Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 41839 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 209(@200wpm)___ 167(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41839 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 209(@200wpm)___ 167(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
“We’re not in high school and we never had sex back then either.”
“I know, what a pity. I think it’s safe to say we’re both losers.”
“Don’t.”
“Don’t what?” he asked.
“Don’t pretend that we had any kind of friendship in high school.”
“We didn’t, and I’m not going to pretend we do. Believe me, I already learned from my mistake.”
“Is this about Tilly?”
He tensed up. “Don’t even mention her name.”
“Did you love her?”
“Damn it, Callie. We’re grown-ass adults and you think in order for people to be together they need love?”
“I know you left. I heard about your leg injury. My parents told me about it.” Her parents were currently enjoying a year-long vacation across Europe. For a long time, it was all they wanted to do. The year she decided to come home, they’d left a few days ago to go traveling. It was just her luck. They’d rented out their home to a small family.
She didn’t mind as she’d already rented that apartment until she lived with Drew as his nanny.
“You want to know about my life?”
“I … no, it doesn’t matter.” She shoved his arm away and moved toward the edge of the bed. She didn’t get far.
He banded an arm around her waist and pulled her back.
“Hey!”
“You’re not going anywhere. You started this conversation. The least you can do is finish it.”
“I didn’t mean to start anything.”
“I know but now you will finish it. Simple as that.”
“You’re unbelievable.”
He shrugged as if it wasn’t the worst insult he’d heard. In his profession, it probably wasn’t.
Drew kept an arm around her. “I’m starting to think you’re used to running away, and I’m not going to let you. No, I didn’t love Tilly. If you must know, she was the biggest mistake I ever made. I knew about her reputation. I never once believed she was mine. When she got pregnant with Meghan, as soon as my baby was born, I had her tested to make sure she was mine.”
“Isn’t that dangerous?”
“In the womb, yes, outside of it as a perfectly healthy baby, no. I made sure I protected Meghan. Tilly couldn’t even be bothered to hold her.”
“She couldn’t?”
“Nope. She didn’t touch our little girl. She just, I don’t know, didn’t bother. I took care of Meghan.”
“What about when you went to work?”
“I think Tilly tried, but again, I came home and did everything. It hasn’t been an easy life, if that makes you happy.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
“I didn’t touch Tilly for a long time.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“In case you need to know.” He shrugged. “I have no real fucking idea why I’m telling you.” His hand moved from her stomach up to cup her face. “Now that I’ve given some of my past away, why don’t you tell me about yours?”
“What do you want to know?”
“Why didn’t you finish college? I saw your résumé. It’s impressive, but you didn’t finish your first college. You changed schools, an education major, and then you did everything online.”
“You don’t need to know everything about me, Drew.”
“I’m going to be fucking you a lot. I need to know something.”
She hated how his commanding words thrilled her.
She wanted to punch him and deny he’d ever have her again, but she knew in her heart it was a fucking lie. He’d gotten under her skin, and now, she was messed up. “I dropped out because I wouldn’t sleep with a professor.” The words made her cheeks heat. Saying them out loud was utter humiliation.
“What?”
“You heard me. I didn’t want to sleep with my professor. He blackmailed me. He promised if I didn’t do as he asked, he’d report me.” She frowned. “I wonder if you know him.”
“I don’t.”
“Anyway, I didn’t want to sleep with my professor, nor did I want to get into the lies and the reporting him, so I quit. I left without any form of a degree. I worked odd jobs, somehow became a nanny, got the necessary qualifications, and did it the safe, reliable route online.” She shrugged. “That’s why I dropped out.”
“You could have reported him.”
“He was a professor who’d been teaching for twenty, maybe thirty years. He was considered the best man in his field. There was nothing I could do.”
He stroked her cheek, his thumb going back and forth across her lips. “What am I going to do with you?”
“Are you feeling guilty?” she asked. “You pretty much gave me the same ultimatum last night. Now I wonder about it. I believe it was a smoke screen. I doubt you, Drew Gold, will announce that you lowered yourself to fucking the fat girl.”
His grip on her cheek tightened. It wasn’t painful but there was a note of warning in the way he held her.
Her nipples tightened at the grip. Licking her lips, she stared into his eyes. “Maybe you don’t want me to tell the entire town how you love to fuck your nanny?” she asked.