Page 10 of Rescued By My Best Friend's Brother

I feel someone staring at me and look up to find Jasper, his midnight blue eyes showing approval at my request of Lily. He gives me the smallest nod, so small, I almost think I imagined it.

“Here you go.” Lily holds out my biscuit. I take it and quickly bite into it.

I swallow, the jam overpowering any flavor of the biscuit. She really scooped some jam onto it. “I love it!” I say.

She gives me a smug smile and continues with her breakfast. Jasper interrupts the happy atmosphere with a labored sigh. I look at him. He shakes his head, his eyes locked on his tablet. “Dammit,” he grumbles.

“Ooooh, Daddy said a bad word,” Lily points out.

“Did Josie say if she was working late tonight?” Jasper asks.

I shrug. “I’m not certain. She said they are short-handed and she has to go back in later, but I don’t know how late she is working.”

He lets out another breath. “Sheri—” Sheri turns to face us, her eyebrows raised to show she’s listening. “Oh shit. Never mind. You requested off tonight. Your son is in town, right?”

She nods. “You remembered! Yes. He’s coming in town for my birthday. He’s going to take me out to eat,” she sing-songs and does a little dance I feel like only older moms do. I wonder if my foster mom or even my bio mom ever did this dance.

“Happy birthday,” Jasper and I congratulate her at the same time.

She waves us off. “When you’re my age, it’s not so much of a big deal. Just glad my son is coming to see me.”

“I really should have hired a babysitter by now. I need to get on that.” Jasper closes the case on his tablet.

“What happened to that one young lady you interviewed? She seemed so nice.” Sheri throws a towel over her shoulder and leans against the tabletop.

“She didn’t have a driver’s license, so hiring her was a moot point.” Jasper stands up, gathering his plates. “I’ll have to figure something out. I have a big client meeting that just got pushed to later. I won’t be able to make it home in time to pick her up.”

“What’s the point of being a boss if you can’t do what you want?” Lily says with her fork hanging from her mouth.

I hold back my laughter, knowing it will probably just annoy Jasper even more. Sheri nods in agreement. “Little lady has a point.”

Jasper hands his dirty dishes to Sheri and then kisses Lily on the top of her head. “I know, baby girl. It just sometimes happens that way when you have important clients to please.”

I open my mouth to offer my services. I helped Josie with Lily the other day, and Lily was pretty easy to handle. We get along well, and I didn’t mind helping out. It is the least I can do since he is allowing me to stay in his home. The door to the backyard suddenly opens, and Josie walks in, her hair still a mess and fatigue still shrouding her like a dark cloud.

“Hey Josie, can you pick up Lily from school?” Jasper asks.

Josie goes straight to the coffee pot. “No, I can’t,” she mumbles as she mixes sugar and creamer into her cup of coffee. “How about Elena watches her?”

Jasper looks at me and slowly shakes his head. “I don’t know about that. Elena is still a stranger.”

“We’ve known her forever,” Josie reminds him.

“That doesn’t help her case,” Jasper replies, as if I am not sitting in the room with them.

“Daaad.” Lily drags out his name, implying her disappointment. “You always tell me to be kind, even when I’m honest. I don’t think you’re being kind right now.”

He sighs, his words biting him in the ass. “You’re right, baby girl, but you’re too precious.”

“If that’s the case, you should have hired a new babysitter by now,” Lily says.

Jasper turns to Josie, knowing she probably said those same words before. Josie lets out a scoff and takes a long gulp of her coffee.

“Fine.” He turns to me. “Would you be willing to watch Lily tonight? It’s just a few hours.”

I nod. “No problem. I like spending time with Lily.” I smile at her.

“I guess that’s settled.” He picks up his tablet and taps Lily’s shoulder. “It’s time to go, Lily.”

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