Professor Astor (Off-Limits)

“Is it true you were named after a princess?” Colton asks Leia. “One of my Fortnite friends says you are.”

I lean back against the kitchen counter, realization dawning. “No way,” I mutter. “Tell me you weren’t named after Princess Leia?”

She looks up at me for a moment before looking away again. That’s the first time she’s even looked at me today at all. “I was. My father is a huge Star Wars fan. Honestly, I don’t even know how my mother let him get away with it. I strongly suspect they initially decided on another name, and when my dad went to register me, he just put down whatever he wanted.”

I chuckle, but she doesn’t laugh with me. Instead, she turns to Colton. She’s been avoiding me since I got home tonight, and I don’t know what to make of it. When I came home yesterday, I wanted to explain to her that what she saw in The Herald wasn’t what it looked like, but she didn’t seem interested in listening at all. I shouldn’t have provoked her by asking her to watch the kids tonight, but just once, I wanted to see her lose her cool over me. I expected her to question me, or to at least give me any indication that she’s jealous, but she gave me nothing.

“Princess Leia isn’t a real princess, Colt. She’s a fictional character,” she says.

“Fictional characters feel real, though,” Lucy murmurs, looking up from her book. I wonder if Leia notices that Lucy has really warmed up to her. She used to read in her room, but now she’ll read wherever Leia is, moving along with her from the sofa to the kitchen, and so forth. She still doesn’t speak much, but I’m happy with the progress I’m seeing. In just a few weeks, these two have become closer than I expected them to be.

“Yeah, you’re right. Who is your favorite princess?”

“Belle,” she says dreamily. “I want her library.”

Leia smiles then, her first real smile tonight. “Me too, Lucy. When I was growing up, one of my biggest wishes was to have that library. I’ll take you to the college library someday soon, because it’s the closest thing to it that I know of. Would you like that?”

Lucy lights up, but all she does is shrug. “I guess.”

Leia looks a little defeated, and it takes all of me to keep my mouth shut. I want to tell her not to be discouraged, but I’ve decided that I won’t interfere in the relationship between Leia and Lucy. It’s something special, whether either of them realises it or not.

“Who is your favorite princess?” I ask Leia.

She looks at me, a hint of annoyance in her eyes. “I’m not sure,” she says, looking away.

She’s been standoffish with me, and while it isn’t the jealousy I was expecting, it’s something at least.

I straighten my t-shirt and smile at Lucy. “How do I look?” I ask her, provoking Leia further.

Leia’s eyes run over my body, seemingly dispassionate, but I see the anger she tries to hide.

“You look cute, Dad.”

“Cute? Is that good or bad?”

The look Lucy throws me is one that can only be described as pitiful. “It’s… fine. You look fine.”

“What do you think?” I ask Leia.

Leia glances at Lucy before turning back to me and nodding. “I agree. You look cute.”

These two women… they’re conspiring against me.

Leia grabs the papers she was grading at the breakfast bar and straightens them, keeping her hands busy. I noticed that’s something she does when she’s restless, but despite those thoughts going through her mind, she won’t ask me where I’m going tonight. I wish she would.

“I think you look great, Dad. Is Uncle Silas bringing one of his cool cars? Do you think he’ll take me for a ride around the block before you leave?”

Leia freezes, her eyes slowly moving toward me, and I smirk at the relief I see in her eyes.

“I don’t know, buddy. If you ask him nicely, he’ll probably let you.”

“Cool,” he says. “Take some pics for me, Leia. My friends will lose it. I should ask him to drive me to school one day.”

I shake my head. Does this kid not realize that we’re just as rich as my best friend is? The only reason we don’t have supercars is because they aren’t safe enough.

Colton jumps up and makes a run for it when the doorbell rings, and before long, I hear Silas’s voice behind me. “I’ll see you later,” I tell Leia. “Once the kids are in bed, you’re welcome to use any of the guest rooms and catch an early night too. I’m not sure what time I’ll be back.”

She nods, still looking flustered. “Have fun with your friend,” she says hesitantly, and I nod, an indulgent smile on my face.

It’s almost impossible to get Colton out of Silas’s Ferrari, but eventually, we make it to the bar right outside his building. Colt doesn’t know it, but the only reason Silas came to pick me up at all was so my son could mess around with his car for a bit. Silas is like that. Quiet, but with a heart of gold.

“That’s her, isn’t it? Your nanny? She’s the girl you were obsessing over,” he says the moment we sit down.

“How did you know?” I ask, but then I shake my head. Reading people is what Silas does. He runs the best and most expensive private security firm in this State. He probably knows exactly who Leia is. Hell, he probably knew the moment I hired her. He’s always quietly looked out for my family and me.

“What are you going to do? You let her get away once, are you going to let her slip away again?”

“Damn, Silas. Buy me a fucking drink first, man. What’s with the interrogation?”

He leans against the bar and smirks at me. “Someone has to ask you these questions, Thor. No one will do it but me. I always knew Alice wasn’t for you. You never lost your mind over her, the way you did over Leia.”

It’s true. “She’s one of my PhD students and she’s my children’s nanny. She’s also Amara’s best friend. She’s as fucking off-limits as it gets.”

Silas nods. “But she won’t always be. Someday soon, she’ll graduate. If the kids love her, then why wouldn’t they love her as a stepmom too? Besides, let’s be real, if you tell Amara you’re making her best friend family, she’ll be your biggest cheerleader.”

“Fucking hell, Silas.” This is the reason I’ve been dreading seeing him. He has this way of instilling hope in me that I have no business having. I know his words will be resounding through my mind for weeks to come. Would Leia wait for me? She’s still a few months away from finishing her PhD. Would she want to be with me after she graduates? And if she does, will the kids be okay with it? Perhaps, by then, they’ll have grown accustomed to having her in their lives.

It’s hard to push down the joy the mental picture brings me, but I know I’m being unrealistic. While it’d be an ideal situation from my perspective, chances of Leia wanting to be involved with me are pretty slim. My night with her was filled with dreams of her own family, of a love that grew through the years. She wants to experience every step, starting with dating, moving into an engagement and at last, a wedding and everything that comes with that. If she were to be with me, she’d be forced to skip most steps, ending up with a family before she’s even ready.

“I found her, you know. I found Alanna.”

I turn toward Silas, my eyes wide. Other than Alice, he’s the only person I ever told about Leia, and the only reason I felt comfortable doing so is because his story is somewhat similar to mine.

“How? Where?”

He looks away. “You won’t fucking believe this, man. She was dating my asshole little brother.”

I tense, my heart sinking. Silas’s relationship with his half-brother has always been rocky, but this… “Did he target her intentionally?”

He looks at me and shakes his head. “I haven’t found any evidence of it, but I have my suspicions.”

Fuck. “If she’s dating your brother…”

“Was,” he corrects me. “Do you really think something like that would stop me? It’s Alanna.”

I chuckle and shake my head. “Right.”

“It gets worse, though,” he tells me.

I raise my brows in question. “She applied for a job at my firm, and I hired her.”

I chuckle, laughing at his expense. “You’re fucking kidding me.”

“Nah man. Not only did she date my brother, she’s my damn employee too.”

“We’re both fucked.”

Silas nods. “Indeed, we are.”