𝑻 𝑯 𝑬 𝑵 𝑨 𝑵 𝑵 𝒀 (18+)

six.

                                 A M A R A

I was only making things worse for myself. Every time I ran into Dominic I acted like I'd forgotten what words were. They got caught in my throat leaving me with a mountain of embarrassment to sort through. He was just a person. A gorgeous person with eyes that could calm a storm but still a person. He wasn't rude, and he hadn't made me uncomfortable but still, I found it hard to have a normal conversation with him.

Right now I was running into the same problem. I'd gotten the boys to sleep and expected to enjoy the rest of my night alone on his comfy couch in the living room watching reruns of my favorite show. That was until he strolled into the house, failing at trying to be quiet. He tiredly stumbled into the living room and kicked off his shoes, jumping when he noticed me sitting on the couch opposite him.

I smiled at him and paused my show, preparing myself for yet another awkward conversation due to my inability to pull my shit together. "Amara," he breathed out, "something has got to give." He grinned to himself and sunk into the couch. His legs were spread, one hand in his lap while the other hung above his head. Keep your eyes on his. I'd repeated the phrase in my head so many times I hadn't even noticed his lips were moving.

"Did you hear me?" He tilted that gorgeous head of his to the side.

"Something's got to give but I'm not sure what you mean." What if he felt like I was no longer a good fit for him and his family? Maybe Josh had finally convinced him to fire me, a conversation I'd overheard a few times during my very short stay here. He always denied it with a smile, claiming he loved that I was his nanny. The little brat.

"By all means, you don't have to be my friend, but I hate how tense you get whenever I'm around. What can I do to make you feel better?"

My palms ached and I ran them along my thighs to distract myself from the butterflies in my stomach. "It's honestly not you. I'm just finding it hard to be professional. Not that I've ever thought about you unprofessionally, It's just not like a normal job. I mean this is a normal job but I'm not sure—"

"Amara?" He interrupted, "breathe. I can understand your dilemma. If you've always had orthodox work relationships, you probably want to treat ours the same way you would treat your manager at the pizza shop you worked at. This isn't a business so the line between appropriate and inappropriate conversation must be difficult for you to gauge. I'm sorry, I hadn't given that possibility much thought when I hired you."

It's like he took the words right out of my brain and put them into one clear coherent thought. I tucked my feet under my butt and hugged my pillow. I'd never treat our relationship the same way I treated Frankie at Estella's. Frankie was an asshole and ran an establishment in an unfair working environment. Dominic was kind and accommodating, so I'd never feel the urge to take money out of his pocket.

"My old boss was an ass, but that's essentially the issue. I'm fine with the kids, I'm just not sure what kind of relationship you want with me, Mr. Gray?"

His adam's apple tugged and he shifted on the couch. Maybe that came out the wrong way, but I wouldn't correct myself until he made it clear that he had taken it the wrong way.

"What kind of relationship do I want with you, Amara?"

"Yes, that's what I'd like to know." It would make my life so much easier and it was a surefire way to avoid any further awkwardness.

"That depends. I never want you to feel like you have to entertain me. If you just want to say hi and bye I'm fine with that. However, I would like to at least be familiar with each other. It's against my better judgment, but I'm trying to take Kosta's advice."