The Lost Love: A Single Dad & Virgin Nanny Romance (The Hudson Brothers Series - Book 1)

by Emma Vikes

  She shook her head and then tucked her hair behind her ear, looking out of the window. “It’s just that it’s been a while since I’ve done this. My siblings and I stopped when Dad died and I just...I guess I’ve been missing home for a while and this just seems nice.”

  I know. But I didn’t want to say the two words out loud. “You think Violet would have fun?”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she does.”

  Behind us, Violet suddenly screamed the moment I put the truck in park and I realized that it was because she saw her uncles. She darted out of the truck and ran straight to Julian. I watched as my brother picked her up and spun her in circles, her legs rising behind her as she spun. I glanced at Megan who paled at the sight.

  “Oh dear god,” she mumbled, quickly unbuckling her seatbelt and rushing to Violet who was being tossed in the air by Julian and letting Leo catch her when she came back down. I got out of the truck and watched as Megan marched to where my brothers were the moment Violet was set down on the ground and instantly grabbed her shoulders, kneeling down in front of her. “You okay?”

  Violet was slightly dizzy but nodded, a toothy grin on her face. “Yes! My uncles are here, Megan!”

  Julian cleared his throat behind Violet and Megan stood up. He reached out a hand for her to shake. “I believe we’ve never been formally been introduced. I’m Julian.”

  Megan shook his hand, flashing him a small smile, trying her best not to be awestruck at the sight of someone famous. “Julian, please don’t do that to Violet again and Leo, haven’t I told you the list of probabilities of accidents that could happen every time you did that?”

  Leo raised both his hands and shrugged. “Julian spun and threw her, I only caught her. Take it easy on us, Tiger Momma.”

  My eyes widened at the last comment and Megan looked at Leo with narrowed eyes. I swallowed, hating how assuming Leo was that there was something going on between Megan and I. Well, there was but in the other way that he was assuming. “I thought it’d be fun to spend the weekend camping here, with your uncles. Been a while since we’ve had a family get together.” I told Vi.

  “What do you mean it’s been a while. It’s been never,” Everett stated, heading up to the truck to get the other things, “and I don’t understand why you suddenly wanted to go camping when none of us ever got the hang of it.”

  “You’ve never camped?” Megan asked no one in particular and I inwardly groaned. I’d been away from my brothers for a while that I’d forgotten how annoying they could be even when we were all grown up.

  I cleared my throat as the three of them went about trying to busy themselves, Everett realizing the mistake his statement had made. Megan turned to me, her left eyebrow raised in question. I rubbed the back of my neck, shrugging. “What Everett meant was that we’re not good at camping. We know how to set up a tent and all that shit, but it takes us a while.”

  “What Milo is trying to say, Megan, is that we suck at camping,” Julian finished for me, shrugging his shoulders as he then focused on the grill that he was setting up.

  Megan chuckled and then went to where Leo and Everett were. They were trying to set up their tent and from the looks of it, it seemed like they’ve been trying to set it up for a while. We only really brought three tents and I was letting the girls have theirs while I shared with one of my brothers. “Here, let an outdoor person help you out.”

  I watched as Megan took over, setting the first tent in a breeze. Leo and Everett stood beside me as we watched her while Julian was busy with Violet, his niece glued to his side as he started to grill meat for us to eat for lunch. Meanwhile, Megan was focused on her task, setting up the three tents without asking us for any help.

  Everett nudged me on the shoulder. “You better make a move, Milo, that girl is a damn keeper and at first, I thought it was because she was crazy hot but nothing’s hotter than a girl who can fend for herself.”

  I glared at Everett and then jogged over to where Megan was as she finished setting up the last tent. “You know, I’m not really sure if I should feel proud or if you’ve wounded my ego.”

  Megan grinned then put her hands on her waist, striking a pose. “Ah, primitive men thinking that women can never do anything.”

  I laughed and leaned closer to her to whisper to her ear, making sure that my brothers were busy so they wouldn’t catch the moment. “But to be honest, it was kind of hot when you took over. Remind me to let you do that next time.”

