Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 92417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
“You’re lucky. I wish I had one little sister.” Veronica sighed and focused her attention out over the bay again before tilting her face to the sun. “It’s so beautiful here.”
I admired the curve of her throat. “Then stay for the summer.”
“I’m not sure I should, Austin.”
“Why not? Did you get a better offer since I last saw you?”
“No,” she admitted. “But I don’t want to be where I’m not wanted.”
“You’re wanted here. Jesus, everyone you’ve met adores you—my kids, my siblings, even crusty old Larry.”
She paused, looking at me sideways. “What about you? Do you like me?”
“Yes. As a friend.”
Her brows peeked over the tops of her sunglasses. “A friend, huh?”
“Yes, Veronica. If you stay, we’ll be friends.”
“My friends call me Roni.”
“Roni.” I took a deep breath and counted to five. This woman could test the patience of a monk. “Will you take the job?”
“I’m considering it. But maybe I should ask you some questions first.”
I ran a hand over my jaw and glanced back at the kids—they were right where I’d left them, licking their fingers. “Like what?”
“Do you have a criminal record?”
“No.”
“Are you going to make me use a chore chart?”
“Maybe.”
“Will you fire me if I serve fried bologna sandwiches every night?”
“Definitely.”
“Good to know.” She nodded succinctly. “I accept your offer. Of employment and friendship.”
“Thank you,” I said, although I wasn’t sure why I should thank her when it was me doing something for her. “We can go over your duties, the schedule, and payment when we get back to the house.”
“Deal.”
I stood up, then offered her a hand, which she accepted, although she was remarkably sure-footed as she made her way over the rocks.
“Mabel offered you the use of her car for the summer,” I said when I reached the grass where she waited for me.
“Oh, that’s so sweet.” We began walking toward the tree where the kids were scrambling to their feet.
“And we should get you a new phone number right away. I need to be able to contact you. And set up a bank account.”
“Okay.” Veronica waved at the kids, who came running over.
“I found you first!” Owen yelled happily. He had chocolate all over his mouth.
“I’m so glad you did.” She ruffled his hair, then pulled a package of wipes from her bag and gave him one. “Here. You’ve got a fudge beard and mustache going.”
“Do I look like my dad?”
She laughed. “Exactly like him.”
“Are you going to be the new nanny?” Adelaide asked.
“Yes.” She stood tall and saluted. “Roni Sutton, nanny, reporting for duty.”
“Dad, can we show Roni the lighthouse?” Owen asked as he wiped his mouth and chin.
“Okay, but not the inside tour.” I checked my watch. “I promised your Uncle Xander I’d help him out with something this afternoon.”
“But the inside tour is the best,” Adelaide whined. “You get to see where the keeper lived, the bedrooms and kitchen and everything. And you get to climb the stairs and look out from the top!”
“I know, but we have to get Veronica a new phone, and it’s already—”
“Come on, Daddy, don’t be a stick in the mud.” My daughter turned to Veronica and said, “That’s what Aunt Mabel calls him when he doesn’t want to do something fun.”
“Or a party pooper.” Owen giggled at saying one of his favorite words. “We call him that a lot too.”
“He can’t be that bad,” said Veronica, winking at me. “I bet he’s fun when he wants to be.”
They took her by the hands and pulled her in the direction of the lighthouse, leaving me standing there wondering if I’d just made the best decision ever or the biggest mistake of my life.
TEN
veronica
“I’m so confused,” Morgan said. “I thought you didn’t get the nanny job.”
“I didn’t. Not at first.” I’d called her from my new phone number while I was unpacking my bags at my cozy new apartment. It was small—just over four hundred square feet, Austin said—and it didn’t even have a kitchen, just a sink and a refrigerator tucked beneath a square of counter space, but it was perfect for me. I’d spent the last year living in a gorgeous penthouse apartment with a view of Lake Michigan, the Magnificent Mile at my feet, and I’d been miserable. “The guy, Austin, changed his mind.”
“Why?”
“I’m not entirely sure,” I said, shoving some underwear in a drawer.
“Did you blow him or something?” She laughed at her joke.
“It didn’t get that far.”
She gasped. “I was kidding! You messed around with the guy?”
“Calm down, it was just a kiss.” I sat on the side of the bed and looked out the window that faced the house. My eyes lingered on the chairs by the fire pit.
“You kissed him?”
“Just once. Well, twice. But the second time, he kissed me.”
“Holy shit! So there’s something going on between you guys?”
“No, no—it was just a moment of insanity last night. We both agreed that boundaries need to be in place now that I work for him.”