“Ugh.” Seren makes a gagging sound. “If you care about her, ask her out already, Dad. Geez. It’s kind of creepy how you stare at her.”
I spin toward her so fast I pinch a nerve in my neck. “What?” I bluster while Alexei hides a laugh behind his hands. Without so much as looking in his direction, I swat him across the back of the head.
“I’m not a baby, Dad. And I heard the merry effing meddlers talking at the sand dance.”
“Hey,” I warn.
She flashes her lashes with fake innocence. “I didn’t say it.” And there’s the eye roll of preteens everywhere. “We don’t mind if you like her,” she says contritely.
Miles tucks his head into my side. “Yeah,” he mumbles quietly, but his face is obscured by my chest.
“Hey, guys. That’s not…it’s not…” Fuck. “I don’t know how long Rowan will stay,” I finally admit.
It’s the ticking time bomb in my chest because while I got her to agree to give me her todays and tomorrows, there’s nothing actually keeping her tied to me.
Perhaps I should be taking these nanny meetings a tad more seriously.
“It wouldn’t be the first time someone left, Dad. We’ll be fine.” Seren stands abruptly. “Can I go back to the house? I want to get my stuff together for tomorrow afternoon, and they have crap scheduled for the rest of the day.”
I should demand she stay. Whatever nanny we end up with will need to get along with Seren too, but she’s so damn excited to go to Beck’s house tomorrow. More accurately, she’s excited that the friends she’s made are going to meet her at Beck’s and show her around Sailport Bay.
If Beck Hayes is wrong about these girls Seren’s hanging out with, I’ll string him up by his ears.
Seren stands expectantly, and when Alexei elbows me in the ribs, I realize I’ve been staring too long without giving an answer.
“Sure, Ser. I love you.”
She swallows while lowering her lashes. I get a flash of the little girl she’s trying so hard to outgrow. “I know,” she whispers, then hightails it out of the pavilion and toward the house.
She’s at the mouth of the trail when she’s intercepted by Rowan. The two exchange words, and it’s the first time I’ve witnessed Rowan use almost parental or authoritative body language with her. I’m rising from the bench because every dad instinct is telling me something’s up but freeze when Rowan holds out a hand and they perform an elaborate secret handshake, then hip check each other with matching bursts of giggles.
I think my heart just smiled.
I’d seen her execute a simpler version, minus the hip check, with Miles yesterday.
She may not believe she’s offering them much affection, but there’s no doubt in my mind that my children know she cares about them—even if she hasn’t gotten that memo herself yet.
Lottie announces lunchtime over the loudspeaker, thank God. These nannies are all fine, probably, but they’re not who I want.
Thane’s grin reminds me of the Cheshire cat, but instead of following Rowan in my direction, he stalks off toward the office.
“Everything okay?” I ask when Rowan sits opposite me. “With Seren I mean, not Thane.”
Okay, Alexei’s right. I am a petulant teenager.
Her brows shoot to her hairline as she fights off a smirk. “Is there a problem with Thane?” she asks.
“Lover boy over here is mad he’s taking up so much of your time,” Alexei deadpans.
A lovely flush creeps over Rowan’s cheeks. Is she wondering if I told him about the beach or our late-night hotline calls that are most definitely not child-related?
When her worried gaze cuts to mine, I shake my head, and her shoulders relax.
“Okay, kids. Have a good lunch. I’m heading over to Beck’s now to review some contracts,” Alexei says.
“Wait,” I say as he quickly attempts to make an escape, his long legs tangling in the child-sized picnic table. “Why did you come here this morning? I thought you were meeting with Elijah.”
For the first time in all our years of friendship, something flashes on his face that I never thought I’d see—unease. Alexei has been unflappable our entire lives—a rock, unmovable, so much so that I’ve teased him about being a robot. His gaze cuts to the stage of the pavilion. When he realizes what he’s done, he returns his focus, almost begrudgingly, back to me.
