“Heavens no. He’s my brother!”
CHAPTER 6
Cash
I’m surprised I don’t get pulled over on the drive home. I was in such a rush to get home and see how Mary and Mikey were getting along.
I step through the front door.
“Anybody home?”
A few seconds later Mary come around the corner.
“Hey! Hello there.”
“How are my M&M’s,” I ask.
“M&M’s? Oh,” she says before giggling when she gets my joke. Wow has she ever got a nice smile. She looks even more beautiful when she’s happy and that’s an incredible thing to ponder because I didn’t think she could look more beautiful than she already does. I want to capture that smile on film one day and put the picture on my desk so I can look at it if I ever need uplifting.
“We’re good. Mikey’s sleeping again.”
“That’s good. All the sleeping he does he’s going to be tall one of these days. All he does is sleep and eat.”
“My roommate in college was like that,” she says.
I can’t wait any longer. Part of being a good portfolio manager is asking the right questions and I sure have questions for her. They’ve been on my mind all day. I just don’t want to be too obvious about asking them.
“How was college? Did you enjoy it?”
“Yeah, it was good actually. I had a job offer lined up and was just about to start but then the company went belly up and now here I am.”
“Well their loss is my gain. Our gain. Mikey and Carrie and I that is.”
Pull yourself together, Cash.
“Thank you. I’m quickly seeing that it was to my benefit as well. You have a lovely home and I had a really nice time with Carrie.”
“You mean my wife?” I say before winking at her.
“Um…yeah. My bad.”
“It’s okay. We got a good laugh out of it. She called me to tell me everything went okay and she’d left you here alone with Mikey. That and of course that you thought we were married. I thought we looked too much alike to be mistaken for husband and wife.”
“I see it now. I guess at the time I was just thinking…or I wasn’t thinking straight or something.”
“I know the feeling. Speaking of married, are you married by chance?”
Smooth transition, Cash. Don’t be so obvious.
“Me? No, not yet.”
So she does have a boyfriend.
“I think you have to have a boyfriend before you can get married, right?”
Bingo! That’s the answer I was looking for.
“It used to work that way, yes. These days with all the apps that they have I’m not really sure how the whole dating thing works.”
“I think that’s my problem too. I’m not so sure how it works either, which is why I find myself spending Friday and Saturday nights at home by myself.”
“I don’t believe that,” I say. How in the world aren’t the guys beating a path down to this girl’s front door?
“It’s okay. I’m not in a rush. I’m more of a long term thinker anyways. I don’t have any interest in finding Mr. Right Now. I only want a Mr. Right. Do it once and do it for life.”
It’s clear to see this girl is absolutely perfect for me. She gets along great with my kid and my sister. She’s beautiful. And she seems like a bit of an old soul. I think I’m a bit younger than my age, at least that’s what people tell me except when it comes to electronics, so we balance each other out and meet right in the middle. But this is the kind of middle where there’s absolutely no compromise. Only winning.
“I couldn’t agree more. I’m all about quality whether that comes down to picking an investment or picking a significant other, although you don’t always pick a significant other. Sometimes I think things just seem to fall into place. At least that’s how it seems with some of the best and longest lasting relationships I’ve seen.”
“Like friends to lovers?”
“That sounds like a genre of books.”
She giggles again and it makes me want to scoop her up in my arms and carry her right off into the sunset. “It is actually. Sorry, I’m a big reader.”
“Nothing to be sorry about. Reading is where it’s at. Most people don’t read nearly enough, whether for pleasure or for education.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” she says.
“Did you ever read Bambi as a child?”
“Bambi, a Life in the Woods? I read the book more times than I can count and saw the movie.”
“Did you ever see Bambi in real life?”
“There’s a real Bambi?’
I look at my watch and then back up at her. “Sort of. Want to see something beautiful?”
“Always.”
I walk her upstairs and down the hall to the guest bedroom in the corner of the house. It has an incredibly expansive view of greenery and snow peaked mountains for miles and miles.
But we don’t need to look far. I point with my finger towards the edge of the property.
There’s a salt lick there where deer often come at this time. The salt lick provides essential elements such as phosphorus and the biometals like sodium, calcium, iron, zinc, and trace elements which are required in the springtime for bone, muscle and other growth. It’s the perfect place for the deer to come and enjoy and this room is the perfect place for us to enjoy watching them.
But I’m watching her.
