Page 10 of A Baby Surprise For My Billionaire Boss

“Taste them?” He looked up at her, obviously mystified.

“You’ve never done that?”

“I’ve tasted ice cream before.”

“Nah, that’s not what I mean.” She turned to the ice cream scooper. “Can we taste a couple?”

“Which ones?” The teenage girl behind the counter pulled out a handful of wooden tasting spoons.

Maddie turned to Charlie. “What do you want to try?”

“Everything!”

“Nah, not everything. Pick three.”

“But I still get a whole ice cream, right?”

“Yes. This is to help you decide which kind you want.”

Charlie began to discuss his options with the ice cream scooper, and Maddie fell back a few paces to talk to Eli. “I can’t believe he’s never tasted ice cream before.”

“He’stasted ice creambefore.”

“You know what I mean. He’s never sampled it like this.”

“I didn’t realize he hadn’t, to be honest with you,” Eli said. “I’ve brought him here myself a few times, but he usually just orders something quickly. Usually, his nanny would be the one to bring him. I’ve never seen him take his time like this.”

Maddie hesitated, unsure whether she should say what was on her mind.

“What?” Eli asked. “You look like you’re thinking something.”

“Well, it’s just that… I wonder whether he’s been quick about placing his orders in the past because he’s sensed that you’re in a hurry,” Maddie said. “You seem like a guy who doesn’t take a lot of time to enjoy the small things in life. If you brought him to get ice cream, maybe he felt like he needed to order quickly so you could get back to whatever you were doing.”

She held her breath, wondering if she had overstepped.

“You see a lot,” Eli said.

“I’m sorry. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“No, you’ve got a point,” he said. “I don’t take my time with him when we go out together. It’s the same as what happened on the beach. I split my focus with him. I try to be a good father, but my job just keeps me so busy — this is why I need to have a nanny.”

An idea had been playing at the back of Maddie’s mind. It felt a little crazy — she couldn’t believe she was even thinking it. But at the same time, she saw potential in it, and it had been a long time since she had felt on the verge of anything new in her life.

She swallowed. “Listen… you’re looking for a new nanny. I’m looking for a new job.”

“You are? What about the lifeguard job?”

“I’m only a beach guard during the summer,” she said. “It was ending in a month anyway. Usually I work at the country club pool during the rest of the year, but I’m not attached to doing that. And you said it was a live-in job… I’m looking for something like that.”

“You are? Why?”

Maddie didn’t want to get into her whole situation, so she gave him the short version. “I’m about to have to move out of my house,” she said. “My circumstances have changed.”

“Money problems?”

“Nothing like that.” She was surprised he had been so forward with his question, but maybe it made sense. If he was honestly thinking about hiring her, he’d want to know that she was responsible, and this spoke to that. “It’s just that my roommate is moving in with her boyfriend, so I need to find a new place to live.”

“I see.”

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