Page 28 of Keepsake

Alvaro stretched his pectorals, looking around and yawning. “Where are the kids?”

“The media room. They were awake already.”

He checked his watch. Raising an eyebrow as he looked at me, I nodded. “I know.”

“Is that what got your panties in a twist?” he asked.

“I promised myself today was going to be different. Today was going to go right, but before I was even out of bed, I was doing it wrong.”

Alvaro groaned like I pained him. “It’s too early for this. I need coffee.”

I placed the coffee I made for myself in front of him on the island. “Now can we talk about the fact it was Dashiell who woke up and made them breakfast?”

Alvaro sipped from the coffee as I pressed the button and started a new one for me.

“So kids wake up early. Earlier than you.”

I brushed a stray hair off my face. “What am I going to do? Dashiell should have woken me up.”

“So you want Lachlan to wake him up and he goes to you?”

“Until Lachlan can come to me himself.” I shook my head. “I just need to wake up earlier than all of them.”

Alvaro breathed out as he took a seat. “I’m going to go back to the site soon. I’ll be leaving pretty early. This is the first day and you’re already too stressed.”

I nodded, his ability to read through me doubling my anxiety. “They are so independent. It’s like it doesn’t matter if I’m here or not, you know? How were they with your parents?”

Alvaro took a big sip before replying. “It doesn’t matter. Listen, maybe ask them what their routine is before going completely off the rails. We can add to the list if we need to.”

He was openly smirking when I flashed him a look, narrowing my eyes as he explained. “Saw the list you left in the office last night. Very thorough.”

I rubbed my temple, feeling my cheeks tint. “Sometimes I need to write things down, even when it is stupid like this. I never felt...”

Biting my lip, the coffee maker beeped, saving me from making a fool of myself. I turned around, grabbing the steamy mug and proceeded to drink even though it burned my tongue.

“You never felt what, Logan?”

Sipping again, I shook my head.

“Come on, aren’t we co-parenting here?”

I had to snort. “No. I’m screwing up, you’re a spy, and Dashiell is parenting.”

That made him smile. I never noticed he was always frowning until that moment, when his forehead relaxed and he gave me a quick smile. “Tell me what’s the problem.”

Rolling my eyes, I confessed. “I’m usually on top of my game. I hate being so out of my depth.”

He hummed, tapping the marble in thought. “What is it that you do, Logan?”

“I’m a portfolio risk manager.”

He cleared his throat. “And that would be?”

“I analyze the risk for my clients on investments.”

“So you’re a professional overthinker? Go figure.”

That made me stand higher on my feet. “I’m a market specialist. I know when something might look good, but it will crash. I know how to diversify a portfolio in a smart way. I know how to minimize risks and make my clients…”

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