Promise Me Forever
Layla Hagen
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Promise Me Forever
Copyright © 2021 Layla Hagen
Cover: Uplifting Designs
Photography: Wander Aguiar
Copyright ©2021 Layla Hagen
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, including electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Table of Contents
Copyright Page
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Epilogue
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Chapter One
Tate
"Can I go play with my puzzle? Pleaaaaase!" my nine-year-old daughter asked, batting her eyelashes.
“Sure, Paisley. And after we all finish breakfast, we’ll go out on the boat.”
“You’re the best daddy in the world.”
That made me smile, even though I definitely didn’t feel like Dad of the Year today.
Half my family was gathered in the living room of my Chicago home. My grandma Beatrice was sitting on the couch next to me. My brothers Declan and Tyler were scattered around the kitchen island, finishing off their breakfast.
I could tell by their expressions that they couldn’t wait to give me shit. I wondered who was going to start first.
To my astonishment, it was Gran.
As soon as my daughter was out of the room, she sighed, shaking her head. "I can't believe you scared off yet another nanny."
"I didn't scare anyone off," I replied smoothly. "She wasn’t right for the job."
"Yeah. Can't have anything to do with you being all demanding, right?" Declan asked with a smirk. As the oldest of six brothers, he didn’t miss a single opportunity to lecture us—or, as he liked to call it, advise us.
But I didn’t give him too much shit about it. At thirty-four, I was the third oldest, and even I’d done my fair share of lecturing as a kid. Mom always said we were her trusted generals when we were young. To this day, I wasn’t entirely sure if it was a compliment. She had a skewed sense of humor.
“No. It has everything to do with the fact that she was putting Paisley in front of the TV while she wasted time on social media, and I flat-out told her that was unacceptable.”
"Tate, I told you I'm always happy to look after her," Gran said.
I cleared my throat, looking straight at her. I knew she meant well, but Paisley was a handful. I needed to be subtle about this. "Gran, you don't have the energy to keep up with a nine-year-old every day."
"Young man, are you calling me old?" She glanced at Declan. "Did he just call me old?"
Declan grimaced. "Sort of, but he didn't mean to." Glaring at me, he cocked a brow. "You didn't, right?"
I shook my head. So much for being subtle. “Sorry, Gran.”
I had to find another nanny, and I had to do it fast. As a divorced single dad, I made it a point to be home for dinner every evening. I wanted to give my daughter some stability while her mom jet setted around the country. Nora and I married young, when I was fresh out of college. We divorced four years later, when Paisley was three and Nora decided she couldn’t be a model and a wife and mother. I tried to reason with her and even went to couple’s therapy. I gave it my best, right up until I found out she was sleeping with a photographer.
“I spoke to the agency, and they’re already looking for candidates.” I needed someone to look after Paisley full time now during summer vacation. When she was in school, it was different. But in the summer, she was home nonstop, except for the occasional camp outing or sleepover at a friend’s house.
As the CEO of Maxwell Wineries, one of the biggest companies in the industry, I spent the day in the office. I needed someone I could trust to spend that time with Paisley.
No matter how successful I was in business, I couldn't stop this sinking feeling that I wasn’t a good father. I couldn’t give her the happy family life I’d had growing up, or even keep a nanny around for too long. But I was going to be very careful with the one I chose this time.
“What kind of candidates did you tell them to look for?” Gran asked.
"I told the agency it's important for them to send someone who is experienced, likes children, and isn't taking this job because they couldn't find anything else to do. I need someone who wants to do this for a living, not as a temporary job until they find something better. Paisley needs stability in her life, and it’s my responsibility to give her that."
“Tate, she has all of us. That’s more than enough,” Gran said. “It's not your fault her mother left."
I stood up, pacing my enormous living room and looking out the window. I’d bought the house in the Lincoln Park neighborhood right after the divorce, wanting to give Paisley as much space as possible while still staying in the city and not moving to a suburb. It was far too big for the two of us.
“I don’t want to get into that today,” I said. The divorce wasn’t my fault, but that didn’t mean I liked the outcome. Nora wasn’t a big part of Paisley’s life. She’d been happy that I wanted full custody. She called her every few weeks and visited on Paisley’s birthday. Once a year, they went on a vacation together for a week. Last time Nora took her to a spa hotel. Paisley wasn’t impressed.
This train of thought wasn't going to do me any good. I needed to focus on finding the best nanny for Paisley. My parents would be back from their vacation at the end of next month, but they couldn’t watch her nonstop either.
“Well, I’d offer to help you decide on a candidate, but that’s not my area of expertise,” Tyler said with a lazy smile. “I can, however, help you get that stick out of your ass. You’re looking tense, brother. I don’t think you’ll impress any candidates like that.”
“It’s the other way round. They have to impress me.”
Declan cocked a brow. “Yeah, no. I’m with Tyler on this one. No one’s gonna want to work for you if you scare them away.”
I groaned, pacing the living room some more. “Back off, both of you. I don’t need your advice.”