Urgent: One Nanny Required (Crimson Romance)

by Olivia Logan

  He stopped in front of her and she was aware of Theo peeking around to have a look. She ushered him gently behind her as she and the man stared at each other disbelievingly.

  “Hello. I am sorry to be rude, but are you Rania George?” The twang in his American accent hinted at a past spent abroad.

  She nodded at his question, not trusting her voice.

  “You don’t know me. My name is Nasim Charles and … ”

  “You are my father,” she whispered, surprised when he didn’t even blink at her announcement. She had no idea what made her do it. After all, he could have just been asking if she knew Nick. He could have been a journalist writing an expose about him. A journalist in his sixties who had her eyes, cheekbones and chin. Stranger things had happened.

  Bowing before her, he reached for her hand, kissing the back of it in a gallant gesture and she pulled her hand back hastily as he straightened up.

  “And who is this little man?” he asked, looking past her to Theo who was now standing beside her.

  “I’m Theo Trenton. You’re the guy from the picture in the restaurant, aren’t you?”

  He seemed more taken aback by this statement than her reversed Darth Vader impression. He smiled, the cheek bones raising in exactly the same way hers did. “I don’t know about that, Theo, but it’s very nice to meet you,” he said, leaning forward to shake Theo’s hand.

  “Mr. Charles, it’s an honor to meet you.”

  Every nerve cell in her body jumped as she heard Nick behind her.

  “The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Trenton. It’s nice to finally meet you. I was just saying hello to your lovely son.” He gestured toward Theo who had forgotten any shyness and was now standing in front of Rania.

  “Yes, well, we should get going,” Nick said, clearing his throat. “C’mon, Theo,” he said as he took his son’s hand and led him back to the studio door.

  Rania heard Theo ask “but what about Belle?” as the door slammed shut. She felt oddly calm as she stood with Nasim in the lot. She didn’t need proof to know he was her father, she knew it deep down already.

  “Miss George, I feel we have a lot to catch up on. Won’t you join me for some coffee? I’ve booked out one of the studio’s offices we can talk in. I’m certain you have tons of questions. I know I do.” His warm smile, so different from her mother’s tight-lipped grimace made her heart fill with unexpected warmth toward him.

  “I would be delighted, Mr. Charles. And please call me Rania,” she told him, linking her arm through his.

  “In that case, please call me Nasim,” he said, nodding and smiling at the people who passed by them and stopped to stare.

  • • •

  Where had they gone? It’d been at least two hours and he hadn’t seen hide nor hair of either of them.

  He’d thought this was such a great idea a few days ago. After Luke had come back with a whole folder’s worth of information on the elusive Nasim Charles, he’d called knowing as soon as he’d heard the older man’s tale that he wanted Rania to meet him. Arranging it had been easy, especially as he knew Theo wanted to come back to the studios.

  Running a hand through his hair, he looked across at his son, deep in discussion with the soundman. Yep, he was a goner, Nick thought, looking at the enraptured expression on Theo’s face and knowing instinctively that he was as bound for a career in this industry as he had been at that age.

  He whipped his head around as he saw her come through the door, head tilted down to the floor as she shuffled in. Striding across the floor, he stopped in front of her, clasping her chin in his hands and gently lifting her face up to meet his gaze. Her eyes were red and puffy as if she’d been crying. A lot. That son of a …

  A tide of anger burned through his chest. He’d hunt him down and he’d show him what happened to people who hurt her, older man or not. Wait a second … she was smiling. The watery smile was still there, despite the tear-stained cheeks.

  “Rania?” he began, unable to finish as she threw herself into his arms. Carrying her behind a nearby huge prop tree, he set her down, arms still wrapped around her. “Is everything okay? I’m so sorry. This was all my fault. If he hurt you … ” He stopped as she burst into giggles, the sound clearly at odds with her tear-stained face.

  “You’re an idiot; you know that, don’t you. An amazing idiot and without you, I wouldn’t have found my father. No point trying to hide it, because he told me everything.”

  Relief flooded through him. At least now, he wouldn’t have to go and hunt him down. “So it worked out okay?”

  “Okay? It was so much better than okay,” she squealed, practically dancing around in his arms. “He said he tried to find me, but because we kept moving it was too hard. And he told me he really loved Dana, but couldn’t cast her because she wasn’t that great an actress. Which to be honest, if you’d have seen her act, you’d believe, too. He wants to stay in touch with me. He’d never had any other kids despite being divorced twice. It was so wonderful, Nick, and I owe it all to you!”

  Reaching up on tiptoe, she brought his head down to hers as their lips merged together, his heart beat racing a mile a minute. She pulled her head away, her eyes darkening to molten gold, reflecting the same feeling coursing through him; they both wished they were alone.

  “Knock, knock. Nick, don’t mean to intrude but your boy’s looking for you,” called his runner from the other side of the prop tree.

  Pulling herself free, she smoothed down her white sundress. “What shall I tell Theo?” Her worried frown pulled at his heart strings.

  “Tell him the truth. You know he has a knack of finding it out, anyway,” he told her, resisting the need to pull her back into his arms.

