Choosing Us: The Pierced Hearts Duet: Book One

by M. Robinson

“I hate my name. It’s so stupid. It sounds like I’m a belly button, but I’m not. I’m a girl, see?” Tugging on her hair that was in pigtails, she blinked her long, big eyelashes at me. “I don’t look like a belly button, right?”

  “No.” Was the only word I could say when she sat that close to me.

  She nodded, bringing a piece of chicken up to her mouth. Not paying any attention to what she was doing to me.

  “I like your name, Aiden Pierce. It’s pretty.”

  “Pretty?”

  “Yeah, I like pretty names. Not like mine.”

  Before I gave it any thought, I blurted, “Your name is beautiful just like you are.”

  Her eyes flew to mine, and another huge smile took over her face. “No one has ever called me beautiful, Aiden Pierce!”

  I smiled with her.

  “Now we’re going to have to get married.”

  “What?” I stopped smiling, jerking back. “We do?”

  “Mmm hmm…” She chewed on her food, swallowing it down. “That’s what happens when you call a girl beautiful, you have to get married after. I don’t make the rules, I just follow them. Before my momma passed away, she always said to marry a man who calls me beautiful, and I’ll be happy every day of my life.”

  Maybe her momma sent her to me too?

  “Will you make me happy?”

  “Uh… I can try.”

  “Try really hard, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  Momma would want that, right?

  Yeah, she would.

  “I like the way Bailey Pierce sounds. What do you think?”

  “I like the way Bailey Pierce sounds too, but aren’t we too young to get married?”

  “No silly! I meant when we’re older.”

  “Oh.” I thought about it for a second. “Like how much older?”

  Now it was her turn to think about it for a second. “Like when we’re eighteen. That’s old enough.”

  “Okay.”

  “Aiden...” She giggled, twirling her hair in a big knot around her finger. “You have to ask me first.”

  “Oh, I do?” I scratched my head. “When?”

  “When we’re eighteen.”

  “Okay.” I nodded, meaning it. “I’ll ask you when we’re eighteen.”

  “Okay.” She nodded back. “I’ll try to act surprised too. Ask me in a good way, alright? So I cry.”

  She was confusing, but in the best way possible. I’d say anything she wanted just to keep her by my side, so I’d always feel this way.

  Safe.

  I knew right then and there my momma had something to do with this. I didn’t know how, but she kept her promise to me. This had to be the girl, I felt it in my bones.

  “Why would I want to make you cry?”

  “Because they’re happy tears and crying with happy tears is like super romantic.”

  “Oh… Okay then. I’ll ask you in a way that will make you cry happy tears.”

  “Okay good, but don’t make me cry in any other way than happy tears. Ever. You promise?”

  “I promise.”

  She leaned her head on my shoulder, whispering, “I trust you.”

  She did?

  Good, because for a reason I didn’t understand, I trusted her too.

  But it was the smell of her strawberry hair that was doing all sorts of things to my body. I hoped she didn’t notice, I didn’t want to scare her away. Not when I’d just found her.

  Or did she find me?

  “Oh, Aiden!” She threw her arms around my neck and jumped into my lap, sending the plate of food flying. I hesitated until she added, “I’m so happy I found you! You’re better than that stray cat I fed that keeps coming back! So much better! I don’t have to feed anymore strays because now, I have you! Finally! I found you! I found my family like my mom said I would!”

  I hugged her back, holding her as close as I could to my body. Her heartbeat next to mine would now be my favorite feeling in the whole world.

  Today had been the worst day of my life but meeting her has turned it into one of the best.

  Thank you, Momma.

  “I promise you, Bailey Button. We won’t ever be alone again.”

  And I meant it with my whole heart and soul. Even though I didn’t know what that was, it still sounded like everything I ever wanted.

  And that was good enough for me.

  Chapter 4

  <>Camila<>

  Now

  __________

  “Your resumé states you have experience with children but doesn’t specify when or how many children were under your care,” the young woman interviewing me questioned as she skimmed through the papers in front of her. Fixating her bright blue eyes on me, she added, “Can you clarify?”

  “Yes, of course.” I eagerly nodded, clearing my throat. “I have siblings. Lots of them. I can’t remember a time where our home wasn’t filled with kids. You’d think my parents didn’t own a television or something.” I nervously laughed at my own joke. “I swear my biological clock is ticking inside my mother’s body. She loves kids now as much as she did back then. All she wants is a team of grandbabies. My father is the same.”

  The woman laughed, and her smile lit up her entire face. I had only just met her, but I swear I knew her from somewhere.

  Where do I know you from?

  “I take it you don’t have kids?”

  I shook my head. “No, I don’t, but I love kids. Especially babies. There is nothing better than holding a little babe in your arms, snuggling them close to your heart. Don’t get me started on their soft skin, cute feet, and baby smell.”

  “That’s how they get you,” she chuckled. “Then they start walking and talking, and it all goes downhill from there.”

  I scoffed out a giggle. “My siblings were definitely a handful. They still are.”

