Chapter 3

Michael, Craig, and Ken were hanging out by the gate, cracking up as Ollie tried to bust a move to the tunes Craig was blasting from his phone.

“Your kid’s a hoot!” Ken chuckled, watching Ollie wiggle his diaper-clad butt.

“He gets it from me!” Craig roared with laughter. “As his godfather, I’ve got more influence than anyone thought!”

Michael just shook his head. “Sure, Craig!”

“When’s the nanny due?” Ken asked.

Michael checked his watch. “She should’ve landed about ten minutes ago. She’s supposed to meet us here.”

“And what’s she look like?” Ken wanted to know.

“From her video, the photos from her folks’ place, and their description, she’s got dark red hair, gray eyes, and glasses. Looks like a bookworm.” Michael recalled.

The trio chatted and played with Ollie a bit longer before they were interrupted.

“Mr. Whitlock?”

They all looked up, struck dumb by the woman standing before them. Craig was the first to recover, nudging his best friend, “Uh, yeah, sorry! I’m Michael Whitlock; you must be Anelise.” He stood and offered his hand.

“Yes, I’m Anelise. Nice to meet you,” she said, smiling and shaking his hand. A spark seemed to pass between them at the touch. Craig and Ken were still gawking at her.

“Meet my best friend Craig Johnson, a company lawyer, and Ken Banks who handles HR and labor laws,” Michael introduced.

He then scooped up Ollie. “And this is Ollie. Ollie, buddy, this is Anelise. She’s going to hang out with you while Daddy’s at work.”

Ollie was a charmer, and Anelise was instantly smitten. He had big brown eyes that sparkled, short, light brown hair, and a mischievous grin that melted her heart.

“Hi, Ollie. I’m Ani,” she said softly, and Michael felt Ollie lean toward her. “Hi, Ani!”

Michael set Ollie down and crouched next to him. “Why don’t you show Ani what toys you’ve got in your backpack?”

Anelise crouched next to Ollie and started chatting with him softly, so Michael stood back up and exchanged shocked looks with the guys. After Anelise and Ollie had gotten acquainted, she stood up and addressed them.

“Mr. W-, I mean, Michael, they told me to check in with the gate attendant once I arrived to make sure my luggage made it to this flight. I’ll be right back,” she said sweetly, and they watched her walk to the ticket counter.

They just stood there, watching her talk to the flight attendant. She was wearing black jeans, stylishly ripped, a white t-shirt with a bright-blue cardigan over it, and matching Converse shoes. Her hair was pulled back into a long, thick braid.

“~Dude~!” Craig hissed, nudging his best friend. “She’s no fucking bookworm! She’s like a playboy bunny!”

“She’s not what I was expecting at all!” Michael admitted, his heart pounding in his chest.

“I don’t usually say shit like this, but she is ~hot~, and I’m kinda jealous that you get to room with her!” Ken whispered. “You’re gonna be a horny mess!”

“Mickey, you’re screwed with this girl! You’ll have to keep reminding yourself she’s your nanny!” Craig said, causing Michael to wince.

“I feel bad saying this since I’m old enough to be her dad, but if that’s what grad students look like, I’m going back to school!” Ken declared.

Anelise, while waiting to speak with the gate agent, texted Megan: “~At the gate, found the Whitlocks~”

She got a reply right away, ~“Where’s Dad on the ‘Matt Douglas Scale’?”~

Ani took a deep breath and typed, ~“Off the charts!”~

~“Are you serious?!”~

~“Totally serious!”~

~“Never thought I’d see the day any guy could reset our hotness and sex-god scale! Need pics!”~

~“Can’t promise anything!!”~

Anelise finished her enquiry and headed back. The guys tried to act nonchalant when she returned. “All set. At least I won’t be naked when we get to the hotel!” she joked.

All three men chuckled as she went back to chat with Ollie.

“Yep, you’re screwed, Mickey!” Craig whispered.

“Daddy!” Ollie squealed, and Michael turned to his son, ignoring his friends. “Look book!”

He was holding a new Paw Patrol coloring book. “Wow buddy! That’s so cool! Did Anelise get that for you?” Michael asked. His son jumped up and down yelling yes and then showed Craig and Ken his newest treasure.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Michael said with a smile.

“I know, but from one of the videos you sent me, I saw that Ollie loves them, so I wanted to start off on the right foot,” she explained.

“You’re right. I’ll give you that!” Michael smiled. “I just want to say thanks again for doing this. I can’t tell you what this means.”

“No, really the pleasure is all mine! This is like a dream come true, Mr. Whitlock.” She smiled, and he felt a tightening in his pants.

“Please call me Michael. Now, if we survive the flight, we’re doing okay, Anelise,” he chuckled.

“And please call me Ani. No one calls me Anelise except for my parents,” she noted, wrinkling her nose.

Michael took note of this, realizing he’d need to figure out what was going on. He gave a nod. “Ani it is.”

As soon as she sat down, Ollie scrambled onto her lap. They flipped through the coloring book together, discussing each page.

“Your son seems to have taken a shine to her,” Craig murmured. “Just like his dad!”

Ken tried to stifle a laugh, but it came out as a cough. Michael shot him a glare. “Shut the fuck up!”

Four hours later, Ollie was sound asleep in Anelise’s lap. Michael set aside the folder he’d been reading and turned his attention to Anelise. She was engrossed in a well-worn book, a pen and a pack of sticky notes at her side.

“What are you reading?”

Anelise looked up, a smile on her face. “One of my favorites, ~Wuthering Heights~. It’s for my paper.”

“What’s your paper about?”

“I changed my topic after you called. I saw it as an opportunity to delve into the Brontë sisters and their impact on the classic romance novel.”

“How many Brontë sisters were there?”

“Three. They had an intriguing story and wrote some of my favorite novels... I’m a hopeless romantic.”

Michael noticed her cheeks turning pink and found it endearing. “Is that a bad thing?”

“It depends on who you ask…”

“I’m asking you,” he said, wanting to hear her thoughts.

Anelise shook her head. “I don’t think so. It’s working for me right now, and hopefully, it’ll come through in my paper!”

Michael chuckled. “Well, good luck!”

“Can I ask a question?” Anelise asked, sounding unsure.

“We’re going to be spending a lot of time together, so I think you’re entitled to ask a few questions.” He smiled, finding her expressions captivating. He noticed she had a habit of biting her lip when she was nervous.

And for some inexplicable reason, every time she did that, it stirred something in him, making him hard. He quickly started thinking about accounting terms to distract himself.

“Where is Ollie’s mom?” she asked, treading carefully.

Michael let out a sigh. “That’s a long story, probably longer than this flight. But the short version is, she won’t be an issue. I don’t know where she is, and she doesn’t know we’re here.”

Ani nodded. “Okay…”

“Ani, it’s not that I don’t want to tell you, it’s just that...shit…that I…” She cut him off, “You can tell me when you’re ready. I just wanted to make sure there wasn’t going to be an angry woman storming in to get to him.”

Michael smiled. “Thanks for understanding. I promise, there’s no crazy woman coming here!”

They continued to chat as Ollie slept, their work forgotten as they got to know each other.

From across the aisle, Craig watched them, Ken snoozing next to him. He had a feeling that things were about to get very interesting between his best friend and the stunning woman.