Celeste Peters

Marc and I spring apart...for the second fuckin' time in the span of twenty four hours. I glance over to see Nina at the threshold of the kitchen in her PJs and the sight is like cold water splashing over me. Fuck, was I seriously just about to kiss Marc right before his daughter walked in? The poor girl would've been traumatized.

A burning sensation covers my chest. I shouldn't be getting mixed up with this family like this. They don't need my kind of baggage. What am I doing?

"Nina! Good morning!" Marc says gruffly and then clears his throat.

My heart is beating hard against my ribcage and my skin is still buzzing. Maybe I just imagined that he was going to kiss me? We were just having a bit of fun, and nothing like that was going to happen.

Images of Marc's heated whisky eyes glancing down at my lips flash to mind as if calling me on my bullshit. My body surges with heat as I replay it but I start re-tying my hair to focus on something else.

There was space between us—it wasn't like I was straddling him or something like that.

Nina runs to Marc and jumps into his arms. He carries her while giving me a look that seems to say fuck.

Does he regret asking me here this morning? Does he regret every single thing about me?

"You're home?" she asks lazily as she leans her head over his shoulder. If she's weirded out by what she just saw, she's giving no indication of it.

"Yes, habibti. I took the day off of work today to spend time with you and your sister. Everyone else is off for the day, but Ms. Celeste is here in the morning to make sure I don't spoil our breakfast."

"What? You're making us breakfast?" She starts wiggling excitedly in Marc's arms, and glances over at me, smiling so wide.

"Morning, Nina. Good to see you!" I say while grabbing some butter from the fridge to melt on the pan.

"Nina, hayati, go wake your sister up so we can finish making it and we can all eat together."

"Okay!" She jumps off of him and sprints out, her little feet creating soft thuds against the wood floor as she disappears from view. "Laila! Wake up!" Her shout in the distance streams through the kitchen.

Marc turns to me with urgency in his gaze. "Celeste," he says in a deep, low tone, making my nerves frenzy again. "That was too close."

"Nothing was going to happen. We were just having fun." Whisky eyes. Heated lips. Ughhh, stop thinking.

He crosses his arms and his biceps bulge out, raising the sleeves of his light blue t-shirt. Come to think of it, I've never seen Marc in anything but a button down. While those looks make him drool-worthy, this casual one is giving them a run for their money.

"Whatever the case is...let's keep our distance until we figure it out. For the girls," he says.

Sharp pins prickle over me. "You're the one that asked me to be here alone with you this morning. Not me. So, do whatever you want," I say as I cross my arms. Against my ears I sound annoyed. But I'm not fucking annoyed.

"I know. I know. I just didn't realize how difficult it would be to keep my hands off of you."

Pleasure pierces through my abdomen, but I maintain my stance. "Marc, you're acting like you finger fucked me on this counter," I whisper sharply. "We haven't done anything for Christ's sake!"

His eyes grow dark, causing more pleasure to run through me. Is he picturing it too? Yet, he steps away and closes his eyes briefly. "Celeste, I'm serious. We can't be alone together anymore until we've figured out what this means."

Does he want to think about whether he should fuck me? What does he mean? I shouldn't care. I've never cared this much before. I can make my own decisions, and I decide that I do not need to get involved with my boss—no matter how much my body begs for him to have his way with me.

"Why are you making that face? I'm just saying, let's talk about things later," he says.

"I don't need to talk about it more. We keep our distance, that's it." I fling the butter on the pan and it melts instantly. "You can put the bread on the pan and cook them on each side for about two minutes. There's also some already cut up fruit in the fridge you can serve with it, and some honey in the pantry. I'll leave you to it." I start to walk out but he gently tugs at my arm, forcing me to stop.

"Celeste, please, don't get upset. Please, stay and eat breakfast with us. I promise we'll talk properly about everything. Just you and me, once we both get some distance and have time to process whatever this is."

"Whatever. Do whatever you want. I don't care." The butter is starting to sizzle and I glance over to find that it's quickly turning brown. I sigh and grab the bread bowl from him to add the first slices to the pan. Burnt butter isn't as good when it comes to French Toast. He makes no objection as I lay down the slices.

He's about to say something but stops when a pitter patter of footsteps sound through the kitchen. Laila screams when she comes in. "Dad! You're here!" Her and Nina are now jumping around the kitchen excitedly and it softens my heart. They're so freaking cute.

"Good morning!" Marc says and goes to give them each kisses.

I study his ass as he leans down. Ugh, why does he have to have such a fine ass? Maybe we need to just fuck each others brains out and get it over with? Maybe that is all this is and I don't need to think about things like feelings? I've never had to think about that sort of stuff before.

"I have a fun day planned for you girls, starting with breakfast that Ms. Celeste and I made for you."

"Yay!" Laila lets out and it's so adorable my heart can't take it.

"Marc, these are almost done. You can start on the next batch before plating them. Feel free to call me if you need anything else." I wipe my hands and get ready to leave.

"Wait, Celeste. Aren't you going to join us for breakfast? Girls, please beg Ms. Celeste to join us." He's smiling so wide, as if he knows exactly the kind of impact his daughters have.

"Oh my goodness!" Nina yells. "Ms. Celeste, you have to join us! Please, please, please eat with us!" It's taken Nina weeks to warm up to me fully, and how can I say no to her now?

