Bang (Blast Brothers #2) - Sabrina Stark Page 0,23

didn't want to be obsessed. But the longer I lived there, the more difficult he was to figure out. He was a total hard-ass with everyone but Willow.

When dealing with her, he seemed almost human. But when dealing with me, I wasn't sure what he was, except so cold and distant, I might've felt unwelcome, if only he weren't literally paying me to stay.

As far as Willow herself, she had long brown hair and big brown eyes, along with a smattering of freckles across her nose. She loved books, knock-knock jokes, and puzzles of all things.

At night, she devoured books the way some kids devour candy.

She was loads of fun and so eager for someone to love her, it nearly broke my heart.

Sure, she had three older brothers she obviously adored, Mason in particular. But from the first moment I'd walked into his house, it became painfully apparent that Willow had been starved for a mom – or maybe a sister, an aunt, a grandma, or even a female cousin.

She had none of these things.

Now, she had me, but that was hardly the same. I wasn't going to be here forever. Willow knew this. And why? It was because I refused to lie to her, that's why. And Mason, to his credit, didn't ask me to.

We didn't dwell on it, but we didn't hide it either. Next year, I'd surely find a teaching job, and Mason would need to find another nanny.

But for now, I was living the kind of life I never would've anticipated.

Mason's home – or more accurately, his mansion – was located on two manicured acres near the mouth of the Saginaw River, within sight of the Saginaw Bay. The house was two stories high and beyond spectacular, with beautiful views from nearly every room.

My own room, complete with its own private bathroom, was located on the second floor right next to Willow's. And even though my room didn't have a view – unless I counted a view of the long, winding driveway – it was nicer than any bedroom I'd ever had before.

On weekdays, Willow was in school until nearly three o'clock, which meant that I had a surprising amount of free time. In fact, I had so much free time, I felt almost guilty.

Watching Willow was no hardship, and I wasn't expected to do much else.

Mason had a housekeeper who did most of the cleaning, a part-time cook who did most of the cooking, and a lawn service that did everything in the yard that needed doing.

Mason paid for everything – the groceries, the utilities, and even gas for my vehicle – okay, not my vehicle officially, but rather the one I drove as part of the job.

Turns out, it was the orange SUV he'd driven up to Petoskey, and the vehicle was actually growing on me. It had tons of safety features, and was perfect for shuttling Willow to and from school and to wherever else she needed to go.

In so many ways, I was living the dream.

Except for one thing.

Mason.

The longer I stayed here, the more I couldn’t stop thinking about my boss.

Although we never spent time alone, I saw Mason quite a bit while spending time with Willow.

When he was in town, the three of us ate breakfast together – well, whenever Mason didn't go into the office early, that is. We ate dinner together, too, except for all those times when Mason decided to work late.

And then, there were the weekends. Even though Mason was home more frequently on Saturdays and Sundays, he still spent long hours inside his home office while Willow and I did whatever around the house.

We played board games. We baked cookies. We put together lots of puzzles, and read a ton of books. Sometimes, they were the same books – kids' books that we'd take turns reading to each other.

Or sometimes, Willow and I would each have our own book, and we'd lounge side-by-side on the couch or, weather-permitting, out on the back patio, reading in easy silence.

But when it came to Mason, there was nothing easy about him.

He made me think of things I shouldn't, dangerous things that only fueled my fascination, especially one Saturday night, when I happened to catch him alone for the first time since my arrival.

Chapter 15

Mason

With a quiet curse, I stopped in the kitchen doorway.

Cami looked up. At the sight of me, she froze like I'd just caught her stealing the silverware. She was standing in front of the fridge,