This is Oliver Bellamy. My recent out-of-body experience was with the stuffy British author I’ve been enlisted to escort around the city.

I don’t understand his attitude. I guess a long flight like the one he just took can make anyone grumpy. I give him the benefit of the doubt and extend my hand to him.

“I’m Bianca Torino.” He begrudgingly takes my hand, and our eyes meet again, but this time his are guarded, and he quickly looks away. I cannot get a read on him at all. The sensation of his skin against mine, however, is another story. Once again, every single one of my nerves is aware of his presence. “These two are cousins Ava and Jett. As Ava was kind enough to inform you, Normandy’s sister went into labor early, and she’s unable to escort you as originally planned. So, I’ve been recruited to take her place.” I try to smile, but it falters, and I don’t know why.

An odd sense of losing control or falling settles over me. It makes no sense. None of what’s happened in the last five minutes makes any sense.

He doesn’t seem impressed in the slightest, and his scowl deepens as he absently tugs on an ear.

“Is it normal in America to bring children to work with you? Especially other people’s children?”

“No. Of course not.” Wow. What is happening? I can’t believe he’s being so rude. This can’t be the same man from a minute ago. “This is a special circumstance, obviously. And these two are great kids.”

As if on cue, Ava and Jett start to chase each other around Oliver’s legs, grabbing at him and screeching as they go. He rubs the back of his neck, which is turning red, and glares at them first, then turns it on me. He is not happy with this situation. I need to fix this fast.

I reach out and grab Jett mid-run, swooping him up and resting him on a hip while extending my free hand to Ava to take, which she does without protest, thank God.

“Well, the sooner we get you to your hotel, the sooner you can get started on your book.” My tight smile hopefully lets him know I’m now annoyed with him. Two can play that game. If he can’t be friendly around two perfectly innocent kids for a few minutes, perhaps he shouldn’t be around people at all.

It’s not as though Chelsie went into labor early just to upset his arrival. I’m half-tempted to leave him here to get an Uber or something to his hotel. Unfortunately, even Ava and Jett couldn’t protect me from the trouble that would get me into.

“Right. Let’s go then.” He doesn’t even look at me. Going from shared smiles to glares and no connection at all is jarring. It’s taking me a minute to process it all.

When we finally get to the car, I buckle the kids into their seats only to find that Oliver has left his suitcase for me to load into the trunk. And it’s not a light suitcase. It’s an entire month’s worth of stuff in one bag. Putting his suitcase into the trunk isn’t a problem; it is my job, after all.

It makes no sense, but after the experience we shared minutes ago…being treated like just his driver…hurts.

Chapter Three

OLIVER

SANTA CRUZ TOMORROW

I’m exhausted. An eleven-hour overnight flight without sleep has left my brain foggy and my eyes blurry. Being met by toddlers doesn’t help my mood any, either. It’s not that I don’t like children, but I don’t like surprises, and Bianca and company are a definite surprise.

When I first saw Bianca, something happened. I don’t know what exactly, but there was a connection there that I’d never felt before. It was almost as if I’d known her forever and was seeing her again after a long time apart. An odd sense of relief came over me that makes absolutely no sense. As if she was the one thing I’d been waiting for my whole life, and something in my chest loosened that had been wound too tight for too long.

What the hell am I thinking? A connection like that with a total stranger? It’s absurd. It’s insanity even to consider. I can’t start letting myself believe something like that is in my future anyway because I know damn well that it’s not.

This is more of my brain fog imagining things that aren’t there. There’s no way any of these feelings are real. I desperately need sleep. A lot of sleep.

Bianca gets in behind the wheel, and I can’t look at her. I know leaving my suitcase for her to care for was a knobhead thing to do, but it’s too late to fix it now. In my gut, I knew I couldn’t trust myself not to drop the bag while lifting it, which would have made everything even worse.

Maybe after a good night’s sleep and some time to recuperate from the jet lag, I’ll be able to function like a polite and normal human being. That is always the goal, after all.

“So, London to Las Vegas must be a long flight, huh?” Bianca eyes me warily in my peripheral vision. I deserve that.

“Yes.” Pathetic. I don’t even possess the mental fortitude to withstand small talk.

Her hands grip the steering wheel tighter, and her knuckles pale with the pressure. At least, I think they do. The blurriness is kicking in now, and my eyes are starting to hurt. A headache is on its way too. Lovely.

A sudden screech from the back seat pierces my skull and nearly makes me jump out of my skin. It’s followed by hilarious laughter, which is unexpected. I turn to see the cause of the ruckus and find the children having some sort of hand-smacking contest. I can’t make out exactly what they’re doing, but it’s apparently amusing.

“You guys, keep it down back there, okay?” Bianca calls, staring them down in the mirror. “Mr. Bellamy had a long flight and needs some quiet.”

This gets muffled giggles, but they’ve listened, and the volume lowers.

I take this opportunity to study Bianca briefly. Well, as much as my blurred vision can. Her dark hair is nearly black and is pulled up in a loose knot, exposing her long inviting neck. Her red lips and olive skin are equally enticing, but her eyes slay me. They are intense and passionate, throwing me back to our shared smile at the airport. Meeting her eyes exposed something in me I didn’t know was there. Something I can’t allow.

Source: www.seynovel.com