  “Dad, there you are! Belle, where’s that guy from the photo?” Theo chirped, rounding the corner toward them.

  “Hey kiddo.” She leaned down to hug him, and then stood up, one hand on his shoulder.

  “I’ve got some exciting news. Well it is for me anyway. You see, that guy from the photo is actually my dad. It’s a little complicated but I didn’t grow up with a dad like you did.” Her gaze steady and serious, “I only met mine now.”

  “Is he coming here?” Theo’s small blond head moved from left to right, trying to catch a glimpse of the elusive being that was Rania’s father. The important information slid off him like water off a duck’s back.

  Grabbing Theo close to her, Nick saw her drop a quick peck onto his head. “Not today, he’s had to run. Maybe some other time.”

  Seemingly happy with that answer, Nick watched as his son began to move toward the catering cart, as new trays of pastries were being unveiled.

  “I’m pretty much done here for the day” he told her, watching how she had begun glancing at her phone every few seconds, repeating his earlier promise to himself. If this guy hurt her …

  “What are you thinking? Beach?” she asked, stuffing the phone back in her bag.

  “Beach is perfect.” The promise of being surrounded by his son and Rania as well as the rip curl surf, made him feel like a kid again.

  Running up behind his son, he lifted him high into the air, laughing in unison with his high-pitched squeals as he threw him over his shoulder. He grabbed Rania’s hand as she joined in with the laughter, pulling her along to the car.

  • • •

  It had been a day of one wonders, she reflected, digging her toes in the hot white sand. Her mind churned over her meeting with her father and what he had told her about her mother. He had genuinely loved her and he still did, if the tears after hearing about her death were anything to go by.

  He was angry on Rania’s behalf when she told him about her childhood, almost pleading with her not to hate Dana. Nasim told her he felt it was as much as his fault by not staying in contact with her or not trying harder to find them. The
n he’d asked a real gem of a question. Even now, she was uneasy thinking about it; what was going on between her and Nick?

  She’d laughed it off, joking that now he was going to start playing the role of over-protective father, after twenty-eight years. He hadn’t found it funny, repeating the question until eventually she had to confess she didn’t know. Annoyed by the intrusive question, Rania was still grateful she finally had someone to confide in. He hadn’t warned her to be careful of Nick as she thought he would, only reminded her that whatever she did, he wanted her to be happy.

  Trickling the sand through her fingers, she looked down to the ocean to where Nick and Theo were body boarding. The two blond heads were pressed close together as their boards bounced on a wave. She felt her heart squeeze at the sight, the knowledge that her time in this idyllic paradise was coming to an end in exactly three days. The email she’d received from Tanya earlier that day, asking when she’d be back had burst her happy bubble.

  They hadn’t talked about what would happen when they got back to London. Would she still be needed to look after Theo? Would Nick still need her? The last question left a bitter taste in her mouth.

  And then she’d met her father. Did her mother ever know how much he loved her? Maybe. Not that she’d really seen her mother’s loving side that often.

  Drawing circles in the sand, another thought struck her. Maybe her mother had known. Maybe she had left because she didn’t want to get hurt. Dana had never told her about her grandparents, so she didn’t know what their marriage was like, but she did know her mother didn’t stick with the same man for long. She’d always assumed it was because they didn’t offer her the roles she wanted. Instead, maybe it was something else her mother wanted; something else she needed but was too scared to stick around long enough to see if it was there.

  Not that excused her behavior as a mother, Rania thought, frowning. Since being with Nick, she could understand how the pain of loving someone so much and not being able to have them would make you want to run.

  Stop … Love?

  Realization dawned slowly but surely. Yes, she loved him. She had loved him since he’d first barged into her shop. And she loved Theo too.

  A pain, the worst pain she’d ever known gripped her heart, while the knowledge she couldn’t always be with them made her want to cry out loud.

  She had never thought of herself as being a runner like her mother but it appeared she was wrong. The appeal of running away to save herself more pain grew more with each passing second. The bubble of uncertainty growing with every second; she had so many things to think about, and so little time left …

  “Belle! Come in!” The high-pitched shout shook her out of her daze. Standing up, she dusted the sand from her black swimsuit, making her way toward them temporarily banishing all thoughts of running from her head.

  Wading in slowly as she prepared to accustom her body to the water, she felt a huge splash against her back. She swiveled around and saw Theo quickly paddle his body board away, a huge grin on his face.

  “Fancy having a go?” Nick asked, wading toward her, board in his hands.

  Eyeing the board hesitantly, she moved her hand toward it, feeling it bob as it was hit by a wave.

  “It won’t bite, you know,” he teased, holding onto the board as she eyed it dubiously.

  “So how do you work this thing?” she asked.

  “You lie on it and when you see a wave, you push against it while paddling.” He told her as she awkwardly positioned herself flat on the board, resisting the urge to lean back and see if her bathing suit bottom had ridden up too far.

  He ignored her shrieks of protest as he wrapped an arm around her waist, hauling her on, the close proximity of his naked body next to hers making all thoughts of body boarding fly out of her head.