  Megan visibly shivered and I laughed when she glared at me, slapping me on the arm and then giving Julian a hand with the food. There was a lake nearby and my brothers and I taught Violet how to fish. It was nice to see my daughter having the time of her life with her uncles. If Rebecca was still alive, I doubted that she would let me take Violet out in the woods even if she had four men to protect her from anything. My brothers would die for their niece but Rebecca hated the idea of letting Violet outside. She wasn’t even the biggest fan of letting Violet play soccer until she realized how much her daughter loved the game.

  And then there was Megan...

  “Hey.”

  I was sitting at a rock, a few feet away from the lake where my three brothers were, trying to start a fire so we could all huddle into since the sun was beginning to descend. Violet was in the midst of the three of them, her gleeful laughter echoing in the woods as my brothers made fools out of themselves to elicit that reaction from her. I tried my best not focus on Megan’s body. She was in denim shorts and a shirt that was wet and gave me a perfect view of her round breasts. I raised a finger and then rushed to where we set camp, pulling out a hoodie and tossing it to her.

  “What’s this for?”

  I sat beside her, forcing my eyes to stay on my siblings and daughter having fun in the middle of the lake. “It’s okay when we’re alone and you’re giving me a view of your boobs but my brothers are around and as much as I love them, I don’t like sharing.”

  Megan sucked in a breath and quickly put on my hoodie, hiding away her body. She nudged me with her shoulders. “Thank you.”

  “For the hoodie?” I asked, looking at her this time. Her hair looked darker since it was still wet and there were rivulet of water glinted by the descending sun. There were moments that Megan’s beauty was striking in a way that it didn’t intentionally leave someone else breathless but still did so for me.

  She shook her head and then leaned closer to me- and when she was sure that my brothers and Violet weren’t looking- quickly kissed me on the cheeks. She turned her attention on the slow fire that was starting to cackle, and I could see the faint blush painting her cheeks. “For letting me come here. This is a family affair and I feel like I’m intruding on what should be a fond childhood memory of Violet’s with her uncles and Dad.”

  I reached for her hand and wrapped mine around it and Megan looked at me and I watched as she anxiously glanced back towards my brothers and Violet. “My daughter adores you. I don’t think she’ll mind if you’re a part of this childhood memory of hers. Besides, I don’t.”

  Megan looked at me, this time, her green eyes held my gaze with such intensity and I could see the swirls of golden speck in them. In that fleeting moment, I considered her words. This is a family affair. I could easily change that and make her feel accepted in a different kind of way. She wouldn’t simply be Violet’s nanny anymore. All it took was one confession, for me to acknowledge what was going on.

  But it also meant putting my heart on the line and no matter how much I liked making Megan smile and how much I liked what went on between the two of us, it wasn’t enough to put my heart on the line.

  Not again.

  Chapter 15

  Megan

  “Violet, be careful!” I called after a shrieking Violet as Julian picked her up from where she was sitting, casually tossing her on his shoulders and jumping straight into the lake without preamble. My heart was beating rapidly in my chest as I watched in horror and waited until they both spr
ang up, Violet spitting lake water all over while laughing and Julian watching his niece with bright delight in his eyes.

  This camping trip was going to be the death of me. This was because Milo’s brothers kept roughhousing with Violet and treated her as if she was a little boy rather than a girl and it kept scaring me each time they tossed her in the lake or randomly tossed her mid-air. I felt a nudge on my shoulder and I turned to see Everett. He offered me a plate of newly grilled hotdogs.

  “You know that we would never do anything that we know would hurt her,” Everett said, settling beside me. I turned to look at the third Hudson. Unlike most his brothers, he wore his black hair short and trimmed on the sides but remained a mess in the middle. He wore thick framed black glasses that covered his gray eyes and he always seemed as if he just jumped out of bed and always disheveled. “And it’s probably maternal instincts kicking in every time you freak out at us playing with Violet.”

