Chapter 1
Anelise needed air. She excused herself from the table and walked to the patio of the little Parisian coffee and wine bar, the cool night air caressing her heated skin. Her slinky silk dress didn’t cover up much, but she still felt like she was going to melt into a puddle if she sat next to Michael a minute longer.
She took a deep breath and gazed out at the glittering skyline, the Eiffel Tower standing like a proud beauty amidst the other architecture. Maybe love really was in the air in this city.
Or maybe it was just the wine she’d had. Or they way Michael’s big, warm hand had rested on her thigh under the table. She’d found herself biting her lip, wishing his fingers would inch just a little higher.
But no, she couldn’t lose her head tonight. It was all just an act. Michael just needed a plus-one to show off to his high-class colleagues, and as his nanny, Anelise was the easiest option available. After tonight, this delicious dream would be over, and the two of them would go back to the way things were.
Anelise tried to tell herself that was for the best. But then she felt a familiar warm body brush up beside her at the railing, and she lost all her resolve.
“Something wrong?” Michael asked in his husky baritone.
She looked up into his clear green eyes and suddenly found her own filling with tears. Concern etched itself into his handsome face and he lifted a hand to her face, brushing away a traitorous tear with his thumb.
“None of this is real,” she whispered, afraid to break the spell.
His eyes dipped to her lips and he leaned in closer. “Do you want it to be real?” he asked.
Anelise’s head spun. He was too close. She’d had too much to drink. The flowers in full bloom all around the patio filled the air with a sweetness that made her dizzy.
She knew it wasn’t the smart answer. But when she opened her mouth, all she could say was, “Yes.”
Then Michael’s mouth was on hers, and she didn’t need to worry about what to say anymore. Maybe tomorrow, she would wake up back in reality where he was her employer and she was his nanny. But tonight, she would enjoy the dream that they belonged together.
***
“You’ve got to be kidding me, Kathy,” said Michael in disbelief, completely thrown off kilter.
“I’m so sorry, Michael. But I’m already in Vegas with Shawn. After we tie the knot, we’re going on a long honeymoon,” Kathy replied.
“We’re leaving in two weeks!” Michael winced at his tone and lowered his voice. Kathy was adamant about never yelling at his kid, so he figured he owed her the same courtesy. “What am I going to do without a nanny?”
“I regret leaving on such short notice, but you’ll have to find someone else. When it’s love, it’s love. You understand, don’t you?”
“Yeah, sure,” Michael grumbled. He didn’t, really.
“Can you say goodbye to Ollie for me?” she asked softly.
“I will. He’ll miss you,” he said before hanging up. Then he threw the phone on the table, cursing, “Son of a bitch!”
“What’s wrong, Michael?” Kim inquired. Kathy had called him in the middle of lunch with his neighbors, the Morgans.
“Oh, nothing, just my nanny quitting on me!” he fumed as he leaned back in the chair, running his fingers through his hair.
“Kathy just up and quit right before your big trip?” Neil asked, leading a cherubic little boy to the table with a sippy cup of milk.
Michael definitely had to mind his tone in front of his son. “She’s in Vegas, eloping,” he gritted out.
“Wow,” Kim said. “I never knew she was such a romantic.”
Romance caused more problems than it was worth in Michael’s opinion. Not that he ever regretted Ollie, but his mother… There were a lot of regrets there.
“I just had a thought,” said Neil, squeezing his wife’s hand. “What about our daughter, Anelise? She’s almost done with her semester and loves to babysit.”
“Really?” Michael was willing to grasp at any glimmer of hope. “Do you think she would be interested in spending her summer nannying?”
“Oh, I think it would be perfect for her!” Kim enthused. “I’m sure she’d rather work for a trusted friend of the family than some summer job where they just want to take advantage of her.”
Neil nodded. “She’s a good girl, never gets in trouble, maintains a perfect 4.0 GPA. And she doesn’t party, even though she has a rowdy roommate. She’ll be a great influence on little Ollie,” he said, ruffling the kid’s hair.
“How old is she again?” Michael asked.
“She’ll be turning twenty-one in October,” Kim beamed.
Michael didn’t hate the idea. She really did sound like a good kid. “Well, may I have her number? I’ll give her a call and see what she thinks.”
“Of course. I’ll text her to give her a heads-up,” said Neil.
Michael glanced at the pictures of the neighbors’ daughter on the walls. She was a chubby young woman with glasses, dark auburn hair, and a nice smile. She looked like an archetypal bookworm, every bit as responsible as her parents claimed.
***
Anelise was making notes for the thesis proposal that she would be writing over the summer. She had to turn it in after the final, but she just wasn’t pleased with it. She wanted something more, but didn’t know what.
When she was discussing her proposal with Professor Andrews, she had felt it was lacking something, some excitement or passion, some spark that ignited her soul.
Professor Andrews, on the other hand, said what she had would make a good final project. But Anelise didn’t want just good; she wanted her thesis to be great.
Anelise sighed as she went to get a cup of sweet tea, which she allowed herself to have once a day. She believed that if she didn’t limit herself, the weight loss she had worked so hard for would go down the drain.
She took a long sip, feeling thankful that her roommate and best friend, Leslie, was out having Sunday brunch with her ridiculously wealthy family and the apartment was quiet so she could stew in peace.
She was walking around her room, trying to clear her head to study for the rest of her finals, when her phone rang.
Without recognizing the number, but seeing the Chicago area code, she figured it could be the neighbor that her parents had said might call with an interesting proposal.
“Hello?” she answered.
“Hello. Is this Anelise?” asked the caller in a deep baritone. Her name in that voice sent goosebumps tingling all over her body. She shook herself out of it. The stress of finals must be getting to her.