She’s completely amazed by the beauty of the moment and I’m completely amazed by the beauty of her.
I can’t wait for the day when Mikey’s old enough to bring up here so he can watch. And even better would be the three of us watching as a family. Together.
But before I can get that far into my future plans I have to focus on the now.
And the now is the excitement I’m feeling in my chest and the alertness I’m feeling in my mind. I’m completely energized and focused on her. It’s like every cell in my body is ready, ready for what I’ve been thinking about all day.
My weight shifts a bit to one side causing the back of our hands to touch. I gently slide my hand against hers taking her hand in mine.
She squeezes my grip tight and I open up my body more to her and she does the same.
I can only imagine how we look right now. If someone stood in the doorway and took a picture this moment would be perfect enough to sell as a postcard.
But this is no fantasy. This is real. And as much as meeting her has felt fantastic from the first moment I want to turn this into something even greater. Something that can last after Mikey no longer needs a nanny. I want to support her dreams and ambitions. She’s a smart young woman with a track record of excellent academic achievement. Now I want us to achieve greatness together.
And our next achievement will be the feeling of each other’s lips.
I move in closer feeling her knee against mine as my leg slides in-between hers.
Her knee is shaking just a bit, and if I’m honest with myself I’m tightening up my stomach so my muscles don’t quiver as well. I never thought anyone would make me feel this way. I do business with the most famous people in the world…the top politicians…and I meet all types here in Colorado. Different types of people from all over the world come to see me.
But that’s it right there. I could search the world high and low and I’d only ever find one of her, and she’s right here, right now.
I lean in and feel her face get a couple inches closer. She’s come up on her tiptoes.
My hand comes up, cupping her face as I look into those beautiful eyes of hers.
I brush her cheek with my thumb and then run my hand along the side of her face, pushing her hair back behind her ear exposing the beauty of her entire face for me. That soft, perfect skin. That glow that she radiates.
As our faces grow closer I can feel the heat from her skin and her breath. I feel hot too. I know my skin must be reddening as my veins pump blood throughout my body. I can feel it. My heart’
s about to beat right out of my chest.
Now just inches apart I wait, realizing this will be the last first kiss for both of us. This is it. I want to remember this moment forever.
I lean in the last little way.
“Waah! Waah! Waah!”
Suddenly her face is gone. She’s dropped down off her tiptoes and turned her head to the side. I smile. She laughs.
“You’re off the clock so I guess that’s mine,” I say.
“Is a nanny ever off the clock? I’ll take a look at him.”
I watch as she turns and walks to the door. Her hips sway from side to side and her hair bounces up and down and to and fro.
I turn back around and look at the deer again.
One deer has nuzzled its head in next to another deer. They both stop licking the salt and decide to lick each other. They must have gotten some on their faces in their hurry to get in some licks.
I smile. The deer got a kiss, but I didn’t. It’s like they’re rubbing it in my face.
But our kiss will come. I know it will.
But hopefully it comes soon, because it’s going to be the only thing on my mind until it does.
CHAPTER 7
Mary
Three days later
The next three days I barely see Cash. He has investors in from overseas and he’s required to show them around and to meet with local politicians. He invites me to one of the dinners and it’s absolutely spectacular. I’ve never had finer food or learned so much in my life.
The business deals that these people do are just breathtaking.
He introduces me to one lady from Mexico named Miss Salazar. Based on the figures they’re throwing around she seems to have more money at her disposal than the entire GDP of some small countries.
I admire her as a woman not only participating, but winning, in a game that’s still very male dominated. I see her as a role model and hope to see her again in the future.
I like that Cash knows and does business with people like this. They’re so interesting and friendly. I guess when you’ve become this successful in life you tend to have a smile on your face.
But the rest of the time his visitors are in town I’m at home with Mikey.
He’s too little to do a lot of fun things with, but that’s not important. He’ll grow quickly and when he does we’ll be all over town I’m sure. Or more accurately we’ll be all over the mountains, breathing in that fresh breeze, playing in the streams, and doing whatever else our imaginations get us into.
But right now I mostly just feed him and change him and play with him in his crib. That in and of itself is enjoyable and he’s so cute that in a lot of ways I don’t want him to grow up.
But in more ways I do want him to grow up. I want to do so many things with him and watch him and be a part of his life as he grows.