  His last statement made me purse my lips. All throughout this camping trip, the brothers have taken jabs at me and Milo and our status. I was starting to get used to Leo teasing us about it but not the other two and besides, I’d only just met Julian and he was already acting as if I was his new sister-in-law. At least they liked me and were obvious with it.

  Milo was a complicated case although I held up some hope since he brought me to this trip and whether or not he remembered that I liked camping, I still liked the idea that he liked me enough to bring me along a family affair since he was fairly capable of taking care of Violet on his own now.

  “Hey, don’t worry about it. We’ll punch Milo blue and purple until he realizes he has feelings for you. He can be a tad bit too stubborn for his own good,” Everett said while he chewed on his hotdog sandwich.

  “I’m not really sure what you’re getting at,” I replied, trying to feign innocence.

  Everett swallowed and rolled his eyes. “Don’t play stupid. I see how you look at Milo. I’ve seen that look on thousands of girls before when Milo was in high school. You like him. Besides, how else can you be able to stand him if you didn’t? He can be a dick when he wants to be.”

  I laughed but still didn’t want to bite at the bait that Everett was setting. Leo tried this with me last night too, teasing and commenting that I had a crush on Milo. They weren’t wrong and I had a sinking feeling that they knew that Milo and I screwed around behind closed doors but if there was a chance that they had no clue, I didn’t want to tip them off and fuel more to the cackling fire they already had going on. “Sorry, Ev, but I’m not really sure what you’re trying to say here.”

  Everett sighed and then looked at me pointedly. “What I’m trying to say, Megan, is that if there’s a tiny chance that you like my brother but won’t act on your feelings because you think that he doesn’t feel the same way, then give him some time. Sometimes guys need a little bit more time to realize the immensity of what they’re feeling and if I know my brother, it’s that he looks at you the same way he looked at Rebecca, and you know what, sometimes I feel like he looks at you with more intensity than he did with her and that’s saying something because he always claimed that she was his first love.”

  I didn’t know what I was meant to say to Everett after what he just said but he left me alone to let his words sink in. I only snapped back to reality when Violet came barreling to me and I helped her change in the tent we shared. We had lunch and Milo helped me with folding the tents back and loading them in the back of the truck while his brothers took care of everything else and Violet was just casually playing around and taking pictures with Milo’s phone, occasionally showing Leo if she had a good shot.

  “Daddy!” Violet shrieked. By this time, I was folding my sleeping bag and Violet’s. Milo and I had finished packing the tents in the truck. I watched as Milo picked up Violet and hoisted her enough so she could sit on his shoulders. He ran around while Leo chased them pretending to be a zombie while doing so.

  I couldn’t help but crack a smile as I watched Milo and Violet interact, my heart skipping a beat at the sight. It was amazing how much effort Milo really put into fixing the gap between Violet and him. I liked to think that I had a huge hand in the process but knew that this was all on Milo. I, along with everybody else, could talk him into fixing what he had with his daughter but ultimately, the decision rested in his hands. He could’ve buried himself with even more work but he didn’t. He actually chose to restart his life after he lost Rebecca.

  “Megan!” Violet was running at me, full speed, and I braced myself for the impact.

  “Oof,” I muttered when she collided with me. My hand went on her head, feeling the sweat damping her hair and I automatically grabbed a towel from the bag that was slung on my shoulders and dried her with it. “Ready to go home, Vi?”

  She looked up at me, grinning, and then surprised me by shaking her head. “I’m staying over at Uncle Julian’s!”

  My eyebrows raised in surprise and I looked up, seeing Milo come over to where we were. “You’ve talked to your Dad about this?”

  Milo cleared his throat. “I’m allowing her. She wanted to ask for your permission.”

  His statement took me by surprise and I looked down at Violet who was looking back at me with big, hopeful blue eyes. “Can I, Megan?”

  I touched her chin and smiled, nodding my head slowly. “I don’t really see why not since it’s still summer. But you gotta make sure that your uncles get you back to us before lunch since you have practice.”

