She thought that was okay. It would actually be better, she thought, for Julie to be in the room. Maybe it would take away any awkwardness.
“I wouldn’t have a problem with that,” she told Nathaniel.
“Good. She had a friend who was injured once in a bullwhip scene. She’s trying to overcome her fear, but Daniel is going very slowly. Right now he’s only letting her watch.”
Sasha. That was the friend, Lynne thought. She had met her not too long ago. And though she was injured, it didn’t seem to have had a lasting effect on her. She was now wearing the collar of one of the Delaware members.
Nathaniel stood up. “If it’s okay with you, then, I’ll give Daniel a call and set something up. I’m not sure if you want them to come here, or if you should travel back to Delaware.”
“I’m open to whatever Daniel would like to do.”
He nodded. “I’ll call you and let you know what he says.”
• • •
As it turned out, Nathaniel and Abby ended up staying until Sunday night. They’d planned to head back to Delaware on Saturday afternoon, but apparently, the kids were having so much fun with their cousins, they extended the weekend.
Since they were staying longer, Nathaniel scheduled a business dinner with several of his executives for Saturday night. As soon as she heard his plans, Lynne turned to Abby.
“Are you doing anything?” she asked. “Because if not, I have a few things I want to talk to you about. Girl things,” she added with a quick look at Nathaniel.
Abby covered her shock nicely, she thought. “Oh? Okay. Sure.” She exchanged a look with Nathaniel. Lynne ducked her head and tried not to be jealous, but man, she wanted to have a relationship like that, where you could communicate without saying a word. When a lifted eyebrow and a slight upward curve of a lip said more than words ever could.
“And ‘girl things’ means it’s time for me to leave,” Nathaniel said. He kissed Abby, whispered something in her ear, and nodded toward Lynne. “Have a good evening.”
Abby waited until he left before she started her inquisition. “Tell me everything. I want his name, what he looks like, how you met him. Everything.”
Though she was smiling when she asked, Lynne knew Abby was completely serious about getting all the details. She stood up.
“Wine first,” Lynne said, making her way to the kitchen.
“Of course.” Abby followed. “What was I thinking?”
“Clearly, you weren’t.”
Once they each had a glass, they went back into the living room. Lynne sat on the couch and tucked her legs underneath her. “Before I tell you anything, I have to know, how much of what I tell you will you tell Nathaniel?”
Abby took a sip of wine, sitting beside her. “I don’t have to tell him anything if I don’t want to. But if you’re doing something dangerous or illegal, I’ll tell him, for your sake.”
Lynne nodded. She would expect nothing less. “I promise it’s nothing illegal and the only danger is to my heart.”
Abby looked a bit worried. “Who is it, Lynne? Because I have a feeling it’s not a stranger.”
Lynne could no longer keep her secret. It was time to share. “Simon.”
Abby went completely pale and didn’t say anything for several long seconds. Or at least Lynne thought they were only seconds. It felt like hours, but surely it hadn’t been that long.
“Holy fucking shit,” Abby finally said.
Lynne didn’t think she could breathe, much less speak. Out of all the ways she imagined Abby reacting, that wasn’t one. She’d thought maybe she’d be shocked, but only slightly. More than anything, she thought Abby would be happy.
Abby had seen her upset when Simon had first broken up with her. Hell, they had gone to Luke’s book debut party at the club not too long ago and Simon had been there. Abby had been the one to come to her that night when they had gotten home to make sure she was okay.
It had been to Abby that she’d first mentioned rejoining the BDSM community. Looking back, Lynne could see her desire to get into it for what it was. An attempt to get back into the lifestyle, yes, but more than that, a longing for Simon.
Not only did Abby’s reaction shock her, but it hurt.
She pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them tight. “I don’t know what the big deal is. You know I still have feelings for him.”
“Has Simon said anything about Nathaniel?” Abby finally asked.
The question stumped her until she realized that of course Simon wouldn’t have said anything about Nathaniel. “No.” She shook her head. “He doesn’t know it’s me.”
Abby’s eyes narrowed. “I think you need to explain to me what exactly is happening.”
Lynne took a deep breath and gave her a quick rundown of the last few weeks. By the time she’d finished, Abby had a look of total horror on her face.
“What?” Lynne finally asked.
“This is a mess and a half.”
Lynne knew she was in a bit of a pickle, but surely it wasn’t as bad as Abby was making it out to be.
Abby drained the remainder of her wine. “I should have poured us something stronger.”
“I don’t know what the big deal is.” Lynne shrugged, trying to play it off like it was nothing. Maybe if she could get Abby to agree it was okay, she could start to believe it herself. “I mean, I get that I should have been up front about who I am, but if he gets to know Faye, what’s it going to matter that her name is really Lynne?”
“It’ll matter when Nathaniel finds out. He went to Simon’s the weekend you moved in and told him you were off-limits. That if he so much as thought about contacting you, he’d have him kicked out of Luke’s.”
“He did what?” Lynne remembered how Nathaniel had disappeared in the middle of moving her in. She’d wondered where he’d gone. Wondered what could have been so important that he had to go right then and couldn’t wait another minute. She didn’t give Abby a chance to reply to her first question before asking her second. “Why?”
“Why?” Abby rolled her eyes in what was the first halfway humorous thing she’d done in almost an hour. “You have lived in his house for almost a year, right? I mean, you get that he has the most asinine and broad definition of protection known to man. And I mean that in the most loving way possible. His behavior can be infuriating.”
“But why would he care about me and Simon? I’m his nanny.”
Abby made a tsk noise and patted her knee. “Oh, honey, you really don’t know him, do you? Yes, you are his nanny. You live in his house and take care of his children. You’re family, whether you like it or not. And as part of his family, you get to be on the receiving end of his innate determination to protect you.”
Lynne still didn’t get it.
Abby must have sensed her confusion. “Nathaniel saw how upset you were when Simon broke things off with you. As your protector, he will do anything in his power to keep you from experiencing that again. And if that meant threatening Simon, that’s what he’ll do.”
The enormity of what Nathaniel had done was starting to sink in. “Shit. And here I thought my biggest problem was going to be a slightly pissed Simon.” Now she was going to have to dea
l with Nathaniel as well.
“Have you given any thought to telling Simon who you really are?”
“Yes. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to talk to you tonight. I was thinking about telling him before we did the demo, but now . . .” She bit her lip. “Now I think I’ll leave my mask on. He told me I could, and there’s really no reason to tell him.”
“I disagree.”
Lynne turned her head sharply to look at her. “Why?”