Page 5 of Late Nights & Love Lines
“Right on time, Rowan,” Elijah says as I approach the office. Before I realize his intent, he pulls me into a hug. This man is way too touchy-feely for my liking—he’s a carbon copy of his freaking sister and it’s annoying. Who hugs every person they meet?
I pat his arms lightly and pull away.
“Hey, Eli. Where’s Lottie?” I ask.
He peers down at me with a frown. “Didn’t she tell you?”
Goddammit, Lottie. She may be my only friend, but she’ll do whatever it takes to get what she wants. “Tell me what?”
Elijah curses out of the side of his mouth. “Well, you know about the Camp Nanny event in a few weeks.”
“Yes, and?” I ask, squaring my shoulders to his. I’m aware that she’s throwing Camp Nanny to launch the nanny side of her business. It’s been a ton of work, and I’m proud of her. It’s why I’m here so early—to help wherever she needs me leading up to it.
“And…you agreed to come early to help her—okay, me, you’re helping me.” He backs away quickly with his hands raised.
“Helping you with what?” My jaw ticks as I clench it.
The other two men are slowly backing up too, as if they’re trying to make a sneaky escape.
“Well, this is my business partner, Beck Hayes.” The tall man in shorts stops with one foot on the porch steps and lifts a hand. “And this is Leo, he owns the camp.”
Beck radiates aleave me aloneaura, but Leo seems more at ease with his yogi-surfer vibe.
“Elijah,” I grind out. “What is the favor?”
“We have this huge deal in the works and our new partner’s family literally crashed and burned. He needs help with his kids until Lottie can set him up with a permanent nanny at the date-a-nanny event.”
“It’s a meet and greet for nannies and families, not a date-a-nanny event,” I growl.
His jackass smirk slowly morphs into a grin.
“Right. Well, we have a billion-dollar deal on the table, and if we don’t get this guy some help his business will go under, which means our business will go under, so I may have strong-armed Lottie into helping us.”
“You mean you got Lottie to trick me into helping you.”
“Semantics, babe. If Lottie knew what the hell to do with kids, I’d have gotten her to do it, but…well, you know Lottie.”
Yeah, I do. She had a million-dollar idea, but she’s also possibly the most child-phobic person I’ve ever met. She’s the brains behind The Single Dad Hotline, while people like me make it work.
“I promise, we’re planning to make this worth your while, and since that death trap you refuse to give up on shit the bed, we’ll start there.”
“Junebug is not a death trap, and now you’re just trying to change the subject. What is it you all tricked me here for?”
Leo and Beck grimace in unison.
“There are three kids…”
I narrow my eyes, and my right hand reflexively begins to twist the black tourmaline and rose quartz bracelets around my left wrist.
“It’s only for three weeks, four tops. Okay, maybe five. Definitely two weeks with just them, one week helping them navigate camp, then one week, maybe more, until hopefully their new nanny will start.” He holds up his hands with crossed fingers.
My foot starts tapping an annoyed rhythm into the dirt beneath me. Come on, black tourmaline. If your healing crystal power’s going to work, now’s the time to take the negative energy.
I peek down at my wrist. Nothing. I’m not even calmer. That’s what I get for believing in crystals.
“Please, Rowan. You’d really be helping us all out, especially our new partner’s family. They’ve had a rough go of it recently.”
I do love helping families, swooping in to support them through big changes in their lives, and then slipping out as soon as they’re back on their feet. I do anything and everything I can for them—except stay. But everything about this situation is screaming at me to run. These people are too connected, too close to my everyday life, and I go out of my way to keep clear boundaries in place at all times.
