Page 148 of Worst Nanny Ever
Hannah casts an annoyed glance at her. “How about we cut to the point?”
Lilah pouts her lips, though she’s clearly excited about something—it’s dancing in her eyes—and she wants to tell someone else about it. “Well, there’s this reality show I heard about, and I really wanted to get cast on it. I’m an actress, you know.”
“I heard your single,” Hannah says flatly. “Wise decision to move on from music.”
Lilah ignores her, continuing, “It’s calledDr. Lovin’ Boat. Anyway, there’s going to be a captain, and then a bunch of women will be competing to see who he chooses as his first mate.”
“Sounds like they slayed the naval analogies even worse than theShips Ahoymovies,” Hannah tells me with a small smile.
But I’m not smiling. Because I think I already know where Lilah’s going with this.
“So I sent in my application video a while back, right? But I hadn’t heard anything, so I figured it wasn’t happening, but then Dottie read my tea leaves the other day, and she saw travel in the leaves and a wave. I made the connection because I was sitting in your house, Travis.A wave.That’s when it hit me. Imean, here I was acting like I had no special qualifications for the job, when I had Ships Junior’s baby.” Her eyes bright, she continues, “So I called them up and asked if they’d be more interested in casting me if I went on as your baby mama.”
Hannah’s staring at me with big eyes. She must know how much I want to say no. How deeply I loathe the idea of the whole country hearing Lilah talk about me and my supposed legacy. Of having my privacy obliterated in the name of must-see TV.
“And they said yes!” Lilah cries out. “I had a video interview with them yesterday, and I’m a number one pick for them.” She bites her lip again and does the hair flip, which spreads nothing but revulsion through me. “Now, you wouldn’t need to be on the show, but they’d want to air a recorded statement from you. Just a couple of minutes, and I’d need to be able to talk about our past relationship, of course.”
I breathe in slowly, then exhale slowly. “I don’t want you telling them any details about Ollie or sharing his picture. They can know his name and his age but nothing else.”
“They’ll want more than that,” Lilah says, as if I’m being unreasonable. She toys with a slinky strand of her hair. “They’ll want to know what he’s interested in, and?—”
“Make it up,” I say. “Tell them to say whatever tracks best with audiences.”
She considers this and then nods.
“If I agree, you’ll sign the papers granting me full custody?”
Hannah inhales sharply and squeezes my leg. “Travis…”
I meet her gaze and give her a reassuring nod.
I mean, obviously I’m not okay with this—I’m not a lunatic—but I want Ollie, and I don’t want to hide anymore. Isn’t that what cutting my hair was all about? It’s like fate is rolling out the opportunity for me to prove I’m not a hypocrite.
If Lilah gets on this show, it’s going to be uncomfortable and annoying, but it won’t kill me. Losing my sonwouldkill me.
“Yes,” Lilah says. “I’ll sign them. But you’ll need to put your agreement into writing too.”
“I’ll do it,” I say, then look at Hannah again and find her eyes full of tears.
“We need to go talk for a minute,” she says, then fires a murderous glance at Lilah. “Alone.”
Lilah rolls her eyes. “I don’t see what this has to do with you. But if you want to be on the show, I’m sure they can work in a cameo or whatever. Maybe flash your photo across the screen.”
“That’s not what this is about,” Hannah seethes as she gets up, tugging me with her.
She leads me out of the back door of the tea shop, into a little alley space that Dottie or someone who works for her has dressed up with a little garden that’s mostly dead but was probably very nice a few months ago. A park bench sits in front of it.
“Travis,” Hannah says, turning to me and taking my hands. “You can’t do this. This is yournightmare. This is exactly the kind of BS Bixby tried to back you into, and his evil plan worked, dammit, because she never would have found out if it weren’t for him.”
I pull her into my arms, wrapping her up tight. Breathing her in. “It’s okay,” I say softly into her ear. “If this is how I keep Ollie, it’s okay. It has a sort of full circle feeling, doesn’t it?”
She leans back to peer at me. “You shouldn’t have to do this.”
“No, maybe not,” I say, “but it’s not going to be the end of the world. You helped me realize that.” I pause, trying to order my thoughts. “For the longest time, I thought I had to leave behind the person I was to become who I want to be, but it’s all connected. I’m Evan Thomas’s son. If people want to talk aboutit, that’s fine. Besides, I get to vet whatever they say. Maritime law is mine.”
“I love you so much,” she says, her eyes glimmering as she lifts up to me for a kiss.
I kiss her once, twice, probably a dozen times, before I draw back and say, “I’m going to marry you someday, Hannah. You just watch.”
