Sophia's alarm buzzed at 5:30 AM sharp, but she was already awake, staring at the ornate ceiling of her new bedroom in the Steele mansion's staff wing. The room was larger than her entire studio apartment, complete with an ensuite bathroom and a view of the mansion's perfectly manicured gardens. She'd spent most of the weekend moving her meager belongings and trying to mentally prepare for this moment.
Taking care of two grieving six-year-olds whose father was an emotionally unavailable workaholic? How hard could it be?
Famous last words.
At exactly 6 AM, Sophia knocked on the twins' bedroom doors. Emma's room was an explosion of pink and purple, while Ethan's was decorated in blues and greens, but both rooms looked like tornadoes had recently passed through. Clothes everywhere, toys scattered across expensive Persian rugs, and a suspicious smell coming from Ethan's closet.
"Good morning, Emma!" Sophia called cheerfully, pushing open the door to find an empty bed with covers thrown back.
A muffled giggle came from under the bed.
"Hmm, I wonder where Emma could be," Sophia mused aloud, pretending to look around the room. "I brought a special pancake mix for breakfast, but I guess I'll have to eat it all by myself."
"PANCAKES?" Emma's head popped out from under the bed, her dark hair sticking up in seventeen different directions. "Real pancakes? Not the frozen kind Mrs. Patterson always made?"
"Real pancakes with chocolate chips, if you can get dressed and brush your teeth in ten minutes."
Emma scrambled out from under the bed, wearing yesterday's school uniform and mismatched socks. "Can we put extra chocolate chips in them? And whipped cream? And maybe some sprinkles?"
"We can negotiate toppings after you put on clean clothes," Sophia laughed.
Getting Emma dressed was like negotiating a peace treaty. The six-year-old had strong opinions about everything from which socks matched ("They don't have to match, Sophia, that's boring!") to why school uniforms were "stupid and ugly" and why she absolutely needed to wear her tiara to breakfast because it was Monday and Mondays required extra sparkle.
Ethan proved to be an entirely different challenge.
"Ethan? Sweetheart, it's time to get ready for school," Sophia called, knocking on his door.
Silence.
She tried the handle. Locked.
"Ethan, I know you're in there. Emma told me about the pancakes, and I bet you don't want to miss out."
"Go away!" came the muffled response. "I'm not going to school today. Or tomorrow. Or ever."
Sophia sank down against his door, speaking to the wood. "Can you tell me why you don't want to go to school?"
"Because Tommy Peterson said my mom is never coming back and that's why Daddy doesn't love us anymore and all our nannies leave because we're bad kids!"
Sophia's heart clenched. Oh, sweet boy. She kept her voice gentle and calm. "Ethan, can you open the door so we can talk about this properly? I promise I'm not going anywhere."
"You promise?"
"I promise. The last nanny I worked for kept me for three whole years." It was a small lie, she'd been a part-time babysitter for a neighbor's child during college, but it seemed to work.
The lock clicked, and the door opened a crack. Ethan peered out with red-rimmed eyes, his pajamas wrinkled and his hair flat on one side from sleeping.
"Tommy Peterson sounds like he doesn't know what he's talking about," Sophia said seriously. "And I think he's wrong about everything. Can I come in and help you get ready while we figure out how to prove Tommy wrong?"
Twenty minutes later, both children were dressed, teeth brushed, and seated at the enormous kitchen island while Sophia worked her magic at the professional-grade stove. The kitchen was a monument to unused potential, every appliance looked like it had never been touched, and the refrigerator contained nothing but takeout containers, energy drinks, and what might have once been fruit.
"Where does your daddy eat breakfast?" Sophia asked, flipping pancakes.
"In his office," Emma said matter-of-factly. "With his computer."
"He drinks the black coffee and doesn't eat anything else," Ethan added. "Mrs. Patterson always said he was too busy for family breakfast."
Sophia glanced at the clock. 7:15 AM. Alexander would be leaving for his office soon, but maybe...
"How would you two feel about surprising Daddy with breakfast?"
Both twins perked up immediately.
"He won't like it," Emma said, but there was hope in her voice. "He doesn't like surprises."
"Well, maybe he just hasn't had the right kind of surprise yet."
