"With great patience, I assume."
"No wonder she's able to handle Gael," he said. "She's used to putting up with bratty kids."
I laughed.
"That's exactly why Jessie and Gael are together," I explained. "My brother's antics had been putting our chances of getting a recording contract at risk. No one wanted to sign a loose cannon. Since Jessie's job is to wrangle unruly youths, I essentially hired her to "babysit" him until we'd sealed the deal. I hadn't expected her to fall for Gael. I certainly hadn't expected my wild, playboy brother to fall for her, either."
"Makes sense," Liam said.
"How so?"
"What boy doesn't dream of getting it on with the hot babysitter?" he grinned.
I snorted. "That's exactly what my brother always says. But Jessie's been good for him. He's been a lot less out of control lately."
"He does seem to have taken on a lot of responsibilities," Liam agreed.
"If I didn't know his girlfriend was the cause, I'd worry it was alien bodysnatchers."
"Surely he hasn't changed that much?" Liam asked.
I thought about it. "I suppose not. He's always taken care of me, always tried to be the mature one when it came to the two of us. He just never took anything else seriously. Our mother was never around to discipline us so he could get away with anything."
"And now Jessie's made him realize that actions have consequences?" Liam guessed.
"I think that's exactly it."
We reached the table selling tickets. The tall boy in glasses was already reaching for a roll of tickets and the cash box.
"Thank you for coming to our fun fair," he said politely with a nod.
"How much are the tickets?" I asked.
"They're a dollar fifty each," the girl piped up. "But you get one extra ticket for every ten you buy."
"How many games are there?" Liam asked, already pulling out his wallet.
The boy paused, seeming to count in his head. "I think we've got twelve booths, between all the different games and activities."
"I'll take three hundred tickets," Liam said.
I nearly choked on my own tongue. Both kids went wide-eyed and gape-mouthed.
"Three… hundred?" the girl asked slowly.
Liam took a handful of bills from his wallet. I tugged him aside as the kid continued staring.
"What are you doing?" I hissed under my breath.
"Buying tickets?" Liam said carefully, as if unsure of what set me off and not wanting to repeat it.
"You're buying more thanfour hundred dollarsworth of tickets."
"It's more like four fifty, I think."
"What the hell is wrong with you?" I couldn't help burst out.
"It's a fundraiser, isn't it?"
