Heartless (Chestnut Springs, #2)

by Elsie Silver

I figure out why she’s acting so horrified over me being a gentleman and picking up her . . . Panties.

Omg 😂

Who am I to say no? “Well then, fuck it. I’m in.”

I like Willa a lot already 💕

“Cade!” Summer starts in, oblivious to the death glare he’s pinning me with. “This is my best friend, Willa. Your new nanny.” “No,” is his only reply. “What do you mean, no

😂 oh this grumpy sunshine shit is going to be fun

“Cade is the panty guy?” “I’m not the panty guy,” he interjects, but Summer and I ignore him. “Yeah. And you said that any sane man would have thrown them out. So you know what that means.”

😂

thirty-eight

Age gap - 38 and 25

“Sounds like her loss, because you might be the coolest kid I’ve ever met.” She doesn’t use a sad voice, or a baby voice, she just talks to him like a normal human being.

And that’s how parents and all people in general should talk to children

The universe blessed me with two badass parents. Ones who would crawl through glass to get to me. I want to be that kind of mother one day. Fierce. Fearless.

All thick arms and broad chest and furrowed brow. Dirty boots. Muscular thighs. Cowboy porn with a frown.

😂

If nothing else, Willa Grant is a stunner. Too young for me. Too unpredictable for me. But a stunner all the same.

I heave the suitcase out just in time to watch them walk hand in hand into my house, and for some reason, I stop and watch. Unable to look away. Lots of people have walked through that front door. But somehow this feels different.

“Daddy Cade it is.”

Oh yes 🥵

But there’s no amount of money in the world you could pay me to stay here and be your punching bag all summer.”

So fucking glad she stands up for herself! Takes no shit!

“Beg.” “Pardon me?” “You heard me.” Her lips don’t even twitch. She’s not joking at all. “Beg.”

Stfu I’m living for this!!!!

“I have no doubt you will, Red.”

Calling her red!

“I applied for that job.” She sniffs again as she straightens. “Yeah, and my daddy said he’d rather roll around in the manure pile than hire you.”

Omg this kid 😂

I love cooking dinner; it’s how I unwind at the end of the day. It’s when I get to spend time with Luke.

A man who love to cook. Stfu

She was stomping around with her hands folded up in front of her like those tiny T. rex arms. She looked insane and carefree. And fucking beautiful.

God I love this 😂

This kid is going to be the death of me. And so is his goddamn nanny.

The gentle sound of water sloshing tells me she’s crawling in.

Omg a mother fucking hot tub scene! Yessss!

“Okay. My mom is a sex therapist.” She has to be kidding me. “And my dad is the lead singer for Full Stop.”

Her parents are dope

I’m not playful, I’m responsible. That’s all I’ve ever been allowed to be. That’s what my family has needed me to be.

🥺

“Well, you know. Boys will be b—” “No,” I cut him off. Because that saying is straight trash, and years of bartending have given me plenty of time to see boys being boys. Which really is just boys being shitheads. “Boys will be gentlemen.” I point my fork at the big army Ken doll sitting across from me.

Yes queen! 👏

Today I got to tidying up around the property a bit. There were leaves everywhere, so I gave the yard a good blow job.” Cade’s eyes widen. Comically wide. Playfully wide. And I can’t help the hysterical little giggle that bubbles up out of me. I slap a hand over my mouth to cover it.

Once again I love the dad!

There are tears in his eyes, and I’m sure he’s smiling—he has to be—but he has a fist held up over his mouth.

Aww why is he hiding his laughter 🥺

“Eaton. You grumpy motherfucker. You just laughed,” I blurt. “Yeah, Red. I did.”

And I feel like I want all her smiles for myself. How hard would it be to smile more, to laugh more, if it made her look this happy?

And so the obsession begins with a smile 💕

“Daddy Cade, you’re a whole lot prettier when you smile.”

I like Lance. He’s a good guy, and he’s charming as all get out, but I don’t like him charming my nanny.

Possessive shit 👏

“The joke’s on you though. I wouldn’t last ten minutes and just because you’d be quiet doesn’t mean I would be.”

Omg he did not just say that 🙈

I worry I’ll leave him the way our mom left us. Suddenly. Tragically. Now I don’t feel like being out at all. I want to be home,

He’s got some anxiety to work through

School is always there if I want to go back. But I’m a firm believer that learning doesn’t always happen in the classroom.”

She’s so cool 👏

As if a stunner like her wants to spend her Friday nights with a washed-up single dad, cleaning up the mess a kid and his grandfather made.

Ummmm I think she does 💕

My lids fall shut as reality comes crashing back in. It doesn’t matter how good her hands feel on my body. The divide between us is too much. It’s too wide. She’s out of my league, and I’d be an asshole to drag her down into mine.

Damn he’s got some low self esteem

“We all need to do something frivolous sometimes. Even you.”

employee and employer.

Feeding the people I care about is how I tell them I care without having to say it out loud. Because saying it out loud makes it a little too real for me.

Ugh he’s a secret softie 💕

I feel alarmingly . . . at ease.

So same with the first book, I like the story, there’s just very low stakes so it’s not necessarily exciting?

How can a single person not like Willa Grant? She’s fucking enchanting.

💕

Cade is the embodiment of actions speaking louder than words.

My dad often joked that none of the money was mine. It was his, and he wasn’t going to spoil me with it. Both my parents value a good work ethic.

👏

I just turn away and smile to myself, because Cade is seething. It’s almost like he’s jealous. And I think I like that.

“Fine.” Willa smiles but it’s a scary smile. And then, with one well-placed hip check, the birthday boy goes flying into the water.

Holy shit she throws a kid into the pool for picking on luke 💕

Willa might be a bit of a psycho—after all, she did just push a child into the pool—but the more time I spend with her, the more I feel like she’s my psycho.

Fucking love 👏

With a wink over her shoulder, she shoots off, running from me. And something primal in me roars to life. I chase her.

Omg if this guy actually has a primal kink 🥵

I blink at her, frantically explaining herself like she’s in trouble with me when she’s not. The only people in trouble are the assholes who picked on her. I don’t care if it’s been a decade. I want names and addresses so I can set them straight.

So damn protective

It’s been years since I’ve been touched like this, and my chest cracks open at the feel. The contact. The closeness. The intimacy. Hands sliding up over my chest, pressing up over my neck before gripping either side of my skull. Dainty fingertips behind my ears.

Just a kiss. Poor guy

Heat shoots through my groin, and I bite back any sign of what just happened. Willa is clueless, still soft and desperate in my hands.

Omg did he just come in his pants??? 🙈😅

I know he’s not my kid, but he feels like mine in some little way.

🥹💕

There’s a part of me that gets off on it.

Oh no, we’re saying this again. Hopefully not a lot

“What are you doing?” I grumble as I wipe at my watery eyes, no doubt smudged with mascara. “Taking care of you,” he replies without even looking my way.

Awww love a man that takes care of his sick woman 💕