I huff out a laugh and give Marc a squinting look. He shrugs, not so innocently. Bastard. "Of course, thank you, girls. I'd love to join." I do also need some bread right now to soak up the wine that's probably still in my system.

"Excellent. Alright, I have one more surprise for you girls today," Marc says while looking down at his daughters who cannot stand still.

"What is it?" Laila asks.

"After breakfast, we're going to the zoo!"

I grab more bread and giggle as the girls start screaming their heads off. Okay, I have to admit staying here is well worth seeing their reactions.

Once they've calmed down a bit and have gone through the list of animals that could potentially be at the zoo, Marc and I plate up their French Toast and side of fruit.

"This is the best day of my whole life!" Nina yells out as she takes her seat in the breakfast nook.

"Me too! The best day ever!" Laila says as I place a plate in front of her. Her eyes grow wide. "Holy shiitake mushrooms, this looks so yummy!"

I take in a sharp breath of air. I only said that once in front of them when I caught myself from saying holy shit. I glance up at Marc who looks more amused than annoyed. In reality, I've been seriously amazing at not swearing in front of the girls, so really this is the best case scenario.

"Holy shiitake mushrooms? What other phrases is Ms. Celeste teaching you girls?" he asks with a smile pulling at his lips. He and I grab our plates and sit with the girls at the breakfast nook.

"Nothing," I say while Nina says, "What the fudge."

Marc chuckles and it warms me up. "Wonderful. Laila, do you mind saying a quick prayer before we eat?"

She nods and sets her elbows on the table, intertwining her fingers together and welding her eyes shut. "God, we thank you for this food. We pray for our family and friends. And we pray for the animals at the zoo that they'll like us. Amen."

Oh my God, I'm dying from her cuteness!

"Amen!" we all say before digging into our breakfast.

"Ms. Celeste, are you coming with us to the zoo?" Nina asks, popping a blueberry into her mouth.

"No, I'll be home today."

"You're not heading out of town like the others?" Marc asks.

"Nope. It'll just be a staycation for me."

Marc is pensive for a moment and then asks, "Would you like to come with us to the zoo?"

I shake my head. "You should be alone with your daughters. Besides, I have some fun things planned for my day."

His mouth shifts to the side before he nods. "Alright, well if you get too bored you can follow after us. We'll likely be there until the show this evening."

Why is he being like this? I can't understand what his deal is. He doesn't want to spend time with me but then asks me to join him and his daughters for breakfast and then the zoo? I used to know some guys who gave me mixed signals, but for some reason this feels different than that. Marc may just be a thinker who takes his time, unlike any guy I've ever met. It's kind of like when I make a really delicious pizza–if made with patience, the dough takes a few days to ferment to be just right, and then the result is some really fucking good pizza. Does he think I'm pizza? My insides warm and I push the thought aside. I'm more like a Paula's Fast Feast burger—kind of disgusting.

"Thanks, but I'll be fine. I'll probably just lay by the pool for a bit and then take a nap or something like that," I say.

"The pool is fun! Do animals like to go swimming too?" Laila asks.

We spend the rest of breakfast chatting about animals, specifically what they like to do for fun and what they like to eat. The girls crack us up with their various impressions of hippos and cheetahs. My heart wants to burst out of my chest at how fun it is spending time with them and witnessing Marc being with his daughters like this. And when he speaks to them in Arabic...my heart gets ready to flatline. I don't know what the words he says means, but he's so fucking sexy—the living definition of Daddy.

After breakfast I help them clean up and then wish them fun on their adventure for the day. If I stayed around them any longer I would've said fuck it and joined them at the zoo. But I can't. Marc needs this time alone with his daughters to realize he is capable. I am wise woman, after all.

I spend the rest of the morning fixing up my room and then call Louisa on her way to work to say a quick hello and to see if she received the order of groceries I sent her. I don't fill her in on the whole weird, confusing, all-over-the-place feelings bubbling up for Marc thing, because let's face it, she'll just tell me to shove it all back down my throat. I've decided it's really just a crush. Just a small, teeny, big, humongous crush on my boss who is a thousand percent out of my league.

Around noon I grab a quick bite before putting on my swimsuit and then heading for the pool. This property is truly stunning with the sun spotlighting it high overhead, the green grass glistening (shoutout to Marc's gardener Gio), and the birds fluttering around from tree to tree.

After I apply sunscreen all over my body, I lie down on the cushioned sun lounger. If I do manage to get a tan today, this bikini will make a weird crisscross shape on my chest. No one's home until late tonight...Without another thought I strip off my red bikini top and throw it on the ground next to the pool. My nipples peak toward the sun as a gentle breeze cools down the UV rays against my skin.

Everything is so calm around me, the sounds of the trees rustling and birds chirping are like white noise. It's so peaceful that a sense of guilt tears through my chest. Right now Noah is sitting in a prison cell fending for his life and I'm just here, laying out by a pool you only could dream about. Is my brother disappointed in me that it's taking so long to get the money for a new lawyer? Maybe I should talk to Marc about his case after all? Marc doesn't really seem like the money hungry type. Would there be anything he could do to help? It could be helpful to get his advice.

As my mind turns around and around, it isn't long until I drift off to sleep, being lulled by the sounds of nature and water around me.