Page 27 of Escorting the CEO
Maria laughed nearby. “You’re so good with him.”
“I have a younger brother and sister.” My heart twisted because I missed Josie and Bo so much. “I think kids are fun.”
“Theyarefun.” Maria beamed at me. “Mine are grown, and my grandbabies live in France, so I don’t get to see them enough.”
“Aw, I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s okay.” The nanny smiled with pride. “My daughter works for a museum in Paris. She and her husband love it, and so do the kids. They’re living their best lives.”
“That’s awesome.” I got behind Luke and started pushing him again. The kid was happy. We’d had muffins, and Chef had snuck him some hot chocolate, which he’d guzzled.
When he asked me to take him outside to play, I happily ditched the stupid slip dress and put on some of the athletic clothes Elena had packed for me. I felt much more at home inmy sneakers, shorts, and a T-shirt than I did in silk and strappy sandals.
“How long have you worked for the Barringtons?” I asked.
“I’ve been with Luke since he was born. When Mr. Barrington—Mr. William—and Luke’s mother divorced, I came here to live with them.”
“That’s amazing,” I said, still pushing the swing. “Luke’s a lucky little boy.”
Maria’s smile turned melancholy, and I winced. “I’m sorry,” I said. I didn’t want to say more in front of him. When he jumped off the swing to go down the slide—the playground at the estate was immense and brand-new—the nanny came closer.
“I shouldn’t have said that, about him being lucky.” I frowned as I watched the little boy climb the steps. “It’s so sad what happened.”
“It’s terrible.” Maria’s eyes filled with tears. “Luke is such a loving, special child. His father was extremely busy, but he was very dedicated to him. He always took weekends off and spent time with him.”
“It’s tragic. The poor thing.”
“It’s heartbreaking.” She watched Luke as he took another turn on the slide. “I’m sure you’ve heard about his mother. She hasn’t ever really wanted anything to do with him. So now he’s got no one—except for you and Mr. Barrington, of course,” she added quickly.
“Of course.” But this development surprised me. I didn’t know anything about Luke’s mother.
I longed to ask Maria a ton of questions, but I couldn’t. I needed to appear to be informed, part of the family, and on top of things. So instead I asked, “What does he like to do?”
“Anything outdoors,” she said. “He loves to play outside all day and to go swimming. And we read lots of books—he loves toread. And at night, after his bath, I let him put his jammies on and watch his shows.”
I smiled at her. “It sounds like you take great care of him. He’s lucky to have you, Maria.”
“Thank you,” she said, clearly touched. “He also wants a puppy.”
“Of course he does!” I laughed. “All kids want a puppy.”
“He might need one,” she said, her voice turning sad again.
“Yeah, he might.”
We watched him until Philips, who looked decidedly out of place marching across the lawn in his tuxedo, approached. “Miss Rory, Mr. Barrington would like an audience with you. He’s waiting in the library.”
“Okay, Philips—I’ll be right in.” I went over and hugged Luke. “I gotta go. Want to hang out later? Chef said he might have some ice cream for us.”
Luke’s eyes got huge in his face. “Okay.”
I gave him knuckles. “See you in a bit.”
I didn’t know how to describe it—but the kid looked at me like I was some sort of miracle. Knuckles, ice cream, Uniqua… these were not the province of the Mr. Barringtons. Luke and I spoke the same language.
I was probably just as relieved to realize that as he was.
Philips eyed me up and down as we trekked across the never-ending grounds. I hadn’t had a proper tour yet, but the Barrington estate appeared to stretch on for miles in every direction. The White Mountains rose in the near distance, tall and majestic. The property was endless, with the enormous, state-of-the-art playground shaded by tall fir trees.