“Yes, this is Anelise. How can I help you?”
“My name is Michael Whitlock. Your parents gave me your number. I’m their neighbor,” he explained.
“Yes, they mentioned that you might be calling with a proposal. What can I do for you?”
“Well, I know this is completely out of left field, but I’m in one hell of a bind. Your parents mentioned that you like kids and have done some babysitting jobs before. My nanny quit yesterday. She’s eloping, if you can believe it.”
“That’s awfully romantic,” she said with a smile.
He sighed. “Very. The problem is, I’m leaving for three months for work and she was supposed to come with us and watch my son, Ollie. Is that something you might be interested in? I’ll pay you handsomely.”
She bit her lip, more money would be welcome. She had come to really enjoy shopping with Leslie since she had lost so much weight.
“Well, I’m not sure… I’m going to be writing my master’s thesis…”
“I know. Your parents told me. They said you might like to know we’d be in London for the summer. You would get days off to explore and do research for your paper.”
“Seriously?!” Analise took in a sharp breath.
“Yes, we’d leave in thirteen days, and I’d be paying you $1,500 per week. Food and accommodation would be covered by my company, of course. But I’ll be working a lot, and you’d be responsible for Ollie well into the nights.”
Having laid out the specifics, he hoped he had enticed her and not turned her off to the idea.
Being in London for three months? Earning a shit ton of money for watching one child? At that rate, Anelise would be making so much that she could quit the coffee shop and not return next semester. How could she refuse?
“Are you still there?” She heard him ask, before realizing how long she was taking to respond.
“Oh my gosh, I’m sorry! Yes, I’m still here, and yes, I’ll do it!” she replied excitedly.
“Really?!” Michael said, feeling a huge weight being lifted off his shoulders.
“Yes. I know it’s not ideal that I can’t meet you or your son before we go. But this sounds like a good arrangement for us both. And I could quit my current job with your generous offer,” she said, feeling giddy.
“Oh my God. Thank you! You’re a real lifesaver, Anelise!” He all but hollered into the phone, punching the air with his fist.
They talked for several minutes about what she would be required to do and Ollie, who sounded like a little sweetheart to her.
“Would you mind if I took Ollie to some museums while we’re there?” she inquired.
“You want to do educational things with my child? How dare you,” Michael teased, which made her blush.
“Give me your email. I’ll book you a ticket to Chicago and then we can all go to London together. The long flight will be a good chance for us to get to know each other. Oh shoot, you do have a passport, right?”
“Yes, I’m all set. I’ll meet you in Chicago.”
“Do you want to come on Friday night and stay with your parents?” he asked, knowing they hadn’t seen each other in quite a while with her summer courses and working.
“No!” She almost shouted. “No, um, I need Friday to get things in order. It’d be great if you can get me an early flight Saturday morning. I don’t care how early it is.”
He was a little surprised that she didn’t want to see her parents, but he didn’t pursue it. “That’s fine. I’ll get everything started and email you the info.”
They talked for a few more minutes about logistics before hanging up. Anelise felt like she was going to explode with excitement and couldn’t wait to tell Leslie what had just happened. She was going to spend the summer in London!
She had always wanted to see that historic city, and now her dream was coming true! The dates aligned perfectly between her school semesters, based on Michael’s schedule. She would have at least one weekend day off to herself. Plus, any time Ollie was sleeping, she would be able to write, research, or do whatever she needed.
An idea suddenly hit her, and she ran to the table opening a new document on her laptop. Words started pouring out of her. When Leslie came home two hours later, she was writing an email to Professor Andrews, grinning like a mad woman.
“What’s that look for?” Leslie asked, leaning over her shoulder. “Finally tell your parents off?”
Anelise rolled her eyes. “Not yet, but listen!” She launched into the story of what had happened and watched her best friend’s eyes get wide.
“Let me get this straight, all you have to do is watch a cute kid and you get to spend the summer in London writing your thesis and getting paid to do it?” Leslie asked.
Anelise nodded excitedly.
“And you said this neighbor has a sexy voice? Damn, Ani! You are going to have a kick-ass summer!”
The two of them danced around their apartment together excitedly. When they tired themselves out, they collapsed onto the sofa, laughing.
“So you leave the Saturday after finals? Friday night is party night?” Leslie huffed.
Anelise nodded. “Yeah, but it can’t get too crazy. I have to be up early for my flight to Chicago!”
“You sure you don’t want to head back Friday to stay with Mommy and Daddy Dearest?” Leslie snickered.
Anelise threw a pillow at her. “Hardly! This gives me an excuse not to see them before I graduate. Hopefully, I’ll have a job by then and another excuse not to go back there.”
“Ani, you’ll have to talk to them about how you feel at some point. They’re going to notice you’ve lost about forty pounds since they last saw you, and they’ll definitely notice how hot you are and how much you’ve changed!”
“I know, but I’m just not ready to say, ‘Hey, you guys smothered and coddled the hell out of me, and I had no idea how to function in the real world. So thanks!’”
Leslie grinned. “I thought that sounded pretty good.”
Anelise grinned back. “I can’t change everything at once or you won’t even recognize me. Now let’s do an exercise video, then sushi for dinner.”
Leslie groaned. “I’m sorry that I ever showed you the damn program. But if you’re buying sushi, I’ll suffer through.”
***
Michael hung up, feeling unspeakably relieved that the young woman was willing to drop everything to look after his son for the summer. He immediately got on his computer and found an early flight from Nashville to Chicago for her. He’d do just about anything for her at this point.
Her voice lingered in his mind like an enchanting echo. It was pretty, with an almost musical quality to it. He was looking forward to hearing it more often.
