Page 54 of Textbook Defense

The doors opened on their floor—curse Jordy’s luck that he couldn’t escape this conversation by means of closing elevator doors—and they stepped out.

“A very hot and gay friend who likes spending time with your child,” Baller agreed.

Jordy shot him a look. That wasn’t enough to build a relationship on.

They arrived at Jordy’s door first, and he stopped with his keycard in hand and waited. Rowan and Kaira might be on the other side, and Jordy did not want them to overhear Baller’s ridiculous ponderings. People who found the loves of their lives when barely out of puberty should be officially banned from meddling into the love lives of others, since the experience clearly warped their brains.

Baller shook his head. “Fine, I’ll stop questioning your life choices and leave you to your adorable modern family so that I can go call mine.” He gave a cheery wave and all but skipped down the hallway.

Shaking his head, Jordy unlocked the door and found Kaira and Rowan in the hotel room. As expected, Kaira was asleep, facedown and starfished across his bed, looking as if she’d crashed into it and lost consciousness. Jordy glanced over at the other bed, but Rowan wasn’t curled up in it, taking advantage of the downtime. Instead, he was tucked into the corner farthest from Kaira and whispering into his phone.

“—only two days?” He chewed on his thumb as he listened to the answer on the other end of the line. “No, I have my laptop. I just need to find a minute.”

Jordy wondered if he should step back out into the hallway. Before he could decide, Rowan looked up, caught his eye, and waved him in.

“Yeah, no. Thanks, Gem. I owe you one. … Yes, another one.” He rolled his eyes at Jordy, who smiled. He could picture her tart response to the idea of being owed favors. “Cheers,” Rowan said and disconnected the call.

Since he was no longer interrupting, Jordy settled in the other chair to keep things quiet. Not that he could let Kaira sleep much longer, since he did want her to go to bed before midnight.

“Everything okay?” Nervous energy during phone calls with lawyers, even ones who were friends, didn’t seem like a good thing.

“Yeah,” Rowan said distractedly as he stared at his blank cell phone for a long moment. Then a smile broke across his face. “Everything’s fine. It’s great. Well, no, it’s good, but it might be great soon.”

That illuminated nothing. Jordy arched an eyebrow.

“That was Gem—okay, yes, obviously. She called because she heard about a job.” Rowan still looked a bit dazed.

“A good one, I’m guessing.”

“Jordy, it’s perfect.” Suddenly, Rowan’s body was alive with restrained energy. His leg bounced and his hands waved in the air as he enthusiastically, if quietly, explained. “The English lit reference librarian at U of T had to leave suddenly—I don’t know why—but that means there is a full-time indefinite position opened up, and they want to staff it before the start of term.”

Jordy blinked. “Isn’t that, like, two weeks away?”

“Yeah,” Rowan breathed. “So they’re looking for applicants ASAP. Gem says they’re calling qualified applicants for interviews before the application deadline. Which means I need to apply immediately if I want any hope of getting a call.”

“What do you need?”

“Time to read over my CV and package up an application?” Rowan looked a bit overwhelmed at the prospect, and Jordy couldn’t blame him. Not that Jordy knew what it was like to apply for a job the normal way, but he could remember the dread and nerves involved in interviewing with NHL teams prior to his draft.

“How about we leave the library for tomorrow and I take that one downstairs for dinner. That would give you a few of hours of peace and quiet in the room.”

“Really?” Rowan looked so surprised and grateful that Jordy kind of wanted to hug him or pat his head. “I know I’m supposed to be working—”

“No, you’re not,” Jordy reminded him. Rowan didn’t have a US work visa, and Jordy truly didn’t expect him to work. He just needed a heads-up to arrange alternative care. “You’re on vacation and you’re occasionally watching my kid as a favor.” Jordy knew they were blurring the lines between employer/employee and friendship, but he thought Rowan understood those lines anyway.

“I know,” Rowan reassured him. “Still, you must be exhausted. At least if there’s two of us we might make up one semirested adult.”

Jordy snorted. “Maybe, but this sounds important.”

Rowan let out a long breath and nodded. “It’s kind of my dream job,” he admitted almost shyly, like he couldn’t believe he was saying it out loud.

“Well, then, Kaira and I better get out of your hair so you can do what needs doing.” Jordy slapped his thighs and stood, filled suddenly with restless energy. Rowan would get this job, Jordy was sure. And Jordy would be left nannyless again. Hopefully Jordy could at least convince Rowan to continue living with them in the short term so there was someone to pull the dusk-to-dawn shift every day, even during road trips.

Pushing away thoughts of nannies and job searches and interviews—ugh—Jordy gently shook Kaira awake and failed utterly at not finding her grumpy pouty face to be completely adorable. The NHL had booked one of the event spaces downstairs for the evening, so Jordy packed up his kid, wished Rowan luck, and left him hunched over his laptop.

AS PROMISED,they made the library their first priority after breakfast, and it did not disappoint. Kaira clung tightly to Jordy on one side and Rowan on the other as they walked up the steps. Jordy would never forget the look on her face when she looked around the Rose Main Reading Room or the awe in her voice when she whispered, “Daddy, it’seven betterthan Belle’s library in the castle!”

Yeah, he was glad he hadn’t missed this. “It’s pretty special,” Jordy agreed in the same hushed tone.

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