.
The days were each different in detail, though the same in form as they blended from one into the next over her first week there. Brady brought home treats for them a few times when he came back from the city; a bag of chocolates for each of them, popcorn for them so they could stay up a little later and watch a movie together, or a tub of ice cream to make root beer floats.
Brady didn’t change the way he interacted with Charlotte, sometimes coming near to her, sometimes remaining at a distance, but she noticed that his eyes seemed to linger on her more often, particularly on her curves, or her mouth, or her eyes, and she realized that when he was near her, he was a little more quiet than usual, and she wondered what was changing.
Try as she might, she could not will herself to stop thinking of him. She caught herself in off moments, thinking of his face, his eyes, his laugh, his smile. She thought of the way his shoulders, arms, and chest looked in the snug cotton long sleeved shirts he liked to wear at home, and how well his jeans fit him. In moments when she was by herself, she felt herself grow breathless at the memory of how it felt anytime he was near to her; the warmth in the space between them, the scent of him that lingered when he left, and more than any of those, the way it felt deep inside when she saw him looking at her, as if there was some kind of mysterious hunger behind his green eyes; some secret that she didn’t know.
In her second week, there on a Saturday afternoon when it was just her and Brady at home. She had gone into the pantry for a bag of brown sugar and a tub of flour. She was making chocolate chip cookies to have ready for Abbie when the little girl came home from her grandmother’s the next day. She was studying the shelf trying to find the ingredients she needed, when she felt him standing right behind her. Gasping, she looked over her shoulder and saw him in the dim light. He placed his hands on her hips and she felt his fingertips press in firmly.
“I didn’t hear you come in!” She breathed out just above a whisper.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” He said quietly over her shoulder. His mouth was inches from her ear, and she could feel his chest near her back and his arms so close. She wanted to close her eyes and lean backward into him, feeling him embrace her, and it took every bit of her focus to stop herself from doing it, and to concentrate on what she was doing in the pantry.
“I… I was looking for brown sugar and flour. And chocolate chips.” She replied in a hushed voice, not daring to turn toward him, but rather keeping her back to him and reeling from the feeling of his hands on her hips. He lifted one hand and reached for the things she had asked for, giving them to her while he left one hand on her hip.
“Do you want anything else?” He asked in a velvety tone, his voice quiet near her ear. Her heart was pounding again and she closed her eyes for a second, making herself breathe in and out slowly.
“No, I think this is it.” She replied, cradling the things to her chest as she forced herself not to think of what she wanted. She wanted to know what it would feel like to lean against his chest. She wanted to know what it would feel like to be wrapped in those strong arms of his, to feel his breath on her skin, and his lips… she cleared her throat. “Yes, this is definitely it.”
He lifted his hand from her hip and waited for her as she walked out of the pantry, coming out behind her and closing the door. She set the ingredients on the island counter and drew in a shaky breath.
“She loves chocolate chip cookies.” He gave her a smile as he watched her. “Thank you for taking such good care of her.”
Charlotte nodded and smiled back, her eyes not quite meeting his. “Of course! I’m really enjoying taking care of her and being here. I’m glad I’m here.”
He was quiet a moment as he gazed at her. “Me too.” He answered, and then he walked out of the kitchen and left her to her own thoughts.
That afternoon Charlotte called Rita and moaned miserably over the phone as she laid on her bed in her room with the door closed. “This is driving me crazy, Rita!”
“What do you mean? Is it bad there?” Rita asked worriedly.
“No.” Charlotte pouted a little. “It’s not bad, it’s just… I love Abbie, she’s a great kid, but her dad is… he’s just too much!”
“Too much what?” Rita asked, and Charlotte could hear the frown in her voice. “Too overbearing? Insensitive?”
“No. He’s amazing, actually. He’s an incredible dad; he dotes on his daughter, loves her, takes care of her without spoiling her, and he should probably have ten more kids because he’s so good at it. It’s not that. It’s just… it’s so difficult to be around him. Every time I’m near him I just feel like I want to be closer to him, I want to touch him, hold him, kiss him. I think things I shouldn’t think. I can’t stop the reactions that I feel when I’m around him, like he makes my heart race just by standing too close to me, and he takes my breath away when he’s too close.
I just can’t stop these… feelings and reactions, and it’s driving me nuts! I want to be here and do a good job, but he’s so distracting!” Charlotte bled out all of her frustrations, and she felt almost like an avalanche; once she started telling Rita about them, there was no stopping the flood.
Rita whistled long and low. “Ohhhh, girl. You got it bad.”
“What? What have I got?” Charlotte asked, opening her eyes and rubbing her fingertips on her temple.
“You gotta get that itch scratched, or it’s only going to get worse.” Rita told her emphatically.
“And how am I supposed to do that? He’s my boss!” Charlotte groaned.
“Find another guy. Go out on a date, get distracted by someone else. Otherwise you’re going to be miserable. Has he noticed how you are around him?”
“I don’t know. I see him watching me a lot, but he doesn’t say anything or do anything. Not really.” Charlotte sighed heavily, sitting up in bed and letting her shoulders slump in her dismay.
“You need another guy to distract you. You can’t have the one you want, so focus on one you can have. They’re everywhere, just go get one. You’re off a couple of nights a week, right?” Rita asked lightly.
“Yes. Friday and Saturday nights.” Charlotte answered, beginning to see some light at the end of her tunnel.
“Good, then make those your date nights and go out and find someone to get this man off of your mind. You can’t keep feeling like that around him every day without having some release or you’re going to explode.” Rita warned her earnestly.
“You have no idea.” Charlotte groaned.
“Well, there you go. Go date someone.” Rita sounded pleased with herself, as if she had just solved a great crisis.
