Page 21 of Crush
But obviously, that didn't matter to me anymore. I was only his nanny—and acting like a creeper fangirl was the fastest way to get fired from this sweet gig.
Anyway, I had a job to do, and some time to kill. So I retraced the tour Shea had just given me, walking from room to room and gathering what other clues I could about the family.
In the living room, I stopped and studied the framed pictures of Shea and his three kids.
During our interview, Shea had said that Cam and Nick weren't identical twins. Could've fooled me! The young boys didn't look a lot like Shea yet, but they sure looked like each other. I hoped it would be easier to tell the boys apart in person, because at least in the photographs, I couldn't see much difference. They both beamed with bright-eyed smiles and wore their chestnut brown hair buzzed short. They were handsome, athletic, and happy-looking boys. I was sure that the girls in their grade went crazy for them. I chuckled, imaginingthe metric ton of heartbreak that those twins would surely cause in a handful of years …
Then there was Chloe. She had lovely curls of strawberry blonde hair. She had her father's same mouth, nose and eyes. She was a beautiful girl, no doubt, but seeing her transformation into those turbulent teen years pained my heart. Her style and appearance changed from one picture to the next. Her posture grew guarded and clumsy, like she didn't know what the heck she was supposed to do with those limbs that seemed to grow longer and lankier by the day. Her smile faded, until she stopped smiling in photographs entirely. An insecure loathing filled her eyes. God, puberty was the worst, wasn't it?
Don't worry, sweetheart. You'll find yourself and get through it.
I continued my tour.
As luxurious as Shea's house was, it was almost obvious that a single dad ruled here. Not that it looked like a bachelor pad or was messy or anything like that—but the décor definitely lacked the warmth that made a house feel like ahome.There wasn't much decoration or artwork to liven the space up. Instead, each room seemed to be furnished with only the bare essentials, so it wouldn't feel empty. Beyond that, the poor guy didn't know what to do with his place.
Until you set foot in the basement, that is.
Calling the basement aMan Cavewouldn't do it justice. This was more of aMan Deep Underground Military Base.Hockey memorabilia from Shea's storied hockey career covered every wall, every nook and cranny: blown-up pictures of Shea and his teammates in action, framed jerseys from the various teams he'd served on, a glass display box filled with pucks from his career milestones, a huge assortment of sticks, all the various knickknacks he'd picked up during a decade and a half of a pro career, a Ping Pong table, a Foosball table, a full entertainment system, a humongous sectional couch, a mini-bar …
Then, down the hall, there was the indoor gym.
And one door down from that, the indoorrink.
No wonder Chloe's having a rough go of it,I thought to myself.She's probably feeling suffocated by all this masculine energy.
Just then, there was a thunderous barrage of footsteps that came barreling down the stairs. The excited banter of two young boys echoed down the stairway.
When the twins emerged at the bottom of the stairs, they saw me and immediately stopped dead in their tracks. Their eyes were big but their expressions blank.
“Hi guys!” I said. “I'm Brynn, the new nanny.”
Their shy, boyish gazes dropped to the floor.
“How was school?”
“Good,” they both said quietly.
“Wait, your daddidsend you a text letting you know about me, right?”
They nodded.
Whew.Small relief.
“Okay, help me out,” I said. “Who's Cam and who's Nick?”
“I'm Cam,” the one on the right said in a small but serious voice.
“Nick,” the other one said.
“Nice to meet you boys.” I shook their hands. “I'll probably have to keep asking you that question until I can tell you two apart.”
“Oh, that's easy,” Nick said, finally smiling and showing some personality. “Cam's got the bigger nose.”
Cam gave his brother a playful shove. “Yeah, and Nick's got an ugly scar right under his eyebrow.”
“Yeah, I got a big scar—'causeyoucan't keep your stick down!”
I watched as the twins started arguing with each other over who had the worse on-ice habits. It was as if I wasn't even standing there anymore, which was probably why they weren't so shy anymore. Soon, they dared each other to a game of one-on-one and went marching past me, ready to solve their dispute in their indoor rink.