  “Now you have to swim into the wave,” he instructed, pulling the board and her deeper into the sea as a wave came rolling toward the shore.

  “Is this payback for the pancake flipping?” Not sure what was worse, the idea that people were staring at a fully grown woman unable to work a body board or her less-than-pure thoughts toward him right now.

  “Nope, think of it as returning a favor. You taught me how to flip pancakes and I’m going to teach you how to body board. Both are essential life skills, I’m sure you’ll agree,” He released her waist and moved aside as the wave came closer. Arms swinging in the water, she paddled furiously, her heart lifting as she felt herself bounce on the crest of the wave, the salty spray hitting her face and making the tendrils of her hair stick to it. Standing up as it passed, she turned to Nick, unable to hide the delighted smile.

  “What did you think?” he asked.

  “It was fantastic. I’ve never done anything like that before. Thanks for the lesson.”

  “Anytime,” he drawled, his lazy smile making her skin shiver despite the blazing sun beating down on them.

  Pushing the board across, he shook his head and she turned back, lying down on it, letting the sea gently rock her as she stared out at the ocean.

  “The commercial is almost finished. Just another day of shooting, and then I’m done,” he began.

  Here it comes, she thought, trying to ignore the way her stomach took a nose dive at the thought of the inevitable end. She had known this day was coming. In fact, she couldn’t stop thinking about it ever since that night; that glorious night when her world changed forever.

  Laying her head down, she was grateful for the small breeze that had begun blowing the wisps of hair into her face, sure that if he looked across right now, he would see the anguish in her eyes.

  “That’s good, isn’t it? It means you two will be able to head back home sooner. At least Theo will be able to sleep off the jet lag for longer before going back to school.”

  He didn’t reply, instead he stared across the water to where Theo had struck up a conversation with some other children on body boards.

  “Yeah, of course.”

  The noncommittal reply put her back up. Why didn’t he just say it and make it easier for the both of them?

  “What are your plans? How did you leave things with your dad?”

  She figured she owed it to him to tell him, since he was the one who made it happen. “My father is flying out to Europe in the next few days and will be in England for a day or two. We agreed to meet up there. You know I don’t think I ever properly thanked you for that.”

  “No, you didn’t.” A sly smile moved across his lips as he edged closer. Jerking up to a standing position she scooted as quickly as the water resistance would allow to the other side of the board.

  “And I’m not going to say thank you either if you don’t stop that.” A laugh bubbled up as the pain she felt receded under his heated gaze, his eyebrows wiggling like a comic villain.

  He stood in front of her, pushing down on the board, making it wobble beneath her fingers. “Well, how about you don’t say it,” he murmured as he leaned across, his mouth just mere inches from hers.

  Moving her head back, she fixed him with her best glare, “Oh no you don’t. A normal thank-you will have to suffice.” She stuck her hand out to shake. “So thank you.”

  Taking it in his grasp, her pulse jumped as he started to circle the inside of her wrist.

  “You’re most welcome.” His voice was smooth as silk and did nothing for her determination to be the one to start putting some distance between them before she ran away.

  No, correction. She wasn’t running away, her “contract” was coming to an end. They’d all be on their way back to England soon where they would say goodbye and go their separate ways. And that would be that.

  Pulling her hand away, she saw him frown at the motion. She’d have to stay strong if she wanted to get out of this without turning into a blubbering mess.

  “I’
m glad it’s all working out for you, Rania” he said slowly. He sounded odd. Well, odd for him; he didn’t use his usual confident tone; he sounded sad and distant. She was probably reading too much into it. Maybe he was just grateful that she’d have something to occupy herself with when she got home so she wouldn’t be pestering him in the way she knew some girls did after a one-night stand. Or in their case, a one week stand.

  “Yeah, me too. What are your plans when we land back in Blighty?” Striving to keep her tone as casual as possible, despite feeling her heart breaking in her chest.

  “Get Theo back in school before he begins to think every day is a beach day,” he said with a laugh, the sound strained. “Other than that, a few meetings with production houses about some projects. Kirk’s got something in the pipeline. Trying to stay in the UK as long as possible this time so Theo has some stability.”

  “Good plan. Though he does seem very happy here, too. He would be, what, the third generation Trenton in Hollywood?”

  “Yeah, though I’d try and persuade him out of it.”

  “Good luck with that. From the way he attacked the food cart at the studio, I’d say he’d be more than happy to stay just for the free food.” She looked across at her small charge as he seemed to have entered into a competition with his new friends to ride the biggest wave.

  “Nothing comes for free.” His cold words made her heart dip in her chest. Was he talking about Hollywood or them? Or was he remembering the payment for taking care of Theo? But that was before. Before she’d fallen head over heels in love with him.

  The warm water no longer held the same appeal for her and pushing herself off the board, turned to face him. “I’m determined to get some more color before the three days are up. I’ll see you two boys on the beach.” Even to her own ears, her voice sounded overly bright as she waded back to shore, not giving him a chance to ask for the board as she clutched on to it. It must have been all the swimming; her legs weren’t used to it. Why else would they be feeling so wobbly?