  Violet squealed and hugged me tightly, looking up at me with her blue eyes. “Thank you, Mo...Megan!”

  I wasn’t sure what Violet meant to say at first but her eyes widened when she realized that she was going to say something else but then she flashed me an awkward smile and hugged her Dad. I remained where I stood, my heart hammering in my chest because I had a sinking feeling that Violet was going to call me Mom and.....I honestly wouldn’t mind if she did.

  Milo tapped my shoulder after he was sure that everything was loaded in the truck and that Violet was secure with his brothers. “Ready to head home?”

  In a daze, I nodded my head as I followed him in the truck, buckling myself in my seat as Milo put the truck on the first gear and then slowly crept down from where our camping site was. “You okay?”

  I glanced at him. His eyes were fixed on the gravelly road but it occasionally darted back to me. “Yeah. Just a bit tired. Forgot how tiring camping can be.”

  “But you had fun?”

  His voice sounded anxious when he asked and I chuckled, nodding my head and then reaching for his hand to wrap mine around it. “Absolutely. It’s the most fun I have had since Dad died.”

  Milo didn’t say anything after that but continued to hold my hand, even if it meant that driving the truck would be a hassle if he held onto me. We were silent for about half an hour when his phone started ringing with notification. He glanced at me. “Can you check to see what’s it about? My phone’s in my pocket.”

  My hand slid in the pocket of his shorts and brushed against something hard while I fished for his phone. I looked at Milo. His eyes were closed for a brief second and through gritted teeth, he said, “Just get the phone out, Megan.”

  Biting my lip to contain my laughter, I pulled out his smartphone and scrolled down the notifications bar to check. “You have work emails.”

  Milo sighed and then asked me to read them out loud. I did, not understanding what most of the emails that Verna sent meant. After I was done, Milo sighed. We were back in the city again and were on our way to our neighborhood. “I guess I’m going to be drowned with work the moment we step foot in the house. Damn, I was looking forward to spending the day with you and you can get as noisy as you’d like.

  When Milo said that, an idea popped into my head. Although I thanked him last night for letting me tag along with their family affair, it wasn’t a proper thank you. Milo and I had been sneakily screwing with each other on most nights when we were both in the mood and alt
hough sex had become a very big part in whatever kind of relationship we had and we used it to our advantage if we had the chance since the other easily folds and gives in when sex was involved. We were both weak when it came to it.

  “Can I drive to the grocery store?” I suddenly asked as Milo made a turn to our neighborhood. He glanced at me, the question in his eyes and I answered with a small shrug. “I thought I’d make dinner to thank you for letting me tag along, Milo.”

  Milo was about to argue and I already knew what he wanted to say. But I placed a hand on his thigh and he abruptly shut up. “Just let me do this, Milo.”

  When we got back, Milo and I unloaded the truck and left and stashed the tents and the rest of the camping equipment in the garage while I unloaded untouched and uncooked food back in the fridge. I showered quickly while Milo retreated to his study, already in a conference call the moment we were done unloading and I called out to him after I showered, telling him that I was heading to the grocery store.

  Don’t play stupid. I see how you look at Milo. I’ve seen that look on thousands of girls before when Milo was in high school. You like him. Besides, how else are you be able to stand him if you don’t? He can be a dick when he wants to be.

  Everett’s words continued to echo in my mind. And also the memory of Violet almost calling me Mom and the idea of her doing so, warming my heart even more. The more Milo and I fooled around with each other, the more he acted a certain way around me, and the more I saw him becoming a good father to Violet, the more my feelings deepened.

  Everett was right. I did like Milo and I’d known this even before we screwed with each other. I was attracted to my boss since day one even when he was such an asshole at that time. I was attracted with how he looked because there was no denying that Milo was attractive, all the Hudsons were. But then I started getting to know him more and I started seeing him in a different light. What I felt became more than just attraction and we crossed the line that we never should’ve and my legs would turn to jelly every time he snuck a glance at me during breakfast or dinner when he thought that neither Violet and I weren’t looking and he would have this cute small smile on his face that made me melt...