Dakota glares at her. “I can walk and wink at the same time.”
Blossom snorts. “Sure, you can.”
“Ladies.” Harper claps to get everyone’s attention. “Can we get back to the matter at hand?”
“Which is?” I ask.
“We’re having lunch with you while the men meet with the lawyer about Adele’s custody,” Blossom says.
“Wow. Zane didn’t wait long to get the ball rolling.”
“Is there another area Zane has been waiting on?” Blossom asks.
“What are you…” I trail off when I realize what she’s insinuating. “Zane and I aren’t a couple. I’m the nanny. End of discussion.”
“Come on.” Harper herds us forward. “Let’s discuss this over a burger at theSalty Siren.Just don’t tell my dad I had an unhealthy burger. He’ll lose his mind.”
“And no stopping to play games on the boardwalk,” Blossom adds. “Someone,” she points to Dakota, “is banned from the games.”
“I’m not banned,” Dakota declares. Blossom raises her eyebrows. “I was strongly advised not to return. It’s not the same as banned.”
“Paisely apologizes,” Harper says as we wander toward the boardwalk.
“About what?”
“Stephanie isn’t feeling well. She had to skip the Raider sisters' lunch.”
“Raider sisters?”
Dakota’s nose wrinkles. “You don’t approve of the name?”
“I don’t understand the name. As far as I know, there are only Raider brothers.”
“And their wives and girlfriends and fiancées.”
I screech to a halt. “I’m not a wife, girlfriend, or fiancée of a Raider brother.”
“Not yet,” Dakota sings as she threads her arm through mine.
I decide not to argue with her. For some reason, these women have decided I’m one of them. As much as I’d love to be one of them – I want to have a family more than anything in the world – I’m not. Zane is my boss, the father of the baby I’m helping to care for.
No matter how much I may wish for more, he doesn’t feel the same. And attaching myself to these women who are intimately connected to Zane’s brothers isn’t a good idea. When I’m no longer Zane’s nanny, it’ll be too painful to have friends who are part of his life when I no longer am.
“I just remembered. I have Boozer. He’s not allowed in theSalty Siren.”
Dakota waves a hand in dismissal. “Don’t worry. They let my dog, Delphine, in there all the time.”
“Your dog doesn’t try to steal burgers out of people’s mouths.”
As if he knows what I’m saying, Boozer barks.
“If a smuggler doesn’t know better than to let a dog steal their burger, it’s their own fault.”
Harper’s correct. Smugglers do know better. Considering the amount of pranks pulled on this island, inhabitants are well aware of the need to protect their food.
“Boozer can’t go through Smuggler’s Market. He’ll wreak destruction.”
Smuggler’s Market is a craft fair on the boulevard. During the summer, the market is every weekend. But in the off-season, the market only happens around holidays or festivals.
