Emil With the Gleeson deal finally progressing, I have to claw free time for myself in order to get a minute away from my desk. I manage, though, and come Saturday evening, I have a few hours when I know I won’t be disturbed. Viviane arrives at the apartment while Dani is at the park with the kids, and I watch her set up with military efficiency. By the time Dani comes back from the park, I can hardly contain my energy. Tonight, I’m going to show Dani just how much she means to me. I’m going to ask her to set aside the title of nanny and come to me as an equal. A partner. I’m going to lay my heart in her hands and hope she doesn’t crush it. A knock on the door tells me my babysitter is here. Brushing my hand over Dani’s arm as I walk by her, I head for the front door. My cousin and childhood best friend is standing there, all wild auburn hair and brilliant smile. She’s wearing her usual loose-cut jeans and a shirt that shows her midriff. My wild-child cousin has never been one for pantsuits and pearls, to the chagrin of my mother and aunt. “Auntie Danica!” Talia shoves me aside to launch herself at our guest. She catches my daughter and swings her up above her head, earning peals of laughter from Talia. “Hey, kiddo.” My cousin winks at me as she hauls Talia onto her hip. With an athletic build and a military workout routine, Danica doesn’t even seem to notice Talia’s weight in her arms. Glancing behind me, I catch the tail end of a frown on Dani’s—my Dani’s—face. Francis, as usual, is hanging onto her like a barnacle. She bounces him gently, almost unconsciously, the sight of the two of them together turning my heart soft. I st ep aside to let my cousin inside and gesture for Dani to get closer. “Dani, meet Danica.” My cousin hauls Talia over her shoulder in a smooth, effortless motion, to the giggling delight of my daughter. “So, you’re the one who stole my spot at the Summer Ball.” Dani’s mouth forms a sexy little ‘o.’ How I ever resisted this woman is beyond me. Everything she does has a direct line to my dick, even when the room is full of other people. I slide my arm over Dani’s shoulders, squeezing gently. She leans into me, a micro-movement that tells me just how much she loves my touch. “Apparently, your friend moved into my old apartment.” My cousin grins. “Isn’t that the darnedest thing?” She scoops Talia off her shoulder and places my daughter on the ground, attacking her with tickles. “You... You used to live in Bonnie’s apartment?” Dani glances at me, eyes wide. “So the name mix-up...” “What are the chances!” My cousin beams. “Danica Jensen, the old tenant at the exact apartment where Danika Jenckell happens to be housesitting.” She stands tall, combing her fingers through a frizzy halo of hair, grinning as she shakes her head. “And now look at you two. I mean, if that’s not fate, I don’t know what it is. Although,” she adds, “you owe me a ticket to the Summer Ball. This year was supposed to be the year I met my husband.”
“Was that this year?” I grin. “I thought that was last year. Or the year before.” My cousin grins. “A girl can dream, can’t she?” Laughing, I nudge my daughter toward her room. “Talia, go get your backpack. It’s beside the door in your room. You’re having a sle epover with Aunt Danica tonight.” Dani’s eyes widen, staring at me. I grin. “I wish you wouldn’t call me Aunt Danica,” my cousin grouses. “It makes me feel old.” “You’re older than me,” I answer. “Yeah, but I’m not old.” Danica huffs, but there’s a glimmer in her eyes. Talia comes thundering into the room carrying a tiny backpack. Francis’s things are in a bag by the door. They both give Dani and me a kiss, then follow my cousin out the door in a whirlwind of chatter and fussing. Dani frowns. “They’re spending the evening with your cousin?” “The whole night,” I tell her as I give Francis one final kiss on the top of his head before closing the door. At that moment, Viviane appears from the hallway. “I’m ready for you.” Dani turns, eyes wide. “What...” I slide my hand across her back, smiling at the shock on Dani’s face. “I thought you needed to be treated like a queen for a night. Viviane was happy to oblige.” Another woman, a blond, st eps out from behind Viviane. She waves at Dani. “You really need to teach me your skills, girl.” Dani laughs, shaking her head. “Hi, Erica.” She glances at me, eyes wide, and I can’t help but press a kiss to her soft, pink lips. “Let them dress you. I’m spoiling you tonight.” Mouth opening and closing, Dani nods and trails after the women to the guest bedroom, where they set up. While the women are busy getting Dani ready, I slip on a white shirt with black pants, check my emails, run a razor over my face, then head to the living room to wait. The restaurant confirms they’re ready for me a few minutes before Dani emerges. Dressed in an emerald gown that hits just above her knees and shows off her beautiful, womanly body, her brown hair falling in soft waves around her face, Dani looks like a vision. My heart clenches at the sight and I stand, mouth agape, feeling like a teenager going on his first date. “Do I look okay?” She spreads her hands. I close the distance between us in three st eps, my hands sliding over her hips. “You look incredible.” Pink streaks over her cheeks as she ducks her chin, a smile teasing on those full lips. For a brief moment, I consider canceling the whole evening and carrying Dani to bed, peeling off that gown and showing her just how beautiful she is. But I reel myself in and give her my arm. She slips a hand through the crook of my elbow as Viviane and her team file out the door in front of us.
