Emilia
On Monday afternoon, Emilia sat in the family room, listening to Mimi read out loud from her favorite picture book.
Mimi had read the book to Emilia a few times already. It was about a magical princess who got married in an enchanted garden. Personally, Emilia found the garden a lot more interesting than the princess, but she wasn’t about to tell Mimi that.
As the words in Mimi’s sweet little voice washed over her again, Emilia glanced at her bracelet.
Soon it would be time to head to the school to pick up Dyrk. And at some point later tonight, Ra’as would be home again.
With Ra’as gone on Sunday, she and the kids had gardened and cooked and watched more old movies. Between the fresh air, the tasty food, and the relaxing evenings, she could tell they were all feeling good again, in spite of the terrible dinner on Saturday.
And the trip was kind of a blessing, since it had allowed Emilia to focus on the kids, instead of facing her complicated feelings about Ra’as.
But she had to get her head together before he got back tonight.
As attractive as he was, as much as her body trembled at the mere idea of him, Ra’as Drayven was kind of a jerk.
Did she want to give her heart to a man who didn’t know how to stand up for his own son? A man who looked at her adoringly, but then called her the new nanny to introduce her instead of saying her name the moment someone from the outside world was near? A man who would leave her alone with his children for more than twenty-four hours without talking to her about it in advance?
As much as it might feel like something more, in the cold light of day, Emilia was pretty sure that what they actually had was shared lust, and nothing more.
And lust wasn’t worth risking her employment over when she already cared about these children so much.
So tonight, when he came home, she would have to tell Ra’as that they couldn’t continue their… whatever it was.
Her comms chimed and she frowned, wondering who it could be. She was surprised to see the name of Dyrk’s school pop up.
“It’s your brother’s school,” she told Mimi. “I’ll be right back.”
It wasn’t good to be getting a call so close to when school was out. She hoped he wasn’t sick or hurt.
She ducked into the kitchen and picked up, waving to Ayrann, who was putting something into the oven.
“Hello, this is Emilia,” she said.
“Emilia Robbins, the caretaker of Dyrk Drayven?” a stern female voice on the other side asked.
“Yes,” she said. “Is he okay?”
“Dyrk has been in a fight,” the woman said. “You need to come to the school immediately.”
Sun gods, no…
“I’ll be there as soon as possible,” she said, hanging up.
“Is Dyrk okay?” Mimi asked from the threshold.
Of course she had followed Emilia into the kitchen, she knew it was about her brother.
“The school just wants me to pick him up a little early,” she said with a lightness she didn’t feel. “Ayrann, do you think Mimi could help you in the kitchen while I’m gone?”
“Of course,” Ayrann said kindly. “It would be a huge help to have an extra set of hands.”
Mimi darted over to the cook, her ears perked up and her blue eyes sparkling with pleasure.
Ayrann gave Emilia a little wave.
Emilia waved back and jogged back to the foyer and out to the garage.