Page 96 of Worst Nanny Ever
I barely repress a grimace. “Well, we can certainly work with that.”
He flinches. “I’ll have you know Moira Applebaum isnotopen to bribery. She has the strictest moral integrity.” A mournful sigh seeps out of him. “I have personal reasons for knowing that.”
“Oh?”
“It’s a long story,” he says, fiddling with his mustache.
“Let me get us some drinks to go with our little cakes,” Dottie says, seeming to abandon whatever original plan she had for the free samples. “Idolove a good story. We’ll get you all sorted out, Eugene. Don’t you worry.”
My phone buzzes, and I pull it out, expecting Hannah, but it’s a string of messages from Rob.
Where are you, man?
Bixby had to go home, but we need to talk.
This got way out of hand.
“Looks like our party’s about to get bigger,” I say, glancing around at the others.
The thought of talking about this afternoon’s performance has me downing the rest of my beer. I abandoned Rob andBixby, and even though I didn’t have much of a choice, I feel like an ass for that, too.
Liam gives me a censuring look as I set the empty bottle down. “That’s a sipping beer. You want a beer to chug, get something they serve in the taproom.”
I knock my knuckles against the side of the table. “I’m going to do that. Should I get a pitcher?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
HANNAH
We each painted one of the four ninja turtles, but my mind was so fixed on Travis that mine came out looking more like a snail. Ollie took a liking to it, though, since Leonardo is his favorite, and asked to hang it in his room.
It was the easiest yes I’ve ever given.
Finally, Travis texts me from the bar, and some of my worry and angst floats away. He hasn’t been murdered by insane fans, and he’s with Liam, so I can stop agonizing over whether Alice will really hack it as a bodyguard. (I’m guessing the answer’s no.)
Once we’ve cleaned up our painting supplies, Briar lets Ollie braid her hair, which is extremely generous since it’ll probably take her half an hour to get the knots out. He ties a rubber band at the end, nodding to himself as if he’s satisfied with his work.
“Will you look in the mirror?” he asks. “I want to make sure I did an okay job.”
He’s so adorable, I can barely stand it.
We all shuffle into the bathroom together to inspectBriar’s hairdo. She’s a good sport and manages to not look horrified when she sees her bumpy braid.
“Good job, Ollie.” She turns her head back and forth, checking out the long sort-of braid. “It’s a treat to have someone else do my hair.”
“Maybe we can use those face masks now,” he says hopefully. “Mom didn’t like it when I used hers, but sometimes she would let me use one to make me be quiet.”
As if I needed another reason to dislike Lilah. My list is already several pages long, partly because I think she did more damage to Travis than I realized at first.
“Of course, Ollie,” I say tightly, already planning on buying him an even bigger box of skincare masks. “We’ll all do one together, and you can talk as much as you’d like. We’re all talkers here.”
Except for Briar, who’s usually more of a listener than a talker. Grinning, she says, “Please talk over Hannah, Ollie. You’d be doing us all a favor.”
Sophie, bless her, has tears in her eyes as she offers Ollie “first pick” of the masks, and soon we all look delightfully ridiculous. Ollie, of course, selects a turtle, and we pile onto the couch to watch another episode ofTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Briar is still wearing her unicorn mask when she gets an all-hands-on-deck text from her dad.
Rolling her eyes, she says, “He’s been doing this for weeks. They’re never about anything. It’s one of his tests for me—to see if I’ll drop everything and show up when I’m needed. But all he’s doing is making everyone mad.”