This is what I want. I want to have Dani by my side. I want to have the right to spoil her. I want to see the softness in her eyes when she looks at me and know she belongs to me, just as I belong to her. I want to be able to put my arm around her in front of my family, friends, the whole world. I want her to be mine. Truly, completely, publicly. We’re driven in the Bentley to Manhattan’s most exclusive new restaurant, a table set up for us in a private corner of the dining room. Dani’s eyes are wide as a chair is pulled out for her, redness clinging to her cheeks like a permanent stain. When we’re alone at the table, a bottle of wine ordered and water glasses filled, Dani bites her bottom lip. “When did you plan all this? You shouldn’t have done this.” “Why not?” “Because I...” She trails off. “You what?” “You don’t need to treat me like a princess, Emil.” I lean back, my shirt snagging on the back of the chair. Dani’s eyes drop to my chest, where the fabric is pulled tight. I grin. “What if I want to treat you like a princess?” The redness on her cheeks intensifies, a glimmer crossing her eyes. Her lips curl, shoulders soften, and she shakes her head. “You’re too good to me.” “Just enjoy it.” I reach across the table and take her hand in mine. “I don’t want you to be my nanny, Dani. I don’t want you to be my employee. I want you to be mine.” Her throat clenches as she swallows. A spark in those gold-rimmed eyes. “Are you firing me?” I laugh, squeezing her fingers. “You tell a woman she’s the most beautiful creature you’ve ever seen. You bring her to an exclusive restaurant. You tell her you want a relationship, and she turns around and says something like that.” I bring her hand to my lips, unable to stop touching her. “I’m not firing you, Dani. I just want us to be on equal footing. I don’t want an employment contract to stand between us.” “Equal,” she says slowly, meeting my gaze. In the dim light of the dining room, the ring of gold in her irises looks almost bronze. “You’re mine, Dani. I’m not letting you go. I want—I need—everyone else to know that, too.” Blinking away moisture in her eyes, Dani’s breath catches. My eyes drop to the thin pendant necklace hanging between her breasts, back up over her shoulders, the creamy column of her neck. I want to worship every inch of her. I want her to be the last thing I look at before I fall asle ep and the first thing I see when I wake up. I want her in my bed when one of the kids has a nightmare so we can both wrap our arms around the kids and show them we care. I want her to be part of this family the way she should be. Every time I look in her eyes, I fall a little more in love with this woman. The words are on the tip of my tongue—I could speak them and make them real. She walked into my life and shook me out of my stupor. She showed me what it means to be cared for, to feel warmth, to have a family. She’s the first person who’s seen past my hard exterior to the man beneath, and she didn’t run away from any of it.
I can’t imagine a life without Dani in it. I don’t want to imagine it. But as I open my mouth, a waiter appears at my elbow and asks me to taste the wine. From then on, a steady stream of bites and plates are delivered and taken away, and I can’t find the moment to tell Dani how I feel. There’s something in her eyes, though. A d epth of emotion that matches mine. I hope... I hope that even if I can’t speak the words rattling around in my heart, she can see them in the way I look at her. That night, after a beautiful meal, I take Dani to bed. It’s different, this time. We start slow, kissing and loving each other. Even when passion takes over, my heart beats for her. Arms and legs tangled, cries no longer muffled in the empty house, I make a silent vow to cherish this woman with every fiber of my soul. She’s my future. She makes me whole. She completes my family like no one ever has. I love her, truly. Completely.