"In the middle of the night?" I said. "And he didn't tell you why?"
"No. But it must've been pretty bad, because early the next morning, a locksmith shows up and changes all of the locks –andall of the security codes."
"Well that's weird."
"No kidding," Arden said. "And that was two weeks ago."
I frowned.Two whole weeks?"So who's watching Willow now?"
"At the moment?" Arden said. "We are."
"Seriously?"
"I don't mean we're watching her full-time or anything," she clarified. "Mason has this house-keeper who's been doing double-duty. Andshe'sthe one who's been watching Willow after school."
"And what'sshelike?"
"Oh, she's super nice. But she never spends the night, which means that if Mason has to go out of town or something, he's got to find somebody else."
I said, "Like you?"
"Technically, it's Brody," Arden said. "Mason would never callmefor anything."
Nowthis, I believed. Thanks to something that had happened years ago, Arden's relationship with Mason was shaky at best.He didn't like her.And by now, the feeling was more than mutual.
On the phone, Arden continued. "But Brody and I watch her together." With a smile in her voice, she said, "It's like a sleepover. We have loads of fun. Willow's a great kid."
Now I smiled, too. "I know."
I'd met Willow a few months ago when she'd gotten stranded near a construction site. At the time, I'd tried to help walk her home, with less than stellar results.
The whole thing had been a giant misunderstanding, but that didn't mean I appreciated Mason's rude assumptions – as if I'd truly try to kidnap a grade-schooler.
Arden asked, "So, are you gonna take it? The job, I mean?"
"Actually, that's why I called," I said. "I wanted your opinion. Do you think I should?"
"For your sake?" Arden gave a weak laugh. "Not really."
"What do you mean?"
"Youknowwhat I mean," she said. "The guy's gone through like four nannies in the last year. And you already know what a hard-ass he is."
Once again, a vision of Mason's backside popped into my head. Sure, he was wearing jeans, so the image wasn't terribly indecent. Still, my heart gave a traitorous flutter, even more so when I recalled being held in his arms.
I had to admit, I was insanely attracted to him.
Then again, I was hardly alone inthat.
Take Livia for example.She'd been ready to pounce on him the moment he'd walked into the club.
The thought had barely crossed my mind when I happened to glance around and spotted Livia walking through the parking lot. She wasn't alone either. She was hanging on the arm of Chopped Liver and laughing at something he'd just said.
The way she was acting now, it would be easy to assume that he was the most fascinating guy she'd met all night.
But he wasn't.And I knew one thing for certain. Even now, if Mason Blastoviak happened to pop out of a nearby car, Livia would ditch Chopped Liver like stale leftovers.
On the phone, Arden was saying, "But can I confess something?"