Those Three Words

by Alexis Winter

She lets out another nervous laugh that wrinkles her nose and it’s fucking adorable. Nope. Get that thought out of your head.

“Oh, and Miss Silver.” He turns back to face me, slowly pulling his hand out of his pocket and rubbing his chin with an almost undetectable wink. “Let’s keep the orgies to a minimum.”

Now that picture is a masterpiece I’d hang in my office. The art museum can have your painting. ;)

“You’re staring,” she says just above a whisper without looking at me. “Does it bother you?” “No,” she replies, then turns to look at me. “Why are you staring?” I’m surprised at her confidence; I think she is too. I smirk and turn my attention to fidget with my cuff link, something I do when I’m nervous. “It’s our first date, Miss Silver, and I’d like to remain a gentleman this evening so if you don’t mind, I’ll keep that answer to myself.”

It’s great catching up, but it makes me miss teaching. I haven’t allowed myself to go down that rabbit hole since I got fired and became a nanny. For one, I can’t imagine leaving Eleanor behind, and two, I don’t want to be apart from Graham either.

Holy shit… Mr. Graham Hayes totally has a crush on me and I know his secret.

“But I can’t stop and now that I’ve had you, Margot, now that I’ve tasted you, felt your body against mine, filled you so completely—there’s nothing that will stop me. Nothing will stop me from making you mine.”

I feel my walls coming down slowly. I crave time with Eleanor. I’m sad for all the dinners and bedtimes I missed in the last few years because I was scared of seeing her mother when I looked at her. It still stings but I can’t hide from my future anymore because of my past.

“Promise me something?” “Of course.” “Never doubt how much you mean to me.”

“This is Margot Silver, my girlfriend.”

“Sweetheart, there’s no point in others liking you if you don’t like yourself.”

“Margot, please, I—I love you.” I stare at him, his eyes pleading with me but instead of elation, I feel nothing. “I’m in love with you,” he says again, this time just a whisper.

I want things with Graham to work out so badly. I want to stay here and live with him and Eleanor. Not as the nanny, but as his partner. His lover. His everything.

I—I hoped things would work out so differently with us. I had hoped you were my future, that you were Eleanor’s future.”

“I want to marry you. I want you to be my wife. I don’t want you to move out, unless it’s moving out of your room and into mine. I want us to both build a life together and memories with Eleanor.”

“You’re good for me. You remind me of the value in life and love. You make me a better man. I don’t say all this to pressure you or scare you. I’m not asking and I don’t need an answer. I’m just being honest. I love you, Margot Silver, with every fiber of my being.”

“Margot Roxanne Silver, I could spend a lifetime expressing to you how much you mean to me. How you made me believe in love again. How you helped to heal my heart. I would love more than anything for you to allow me to do just that, spend my life showing you how important you are to me and how much I love you. Will you marry me?”