Sophia loaded up a tray with fresh pancakes, coffee exactly as black as Alexander probably liked it, and orange juice. The twins bounced beside her as they made their way to Alexander's home office.
The door was closed, and she could hear Alexander's voice through the wood, he was on a phone call, speaking in rapid, clipped tones about quarterly projections and market analyses.
Emma started to knock, but Sophia caught her hand gently. "Let's wait until he's done with his call."
They waited in the hallway, the twins practically vibrating with excitement and nervous energy. When Alexander's voice finally went quiet, Sophia knocked.
"Come in."
She pushed open the door to find Alexander exactly where she'd expected him, behind his massive desk, already dressed in what looked like another perfectly tailored suit, his laptop open and his attention focused on the screen.
"Mr. Steele? The children wanted to bring you breakfast."
Alexander looked up, startled, his gray eyes moving from Sophia to the loaded tray to his children, who were hanging back behind her like they expected to be dismissed immediately.
"I don't eat breakfast," he said automatically.
"Daddy, Sophia made pancakes!" Emma burst out, unable to contain herself any longer. "With chocolate chips! And she said you might want to try them!"
"We helped," Ethan added quietly. "I stirred the batter."
For a moment, something flickered across Alexander's face- surprise, maybe even pleasure, but it was gone so quickly Sophia almost missed it.
"That's... thoughtful. But I have a conference call in ten minutes."
Sophia watched his children's faces fall and felt something fierce rise in her chest. "The conference call can wait ten minutes for you to eat with your children."
Alexander's eyes snapped to hers, dangerous and cold. "Excuse me?"
"Your children made you breakfast. They're proud of it. They want to share it with their father." Sophia kept her voice calm but firm. "Ten minutes won't destroy your empire, Mr. Steele."
The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife. Emma and Ethan looked between their father and their new nanny like they were watching a tennis match that might end in explosions.
Alexander stared at her for a long moment, and Sophia wondered if she'd just gotten herself fired on her first official day. Then, slowly, he closed his laptop.
"Ten minutes," he said quietly.
The twins erupted in cheers, climbing into the oversized chairs across from their father's desk while Sophia set out plates and forks. She poured Alexander's coffee and couldn't help but notice how his fingers brushed against hers as he took the mug. The contact was brief, accidental, but it sent an unexpected jolt of electricity up her arm.
Alexander noticed too. His eyes met hers for just a moment, and something passed between them, acknowledgment, maybe, of the complicated dynamic they were navigating.
"These are really good," Alexander said after taking a bite of pancake. It was the first time Sophia had heard genuine warmth in his voice.
"Sophia let me put extra chocolate chips in mine," Emma announced, syrup already coating her chin. "And she said we can make French toast tomorrow if we're good at school today."
"She also said she's going to teach us how to make cookies," Ethan added. "Real cookies, not the ones from the store."
Alexander looked at Sophia over his coffee mug. "You don't have to cook for us. Mrs. Henderson handles meals."
"Mrs. Henderson handles dinner," Sophia corrected gently. "The children need proper breakfast and lunch, and they need to learn basic life skills. Cooking together is good for them."
"And it's fun!" Emma declared. "Way more fun than cereal or toaster waffles."
Alexander finished his pancakes, the entire stack, Sophia noticed and actually smiled at his children. A real smile that transformed his entire face from coldly handsome to devastatingly attractive.
"These really are excellent," he said. "Thank you. Both of you."
Emma beamed like she'd won the lottery. Ethan actually giggled.
The moment was interrupted by Alexander's phone buzzing. His expression immediately shifted back to business mode as he glanced at the screen.
"Conference call," he said, standing. "You should get ready for school."
Just like that, the walls were back up. He kissed each twin on the forehead,a perfunctory gesture that still made them light up and was back behind his desk before they'd even left the room.
"See?" Emma whispered as they walked back to the kitchen. "He did like it."
"He ate all of it," Ethan added proudly.
Sophia smiled, but she was thinking about that moment when Alexander's fingers had brushed hers, and the way his smile had changed his entire face. This job was definitely going to be more complicated than she'd expected.
But watching Emma and Ethan chatter excitedly about their father eating breakfast with them, she realized it might also be more rewarding than she'd dared to hope.