Page 32 of Always Be Mine
“Just a little.”
Lucy laughed. “Honestly, Mandi. That’s a good thing. I needed a total change. These last few months…well…”
“I know.” Her friend’s voice softened. “I know it’s been hard, Lucy. I hate him for what he did to you. What kind of piece of shit?—”
“Please. It’s fine.”
“I’m sorry. I’m just glad you’re rid of that piece of shit. Now you’re free to start fresh with a whole new career and a whole new man in the mountains.”
New man?Out of reflex, Lucy shook her head even though her best friend couldn’t see her. Before she could object, Mandi had moved on to a new topic.
“Tell me about the new job.”
Lucy spent the next few minutes filling Mandi in on all the details of Meredith, including how they’d bonded instantly over the color purple the day they met.
“You’ve got to send me a picture of this purple jacket.” Mandi laughed. “I can’t picture you in anything but black.”
It was true: Lucy’s city wardrobe had consisted primarily of black pieces with the occasional white blouse mixed in forcolor. She’d already visited the second-hand store in town to find some more suitable casual outfits, and in only one shopping trip there was already considerably more variety in her closet.
“How are the parents?” Mandi asked. “The little girl sounds sweet. Hopefully, they aren’t too difficult to deal with.”
“Actually, he’s not. Besides a lot of text messages, so far, Craig seems pretty chill.” She left out the part about him being ridiculously handsome with a smile that did something to her insides every time it was aimed in her direction. Those weren’t details anyone needed.
“Him? What about a wife? Doesn’t this little girl have a mother?”
“Actually, no.” Lucy let her eyes drift across the playground to where cars started to line up in the carpool lane. A cluster of parents began to gather by the back door. “I don’t know the whole story yet, but Craig’s a single dad. There are a bunch of siblings, though, and they all seem to be really close. The Carlson family is kind of a big deal in town.”
“A single dad, huh? What does he look like?”
“What?” She knew exactly where her friend was going with this line of questioning, and Lucy wasn’t going to let her go there. “No. It’s not like that.”
But it was too late. “Craig, you said…” Mandi’s voice sounded farther away, and Lucy knew she’d been put on speakerphone. No doubt, Mandi was already searching the internet. “Craig Carlson?”
Damn. That didn’t take long.Lucy didn’t have a chance to answer.
“He’s gorgeous, Luce. Oh my! They all are. Damn. And his little sister…”
“Anyway.” Lucy cut her off. “I should probably let you go. The school bell is going to ring soon.”
“Oh no you don’t. You cannot end the call like this. Now that I know you’re the nanny for this hunk?—”
“He’s my boss, Mandi. That’s the last thing I need, remember?”
Mandi made a hissing noise into the phone. “Okay, I can’t argue with that. But tell me about that kiss.”
Lucy almost dropped the phone. “Kiss?” She’d totally forgotten that she’d told Mandi about that.
“You said you took my advice—which is always a good idea, by the way.”
Lucy rolled her eyes.
“But you didn’t give me details. Who did you kiss? What’s his name? What does he look like and more importantly, when are you going to go out with him?”
“I…umm…that’s the thing…I…”
“Oh shit.”
Lucy shook her head even though Mandi couldn’t see her protest. Her best friend knew her too well. “No. It’s not like?—”
