The Billionaire's Nanny

Chapter 12

The rest of the morning ran slower than I expected. I cleaned my room, and the kid's room, read a book and gave myself a mini-tour of the house. Emma was busy with laundry, and I had offered to help but again, she said no. It would still take a few more hours before the kids got back from school, I had to keep busy till then or I would probably die of boredom. 

I thought os doing some crochet, but I only had my pins and not even a ball of yarn. I would have to wait till I had the time to go to the store to pick up what I needed. I watched a movie on my phone and played a few games. 

I had not seen Lucas all day, but it was better that way. I picked the kids up from school at the exact time they finished and took them home. After they had a snack, we played hide and seek and ran around a little before going over their homework. Emma came up to the room later in the evening to call us up for dinner. 

"Okay kids, it's time to wash up," I said as I kept the last of their crayons. 

"A bath?" Abby asked quickly. 

"No, you have to wash your hand before eating," I explained. 

"But my hands are clean," Aiden said, inspecting his hands slowly. 

"Yes, me too," Abby followed after her brother. 

I crouched down to meet them and took a brief second to explain why and how their hands were dirty in the simplest terms.

"But how do you know they are there, I can't see them," Abby said referring to germs. She brought her hands closer to her face hoping to get a good view. 

I chuckled lightly and took her hands in mine. "Why don't we wash our hands now, and after dinner, we'll learn about germs on the dr. binocs show?" I asked with a smile, and they both ran off to the bathroom to wash their hands. I followed closely behind them and washed my hands too. I had learned not to leave them in the bathroom without supervision after the toothpaste drama.

"Chris, I want my hair to be like yours please," Abby said as she wiped her hand with the hand towel I gave each of them. 

"Of course sweety, I can make your hair like mine before you leave for school tomorrow." I took out the brush from the drawer. "For now, let's just brush both your hairs and go for dinner. We don't want to be late."

"No one is going to know, we will; be eating alone," Abby said with a sad face.

"Daddy does not join us for dinner since you came back home," Aiden added having the same sadness on his face. 

I was surprised to hear that. Did he hate me so much that he would even neglect dinner with the kids just to avoid me? It made me sad to think about the kids having to suffer because of both our childishness. I had to speak to Lucas about this, if it would mean skipping dinners just so he got to be there for the kids I would gladly do that. "I'm sure he's busy at work these days," I said in an effort to console them, "I'll call him and see if he can make it tonight." 

Their faces brightened and they smiled happily. "Okay." 

I knew he would not appreciate me telling me this so early in the job, but I was still going to give it a shot for the kids. The kids headed downstairs for dinner and I took the chance to call Lucas. Of course, he did not pick up. I decided to shoot him a quick text.

Chris: Hey, please can you come home a little early? 

In a second my phone vibrated. 

Lucas: Why, are the kids okay, what happened.

I could sense the worry in his tone. 

Chris: No the kids are fine, they just miss having dinner with you, and I kinda promised them you would make it for dinner. 

Lucas: You lied to them? 

I could imagine the way he was seething now. 

Chris: It's not lying, it's a future truth. They are really hoping you'll come, please at least try. 

Lucas: We would talk about this when I get home, I'll be there soon. 

Relief washed over me that the kid's hopes would not be shattered even though it meant I was probably in trouble with my boss. 

Chris: Thanks. 

I shoved my phone in my back pocket and joined the kids for dinner. 

"Abby, we have talked about this before," Emma said in an almost warning tone. "You can't skip vegetables, you have to eat everything on your plate." she put a few diced chicken in the salad on Abby's plate. 

Abby scrunched up her face and pushed the food around like it was poison. Aiden sat next to her, pushing away all the meat and only eating the salad. They had different food preferences too. Abby disliked vegetables, Aiden, meat. As much as I wanted them to just simply exchange the meals they did not like, I knew that was wrong. As long as they were not allergic to the food, and it did not have a bad taste, they had to learn to eat it. 

"I'm back," I announced from behind them, "and daddy's joining us for dinner." they squealed excitedly as I took a seat on the table. 

After their excitement cooled down, I decided to address the issue of picky eating. "Aiden, you don't seem to like the meal," I asked as I served my food. 

"I don't like this," he answered honestly, pointing to the chicken he had heaped to the side of his plate. Emma had gone back to the kitchen to resume her chores. 

"And I don't like these things," Abby lifted a fork of salad in disgust. 

"Abby, Aiden, remember the first day I came over, and you both helped aunt Mia make a super delicious meal for me?" 

They nodded, eyes fixed on me. 

"How would it make you feel if I said I did not want to eat the food just because I did not like it, even though you worked so hard to make it?" 

"I would be sad," Abby answered honestly. 

"Me too," said Aiden. 

"So how do you think it makes Emma feel when she has to work hard to make dinner, and you don't eat it?" I asked and took a bite of my meal.

