Page 43 of The Billionaire's Virgin

Chapter Fourteen

Taylor

It had been almost a month since Jenna’s surgery, and she had recovered as fast as the doctor had promised and she was back to her bubbly personality. I had practically moved in with Jenna and Reed since she had been discharged from the hospital. I slept in the guestroom next to Jenna’s, and I checked on her twice, sometimes even three times each night.

I had run into Reed so many times now that it had become almost a laughable inside joke between us, but I remembered that first time. I kissed Jenna lightly on her forehead, and I was just about to turn and tiptoe out of the room when I noticed a shadow. I froze in place and gasped silently before realizing that it was just Reed.

He seemed a little taken back to see me there, but then he smiled. I saw the faint upturn of his mouth under the faint glow of Jenna’s starry night-lights.

“You were checking up on her too?” he asked.

I nodded. “I just… want to be careful,” I said. “Just until she’s fully recovered.”

I could feel the tension resting between us, but it was not unpleasant. It was just tension that had been built up over the course of the last few days. We had been spending so much time together, and yes, Jenna was always with us, but the kiss we had decided to ignore was present too.

I couldn’t go an hour without thinking about that kiss. Reed’s lips had been so soft and urgent against mine. There was something desperate and almost hungry about the way he had kissed me. And it wasn’t like I had pushed him away. He had promised that it would never happen again, but I was scared to believe him. The truth was that I desperately wanted it to happen again.

I could no longer deny the glaring truth. I had fallen for my boss. I had fallen for Reed, and apparently, there was nothing I could do to change that. Despite his hard exterior and his abrupt manner, I could see now that it was all just a front. It was a way to protect his family.

“She’s lucky to have you, Taylor,” Reed had said to me that first night in Jenna’s darkened room.

“She’s lucky to have you too,” I said.

Reed had looked like he didn’t quite believe me, but he nodded and I knew I needed to leave immediately or I was in danger of doing something really stupid… like admitting to my feelings for him or trying to kiss him.

After that, we had bumped into each other periodically when we went to check in on Jenna. At least for the week or two after she had been released from the hospital. After that, we both calmed down and relaxed a little. Things were pretty lovely at the moment, what with Jenna’s fast recovery and the fact that Reed was home a lot more to spend time with Jenna. It would have been perfect had it not been for the increased number of silent calls I had been getting.

I had gotten a couple on the landline in the apartment, and then just the other day, I had received a call on my personal number. Hearing that familiar breathing on my cell phone really freaked me out and the only reason I didn’t want to tell Reed was because I didn’t want to bother him with something like this. He had enough to worry about, what with work and Jenna.

But after that call on my mobile, I had been aware of little things that seemed off to me. I kept feeling like someone was constantly watching me. It was like I had a mark on my back and someone was keeping tabs on me, except that whenever I turned around, nothing suspicious seemed to be happening. Sometimes I wondered if it was just paranoia, and other times I was certain that someone was following me. I kept thinking of Sofia and the reputation she had earned for herself, but it just didn’t make sense to me. Why would she keep tabs on the nanny? She had been out of Reed’s life for so long now, what motive would she have for trying to re-enter it?

I grabbed a cart at the entrance of the supermarket and then I walked down the aisles picking out groceries for the week. I had a list from Reed and a good few hours to kill. Reed and Jenna were having some father-daughter time, an idea that I had encouraged and I wanted to make sure I gave them enough time to do whatever it is they wanted to.

I was looking through all the different brands of yogurt when my phone started to ring. I tensed up immediately hoping against hope that this wasn’t another prank call. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that it was Reed calling me.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Taylor,” Jenna’s high-pitched voice greeted me.

I smiled. “Hi, my sweet girl,” I said. “What’s up?”

“Daddy said you’re going to the supermarket.”

“I am… I’m there already.”

“Next time I want to come.”

I laughed. “Why?”

“I like shopping.”

“You do?”

“Uh-huh… and then I can choose the things I like.”

I laughed a little louder. “Now that sounds closer to the truth. What would you like from the supermarket?”

“Candy,” Jenna replied promptly.