Page 41 of Hearts Aweigh
“Ah.” Abby rose on her tippy-toes. “I’m not sure I can reach, but I’ll try.” She extended her hand. “High five?”
Spencer Masterson quirked his head. “How is it you have no filter or fear of embarrassment?”
Abby laughed. “When you work with young kids, you chuck your pride out the window. Besides, I take my silliness very seriously.” She adopted a stern expression and wiggled her fingers. “High five … sir?”
He smacked her hand with his larger one. But instead of pulling away, he bent the tops of his fingers over hers. They dwarfed her own by a good bit. The warmth of his broad palm pressed against her skin.
Zing!
The sensation shot from her toes to her top. It pinballed through Abby’s heart and lit her insides.
“Working hard, Abigail?” A mocking voice interrupted.
Abby jerked away and turned to find her supervisor behind them. Twila wore a different outfit than the monogrammed polo and shorts most childcare workers preferred. She stood in her knee-length purple skirt and crisp white jacket, eyeing the trio with one carefully drawn eyebrow hoisted.
She smirked. “I can see why you took the entire second half of the voyage off.”
“I’m not taking off.” Abby squirmed. “It’s part of our nanny valet service. Mr. Masterson brought a governess for his daughter, but the woman’s been sick.”
“Mm-hmm.” Twila waved at the swanky restaurant’s sign. “Tough gig.”
Abby sagged. She hated confrontation. When she’d been a kindergarten teacher, she’d dreaded parent-teacher conferences.
Her supervisor ignored her in favor of Spencer. “I trust Ms. O’Brien will provide you with the best service, sir.”
Spencer inspected the woman as if she were an intruder. A sensitive ten seconds stretched between them, and Twila dropped her gaze, polishing the gold uniform buttons with her sleeve.
“If you have any problems”—she squeaked the words—“don’t hesitate to contact me. Good night.” With a deferential bob of her head, she was gone.
Abby released a noisy breath. “Great. I’m going to be on splash pad duty for the rest of my Monarch life.”
Spencer opened one of the restaurant doors. “Did you do something to get on her bad side?”
Abby took Maddie by the hand, and they entered first. “She isn’t too happy with my new side gig as a nanny valet. Most passengers book it for a few hours, not an entire voyage. This extended assignment leaves them short-staffed at the Kids Kingdom.”
They checked in with the maître d’, who led them to a table by a window. Had it only been a day since she sat here with Norville? The same elegant place settings with more silverware than she knew what to do with lined the linen tablecloth. Folded napkins in the shape of swans rested on the plates. Abby sat at the end of the four-person table on the same side as Maddie.Spencer chose the seat across from Abby. After settling in their chairs, he resumed the conversation.
“As the person who booked your services, I’m the one who deserves her ire. Why is the woman angry with you?”
Abby considered Maddie, leaned closer to Spencer, and lowered her voice. “I suspect Twila doesn’t like kids much. Because of me, she’ll have to spend more time with them instead of hiding in her office.”
“It’s a swan!” Maddie ignored the adult conversation and played with her folded napkin.
Abby placed her own cloth swan in front of the child. “Here, now you have two.”
Spencer was in the process of unfolding his own napkin. He froze and glanced at his daughter. Taking the swan from the empty seat beside him, he passed it to her. Madeleine giggled at the three cloth figures and pushed them around her imaginary table lake.
Tenderness covered Spencer’s face for the briefest of seconds before he turned his attention to Abby. “You keep the children in line with the finesse of a symphony conductor. Where did all that bravado go a few minutes ago?”
She shrugged. “I’m bigger than the kids. But adults are another matter. It’s hard to be commanding when you’re hobbit-size.”
“Size has nothing to do with it. The most fearsome judge I know is five feet tall. Every lawyer in New Orleans quakes when they learn he’ll be presiding over a case.”
Abby rested her elbows on the table. “How does he do it? Does he speak in a loud, bellowing voice?”
“Hardly. You have to lean close to hear him.”
“What’s his secret?”
