Make Me Yours

“Sounds great.” I love her spicy tofu soup. “I’ll fill you in at home.”

Elegant bowls of steaming brown soup sit in front of us, and the Asian Inquisition continues. “A babysitting job?” Disgust permeates her tone.

“A full-time nanny position.” I have the contract out on the table beside my bowl, and I’m quickly scanning the list of duties. It’s exactly what he said they would be. “I’ll take care of his daughter, basically like her mother would.”

“You are not her mother.” She spoons the soup, keeping her eyes on mine. “What about your work at the clinic?”

“I’ve been there almost a year.” My lips tighten, and I say what I haven’t even told Drew yet. “I?

?m not sure I like the work.”

She accepts this, lifting her chin after she takes another bite. “Still, childcare is a step down.”

Nodding, I eat some of my own lunch. “Normally, I’d agree with you, but this is different, bigger than just babysitting, and he’s paying me a lot of money.” That yearning is in my chest again. It makes me feel like I can’t breathe. “I’ll actually be able to pay my own bills. I can get my own place. After all, I can’t live with you forever.”

I add the last bit with a laugh, but Ma emphatically objects. “Nonsense! I lived with my parents until I married your father.”

“You were twenty-three when you married Dad.”

“And we had a long and happy life together.”

“Did you?” I can’t keep the skepticism out of my voice. It’s hard to believe Dad was nice to anybody.

“Ruby Banks. Your father was a good man. He had very high standards.”

That’s one way of putting it. “Well, I’m taking this job.”

She shakes her head. “Remington Key is a good-looking man. You cannot work for him.”

I snort a laugh. “That’s just… Looksism!”

“You made up that word.” Her voice is stern as she sips another spoonful of soup. “You don’t know how to cook.”

“I’ll learn.” How hard can it be? I also don’t know anything about kids, but Lillie’s not a baby.

“You will be living in sin with him.”

“I will be living in the lap of luxury, getting paid a lot of money I will then use to figure out what I want to do with my career.”

She sits back in her chair and crosses her arms, still not smiling. “What you will do is get in trouble.”

My stomach squirms, but I won’t give in to this feeling. I will not let her be right. Emotions come and go, and I will not blow a great opportunity just because the guy holding it out to me happens to be obscenely handsome.

I’ve dated more guys than I can count, and I’ve always been in control of the situation. There is no reason this time should be any different.

Even if it is, I will not let my hormones or Ma’s negative attitude screw it up. Steeling my resolve, I focus on my vow to myself in the bathroom mirror.

“Will you have a little faith? Please?” I can’t believe how calm my voice is. “I will not get in trouble. I’ll get what I want.”

“Only if you know what you want.”

That’s the problem—I think I do.

4

Remi

Lillie chases a macaroni noodle around her bowl with her fingers, and Eleanor grabs her wrist, wiping her small hand with a cloth. It’s the only thing that breaks her lecture.