I sit down on the edge of the bed, feeling the pain fester in my ankle. “Do you do this a lot?” I ask her. This isn’t Jade. Jade has always been a little aloof, but she’s usually fairly responsible. I don’t remember a time she’s been late to a job. Between last night and hearing this conversation, I’m more than a little concernedabouther.
“This is only the second time.” She says this without a glimmer ofremorse.
“And they’reunderstanding?”
“I guess,” she says while crunching down onsomething.
“Jade, I’m worriedaboutyou.”
“I’m fine, truthfully ... but enough about me. I was calling to see how your first day with Grumpy Pants isgoing.”
I cup my hand around the bottom of my phone to conceal my words as much as possible. “You freaking knew about him and didn’twarnme?”
“Oh, he’s not that bad once you get toknowhim.”
“Jade. Is it true that no nanny has stuck around here for more than a couple ofweeks?”
She laughs in response to my question, but I’m not sure I see what’s so funny. “Yes, it’s true, but it isn’t becauseofLiam.”
“What made you think I’d be a viable candidate for this? Was it all of my experience in childcare?” I know I sound ungrateful for the position she acquired for me here, but she made it sound like it would be a funexperience.
“Jules, I know you. That’s why I thought you could handle it. You’re the sweetest, most tough-as-nails, girlIknow.”
“Obviously, this kid sounds like trouble,” Itellher.
“Easy with that one,” she warns. I don’t know if she means Dylan, or the topic, but I’m starting to get a littlenervous.
“So, tonight, you and I are going out for dinner by ourselves, and we’re having a long talk, okay?” I say this with a smile to my tone, but I’m feeling a lot of things right now, and none of it seemshappy.
“I’m all you—Oh my God, can’t you use the crosswalk like everyone else?” she yells. “Sorry, people like to jet out in front of cars inthisarea.”
“It’s okay. I have to get going, though.” I hear Liam coming upstairs, and who knows what wrath he’sbringing.
“Okay, I’ll see you tonight. Meet me at my place when you get out,”Jadesays.
Liam is standing in the entryway of my room with every one of my bags draped over a different part of his body. “Don’t get used to this,” he says, dropping them off besidemybed.
“I didn’t ask you to do that.” But, I doappreciateit.
“I’m aware.” He folds his arms over his chest and looks at me as if he needs to figuresomethingout.
“I don’t understand why you’ve been such an—” Maybe I shouldn’t call him an asshole when he brought my bags upstairsforme.
“Look, girls like you come and go. They see me as a free ride to play house with Dylan all day and leave all their dirty work for me to clean up. For some reason, every nanny this family has had was under the impression that this job is easy.” The thought may have crossed my mind a few times. I figured it would be fun to play with a kid all summer, then move home and start looking for a real-worldjob.
“That’s why the other nannies have left afteraweek?”
“Partially,” he responds, dropping his hands to his sides. He walks over to the long dresser and straightens the tall lavender vase filled with white lilies. Perfectionist or OCD? We may have one thing in common, at least. I noticed the crooked vase almost the second Iwalkedin.
“Well, I’m not afraid of a challenge, and I’m not a messy person, so you can take it down anotch.”
A hint of a smile touches his perfect, cupid-bow lips, and for a reason I will not look into, it makes my stomach tighten. Why is it the good-looking, I mean ... super ugly guys . . . are always the assholes? I promised to stop going after men for their looks after dealing with Andy—the quarterback, Indiana State’s Mr. August, and the eye-candy for every girl in English Lit during sophomore year. Now knowing I was just a monthly calendar girl he strung along for an entire year, I don’t understand how a man can hide eleven other girls in his life, but that whole experience taught me how naive and gullible I am. I refuse to ever let someone break my heart like that again. Andy killed the image of any good-looking guy in myfuture.
“So, you’re friends with Jade?” he asks, staring out the Frenchwindows.
“Best friends since middle school.” She isn’t making me look too good at the moment,though.
“She’s a handful, huh?” What can I say to this? She was certainly the definition of that last night, and from the sounds of it, she’s been acting this way since shearrivedhere.