“Thank you.” Charlotte breathed out dejectedly. She had no idea where she was going to find any man who could take her mind off of Brady Douglas, but she guessed that she could give it a try. “What’s been going on with you this week?” She turned the topic of conversation to her best friend. Rita regaled her with stories of work and school, and for a few minutes, Charlotte missed being in her college classes in person, rather than taking them online, but the longer Rita talked, the more she felt glad that she was where she was, taking care of Abbie.
She determined that the next weekend she would try to go out with some college friends and meet some guys who might be good dating material. She told herself that Rita was right. She needed some release, just some kind of outlet for her pent-up desires, and she would be fine. She could work happily and without distraction, and it would all be okay.
Her hopes didn’t last too long. The idea of dating someone, anyone, was fine, except that it was a whole week before she’d have another night off, and every night in between was filled with Brady. She tried to keep her mind on the weekend to come. She tried to avoid standing near him or being too close to him. She tried to push him from her thoughts every time he entered them, and think of anything else at all, but by Thursday night, she was tired from not sleeping well, and restless in her misery.
They had put Abbie to bed, and the little girl was sleeping soundly. Brady had bid her goodnight and gone off down the hall. She tried to distract herself with a book she loved, and with a bit of television. She tried to tell herself that she could fall asleep and be free of him, but every time she closed her eyes, he was there.
At the height of frustration, she pushed herself from her bed and pulled her bikini on, tying the strings behind her neck and back. Grabbing a towel, she headed out of the house silently, and felt some sense of relief in the cool night air. The swimming pool was lit inside, giving it a bluish green glow. The cool air in juxtaposition against the warm water produced a thick steamy fog that hung close to the water’s surface.
She dropped her towel at the edge of the pool and slipped into the water, gasping softly as it washed over her skin. Pulling her hair from the braid it was in, she loosed the long waves all down her back. She smiled as she pushed herself into the depths, leaving all of her worries behind her. She swam for a long while, finding some slight release in the exertion, and enjoying the relaxation of it.
When at long last she was ready to get out, she walked up the steps of the pool to the patio, water rushing off of her and dripping from her down to the ground. She bent and picked up her towel, and as she stood back up, drying her face and hands, she saw him standing in a half shadow.
Brady was leaning against a marble pillar, watching her. Staring at her. Her heart quickened, and she drew in a breath, holding it in her chest tightly. He was holding a tumbler in his hand, and he reached over and set it down on the patio table near him, his eyes still locked on her.
Taking as deep a breath as she could, she walked over to him slowly, until she was standing near him. He never took his eyes from her. “Is there something that you need?” She asked breathlessly, her heart racing as always near him.
He stepped close to her, and she tried to take a step backward, but felt her back press up against the cool marble pillar he’d been standing beside. He raised his hand and rested it just over her shoulder against the pillar, leaning in close to her. Her breaths grew short and shallow, and she wished she could look away from him, but she found herself swimming again in his green eyes.
“I’m curious,” He began slowly, his eyes searching hers before he looked down at her lips and then over her body before he met her gaze again, “why you react to me the way you do. I see the effect I have on you. I feel it. Why do you react to me the way you do?” he asked shamelessly.
Charlotte had never wished so hard that the ground beneath her would open up and swallow her whole. Her heart pounded so hard against her chest that she had no doubt he could hear it. There was no denying it; no use in trying to hide it. “I don’t know,” she whispered.
He leaned even closer, so that he was only inches away from her. Every muscle in her body tensed, her blood felt like fire coursing through her, and she couldn’t get a breath. His eyes were still on hers. “Is it because you want something from me?” he asked in a low voice, reaching his free hand up and letting his finger trail down her cheek.
She couldn’t bear it. She closed her eyes and as she did, she felt his thumb move firmly over her lips, and she gasped, letting out a soft and tender moan. For a moment her eyes fluttered open, and she saw his stare; his green eyes almost on fire. His hand moved from the pillar to her thigh, closing over it as his fingers squeezed and his mouth closed over hers hungrily. He moved his hand over her throat and around it to the back of her neck as he pressed his body up against hers.
His mouth moved ravenously over hers, tasting, sucking, twisting in his hunger for her. Moving his fingers up from her thigh, he slid them upward to her waist, and then as his kiss deepened, upward again to her breast, clad only in the thin wet material of her bikini. He cupped his hand around it, squeezing tightly as he rolled her hardened nipple between his thumb and forefinger.
She cried out in desperate desire, and felt him press his solid erection against her body as his mouth left hers and trailed down her throat. Bringing her arms up, she wrapped them around his shoulders and held fast to him, pushing her fingers into the dark brown waves of his hair. He brought his mouth back up to hers again, kissing her hard as he held her against him, and she moaned softly against his lips, but then in an instant, he pushed himself away from her, breathless, gasping, and he bent over, trying to catch his breath and then he stood back up.
With a shake of his head, he gave her a cool look. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. It never should have happened. It’s not in your job description.” He turned away from her then, picked up his tumbler of amber liquid, and walked back into the house, shutting the door hard behind him.
Fire was still consuming Charlotte, and the icy coldness left all over her by his absence gave her a chill that made her shudder. Catching her breath, she blinked in shock and brought her hands to her face, covering it with her fingers as hot tears sprang to her eyes.
She wished with everything in her that she didn’t want him so badly, that she didn’t ache for him just then, and more than that, that she had never experienced the feeling of being in his embrace, his hands on her body, his lips on hers, kissing her and setting her ablaze. What had been a curious hunger in her before that night had evolved into an insatiable desire. The feel and taste of him had only made her want him more.
Charlotte washed her pillow in tears that night, and sleep finally found her, though it brought her no peace.