  “I bet it’s nice to come from a big family, though. I was an only child, and I always wished I had the same luck as you. But now”—she leaned back into her chair, lovingly holding onto her growing belly through her white sundress— “I just keep getting knocked up with my own.”

  We laughed, easing into a comfortable conversation with one another like old friends. I liked her. She seemed genuine, and that was hard to find amongst women these days. Particularly the one I could possibly be working for.

  “My husband is adamant about knocking me up with triplets.”

  “Three more babies? All at once? You must have the patience of a saint. I mean, you already have three kids—”

  “No, no, no!” she chimed in, chuckling. “The nanny position you’re interviewing for isn’t for me.”

  “Oh… I thought… I just assumed … you’re interviewing me, so I just… I mean … never mind.” I shifted in the leather chair across from her, wringing my clammy hands together in my lap, trying to gather my composure.

  My eyes glanced all around the room to look at anything besides her. It was only then I noticed a couple broken picture frames on the mantle in the office we sat in. Even though the glass was shattered, someone had set them back up.

  What’s that about?

  I thought to myself, biting my tongue, struggling with my English like I always did when I was nervous.

  “It’s alright. That would have been my assumption as well. But no, I’m just a good friend of the family.”

  My mind immediately swarmed with an endless list of questions about said family.

  Where were the parents?

  Why aren’t they here?

  Will I be meeting them today?

  However, I knew it wasn’t my place to ask. I ignored each and every one of them, simply grateful that my uncle happened to overhear someone talking about hiring a full-time nanny.

  My tio Feto said he had a family that he provided lawn service for, and they were looking to bring in help for their kids.

  When he told me about the opening, it couldn’t have come at a better time. Nursing school wasn’t going to be cheap, a
nd I needed a job to pay for my student loans that were already piling up. Working at my best friend Danté’s club wasn’t going to pay my bills or my student loans. I needed a real job.

  Education was my only way out of living in Selma, otherwise known as El Barrio, the hood. I couldn’t afford anywhere else and I wanted a better life for myself.

  I spent two hours on the public transportation bus just to get to this interview, and already it felt like I was screwing it up.

  “You have an accent. Where are you from?”

  As much as I tried covering it up, I should have known it’d be useless. It didn’t matter that I was bilingual, Spanish would always be my native tongue.

  Pulling myself together, I didn’t bother hiding my accent this time. Responding, “My siblings and I were born here, but my parents are from Venezuela. But it won’t be a concern,” I quickly vowed. “My English is perfect, except when I get nervous, my Spanish tends to come out. I’ll speak English with the kids, that won’t be a problem. I promise.”

  She narrowed her eyes at me. “Why would that be a problem?”

  “Because it had been an issue all my life. I’d been treated like a minority ever since I could remember.”

  “Well that won’t be a problem in this house.”

  Damn it, I just said that out loud.

  I was never one to not speak my mind, often digging my own grave. I was opinionated, I couldn’t help it. You try growing up in a house full of Venezuelan people. I spoke my mind loudly, or I wouldn’t have been heard.

  “They would love if their children learned another language. Aside from cusswords, you’d think their boys barely spoke English.”

  I relaxed, instantly at ease. Her confession had me wanting the position even more. Working for a family who treated me as an equal was something a girl like me only dreamt about. My family was poor, but they were hardworking.

  We had what we needed growing up, food on the table, clothes on our backs, and a roof over our heads.

  As if she could read my thoughts, her pointed stare never wavered from my eyes once.

  “Why don’t you tell me a little bit about yourself? Who is Camila Jiménez?”

  Swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat, I countered, “What would you like to know? Skyler, right?” Silently hoping I remembered her name correctly from when she introduced herself.

  She nodded. “Yes. Skyler Jameson, but you can call me Sky. Everyone besides my husband calls me that.”

  Her name even sounded familiar.

  Where do I know you from? Just shut up and smile, Camila. Just shut up and smile.

  “How about we start with how old you are?”

  “I’m twenty-eight.”

  “Are you married? Single? Never dating again?”

  I laughed. “I had a boyfriend once, and I learned quickly that guys kind of suck. Besides, I don’t have any time for that. Between school, studying, work, and being there for my family when they need me, I barely have time to breathe.” I shrugged, playing it off like it wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t, at least not for me.

  “My family is everything to me. I helped raise my siblings, always trying to set the best example for them. With some it worked, with others not so much. I may not have the work experience you’re looking for on paper, but I know what to do when a baby is crying. I know kids can be a pain as much as they can be a blessing. But at the end of the day, all they need is love. The rest just kind of falls into place.”

  She beamed, smiling big and wide. The expression illuminating her face again. “How do you feel about overnight stays? I’ve been staying with the kids at night, but I will be needing a replacement soon.”

  The parents don’t come home?

  “That won’t be a problem.”

  “How about cooking and cleaning?”

  “I love to cook. It’s one of my favorite things to do. Cleaning too. It actually relaxes me.”

  “Yeah, Bailey too.”

  “Bailey is the mom?”

  “Mmm hmm.”

  “Will I be mee—”

  Dismissing my question, she gazed down, shuffling through a manila file of papers. “In case of an emergency, are you CPR certified?”

