Page 55 of Falling for the Nanny

“Who says there’s a way you’re supposed to love?” Alyssa snapped. “Besides, it’s not like he loves me the way you’re supposed to love someone either.”

“Exactly. You shouldn’t be living with someone who you think cares more about his stock portfolio than you.” It was a cardinal sin of friendship to bring up drunken confessions, but I felt like this was important enough to break the rules for.

Alyssa shot me a look that would kill a pigeon in midair. “That was a long time ago, Cat. I was drunk. Parker and I are a good match.”

“I know, I know. If you were to make a pros and cons list, the pros would win out every time.” I chewed on my lower lip. “But Lys, for this list to work, you’d have to ask yourself the most important question.”

“Why am I taking relationship advice from my insane best friend who is both heartbroken and homeless?” she asked rhetorically, jabbing at the P button like she could make the elevator move faster.

“No. Do you want to be with him? Stock portfolio, nice condo, and vacation house in Martha’s Vineyard aside?”

She opened her mouth to shoot back an answer, but before she could, the elevator dinged to a stop. I looked to see if we were at the Parking garage, but we were only on floor 7. Someone was getting on.

The woman stepped into the elevator and picked up on the tension right away. She raised her eyebrows as she saw Alyssa on one side of the carriage, mutinously silent, and me on the other, fighting the urge to apologize. I kept a tight grip on the keys in case Alyssa changed her mind about letting me borrow her car. The rest of the ride down was mercifully uninterrupted.

“Have a good day,” the woman said cautiously as she exited the elevator.

I risked looking at Alyssa’s face, wondering what I’d do if she decided I couldn’t borrow her car after all. To my surprise though, she was looking back at me, and not like she wanted to wring my neck.

“Maybe it’s not perfect,” she said stiffly, “but it’s…it’s safe.”

“Love isn’t safe,” I whispered. “But Lys, it’s worth it.”

“Do you really believe that, even after everything you’ve been through?” There was no snark in the question. She asked it like she really wanted an answer.

I didn’t have to make a pros and cons list. The love had unquestionably been worth the pain.

And the fact I was going to the restaurant even after everything just proved it.

CHAPTER 32

DAVID

Somewhere around the hour mark, I’d moved to a booth where I could see the door rather than twisting around every time it opened. The bartender–Jacqui, I learned her name was–seemed relieved. I didn’t blame her. Every hour that passed, an invisible winch tightened in my gut. Jason had clearly told the rest of the staff what was going on, because all of them found an excuse to cut through the bar and cut their eyes at me. Suddenly my plan to sit here until closing seemed more like self-immolation than a romantic stand.

Jason came by once to say, “I told her you’re here. She read the messages, but she didn’t respond.”

“Thanks.” I looked up from the report I wasn’t reading and caught him watching me, a frown pulling down the corners of his mouth.

He rubbed his scruffy goatee like he was considering saying something, then began to turn away, clearly having changed his mind.

“What?” I asked.

He stopped and turned back reluctantly. “Listen, man. I don’t want to come off like I think I’m Cat’s older brother or her dad or whatever, but I feel like I have to say something.”

I waited.

“Cat’s a really good person. If you guys had…something…don’t think she was the kind of girl who did that all the time, okay? If she cared about you, that was a big deal.”

I took a minute to digest that, but Jason took my silence for not understanding.

He blew out his breath and a flush crept up his chest. “It’s like this–I wanted to get with Cat, right? And she and I dated and had fun, but maybe I cared about her more than she cared about me, you know? She’s the kind of girl you marry, if you can, because she’s the total package.”

I studied Jason, surprised to find that I appreciated his strange, incohesive speech. He was exposing his neck trying to explain to me that I shouldn’t mess around with someone as special as Cat, in case I didn’t know. He was trying to protect her, and that meant I couldn’t think of him as a scrubby little jerk anymore.

“I know she is,” I said quietly. “Don’t worry, that’s what I’m trying to do.”

“Good, great.” Looking vastly relieved to be done with this conversation, he nodded at me and headed back into the kitchen.

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