"Sad," they said in a low tone. 

"Do you think that's fair to her?" Their eyes drifted to Emma, who was loading the dishwasher. 

"No,"

"No." 

"Also, it is important to have a balanced diet, so we can grow properly, be healthy, and be happy. I know you don't like these foods right now, but I can assure you they are not so bad. Actually, they're very tasty, and good for you too. You just have to have an open mind—and mouths too, to see how good they are," 

"Promise?" Abby asked as she lifted a spoon of salad to her mouth. 

"Promise." I took a bite of mine to encourage her. "Aiden, try yours too." 

He took a spoon too and put it in his mouth. 

"Is it good?" I asked.

"It's not so bad," Abby admitted. 

"Mine's not bad either," Aiden said too. 

"See, I told you," I said with a big smile. 

Lucas came home halfway through dinner, he was late, but he still came, which was better than not showing up at all. 

The twins jumped out of their seats and into their father's arms. No matter how upset or tired he looked, he always had a big smile on his face when he came home to his kids. Another hint that he was not so bad.

They led him back to the dining and Abby sat on his thigh, while Aiden sat on the seat next to him. He asked about their day and what they had done today, a usual routine between them. As usual, the kids went on and on about what they did today, from when they woke up to when they came down for dinner. 

Abby snuggled closer to her father, almost entering into him, as he fed her while he ate. Maybe that would make Lucas realize how much his kids missed him at the table, so he would stop being a d**k. Even after dinner, she did not let go of her father, Aiden was not as clingy, but when Lucas said he would give them both a bath and put them in bed, he smiled happily. 

As they went upstairs, I helped Emma clean up. She was surprised to see both Aiden and Abby's plates empty. She looked at me, eyes wide, and I gave her a playful knowing wink. I mouthed "magic," and she laughed before taking the plates to the kitchen. 

After cleaning the table and washing the dishes with Emma, I headed to my room. As I passed the kid's door, I heard a kid's video playing, an indication that they were not near ready for bed. I decide to freshen up and loosen my braids to get ready for bed. Since Lucas was putting the kids to sleep, I had no other reason to come out tonight. I put on a large, t-shirt and a small short that barely covered my ass. 

I was ready to sneak into the bed, but a loud knock on my room door startled me. Without bothering to put on a bra or something less exposing, I opened the door and came face to face with Lucas. 

"Oh, it's you." 

"Expecting someone else?" he said as he looked at me from my head to my bare feet. His eyes lingered for a few seconds on my bulging n*****s, which the almost see-through shirt did nothing to hide. 

"No, come in," I took a step back and let him inside the room. 

He was a bit hesitant but did well to hide it as he entered the room. I shut the door behind him. "What can I do for you? I asked folding my hand across my chest pushing my breast up. 

He cleared his throat before he spoke. "I don't appreciate you lying to the kids." 

"It was not a lie," I shot back, "And I would not have told them that if you decided to be mature enough and not neglect them at dinner because you were avoiding me." 

"Why would you think I was avoiding you?" he asked, taking a bold step toward me. 

I wanted to take a step back and retreat, but that would only increase his already overgrown ego, so I planted my feet, rooted to the spot where I stood. 

"Because that's what you've been doing since the day we met. And don't bother lying. I know you hate me and can't stand my presence but can you just put all that aside for the good of the kids?" 

He closed the space between us, and I realized I should've taken some steps back when I had the chance because he completely towered over me making me feel almost invisible in his shadow. But it was not too late, I pushed my feet back to put some space between us, but his hand shot out to hold me back. 

I opened my mouth to protest, but he beat me to it. "I don't hate you," he said in the softest tone he had ever used on me. His voice was almost distant like he was in a time and place different from now. His green eyes retained their coldness as they bore into me, and his body was stiff, shoulders still rigid. "I just hate that face." he stroked my cheek, almost softly as he spoke.

 He was looking at me, but I knew I was not the one he saw. Whoever he was seeing was the same person I had heard him and Mia talk about. As much as I hated to, I had to pull away from him. This was wrong on so many grounds, the first being that he probably did not know he was speaking to me right now. My body though, had other plans as it squirmed closer into his hard body. One hand wrapped around my waist, the other making hypnotic movements up and down my cheek. 

But I was not going to fall into this so easily. I put one hand on his broad chest in an attempt to push him away but he caught my wrist in his large hand.

"Why do you have to look like her?" his voice was low, and deep and filled with emotion. 

"Who?" I asked, even though I knew quite well who he was talking about. What I did not know was why she had such a connection to him, and most of all why I reminded him of her.

He looked into my eyes, his eyes lingering for longer than usual, and I could see the sadness in them. I knew that the reason for that pain was someone called Sarah, but that still did not prepare me for his next words. 

"Sarah, my ex-wife."