Page 7 of My Not So Wicked Boss (My Not So Wicked 3)

Emma lifted her head. “Really? What were their names?” Emma’s dad, Dane Carrington, owned half of Carrington Cove and knew the other half. He and Emma also ran a dude ranch there.

“Sophie and Kevin Mahoney. Kevin was originally from Denver, I believe.”

Shelby fanned her misty eyes. “Oh goodness, I knew her. She came into the boutique a few times.” Shelby owned M&M’S on Main, a clothing boutique in Carrington Cove. “Such a beautiful woman with the best taste in clothes. We talked quite a bit when she was in over the summer on holiday, as she called it. She was an interior designer. I knew she was from London, but I had no idea she was related to your Mr. Wickham.”

“He’s not mine.”

“Yet.” Shelby patted my knee.

“He’s a potential employer,” I reminded them all. I was never telling them about the pulse racing thing or the little zing it gave me when he shook my hand. Or those few strands of gray in his dark hair that made my fingers ache to run through his mane.

“Give us the details on this job.” Jenna was flapping her shirt trying to dry it off.

I was happy to discuss anything that didn’t involve my friends conjecturing about what this could mean for my nonexistent love life. “It’s pretty involved. I would do everything from taking care of Henry to answering fan mail and keeping up with his social media accounts. Maybe even some proofreading.” Which excited me. I needed to know what happened to Isabella, who’d gone missing at the end of the book with only a cryptic letter hinting she’d disappeared on purpose. But I had a feeling it wasn’t her that left the letter.

Emma pursed her lips. “How many hours a day would you have to be at his house?”

I bit my lip. “Well . . . if I took the job, he would want Chloe and me to move into the guest house on his property.” He promised it would all be on the up and up. He kept odd hours as a writer and wanted someone to be there for Henry if need be.

“What?” Their heads ping-ponged between me and Chloe at the park.

There was no doubt about it being a big deal. “I know, but most nannies live with their employers, and Chloe’s best friend lives in Carrington Cove and she’s always begging me to move us back so they can go to school together.” We had lived with my parents until Chloe was nine. While she had good friends where we lived now, her closest group remained in Carrington Cove. I had always felt guilty moving her away, but I couldn’t live with my parents forever, and Carrington Cove was out of my price range. Taking this job could change all that. It could change so many things. I gazed at my daughter. More than anything, I wanted to do right by her. This job could be the key to that.

Shelby took my hand. “Have you vetted this man?” It was funny how they were all gung-ho about me dating him, but living on the same property was a different story. Believe me, I knew.

“Are you sure he isn’t hoping for some side benefits?” asked Jenna, who now had tissues plastered to her chest.

I smacked Jenna’s arm. “Of course not, but regardless, I’m going to do my research. As part of that, he invited me to dinner tomorrow night to discuss any questions or concerns I may have.” I had a list.

“Dinner for two?” Jenna asked not so coyly.

I rearranged a tissue for her. She’d missed a spot. “He will be bringing his nephew, thank you very much.” He obviously didn’t have anyone to care for him, hence the job offer. Apparently, whoever called had informed him that his nanny wouldn’t be joining him in the states since her boyfriend finally proposed to her after she told him she was moving several thousand miles away. Not sure if that marriage was going to make it. Why had it taken a major life change for him to commit? Oh man, I needed to stop being so jaded toward the opposite sex, but men made it so easy sometimes.

“A little hanky-panky under the table is great.” Emma nudged me.

“I’m not going to fool around with a potential employer, or anyone, for that matter.”

“I don’t know, fooling around with your sexy British boss sounds kind of nice,” Jenna sing-songed, making everyone laugh, including me, but only because it was a ridiculous notion. Me and my favorite author? It was never happening.

“Believe me, ladies, if I accept his offer, it will be strictly business.”Chapter ThreeWhile I sat in bed contemplating my life, I kept staring at Miles’s picture on his website, though he was called Taron there. I had scoured the internet trying to find out as much about him as I could. What I’d gleaned so far was he was forty years old, never married, raised by a single mom, and-based on how many women were draped all over him in the pictures he was featured in—he loved women. The women seemed to adore him too. They all looked at him as if they would sell their souls to remain permanently by his side. I could hardly blame them. He was dashing and he had this enigmatic smile that made you want to know what he was thinking. I should stop thinking like that. I needed to look at him as a potential employer, not future boyfriend material.

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