Saturday, November 7, 2015
I woke up to light rays of sunshine streaming through the window panes. It's then I realized I wasn't at home, I was at Luke's house. Part of being a nanny meant staying in his home. Luke had showed me the guest room and I was pleasantly surprised by how roomy and homey it felt. I sat up in bed and stretched. Swinging my legs over the edge of the bed, I got up and began to get ready. I put on jeans with a thick leather belt, a long sleeve white sweater, and my knee high boots which had buckles on the top. I did my hair and makeup in the bathroom attached to my room which I thought was very convenient.
As I walked out into the hallway, I turned the corner only to run into Luke. Shirtless Luke at that. Luke grabbed my arms to stop me from colliding into him. I slightly blushed and laughed.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there."
Luke smirked. "It's quite alright darlin'. No harm was done."
I just nodded and quickly went downstairs to prepare breakfast. The image of Luke shirtless just kept circling in my mind. Yah, I know he's my boss and nothing could ever come from this... But man was that guy damn attractive. Any girl would agree. I just shook my head and dished waffles up onto each individual plate I had set up on the island countertop.
"Bo, Tate, please turn off Mickey Mouse and come eat. Tell your cousin to get in here too." I said.
I sighed and set my spatula down. "Please come on. Your food is getting cold."
They all just ignored me, their eyes glued to the animated mouse on the tv screen. Honestly, I can see why Leah said they were a handful. They never seemed to listen and always did about things as they pleased. Well, that was going to change wether they liked it or not and soon.
"I said get in here now and I mean it. Do I need to ground y'all?" I asked sternfully.
Til stopped scrolling and looked up from his phone. "Psh, you can't ground us."
Just then Luke came downstairs and crossed his arms. "Oh yes she can. She has the right to do basically anything I can do, including grounding you. Caroline is an adult and you will treat her with the respect she deserves. Now, get your butts up, shut the tv off, and come eat."
They stared at him, baffled.
"Now!" He yelled.
With that the boys scrambled to their feet. Bo shut the TV off and they all filed over to the island, pulling out their stools and sat down. I've never seen three kids devour a plate of waffles so quickly in my life.
As the kids tottled off to go do their chores, I began to clean up and do the dishes. I saw Luke come up beside me and grab a dish towel. He started to dry the dripping wet dishes I had just rinsed. We sat in silence cleaning the dishes.
"I'm sorry." Luke said.
"For what?" I asked, a little confused.
"For the kids acting up and giving you problems. Caroline, you're a sweet person and deserve to be treated with respect." He stated matter-of-factly.
I chuckled slightly. "You don't have to be sorry, it's not your fault. They'll come around."
Luke nodded. He placed the last dish on the drying rack and leaned against the counter, crossing his arms. He seemed to just stare off into space.
He cleared his throat before speaking. "Honestly, it's been like this ever since Chelsea died. Bo and Tate just went off the deep end it seems like. They were both Momma's boys. Sure they loved me, loved fishing with me and muddin'... but man did they love their mother." He inhaled sharply. "She was a heck of a woman, let me tell you. A strong fighter up until the last breath she took. I just feel like ever since I lost her, I lost a part of me, ya know? And I haven't really been there for the boys so it's basically my fault how they are now..."
A tear slipped from his eye and my heart kind of broke in two for him. I didn't know this guy very well but I could definitely tell it was not his fault.
"Luke, look at me." I said. He did. "I haven't known you but for basically two days but I can tell you one thing truthfully, you're not a bad father and it's not your fault whatsoever. If anything, they're all still grieving and just doing it in this way."
Luke smiled. "You have no idea how bad I've been needing to hear something like that."
I shrugged. "Just doing my job, Mr. Bryan."
"Call me Luke."
"Okay, Luke, I'm just doin' my job." I smiled.
He smirked and it was quiet for a moment. Luke spoke up after a minute. "Hey all of the kids are going to their MeMaw's later and I'm not doing anything so I was wondering if you'd like to head into Nashville with me. Just to like walk around."
I honestly didn't know what to say.
"I mean if you want to. You don't have to." Luke added quickly.
I smiled. "You know what, that sounds nice. I could use some time away. Nashville is beautiful."
