Page 80 of Marrying the Nanny

“Someday, these are going to be the good ol’ days,” she mused.

“I’ll take your word for it.” Reid set a hand on her hip. “Date?”

“Sounds fun. Thank you.”

“Come to the office when you get back from your hike. I’ll cut out early.” He leaned down and dropped a friendly kiss on her lips as he left.

She touched her mouth, pretty sure she could get used to that.

*

Three hours later, she and Trystan had arrived on the far side of the island where whiskey smugglers had once stashed their booty. He was on his back on a foil blanket, head resting on his crooked arm. Storm sat nestled in the pit between his rib cage and his biceps. She was supposed to be eating her lunch, but she was more interested in twisting around to see the apple that Trystan was eating.

“Let’s have it,” Emma said, swooping the spoon into Storm’s mouth.

“You and Reid?” He always knew exactly what was going on. “I was surprised, but you wouldn’t do it if you didn’t want to.”

“He says, as he drags me on walkabout.”

“I thought you like our hikes.”

“I do. I genuinely do.” She hid her touched grin at the hint of injury in his tone. “I never would have had the confidence to be on my own on a trail like this, but now I feel like I wouldn’t completely panic if I lost sight of you. I don’t want that to happen, but it feels good to know what to do if it did.”

“Kind of how I feel about an unplanned pregnancy. I don’t want it to happen, but I’d have some idea what to do if I accidentally became a father. Wouldn’t I, kid?” He turned his head from Storm’s attempt to get her fingers into his mouth.

Storm grabbed his ear and tried to pull herself onto his chest.

“So we’re not eating?” Emma said, catching her back onto her bottom and offering the spoon.

Storm wasn’t interested and went right back to climbing Mount Trystan.

“Maybe we should film while she’s happy and awake,” Trystan said.

“That’s why you wanted me to come, you shameless ham. It’s not my company, but my ability to wrangle a baby while you wrangle a camera.”

“You got me.” He finished his sandwich and picked up Storm, holding her in the air above him, doing a few presses with her that made her chortle. “But this is a fresh approach to something that was growing stale. I started out wanting to help people learn real skills. The ratings gods pushed me into things that sane people don’t do. I’m happy to get back to simple, sensible tips for staying alive.”

“That’s why I like coming with you. It helps me remember what really matters. I’m conscious of what I need versus what I want. It’s grounding.”

“And that’s why you’re allowed to come with me. You understand that. Also, you ask questions the viewer probably wants to ask. Smart, practical questions that I answer in real time.”

“You told me the first time we came out that you preferred talking to a camera than a real person.”

“I do. But I’m realizing that relying on someone else is a survival skill, too. Especially when you’re this age.” He settled Storm on her tummy on his chest. “Showing you and I cooperating, dividing the work and listening to each other is a valid example of how to thrive in a difficult environment.”

“That’s why we’re here? To demonstrate the origin of human bonding?”

“Yup. Also, babies are great for ratings.”

She burst out laughing. “You are so shameless.”

“I never claimed to be otherwise.”

*

For the first time since going to Victoria, Emma considered putting on makeup, not that she had anything but dried-up mascara and a soft pink lip gloss. She settled on clean jeans and a top that hugged her breasts and reflected coral pink into her cheeks.

“How was your hike?” Reid asked as they perused the menu at the pub. “Trys had me and Logan sign a release for Storm to appear on camera. She gets a cut of profits that’ll go into a trust for her. Are you on camera, too?”

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