Page 47 of The Desired Nanny
I seized Kiyah’s hand again. “It’s fine. We didn’t expect anything less,” I said firmly.
“I don’t feel that it’s our place to demand answers from you, but if you feel inclined to let us in, then we’ll listen and reserve our judgment. This is a safe space,” Ms. Simone insisted.
This is it. I can finally unburden myself of this secret.
“Thank you,” I started. “I can’t speak for Kiyah, but I’ve had feelings for her ever since I can remember.”
“I told Jonathan something wasn’t right. I told him they were too close when they were younger, but noooo, they’re just kids—”
“Anthony,” Ms. Simone warned again.
He waved a hand in surrender. “You got it, Simone. You don’t have to worry about me breathing another word. Wait… this is probably why Grant didn’t go to Harvard.”
“Is that true?” she asked skeptically.
“It is,” I admitted. A strangled noise erupted from Uncle Ant’s throat. “I didn’t need Harvard to be successful.”
“You’re right. Considering its acceptance rate, just the fact that you were accepted is an accomplishment in itself. Did the two of you start dating around the time you left for college?”
“Correct.”
“And you dated all through college?”
“Correct.”
“Okay… does anyone else know about your relationship?” We shook our heads. “All right… Kiyah, does your relationship have anything to do with why you’ve been gone for long stretches?”
“The relationship? No.”
“Then why?” Ms. Simone pressed.
“That’s… that’s personal.”
“Okay, I respect that. “Are you two happy?”
I closed my eyes when Kiyah started crying. “I’m… sorry,” she said between her sobs as she accepted napkins from Ms. Simone.
“No, don’t apologize. I’m sorry for asking.”
“It’s fine. Um… things have been complicated between us for the last seven years. We were very happy, and then I took off, and we haven’t been the same since. We still love each other, but—”
“This explains so fucking much,” Uncle Ant sighed. “This whole time, I thought he wasn’t interested in women.”
“You’d be right. I’m not interested in women—I’m interested in one woman,” I said.
“I stand corrected,” he replied gruffly.
“Was there ever a point when you guys were going to tell the family, or did you intend to keep your relationship a secret forever?”
“We were going to tell everyone, but then Kiyah took off after the wed—”
Their eyes bulged from their sockets, and their breath caught in their throats in a tight gasp.
Fuck… I didn’t mean to let that cat out of the bag.
“The wed what?” Uncle Ant pressed, anxiously waiting for an answer.
I peeked at Kiyah for direction. She sucked in a breath and nodded.
