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I kissed him back, soaking up his warmth and the headiness of his touch. The slow, insistent pressure of his mouth wiped away the last traces of my resistance, and time lost all meaning. It could’ve been minutes or hours; I was too lost in him to care.

His tongue teased the seam of my lips, seeking entry. I parted easily for him, my skin flushing when he found the zipper of my dress and tugged it down. It’d been so long since I felt him, and⁠—

The sound of the doorbell jolted us apart. We stumbled back, our breaths ragged as reality gradually seeped back into the room.

I clumsily fixed my dress, trying not to feel too disappointed at being interrupted. “Were you expecting someone?” Most of Noah’s social circle was already here.

He shook his head, his forehead creasing.

Since the moment was effectively ruined, I finished straightening myself up and followed him downstairs, my curiosity piqued. Noah was a few steps ahead of me. He opened the door, and I saw his body go rigid with shock. Before I could ask who it was, he spoke, his voice thick with disbelief.

“Evie?”

CHAPTER 50

CARINA

Long story short: Noah’s mother and Evie were here.

Long story long: Well…I was still waiting for that part.

“Don’t be mad at Nana,” Evie pleaded as Noah paced the living room. “It was my idea to come back.”

He stopped and glared at her. “I’ll talk to you later,” he said sternly. She slunk down in her seat, her face wracked with guilt but also a touch of preteen defiance. Noah exhaled sharply and shifted his attention to his mother, who sat next to Evie with a remarkably composed expression. “Mom, you’re the adult. What were you thinking bringing her back here this early? I told you it’s not safe for her to be here right now.”

I shifted in my seat, feeling increasingly awkward as they carried out their impromptu family reunion. After Noah’s mom and Evie showed up half an hour ago, the party had quickly cleared out, leaving the house empty except for the people in this room. I’d been planning to leave too, but Noah had asked me to stay. So here I was, perched in the corner, trying to make myself as inconspicuous as possible.

“I did what I thought was right,” his mother said calmly. She’d introduced herself warmly to me as Vanessa, and she possessed the same steely, unwavering determination that’d served her son so well on the pitch. “Your daughter wanted to see you, so I brought her to see you. You can’t deny there’ve been a lot of changes and confusion this summer. It’s only fair that you navigate it together in person.”

Noah dragged a hand over his face, some of his indignation deflating. “You should’ve at least called first. This is…I mean, Christ. You could’ve run into a mob of paparazzi. They could’ve splashed pictures of you all over the tabloids.”

“If we’d seen paparazzi, I wouldn’t have brought her here,” Vanessa pointed out. “I may not be a celebrity, Noah, but I am a mother. I know how to raise children, and I’m capable of discerning whether or not there’s danger around my babies. Besides…” She gave him a pointed look. “You act like we don’t have access to the British news in Michigan. I’m well aware that the headlines about you have slowed in the past week. If this were early July, I wouldn’t have dreamed of bringing Evie here.”

Noah’s mouth tightened, but a flicker of reluctant acceptance crossed his face.

I couldn’t help but admire his mother. She was a total badass.

“Are you really mad, Daddy?” Evie asked, peering up at him with visible worry.

His face finally softened. “No, sweetheart. I’m surprised. I wasn’t expecting to see you, that’s all.” He sank next to her. “Why did you want to come back early? Weren’t you having fun in Michigan?”

“I was, but…” Evie’s eyes darted to me. We’d had a teary, emotional hug earlier, but we hadn’t had a chance to really talk before Noah laid into his mother for her unannounced visit. I gave Evie a small, reassuring smile now, and she gave me a tiny smile back before continuing. “You looked really sad during our last call, so I told Nana I wanted to come back and see you in person. We didn’t tell you because we knew you’d say no.” She bit her lip. “Are you going to make me go back to Michigan?”

Just like that, the remainder of Noah’s anger evaporated. He picked her up and sat her in his lap, gathering her close. Evie was a little old to be scooped up and held like a toddler, but she didn’t complain. “Of course not,” he said, his voice impossibly tender. “This is your home. You can come back whenever you want. You know that, right?”

She nodded, burying her face in his shoulder, and I melted. Between Noah and Evie, I’d never stood a chance. I’d been a goner the moment I signed that contract and agreed to be her nanny all those months ago.

While father and daughter reunited, Vanessa got up and took the seat beside mine. “So, you’re the woman who’s sent my son into a tailspin.”

I blinked, my mouth going dry. “I—that is, I wouldn’t say tailspin is the right term—” I tripped over my own words, too surprised by her bluntness and too flustered by her presence to form a coherent sentence.

This was Noah’s mother. She’d seemed perfectly pleasant when we’d met earlier, but our interaction had been brief. What if she didn’t like me? What if she blamed me for the media going after her son? What if she insisted he walk away from me for his own good?

Her sudden boom of laughter shook loose some of my panic. For such a petite woman, she had a laugh that could rattle the walls. “I’m messing with you,” she said, her eyes twinkling. “I promise I’m not here to interrogate you. I just want to know one thing. How did you get my stubborn, hard-headed son to let his guard down? I’m his mother, and he barely lets me in.”

I relaxed, my nerves easing. “Well, I started by calling him boring, and I worked my way up from there,” I explained. “Never underestimate the power of challenging a man’s ego.”

Vanessa laughed again, this time loud enough to draw both Noah’s and Evie’s attention. They glanced over with matching curious expressions, and I almost giggled at Noah’s look of suspicion when his mother covered my hand with hers. “Carina, my dear, I think we’re going to get along just fine,” she said.