“What the hell are you doing in here?!” I shrieked.
Jace opened his mouth as the doorknob to the bedroom turned, causing me to stumble forward allowing the door to open to reveal . . . my father.
Because this day couldn’t get any worse.
My father’s head jerked back and forth between the shirtless Jace and me, finally settling on me.
“Polly? What is going on in here?”
Pointing at Jace, I blurted the first thing that popped into my head.
“He’s our new nanny!”
CHAPTERTWELVE
JACE
I would say it was nice to meet you, but I was naked so . . . it wasn’t.
Samantha Young,On Dublin Street
After Leah showed me to a bathroom, I’d quickly washed off the makeup to reveal a nasty red rash on my face and neck. I filled up the sink with cold water and began submerging my head for as long as I could hold my breath with palpable relief. I’d just gone for my last dip when I thought I heard something from the next room. Taking my head out of the water, I waited for another noise but heard nothing. Feeling like I’d been in here too long, I grabbed a towel, my skin burning at the touch as I pressed it to my face to dry off. I’d also rinsed my shirt as it had been soaked with sweat, so I wrung it out and shook it, not looking forward to the burn I’d feel pulling it over my head. Slinging the shirt over my bare shoulder to delay the inevitable, I opened the bathroom door.
“Fucking molasses!”
Startling hard, I pressed my shirt to my chest and stumbled backward. My mouth went slack as I stared at Polly Alberton, who was standing against the door, green eyes livid.
“What the hell are you doing in here?” she yelled—and I mean,yelled—but not before I noticed her eyes rake up and down my shirtless chest.
I honestly had no words. Probably the reason why I was standing in her house shirtless with a clown suit tied at my waist would be a good start, but before I got the chance, her daddy burst into the room.
He also had a great question. What was going on here, indeed? I was debating if I could make a run for it in these shoes, when Polly pointed at me.
“He’s our new nanny!”
Shock froze my body. What did she just say?
“What do you mean, he’s your nanny?” Face furious, Polly’s father continued to look between us. I remained motionless.
Polly clasped her hands behind her back and took a step to the side, like a soldier at ease. “He’s the nanny I hired to watch Ryla and Max. We met when he was working with the school summer program. He also runs a theater program here in Green Valley for kids and offered to do the clown bit for Ryla as a surprise for her birthday.”
I did a double take because Polly just lied like a pro, her entire demeanor morphing from startled, to angry, to calm faster than I could juggle three eggs.
And I was an excellent juggler.
Polly’s father looked me up and down, as if judging the veracity of Polly’s words. I smiled hesitantly.
“He looks familiar. Who are you?” he barked.
Spurred into action, I piped up, my voice squeaking for the first time in ten years. “Jace. Jace Vargas, sir,” I added, holding out my hand that hedidn’tcome forward to shake.
Moving his gaze from me, he glared at Polly with hard eyes. I instinctively took a step closer to her.
“This is my father, Judge Alan Alberton,” Polly explained calmly to me, still acting as if everything was normal.
Oh, my fuck. Her daddy was a judge? I bet he was good at his job, because I’d never felt more judged in my entire life. A prickling sensation came over my body at his calculating stare. Or maybe that was the rash.
From what I’d heard, a county jail was very different from prison. Local cops. Interesting company. Someone new always coming and going. Sure, there was probably only one toilet and a dirty blanket stiff from someone else’s urine, but you didn’t have to be anyone’s bitch to survive.
