“Yes?”
“Have you told your mother about the child?”
I shift back in my chair. It’s the same question Connor brought up. I know it’s something I’m going to have to face. But it’s not a moment I look forward to, either.
The woman spent years hounding me to get married, have children, and start a proper family.
How’s she going to take the news when I bring Amelia to meet her, and she’s five years old? I can already envision the scathing comments on how I kept her from meeting her granddaughter and how could I not have known that Katelyn was pregnant. Undoubtedly, she will blame me.
And maybe she’s right. Perhaps it is my fault. If I’d pushed harder with Katelyn to make it work and met her demands, then I might have known about Amelia.
“I haven’t picked up the phone and called her. My brother mentioned the same thing,” I mutter.
“The only reason I bring it up, aside from her hearing about it through another method, is that she might be able to help while you’re away.”
My jaw tightens. “My mother is not looking after Amelia.”
“She can’t be that bad. I mean, she raised you,” Nancy says.
“Exactly,” I mutter. “I don’t need my little Amelia to turn out like this.” I gesture at myself.
Nancy stands and shuffles her feet, staring at me. “Just think about it.”
I walk her out of my office and to the front door, escorting her outside.
I glance at my watch. It’s barely ten in the morning, and I have too much to do before the day ends. The list of qualified nannies that Nancy dropped off will have to wait another day.
Clare rounds the corner, smacking right into my chest. “Whoa, slow down there,” I say, steadying her from falling.
Her eyes are wide, frantic. She’s dressed, unlike earlier while she was in her pajamas. She’s wearing a floral top and blue jean shorts that barely cover her ass. They’re ripped and torn; I can only assume it’s the style and she bought them like that, but I can’t even fathom why.
“I can’t—” Her breathing is fast and erratic.
“Slow down. What’s wrong?” I ask. I glance behind her, not seeing any sign of my daughter. “Where’s Amelia?”
FOUR
Clare
“I can’t find her.”
I thought it would be fun, a nice little game to pass the time. But Amelia decided to take hide and seek a little too seriously.
Levi stares at me incredulously. “What do you mean you can’t find my daughter?”
I inhale a sharp breath. I had this coming. It’s totally my fault. Playing a game with a kid you barely know in a house that’s easy enough to get lost in without trying is insane.
I’m an idiot, and he’s going to fire me.
“Amelia and I were trying to come up with something to do. It looks like rain outside, so I suggested we play hide and seek in the house.”
“I see,” he says, stroking his jaw. The stubble is hot, and the flecks of silver sprinkled into the dark brown make me swoon. His piercing blue gaze is locked on me.
“We’ve been playing for hours since we got dressed after breakfast, and I still can’t find her.”
“This is a big house,” Levi says, a little too calmly.
“How are you not panicked right now?” I ask. My stomach is balled up in a giant knot.