Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 53516 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 268(@200wpm)___ 214(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53516 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 268(@200wpm)___ 214(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
I shrugged. "I was an executive assistant to a record producer in Los Angeles for about a year before he got a little too handsy. Then a studio head. And then a banker in Miami. Same scenario. Rinse and repeat. So I needed a change and saw the ad for Elite Nanny Service."
Sasha smiled. "And you figured anyone who could wrangle grown men could do the same for energetic kids?"
"Pretty much," I laughed. "I worked a job for about three months for an actor doing a play. No inappropriate behavior, just a play that bombed, and the family went back to New York." I sighed, feeling relieved that I'd gotten through the whole tale in a few short minutes and without losing my cool. "What about you guys? How long have you been with ENS?"
Two drinks later, I stared in shock at each of the women's smiling faces. "Have we shocked you?" Lucy asked with a knowing smile.
"So each of you fell for a single dad while on the job?"
They all nodded. "Well, technically, mine was an uncle," Toni offered. "If that makes it any better."
"Wow. I'm not judging; I'm just shocked. I mean, what are the odds?" I shook my head in disbelief. "That's astonishing."
"Be careful," Sasha offered and wiggled her eyebrows. "You might be next."
I shook my head so fast I was momentarily dizzy. "I'm not looking for that. At all."
"None of us were," Lucy offered with a small smile. "But when it happens, well, it's a really beautiful thing."
"I'm happy for each of you. Dating is impossible," I groaned as my thoughts flitted to my last three failed relationships.
"You'll love Texas," Molly promised. "And you can call any of us if you need advice on handling an angry mom or a grumpy dad."
"Or the best place to get tacos in Houston," Toni offered with a hungry smile. "Did somebody say tacos?"
We all laughed, and I found that at some point in the conversation, I'd started to relax. By the time the evening was over, I felt better about my move to Texas and my career change.
At least I would as soon as Serenity found me another placement—hopefully one that lasted at least a year, or maybe a few years. I was feeling good as I left the party and made my way home, buoyed by the prospect of a new life and a new job.
But when I pulled into my designated parking space, the weight of the burden I'd been carrying settled around me like a lead weight. There was a familiar silhouette sitting on my doorstep, and I froze. My heart raced, not because I was afraid—mostly I was just stunned, since I was pretty sure I'd left him back in Florida. "Jason. What are you doing here?"
He shrugged his broad shoulders, a familiar, slightly charming smile on his face—one that had worked on me many times in the past. "I'm here for you, baby girl."
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes because I no longer found him charming or adorable or appealing at all. "Not interested," I said and brushed past him to get to my front door.
"Come on, Rosalee. We used to be good together." His tone was soft and slightly alluring for a silly girl who didn't know any better. I was no longer that girl.
"Not. Interested. You should go back home where you belong." I turned the key in the lock, stepped inside, and as soon as I kicked off my shoes, I cranked up the music to ignore Jason's attempts to win me back. He didn't stand a chance, and the fact that he was trying was more than he'd done during our entire relationship.
Jason was one of the primary reasons, aside from unemployment, for my departure from Miami specifically and Florida in general. We weren't good together, and I was simply treading water, stuck in several bad relationships that I was desperate to free myself from at any cost. That cost was uprooting myself and starting over.
Again.
I wasn't sure how long Jason stood on my doorstep and knocked to plead his case, but after more than an hour of girl rock and female anthems, I was relaxed, smiling, and had stopped giving a damn.
He was my past, and Texas—Houston, ENS—that was my future.
Not even his passive-aggressive text, This isn't over, could shake me.
Chapter 3
Xavier
Chopping wood was the perfect activity to clear my mind. The act of raising the axe and lowering it into the blocks of wood soothed me, gave me clarity, and allowed me to see any problem from all sides. I spent the morning after my conversation with Nate chopping far more wood than I would likely need to get me through the rest of autumn and winter. His warning about our mother had left me shaken and slightly pissed off. The last thing I wanted was another fight with her about the way I chose to live my life, but I would fight to the death before I conceded even a step.