“I do.”
Chapter Seven
“He’smakingyousigna contract that says what?” Emma walked slowly beside me in the crisp morning toward the soccer field for warmups before the game. She had just finished puking behind her jeep.
I carried the bag of soccer balls for her. Normally Sawyer would have, but one of his patients had an eye emergency this morning, so he was at their clinic in Carrington Cove. I was glad for the time with her. “That there will be no romanticentanglements,” I exaggerated, it was such a funny word, “between us.” I decided to leave out the reasons why for now. Someday I would share them all with my friends when there was more time.
Emma snorted. “What does that even mean?”
I shifted the heavy bag on my shoulder. “Basically, that we will have a business-only relationship.”
Emma blew into her hands to warm them up. It was chilly this morning. “Well, that’s too bad. From the way you two behaved last night, we all thought you might decide to play house instead.”
I stopped and set down the bag. “What are you talking about?”
She took ahold of me to steady herself. Her baby meant business. “The sexual tension at your table last night was crazy hot. It’s why we didn’t bother saying goodbye to you. The way he looked at you and the way you would blush and lean in was like watching a rom-com play out in real life. We all thought for sure you had finally met your match. That the dashing Brit would be the one to finally get to you.”
“I have no idea what you are talking about.” I snatched up the bag and slung it over my back, offering my arm to Emma as a support.
Emma leaned into me. “You are such a liar.”
I totally was. “It doesn’t matter, because come Monday morning, I’m going to sign the contract his barrister is drawing up, and I’m going to make more money than I thought I ever would and give Chloe everything she needs,” my stupid voice cracked.
“Hey.” Emma rubbed my arm. “What happened last night?”
“Nothing,” I lied . . . again.
“Aspen, it’s me.”
I leaned my head on hers, so grateful for our years of friendship. “It’s just, I feel dumb. There was a moment when he admitted that he was attracted to me and wished he was free to ask me out. And maybe for a microsecond I kind of hoped he would.” After all, no one had ever called me fetching. It felt like more than telling someone they were beautiful. It was like saying you encompass my senses. Ugh, listen to me. I seriously needed to quit watching British regency period shows.
Emma found in her the strength to grab my shoulders and shake them. “Then why in the world did you agree to take this job? He could find another nanny.”
“Besides my awful track record with men, I feel like I’m supposed to be his nanny. There is something about Henry. I feel like he needs me.”
“What about what you need?”
“I don’t need a man.”
“They’re kind of nice.” Emma giggled.
“You’re still in the honeymoon phase.”
Emma smooshed my cheeks. “Listen to me, it’s not that. And I’m sorry, I don’t care what you say. You never had a ‘honeymoon phase’ with Leland, so you don’t even know what that means. But by the way, they’re fabulous and you deserve one. Regardless, though, I saw the way you looked at Miles last night. Your sparkly eyes said you missed whatever it was that was igniting between the two of you.”
I closed my eyes and tried to blow a breath out, but Emma’s hands made it sound more like I was blowing raspberries, which made us both laugh. She dropped her hands and took my arm back.
“Em, this job could be a game changer for me and Chloe.”
“I get that.” She leaned more into me. “Just make sure you don’t forget it’s not the only game you could win.”
I was about to ask her what she meant, but her assistant coach, Gwendolyn, who was basically a trophy coach, waved at us from her lounge chair in her skintight designer jeans with sky-high leopard-print boots. “Ladies,” she called, “I asked Mario,” her Latin lover and husband number three or four, I couldn’t remember, “to run to Starbucks and get us all hot chocolate. Isn’t that nice?”
“Do you know what would be nice?” Emma grumbled. “If she actually helped me coach.” Emma’s tired eyes lit up. “Now that you work for Miles, does that mean you would be free to help me coach?”
I thought about it for a second, excited about the prospect and the doors taking this job would open for me not only professionally, but personally. I could finally be the kind of mom I’d always wanted to be, volunteering at the school and, of course, being more involved in the sport Chloe and I loved so much. “I would love to. Just let me make sure it’s okay with Miles if I bring Henry to practice with me.”
Emma threw her arms around me. “You know, I think this job is going to be the best thing ever.”
