Page 18 of Nanny for the Mercenaries

“Joking,” Jordy said. “It’s a pompous British way of asking if you’re joking.”

“Please do not disparage the King’s English in my presence,” Archer said flatly.

“I’m not joking,” I said. “I’ve never been outside of America. The farthest I’ve ever traveled was when my parents took me to South of the Border.”

Archer frowned. “South of the border would be Mexico. Which is, in fact, outside of America.”

“No, I meanSouth of the Border. The tourist trap on I-95. It’s on the border between North and South Carolina.”

“Never been,” Archer replied.

“Good tamales,” Harrison rumbled. “Nasty bathrooms.”

So he does speak, I thought, glancing at him over Kaylee’s head.Maybe he just takes some time to open up.

Jordy turned and frowned at me. “Wait a minute. If you’ve never been out of the country, why do you have a passport?”

“Oh. Um…” I swallowed hard. “I don’t know. I got it a year ago because I hoped to plan a trip someday. I guess it worked out that I needed it for this, huh?”

“Lucky for us. That would have totally ruined this whole contract. We can get around a lot of border issues, but smuggling an entire person into Europe would have required us to pull alotof strings.”

“Lucky,” I agreed, relieved that they bought my excuse. But then I saw Harrison glancing sideways at me. His dark eyes bore into mine knowingly, but he didn’t voice his skepticism out loud.

Despite being in Scandinavia, Oslo felt exactly how I imagined Paris or Rome: cobblestone streets, lots of pedestrians, and buildings that looked older than anything in Wilmington, North Carolina. Archer drove to the north-east side of the city, up sloping streets and terraced houses, until we pulled up to a four-story condo. The garage door opened, and the Ranger Rover just barely fit inside.

Harrison waited until the garage door was fully closed before opening the back to get our luggage. He handed me my heavy suitcase as if it weighed nothing, then slung Kaylee’s two bags over one shoulder.

“What are those?” I asked, pointing to the olive-colored equipment boxes underneath our suitcases. They were large enough to take up the entire base of the trunk. “We didn’t bring those with us on the plane.”

Harrison gave me a long stare, then began unloading them with delicate care.

I guess he’s not opening up after all.

The condo was spacious and airy, with high ceilings and lots of windows allowing in natural light. In the United States, it probably would have cost at least a million dollars. I shuddered to think of how expensive it was in a city like Oslo.

“There is a problem I failed to predict,” Archer said at the top of the stairs. “We have four bedrooms.”

It took me a minute to realize the math. There were four adults… plus Kaylee. She was certainly old enough to have her own room.

“Shoot,” Jordy said under his breath. “We booked the condo months ago. Thought there would only be three of us.”

“I can sleep on the couch!” I quickly offered. “It looks more comfortable than my bed back home, and the bathroom is just down the hall.”

Archer began to nod his head in agreement, but then Jordy said, “Absolutely not. Two ofuswill bunk together. The beds are big, right Archer?”

“One room has a twin. Kaylee can have that. The rest are queens.”

“Perfect,” Jordy said. “Not a problem at all.”

“Are you absolutely sure?” I asked. “I really don’t mind sleeping on the couch.”

Jordy grinned at me. “Archer and I have shared smaller beds before, and in worse conditions. Right, buddy?”

At the top of the stairs, Archer grimaced and then walked away.

The fridge was already stocked with food: fruits, vegetables, organic meat, tofu, and cheese. All of it looked fresh, too.

“Should be enough,” Jordy said approvingly. “The conference is six days, plus a day of prep time.”

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