My phone rings suddenly, and I quickly peek at the screen. “I’ve gotta answer this,” I say, climbing out of the car.
Jules dashes out of the vehicle, too. She looks like she wants to get far, far away from me, but I’m not done with our conversation yet.
I jog after her, grabbing her hand and trapping her in place. “Hold on,” I mutter. “Don’t leave.”
She scowls at me, and after I lace my fingers with hers, she stares down at our joined hands with a befuddled expression.
Honestly, I’m befuddled, too, because what the hell am I doing? But at least Jules doesn’t run away. She reluctantly stands still as I answer the call from my newest babysitter.
“Karen, it’s late. What is it?” I snap across the line.
“Hi, Mr. Raines.” The babysitter’s voice is a hoarse squeak, and immediately I’m wondering whether I should start panicking. “Look, I don’t know how to say this, but I just found out I’m pregnant.”
Yup. I should start panicking.
“Now I’m moving across the country to meet up with the baby’s father—some guy I met when I was vacationing in Tulum a few months ago. And don’t ask me if that’s a good idea, because frankly, I don’t know. I don’t know anything. My life is a huge clusterfuck right now.” She breaks down in sobs.
I toss my head up to the sky as my anxiety climbs higher.Here we fucking go. Again.
My finger begins to absently brush back and forth over Jules’s engagement ring as I speak. Somehow, my future wife’s proximity is having a calming effect on my fried nerves. Right now, I don’t have the mental bandwidth to psychoanalyze what that means.
“Well, congratulations,” I grind out as Jules watches me curiously, trying to figure out what’s going on.
“The sarcasm is uncalled for, Mr. Raines. My life is in shambles.” Karen whimpers. “Please deposit my last paycheck into my bank account.”
I let go of Jules’s hand and pinch the bridge of my nose. “Yeah, sure.”
There’s a pause, and then she sighs. “Cameron’s a great kid. I’m going to miss him.”
“Thanks,” I mutter. “Good luck with everything,” I add, but the phone has already gone dead in my ear.
…And another babysitter bites the dust.Wow.
“Everything okay?” Jules asks.
“Huge surprise. Babysitter number one zillion just quit on me.” I rake both hands through my hair, and for once, I don’t even care that it’s probably sticking up all over the place. “At least this one lasted almost a full school week.”
“Ouch.” Jules flinches.
I lean back against my car, rubbing my pounding forehead and growling in frustration. “What are the freaking odds?” I mutter out loud.
Jules is silent for a few moments. She shifts from one foot to the next. Then she says, “I could babysit Cameron…”
“Huh…?”
I wasn’t expecting that.
“I could be Cameron’s babysitter,” she repeats.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” I’m not even sure I trust Jules for the job. She doesn’t seem to know anything about kids. But I don’t say that to her face.
“You’re wrong. It’s a fantastic idea,” she announces as she starts listing off her justifications on her fingers. “One—I’m about to be Cameron’s stepmom. It only makes sense that I would help take care of him. Two—I just lost my restaurant job, and I could definitely use the extra money. Three—we’ll be living together, so me taking care of Cameron would make things really convenient for all of us.”
Wait? She’s agreeing to move in with me? She’s actually going to do it?
I just stare at her, unable to hide my skepticism.
She ticks off a fourth finger, speaking before I can object. “Four—I’m great with Jagger. Ask Alba. She’ll vouch for me.”
