Falling For His Nanny [Book #1]

Chapter 31

Mr. and Mrs. Isaacs looked up from their menus, Levi immediately apologizing for our tardiness when he saw the disapproving look embedded in the faint wrinkles on his mother's face.

"I'm sorry mom and dad. We were uh-"

"Traffic," I cut in, coming up with a quick lie. "We were stuck in traffic."

Her gaze fell to our hands, then up to my face. I blushed, hating that I was lying to Mrs. Isaacs, but knowing it was better than telling her why we were really late.

"It's okay." She smiled before returning her gaze back to her son's. "You have a little..." She pointed to her mouth, rotating her finger in a circular motion. She giggled, her cheeks tinged pink and that's when I realized.

 Oh God. She knows. She definitely knows.

Levi turned to me and I cursed. My red lipstick was smeared all over his lips. Quickly wiping away the evidence of our time in the parking lot up against his car, I internally scolded myself. The dinner had barely begun and I had already found a way to screw it up.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Isaacs."

They both smiled and nodded, Mrs. Isaacs watching me closely with her serpent green eyes. Although beautiful, it was hard not to be a little intimidated by her. She was a stunning woman, her features making her look far younger than she actually was.

"Likewise. My son has told me so much about you." She smiled once more, minimizing some of the tension her intimidating nature gave off. "You're even more gorgeous than Levi described."

It was Levi's turn to blush.

Thanking Mrs. Isaacs, I grinned, finding the flustered look on his face adorable.

Clearing his throat, Levi pulled out my chair. Once we were both seated, I no longer felt nervous. In fact, besides being caught red handed in a lie, I felt surprisingly comfortable before them.

For the duration of the dinner, we laughed and joked with one another. And in the process, I learned so much about Levi. 

Despite him so clearly being embarrassed by the plethora of childhood stories told, Mrs. Isaacs proceeded to inform me of all of his adventures as a young child.

"This is a baby picture of Levi." She showed me the physical picture of Levi as a baby, his eyes just as bright as they are now. "Isn't he adorable?"

"Yes, he is. He and Declan are spitting images of each other." I pointed to the younger toddler in the background, wondering who he was. "Who's he?"

"Oh, that's Levi's older brother Mason."

Brother?

I looked over at Levi just as he tensed up at the mention of his older brother.  Even with his dark brown eyes, he and Levi shared many similarities with one another. Beaming, the young child known as Mason had his arms around Levi, happy to be in the picture with his brother.

"Where is he? Does he live here in California?"

Everyone grew silent, the despair on their faces telling me everything I needed to know. "I'm so sorry for your loss." I fell into a sort of gloom, the air once filled with laughter, now drowned in sorrow. "How did he...? If you don't mind me asking of course."

"No, no, it's fine." Mrs. Isaacs gave me a weak smile. "He died in a car accident when he was eighteen years old."

We all jumped, Levi unexpectedly slamming his hands down on the table. The wine in our glasses sloshed and the silverware on our half eaten plates clanked, the entire table vibrating as he abruptly stood to his feet and stormed away from the table.

Curious pairs of eyes floated our way and I sunk down into my chair. I started to get up to go after Levi, but his mother stopped me. "Give him some time. This is a sore subject for him."

"I'll go talk to him," his father offered, before stepping away from the table to console his grief stricken son.

I handed the picture back to Mrs. Isaacs, regretting having brought up such a painful topic. Mrs. Isaacs noticed. "It's not your fault, sweetheart. I'm the one who should've kept my mouth shut." 

She shook her head, tears brimming in her eyes. "Levi begged Mason not to street race anymore, as his actions always threw him in jail. But Mason being the thrill seeking daredevil that he was- insisted." She looked down at her frail hands, fiddling with the polyester napkin in front of her.

"He never told me he had a brother."

 "He's never told anyone. Not even Natalie knows."

"Really?"

She nodded. "Losing his brother was the first time he truly felt abandoned." My heart sank. I always thought Natalie was the cause of Levi's abandonment issues. But it seems his issues began way before Natalie even entered his life. "If it wasn't for Everett, I don't think Levi would have ever come out of the dark hole he fell into after Mason's death."

Silence lingered between us for a moment, before Mrs. Isaacs spoke again. "I'm glad you're in his life. You'll make a great wife and mother some day." She smiled and my cheeks pinkened.

Mrs. Isaacs and I were in the midst of conversation when Levi and his father returned. Taking their seats at the table, I noticed the way Levi's bent knee anxiously shook under the table. He looked away, trying to hide the fact that he had been crying.

Reaching under the table, I grabbed his thigh and his leg stopped shaking. Placing his hand over mine, he squeezed as he looked over at me and gave me a small smile.

Mrs. Isaacs' smile stretched. "You two are going to be just fine."