Page 17 of Curvy Nanny for the Nerd

Her smile beamed and she looked just like my sister. “Okay.”

We placed our orders and I allowed myself to relax minute by minute, getting to know my niece as a person rather than just another obligation. She drank her lemonade and I enjoyed a cola, silence danced around us.

“Why won’t you tell Toni who you are?” Her gaze met mine head on and she smiled. “She’s really smart and knows something is up with you.”

My brows furrowed of their own volition at her astute observation. She was right, of course. I was keeping my true identity from Toni, mostly out of habit. When people in general—women specifically—found out who I was, they changed. They were suddenly more polite and solicitous, more forgiving of my bad habits, and so fucking nice it made me want to scream. I hated it, but Toni didn’t do that. Most of the time when she looked at me there was a mix of annoyance and heat in her gaze. She wasn’t impressed by me for the simple act of having moneybecause it seemed like she grew up with a certain amount of wealth.

“I know she does,” I admitted. “But I like that she likes me without knowing who I am.”

“Does she really know you then?”

I barked out a laugh. “You really are too smart for your own good.”

She shrugged, sitting back when our gigantic order arrived. “She likes who she thinks you are, but she’s gonna be mad when she finds out, and she will find out.”

Her words echoed inside of my chest like a warning sign. “You’re so sure she will find out?” She might be a little miffed, but I figured this was where Layla’s naivete took over.

“Mom always said that lies can only live in the dark but sometime soon the sun will rise and expose them.”

Dammit Marnie for raising such an incredible child. “How did you get to be so smart?”

“I read a lot,” she answered with a wide smile. “And Mom and Dad said every moment was a learning opportunity.”

“That sounds a lot like Marnie.” My sister made sure that every experience opened your eyes to something new, whether it was watching a turtle cross the road on its own, or a difficult math problem. “I hope you apply that same maturity when you return to school.”

Layla rolled her eyes. “Uncle Brady.”

“I’m serious. “No matter how big an asshole someone is, you can’t hit them.” No matter how much you want to.

She smiled. “You said asshole.”

I laughed at my misstep and pointed at my smiling niece. “If you say that word at school, I will take away all of your devices for six months. At least.”

Instead of frowning, she giggled and it was the sweetest sound I’d ever heard. “Deal,” she finally answered and struck herhand out for me to shake, which I did with the same vigor I used to close any deal. “I didn’t hit her right away,” she explained. “She kept saying stuff every single day. Mocking me for being new and my new clothes, for reading all the time. I let it slide like Mom always said. And then she made fun of me, saying I was so horrible my parents died to get away from me, and I lost it.”

“Ah, fuck, kiddo.” What kind of trash kid would say such an awful thing. “I’m sorry she was such a little asshole.” I truly was, but this was a learning opportunity. “She deserved that punch, however I’ll deny ever saying that, but,” I sighed because I needed her to understand something she was far too young to have to understand. “But the thing is Layla, you don’t deserve the punishment you’ve been forced to serve. Ya know?”

She nodded and looked away nervously. “So I just have to take it?”

“No, you just have to keep your hands to yourself. The best revenge is to take her down a peg and to do it publicly. It works on pretty much all bullies.”

“You were bullied?”

I nodded, reluctant to go back to that time in my life, but for Layla I had to. “I was. Your mom was my biggest defender, but she left for college and then the real world when I was pretty young. So I had to learn to handle them on my own.” I refused to tell her how I hacked the grades of my bullies to make them attend summer school or worse, ineligible to play homecoming games as payback. “I got successful and now they wall want to be me or work for me, which is pretty sweet revenge.”

She laughed, her barbecue smeared smile wide. “You’re like an evil villain, Uncle Brady.”

It was my turn to laugh at her assessment. “No, just a desperate bullied kid who used my skills to better my life. That’s what I want for you, Lay. It’s what Marnie would have wanted too.”

She nodded and leaned forward with an evil smile on her face. “Maybe I’ll steal her boyfriend or worse, her best friend!”

I froze for a moment before laughter took over. “I want to be terrified of that comment, but the truth is I’m kind of proud.”

Layla preened before she reached for a spare rib, shoving it in her mouth and followed up with a handful of French fries.

“Thank you,” she said around a mouthful of food.

“You’re going to give me premature gray hair, aren’t you?”

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