I jolted upright, the alarm clock on my phone blaring in my ear. It was the alarm I set to remind me to wake Declan and get him ready for the day.

Hitting the dismiss button on my phone, I wiped the sleep from my eyes and groggily got out of bed.

I don't know if I'll ever get used to Declan's schedule. I'm not a morning person, but apparently he and his father both are.

Based on the schedule Levi gave me, Declan wakes up at exactly six o'clock every morning, while he wakes up at three so he can go work out in his in-home gym before having to get Declan up and ready.

Padding across the carpeted floor, I open the door to my room and turn right to get to Declan's.

I'm about to open his door when a shirtless Levi coming up the steps all sweaty and beautiful catches my attention.

"Good morning, Laurel," he rasps, jogging towards me.

I had completely zoned out, too busy fucking him with my eyes to realize he was talking to me.

"Laurel? Are you okay?" He asks, while removing his airpods from his ears.

"Huh? Oh yeah." I pull myself out of a daze with a shake of my head and look up at him. "Sorry, I'm not much of a morning person." Which wasn't a lie, but it was better than admitting to having been checking him out.

"That's alright," he says with a light chuckle. "Would you like some coffee? I just made some."

"Yes, thank you."

He nodded, before making a u-turn and heading back the way he came. "I'll get you a cup."

Thanking him once more, I entered Declan's room. Approaching him, I gently rubbed his back and whispered, "Declan, it's time to wake up."

His eyes fluttered open, green eyes staring up at me. He smiled, his mouth full of baby teeth.

Everytime I look at him I shake my head in disbelief, because I just can't imagine how someone could ever be okay with abandoning their child.

Taking my hand, I led Declan over to his own personal bathroom across the hall just one door away from Levi's room.

He pulled himself up onto his step stool and yawned, waiting and watching patiently while I grabbed his toothpaste and toothbrush.

Twisting the cap of children's toothpaste off, I squeezed out a little paste onto the brush before wetting it under the water.

I gently grabbed Declan's face, the music on his Finding Nemo themed electric brush beginning to play.

When the music ended, I showed him how to gargle and spit into the sink. "Good job!" I praised, giving him a high five. He smiled wide, pleased with himself.

Since I already gave him his bath last night, I proceeded to grab a wash rag from out of the closet and clean his face with warm water.

After that, we returned to his room where I let him pick out which dinosaur shirt he wanted to wear. He ended up choosing and wearing a red shirt with a T-rex on it.

Heading downstairs, Declan jumped from the last step and raced towards his father. Levi smiled, his face lighting up as he picked up his son, swung him around in the air and kissed his cheek.

"Hi, buddy! Did you behave for Laurel?"

Declan nodded and started giggling when Levi flipped him upside down and tickled him. "Well in that case, I have a surprise for you."

He set Declan down onto the barstool and placed a plate of pancakes shaped like Mickey Mouse in front of him.

Declan squealed in delight just as his father brought out a can of whip cream and sprayed a mound of the fluffy white cream onto his pancakes. He topped it off with a drizzle of syrup, Declan digging in before he could even finish cutting it into smaller pieces.

Levi and I both laughed, watching the happy toddler stuff forkfuls of pancake into his mouth, chocolate and whipped cream smearing all over his mouth.

Walking over to me, Levi handed me the mug of freshly brewed coffee, butterflies fluttering in my stomach when his fingers lightly grazed my own.

"Thank you," I murmur before bringing the warm black mug up to my lips and taking a sip.

"Would you like some pancakes?"

"Sure." I sat down next to Declan, thanking Levi once more when he handed me a stack of pancakes. "Are you going to eat breakfast with us?" I asked, watching him ruffle Declan's hair and make his way back up the steps.

He paused, glancing back at me. "I have several meetings to attend today, so I'll just grab something on the way."

"Okay."

****

It would be an understatement to say I wasn't feeling a little disappointed that I wouldn't be seeing much of him to day.

I know I didn't take this job for him, but I really do enjoy having him around. Maybe a little more than is deemed appropriate.

"So which one's yours?" The lady beside me asked, snatching me from my inner thoughts.

I pointed to Declan, who was running around on the playground playing tag with a few other children similar to his age.

"He's adorable."

"Thank you. He's not actually mine. Though I wish he were. But I'm just his nanny."

The blonde haired woman pointed, picking out three of her own in the crowd of chaotic children. "Those little monsters are mine. And yes, I pushed all of their big headed asses out of my vagina." She smiled, seeming to enjoy watching them have the time of their lives.

Another mother, who was sitting at a different bench not far from us, gave her a nasty look, which she ignored.

"So you're a nanny, huh? What's that like?"

"I just started, but it's going great so far. His father has been raising him alone, so I'm just glad I can be there to help him out with Declan."

"He's a single dad?" Her lips curled up into a grin. "Is he hot?"

I don't know why I was getting so comfortable with a stranger I just met, but I ended up taking out my phone and showing her a picture.

"Damn!" She took the phone from my hands and narrowed her eyes at the picture. "He looks really familiar." She looked up at me, blues eyes filled with curiosity. "You're Levi Isaacs' nanny?"

I nodded, wondering where she was going with this. "Yeah, why?"

"Oh nothing." She handed me back my phone. "I just had a friend who used to work for his ex-wife Natalie. She poured coffee on her head once."

"What? Why would she do that?"

The woman shook her head. "Because she accidently burned her tongue, even though my friend warned her about the coffee being hot."

"Wow. She sounds like a real bitch."

"Oh she was. She treated her workers like shit. Only person she was ever really nice to was her husband. He didn't deserve what happened to him." She frowned, glancing out at the playground to Declan, who was laughing and smiling like the happiest child in the world. "Especially that beautiful boy."

I was truly amazed by Declan's strength. You wouldn't know half the shit he's been through because he's always just so happy.

"You're lucky you haven't met her. Because if you did, you would probably want to run her ass over with a car just as much as everyone else does."

I haven't even met the woman and I'm already wishing I could do just that. I really hope I never come across her, because who knows what I might do to her if that happens.