She gawked. “I could just use one of yours. I’m sure you’ve got—what?—five or six?”
I grinned. “But, this one would be yours. Think it over. It comes with the package.”
The look of shock that rolled over her features filled me with such pride that my chest puffed out. I liked that look on her face. I liked the fact that I could shock her and impress her at the drop of a hat. And I hoped with all my might that she’d give me the chance to continue to surprise her and sweep her off her feet every time she turned around.
She just had to take the job first.
I tapped the hood of her car before I backed away, sliding my hands into my pockets. I fiddled with some lint trapped down in the corner because I knew that if I didn’t give myself something to do, I’d chase her all the way to the end of the drive and haul her ass back up to my bedroom with her body hoisted over my shoulder. I drew in deep breaths as I watched her car slip off down the driveway and quickly disappear out of sight.
Then, as I turned to head back inside, a thought crossed my mind. A thought that had me scrambling for my cell phone.
“Hey! Gavin! Long time, no talk. How are things?” Trey asked.
I locked up the house for the night. “Things are, well…”
He chuckled. “That good, huh?”
I looked at the massive pile of splashed wine and sighed. “I kind of have a favor to ask.”
“Well, ask and ye shall receive if I can help out! What’s on your mind?”
“I know you usually book out your yachts weeks in advance, but I was kind of hoping you had something I could rent for the weekend?”
“Ah, you want to have some fun on the water with someone special?”
“More like two special people. Asia and Eva.”
I heard his smirk through the phone. “And who’s Eva?”
I started searching for a mop. “The woman that I’m hoping will agree to be Asia’s nanny. I’m expecting a positive answer from her by Friday, so I was hoping to book us a little trip so the three of us can get to know one another better.”
He barked with laughter. “And you really expect me to believe that?”
“I’m hoping you will simply because it’s damn near eleven, and I’ve been up since five.”
“Well, you’re in luck. We had a cancellation this morning on one of our bigger yachts due to sickness running through the family.”
I finally located the mop and pulled it out of the pantry. “Great. Whatever I need to do to secure that for this weekend, just use my card you have on file.”
“Any sort of monetary limit for beverages and food?”
“Just make sure it’s top-shelf stuff. You know Asia loves that freshly-squeezed apple juice.”
He snickered. “And I’m really supposed to believe you’re rolling out the red carpet for a soon-to-be nanny that hasn’t even given you a ‘yes’ yet?”
I ran the mop across the floor. “Just do it, would you?”
He laughed so hard he started wheezing. “Fine, fine. All right. You know the drill. You’ll see the charges, you’ve got twenty-four hours to change something, and I’ll see you guys Friday at four!”
And as I finalized everything with Trey on the phone, only one thought crossed my mind as I cleaned up the wine and made my way upstairs.
I really hope Eva quits that damn job.
14
Eva
Icouldn’t wait until work. I had to speak with them now about the issue that had arisen with Gavin. So, the second I left his place, I headed straight for Guadalupe’s. It was late, and I wasn’t sure if they’d be up. But, this couldn’t wait until morning.
