Page 105 of Worst Nanny Ever
Hurt flickers across her face. “I didn’t stay here because I was hoping for a big payday.”
“I didn’t mean it like that. I?—”
“Say no more,” she says, climbing out of the bed, her expression closed down. “You’re right. I’ll just go say goodbye to Ollie. Do you have band practice or anything later?”
“Hannah.”
“Let’s keep this professional,” she says, crossing her arms.
“I don’t think we know how to do that.”
She smiles for half a second before it ghosts off her face.
I did that. I took her smile away.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” she says in a hissing undertone, stomping her foot. “I see that look on your face. Stop blaming yourself for everything. It’s so tiresome.”
“Don’t leave,” I say, getting up too quickly and jarring my head. “Please don’t leave. We need to talk.”
She pauses by the door and puts a hand on her hip. “Fine, but only because I need you to tell me about Eugene and Mrs. Applebaum.”
I scratch the back of my head, feeling slow-witted. “What?”
“My brother said Eugene poured out his heart about the whole Mrs. Applebaum situation. I’m supposed to meet up with him for pottery painting at noon, and I need to know everything.”
“Oh,” I say. “He told us about his golf cart mishap at the school. I guess it happened after Mrs. Applebaum turned him down. She and her husband were broken up at the time—Eugene was very clear about that. He said he didn’t want us thinking she was some kind of common strumpet.”
“Oh crap,” she says with feeling. “She wasn’t interested?”
I shrug. “It doesn’t mean she’d turn him down now. Theydon’t work together anymore. He seems to think that mattered to her.”
I let myself imagine what that would look like for Hannah and me. Maybe we could give this a real shot if I could find another nanny for Ollie, someone he’d like. I probably should have kept looking; I’ve always known this couldn’t last forever. Hannah’s not a nanny, and eventually she’ll want to get back to living a normal life.
But losing her would feel like losing a limb, which is insane, because she’s only been with us for two weeks. The second nanny was with us for almost as long, but I barely remember her name or what she looks like. Hannah would be a tough act to follow. The thought of some other person taking her place nearly sets off an anxiety spiral.
“What’s going on with you?” she asks, uncrossing her arms. “You’ve got that worry line between your eyebrows.”
“I realized that I should have kept interviewing nannies. You’re not going to want to stay forever.”
She crosses her arms again. “I thought I made it clear that I’dneverleave Ollie in a lurch. Or you, you jerk.”
“I know you wouldn’t. I just…part of me doesn’t want you to leave at all. You’re the only person I fully trust with him.”
She looks at me with disbelief. “Suddenly you trust me?”
“Remember the pillow barrier? I’m the one I don’t trust.”
Her expression softens. “Oh, Travis.”
I laugh, then press a hand to my head at the sudden stab of pain. “Come on. Don’t look at me like I’m some hairless dog you found wandering by the side of the road. I’m no harder on myself than most people.”
“I know you’re not a hairless dog,” she says, rolling her eyes. “You’ve got very nice hair and the perfect amount of chest hair. Has anyone ever told you that? Never mind, I don’t want toknow. The bottom line is that I don’t think you’re pathetic. But Iamtaking that polo shirt to save you from yourself.”
I smile at her. “And my button-downs?”
“I like those. You look weirdly hot in them.”
“Weirdly hot? I’ll take it. Would it be unprofessional for me to tell you that you look entirely hot in everything you wear?”