This nannying job was supposed to be temporary, but now I’m not sure if I could ever go back to wanting the same things which I’d wanted before. I thought I’d get an office job with a big company and play the corporate America game.
But after meeting Miss Salazar and seeing how she runs her empire and also spending all this time with Mikey my thoughts have changed. I know I’m not qualified to do what Miss Salazar does, but maybe one day I could. Maybe…with Cash’s guidance and teachings.
But this is just crazy thinking, isn’t it?
What makes me believe he’d even want me as a business partner or even a pseudo-business partner?
He hired me to be his nanny, not his sidekick.
Would he even ever view me in that way? As his equal at the boardroom? He doesn’t exactly work at a boardroom in the first place. He’s the money man and the relationship expert. He matches people up, but interestingly enough he’s never taken the time or been able to match himself up when it comes to his love life.
Or lack thereof.
Until now…
I look down at my phone which is vibrating with an incoming message.
Plans tomorrow evening?
No, but I’d like to have some. :)
Little Nell?
I know that hotel. It’s Aspen’s only true five star hotel. I can’t imagine going there.
Yes! Dinner and drinks?
Plus sunrise the next morning if you’re up for it
I feel a tingling sensation and then heat shoot through my body
This is it. The moment I’ve waited for my entire life and it’s going to come in one of the most beautiful and extravagant places in one of the best cities in the entire world.
Sounds great. :)
Sounds amazing because you’ll be there
I send him a hug emoji imagining just how incredible it’s going to be.
I may have sent him a hug emoji, but putting my arms around him isn’t exactly what’s on my mind right now.
I’m thinking a lot more about him putting his hands all over me.
CHAPTER 8
Mary
I never thought I’d be inside The Little Nell, let alone staying there.
The minute we arrived for dinner I knew there was only one way to describe it. Fabulous.
I took a quick peek at the hotel brochure…
The city of Aspen at our front door, Aspen Mountain at our back door. And in between, a gathering place for the brave and the bright. We're proud of our 5 Stars and 5 Diamonds -- hospitality is our passion. From our kitchens to our cellars, with their 20,000 bottles of wine, from the Concierges in our lobby to the Concierges on our mountains, and from family adventure to après ski, this hotel is, guests have said, "the Aspen of Aspen."
Truer words were never spoken.
I feel like I keep thinking this but I’ve had the best meal of my life, again. Ever time I have the most mouth watering dishes Cash goes and outdoes himself with the next location. And these are locations, not just restaurants.
The presentation, ambiance, service…just everything is so top notch. It’s hard to believe a couple months ago I was eating on a dormitory meal plan hoping to make it before they closed just so I could get soggy French fries and a chicken sandwich that had been under a heat lamp for about five hours.
Oh how times had changed. Or should I say oh how meeting him had changed everything.
After dinner we take in the hot tub outside and what fun is a hot tub without a nice glass of champagne? Not that I would have known before tonight as I’d never experienced either before.
In the hot tub I cuddled up against his chest and looked up at the stars. An incredible view that I’d thought I’d seen hundreds of times before just down the road from my home, but nothing compared to this. It just made me realize how much better it was to be with the most incredible person. To share it like this.
After the hot tub we make our way up to the room. We’d only briefly stepped inside earlier to set down our bags. We even changed clothes out by the hot tub so I hadn’t been able to explore it at all.
Until now.
“It looks like you want to spend a minute acquainting yourself with the room,” he says.
“I do.”
“I’ll take a quick shower then we’re not in a rush. Take your time exploring the room and then later we can get acquainted with each other.”
“I like the sound of that,” I say.
Cash goes into the bathroom and I hear the water running right away.
And I’ve got so many thoughts running through my head.
I take in the view of the mountains through the window and then can’t help but notice the fireplace poker stationed in a rack to my side.
A fireplace poker?
I scan the room and see it. We do have a fireplace!
Just when I think this place can’t get any better.
I take a sip of the champagne I brought up from the hot tub and wonder why this is all happening to me. How did I get so lucky?
But I don’t have much time to think as Cash comes out of the bathroom with just a towel wrapped around his waist. I definitely can’t
think now. I can’t focus on anything other than that perfectly sculpted body of his.
“Room suit your tastes?” he says.
I shake my head and smile at the absurdity of his question. “Beyond my wildest dreams,” I say.
Billionaire's Nanny: An Older Man Younger Woman Romance (A Man Who Knows What He Wants Book 47) Page 3