  “Certified, no. But I do know how to perform CPR if needed.”

  “No worries, it won’t be a problem to get your certification. I’ll have Aiden’s RN get me the information.”

  “Aiden is—”

  “Possibly your new boss,” she interrupted, locking eyes with me. “Dr. Aiden Pierce.”

  That explains the huge house and expensive looking … everything.

  “He’s the Chief of Surgery at Docher Memorial Hospital in Southport. It says here you’re in nursing school? Aiden will love that.”

  “Yeah. I love helping people. It’s just who I am.”

  From the look on Skyler’s face, she liked me, and the emotion was very much mutual.

  “How about we continue this interview while I show you around?”

  “That’d be great.” I stood, straightening my long, flowy skirt before grabbing my bag from the floor. Calmly trying to hide my excitement of possibly getting the job, as I followed close behind her. Listening intently, while my eyes wandered with each step I took around the massive estate. Taking it all in.

  The home was a disaster.

  Toys, video games, clothes, anything and everything was scattered all over the floors with no end in sight. Piles of laundry covered the couches, food, and God knows what else, laid freely on the kitchen counters and dining table as if it’d been sitting there for days. Layers upon layers of dust coated the furniture and baseboards like they hadn’t been wiped down in ages.

  My small rundown apartment may have been falling apart at the seams, but it was clean. There was no way I could live like this. How such a beautiful home that someone obviously worked so hard for and allowed it to go to shit was mind-blowing to me.

  I couldn’t believe my eyes, seeing a life I didn’t know existed. But under all the clutter I could still picture the beauty this home once held.

  Starting from the expensive looking red front door, to the white picket fence, and the sunflowers all around. To the inside of the home where there was a grand staircase, contemporary furniture, and gorgeous marble floors throughout. The entire floorplan was exquisite.

  This home was breathtaking. Anyone could see that.

  A lot of time and devotion was put into every detail, down to the accent pillows on the sofas, and the accessories, such as a simple candle that read Home Sweet Home on the coffee table. To the profound love I could physically feel through the walls. Though there was something else circulating through the air.

  A void so crippling.

  So consuming.

  So real.

  I felt it down to my bones, down to the core of my being. Causing shivers to stir on every inch of my skin, making the ends of my hair stand straight up.

  What the hell was that?

  “Please excuse the mess,” Skyler remarked, bringing my attention to her. “It wasn’t always like this.”

  What did she mean by that?

  “Between the boys and the baby girl, things have been hectic to say the least. I’m pregnant, and there’s only so much I can help with. That’s why I’m interviewing candidates for a full-time nanny position and part-time housekeeper. The kids need it as much as this house does.”

  “I can see that.”

  “Aiden works a lot and Bailey… she’s not here so…” She shook her head. “The family needs help.”

  “When is she coming back?”

  She cleared her throat. “It’s not my place to say anything about anything,” she anxiously let out. “Just know you’re needed here, desperately. But in the meantime, you’ll deal directly with me. At least for now.”

  “Does that mean I—” A shiny frame caught my attention from the corner of my eye, and I was suddenly stepping over a pile of Legos and cars to get to the main living room.

>   The family photos on the far wall immediately captured my stare, and my feet moved on their own accord. It was like this gravitational pull was dragging me toward the happy memories proudly displayed for all to see.

  Glowing.

  Radiating.

  Exuding a happy, carefree family.

  The man who I assumed was Dr. Pierce was probably somewhere in his mid-forties. His tan skin, long slender nose, and square jawline were as prominent as his crystal blue eyes. He had a graying five o’clock shadow and short brown, wavy hair that was also graying at his temples.

  In the photos he was smiling in, it was his dimples that my eyes seemed to focus on the most. They made him appear younger, contrary to the tiny wrinkles in the corners of his eyes that gave away his age.

  When my stare settled on the three cross tattoos on his neck, I recognized them instantly. Being raised in a religious family made me acknowledge the significance behind his black ink.

  Representing the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

  He was the first doctor I’d ever seen with tattoos visibly on display as if he wore them with honor. Someone doesn’t just get a religious tattoo for shits and giggles, it meant something to him. Something deeper on a personal level.

  Something that once again had me feeling some kind of way about a man I’d never met. Yet felt connected to in some way.

  What the hell, Camila? He’s your boss. Your married boss.

  As if on cue, my gaze shifted toward his wife who was absolutely breathtaking. Her blue eyes sparkled against the lighting of the bright room. Only illuminating her contagious smile and petite features as her brown hair flowed through the wind in the photo.

  She was a beauty.

  A flawless beauty.

  But it wasn’t until I saw their wedding photo, that I let out the breath I didn’t realize I was holding.

  They were no doubt a stunning couple, and from the looks of it, very much in love. The devotion to their family emitted off every photo, causing me to smile as much as they were in the pictures. They looked like the perfect family, something you would see in catalogs and magazines. Without a care in the world.

  “They were married young,” Skyler shared, standing behind me. Noticing what photo my eyes were fixated on the most.