“I wouldn’t. I didn’t tell him to commit a felony. I didn’t tell him to shoot my sister’s boyfriend.”
That sounded like some story. “You don’t strike me as the type of person who’d care about the size of a diamond.”
“Thank you. Anyone who knows me knows that about me.” She faced forward again, shaking her head. “That wasn’t what had me questioning everything. I just…I still can’t figure out how I missed it. His true nature.”
“Maybe you didn’t. Maybe he was acting outside of his true nature when he got involved with the smugglers, and he couldn’t figure out how to get out.”
“Yeah. Maybe. But the point remains. I had no idea.”
“What do you think that means?”
“That I’m a fool. That I need to be more careful. That I need to trust my judgment less.”
“You’re being pretty hard on yourself.”
She shrugged.
“That day in the park when you confronted Charlotte’s nanny? You showed very good judgment.” He thought of the wonderful therapist she’d found. Miss Wright had narrowed the list, then interviewed each one before recommending the one they’d landed on. The therapist had done wonders for Charlotte. As had Miss Wright herself, always knowing when to push his niece and when to give her space. “You’ve shown excellent judgment the entire time you’ve lived here.”
“You’re very kind.”
“Well, sure.” He lifted his hand in awhat else would you expectgesture. “As you know, ‘kind’ is my fallback position.”
That made her laugh, which was what he’d been going for.
He really enjoyed the sound.
He enjoyed everything about this woman.
Another SUV—or maybe the same one—drove by, snapping him out of his trance.
This was his employee. His niece’s nanny. They were supposed to be keeping their distance from one another.Vibe-less, as Delaney…Miss Wright had put it.
Who had seen them sitting together on this porch swing?
He was definitely feeling some vibes.
He could hear the echo of Richard’s voice in his head after this afternoon’s meeting.
“The merger’s on track. Just stay out of trouble.”
Everything about Miss Wright spelled trouble.
He pushed himself to his feet abruptly. “Sorry. I just remembered something I need to do.” The something beingtoavoid this exact situation. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
He headed into the house before he did something stupid.
Like kiss his niece’s nanny.
CHAPTER TEN
The weight of someone’s gaze prickled at the back of Delaney’s neck as she walked with Charlotte toward the park. She glanced around. A mom pushing a stroller. A teenager on a bike. An older couple strolling hand-in-hand toward them.
Nobody was paying Delaney or Charlotte any attention. She must’ve imagined the feeling.
Charlotte skipped beside her on the sidewalk, golden curls bouncing with each step.
The bright blue sky was dotted with cotton-ball clouds, the sea breeze fluttering the autumn leaves.
