The children are the only ones who seem to share my enthusiasm, making a beeline for the fountain fully clothed while their parents call to them to remove their shoes. The other adults grumble but make their way over to the table, anyway. Bree comes to stand next to me and hands out ice cream treats and napkins while I take drink orders.
Worn-out, sweaty British mum is first in line for a boozy drink, her baby now passed out on her shoulder.
“What can I get you?” I ask.
“Just so long as I can’t feel my teeth by the time I get to the bottom of it, I really don’t care what’s in it.”
Oh, dear. That doesn’t sound good at all. “One double tequila sunrise coming up.”
Twenty minutes later, the lobby party is in full swing. The kids aren’t the only ones splashing around in their clothes. Several of the tipsy seniors are in there as well now, laughing it up as the band plays on. IT guy finally pulls up and saunters casually into the lobby as though there isn’t a major computer fuck-up. Libby gives him a look that gets him moving and then makes her way over to me. “Rum punch, please.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I say, lifting a red cup off the stack and twirling it before scooping some ice into it.
“You showed a lot of initiative today, Leo,” she says. “Thank you.”
“Thanks, Libby.” My chest swells a bit with pride, which I know is silly under the circumstances. It’s not like I discovered a way to remove microscopic plastics from ocean water or something. But still. I’ve never been told I have initiative before.
She sucks back the entire drink and then tosses the cup in the garbage. “This never happened.”
“Okay, everyone! Crisis is over,” IT guy calls out, “The computers are back up!”
Most of the guests glance at him, shrug, and carry on with the party, while a few make their way to the desk. Bree, who is still standing beside me, laughs in spite of herself. “Not bad, rich boy. Not bad at all. You do realize I’ll have to rescind my offer to let you rent my suite though.”
“And why exactly would that be?”
Amusement crosses her face and makes her look absolutely lovely. “I’ve seen what kind of party you can throw in under fifteen minutes.”
I hold up one hand. “What if I swear on a stack of bibles that I won’t throw a party? Not even a small one. Not even one sip of wine, not one woman will be brought back, no fun of any sort.”
Raising one eyebrow, I say, “That sounds a little unrealistic. No fun of any sort?”
“Okay, I might laugh if I see something amusing on the telly, but I promise not to laugh so hard I cry,” I say. “I swear on my mother to be a very good, very quiet tenant. Clean, too.”
“Fine. We can give it a trial run, but no second chances. If you can’t follow the house rules, you’ll be out on your arse.” She bites her lip a little after she finishes laying down the law, and I wonder who she’s trying to convince about the no-second-chances thing. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s her.
CHAPTER 12
Full Bummed
Brianna
“Who’sthat, and why is he naked?” Aunt Dolores asks, leaning over my shoulder to get a better look at my computer screen.
Nuts. I thought I was the only one up, so I’ve Googled Leo Davenport to get the whole story. And not because he’s so hot that I need to see pictures of him, but because if he’s going to live in my yard (and use my shower), I need to know more about him. For safety purposes.
“Is that the Queen of England?” Dolores asks.
“Yes,” I say, quickly trying to close the article but failing because my laptop has chosen this exact moment to freeze.
A giggling sound comes from my left, and I turn to see that Isabelle has also gotten up early today. “That man is full-bummed,” she says, covering her mouth with both hands as she laughs hysterically. “Mum is looking at a full-bummed man!”
I slam my laptop shut, my face heating up. “I didn’t mean to see that! I was just…doing research on a person I work with. What do you want for breakfast, sweetie?”
“Why was he naked?” she whispers, her eyes wide.
I stand and move in the direction of the cupboard to get a bowl down (and to avoid eye contact with my child). “He’s a very silly man who thought it would be funny to go streaking at the Queen of England’s birthday party.”
“Thatisfunny. What did the Queen say?” Isabelle says, giggling some more.