"Uh, great. Sounds great." He smiled.
And the butterflies swarming in my stomach smiled too.
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We dropped the children off at Luke's ex mother-in-law's I guess you could call it before we headed towards Nashville. It was about 7:00 pm. The ride there was silent, a little awkward, but okay. As we were nearing the city Luke began to quietly sing. And he was very good. Like amazing.
"You're a really good singer." I commented.
"Huh?" Luke glanced at me. "Oh, you could hear that?"
"Yah, it was lovely."
He chuckled. "Thank you."
It was then that it hit me. His voice sounded awfully familiar. Almost like Luke Br.... no way. I quickly pulled out my phone and Google searched Luke Bryan. I had heard him on the radio before but I didn't know what he looked like. I opened a picture and my jaw dropped. I was the Luke Bryan's nanny..
"You're Luke Bryan." I said quietly.
Luke shot me a confused glance. "Well yah. What do you mean?"
"Like you're the Luke Bryan."
"You didn't know that?" He laughed.
I shook my head. "No, actually I didn't."
He laughed. "Well how's that make you feel? You've been living and socializing with a famous person and you didn't even know it."
I sat back in my seat and looked out the window. "Honestly," I said quietly. "I don't feel any different. You've made me feel so welcome that I wouldn't even be able change how I feel knowing you're rich and famous."
I turned and looked at Luke who had a soft smile on his face.
"You surprise me, Boyer."
"You surprise me, Bryan."
He just shook his head and continued driving. We stayed silent the rest of the way.
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Luke parked his truck and we both hopped out and into the world of downtown Nashville. We walked in silence, passing places like Jack's Barbecue, The Stage, and Big Time Boots. Eventually we came upon a bench and took a seat. The lighting from the big, neon signs lit up the night. I was in awe from this city.
"So," Luke said. "Where are you from?"
I looked away from my surroundings and turned to Luke. "Sandersville, Georgia. How about yourself?"
Luke lit up. "You don't say! That's only three hours away from me. I'm from Leesburg!"
I laughed. "Wow, what a coincidence."
"Where'd you go to college?" He asked.
"Georgia Southern."
Luke shook his head and his eyes got wide. "That's where I went too!"
I laughed. "This is very odd. Where'd you like to hang out when you were in college?"
"Well I'd usually stick around this bar called Dingus Magee's because my buddy named Carter and I would play gigs there." Luke said.
My head spun, trying to remember hearing about that bar before. Oh my goodness, no way. Could Luke be that nameless guy in the photo I have. I reached for my purse and began to frantically dig around for my wallet.
"What are you looking for?" Luke asked curiously.
"You'll see."
I pulled out my wallet an began flipping through a few old photos I kept before my eyes landed on it. It was a picture of myself, my college dorm mate Cady, and two guys. I held the picture up to Luke.
"Is one of those guys you?" I asked hectically, pointing towards the guys smiling in the picture.
Luke took the photograph from my hands and glanced over it. He slowly looked up.
"There's no way... your name's Caroline?"
I was confused, very very confused. "Well, yah you know that. Is that you?"
He nodded. "Yah, that's me. Caroline, I've been waiting 19 years to figure your name out. How crazy is it that we're just now meeting again. I thought you were so pretty but never had the chance to catch your name. I was too shy."
I was baffled. "You thought I was pretty?"
Luke nodded. "You took my breath away that night. And I mean, you're still pretty." He chuckled.
I blushed. "Thanks."
I quickly looked away, feeling that familiar flutter in my stomach. I had to remind myself I was his nanny, nothing could come of this.
I shivered. "Brr, it's getting chilly out. It probably would have been smart to bring a heavier jacket." I giggled.
Luke scooted closer. "Here."
He took his coat off and draped it over my shoulders. I could smell the lingering scent of his cologne on the jacket, wafting towards my nose, intoxicating oh was that smell. I felt my cheeks burn red and I looked down at my hands.
"No, no, you don't have to do that I'm okay." I said hastily.
Luke smiled. "It's fine, have it. I'm just being a gentleman."
I smiled back, trying to fight that urge conjuring up in my stomach. Yet, I couldn't quite seem to stop the butterflies from fluttering, but I didn't care at this point.
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