“A double espresso, please.” She wrestles with a rogue wheel, flashing me a tight smile. “But I’m buying. You’re my guest.”
“Only ifLiam Gunnis paying.” I shoot her a cheeky grin.
“Oh.” Her face goes blank. “I don’t need him to.” She straightens, a tad too defensive. “Did you know the club, meaning him, still paid me even though I broke my contract, and I didn’t work a single day during my brief stay in London?”
Only April would be mad about receiving hundreds of thousands of pounds. I hold a smirk in. Well, she’s a surgeon, maybe she had that kind of money in the bank before meeting my ex-boss. Not something I could say for myself.
“Can’t say I was aware of the details,” I say, schooling my face back to neutral. “Or that I’m surprised, to tell you the truth. That’s very Liam of him.” A grin sneaks out. “Butyou kept your end of the deal somehow. We saw each other every other week when you went back to London to check on Max's recovery.” We had some fun on those bottomless brunches. “You operated on Max, saved his bloody career. He had a twenty-four-seven physiotherapist with him; why have a surgeon too?”
“Thank you! Unfortunately, that’s not how billionaires think, just us reasonable people. Anyway, I’d never abandon a patient or quit on a deal I’ve been paid for. And unlike Preston, Max never needed a live-in nanny,” she adds.
April makes her way over and drops a sleek black card into my hand—eyes dodging mine, jaw set. “Want to spend his money? Here you go.”
Oh, no. I’m not having that behavior on my watch. “No-no-no-noooo. You stop that right now, missy.”
“Missy?” She chuckles.
Good. My wording has spurred her out of that unwarranted guilty moment. Her smile is back on now in all its megawatts.
“Well, I’m guessing it’s not missus yet. Gunn can’t tie his shoelaces without me, let alone plan a wedding. You guys didn’t elope, did you?” April doesn’t confirm or correct me, so I scan her left hand—no extra band. Panic attack canceled.
Am I really freaking out about the possibility of missing my boss’s wedding? Get a life, Mia.
“No, we didn’t elope.” Phew. “And don’t be silly. You wouldn’t be our wedding planner, Mia. You’d be our guest. Probably one of my bridesmaids.”
I nudge her shoulder with mine and pretend that didn’tjust make my day. “Blimey, you don’t have many girlfriends either, do you?”
Would you look at that? She’s perfect for me too.
Linking my arm with hers, I drag April to the end of the queue and boss her around, a skill I clearly picked up from the best—her future husband. “My point was, you’re a billionaire’s girlfriend. Try acting like it. Oh!” I tug her hand closer and tap the humongous rock on the ring I helped Gunn pick out online. “Excuse me. You’re a billionaire'sfiancée.” I lower it from my line of sight, afraid the shine from all those diamonds might blind me. “And very soon-to-be wife, because let’s face it, that guy has the patience of a newborn. So, indulge yourself, lady. Life is too damn short not to.”
When it’s our turn, I take up my own advice and order a double chocolate muffin the size of my head.They really do supersize things in this country, don’t they?
Diet starts tomorrow, I tell myself. I already blew it on macarons and tiramisu in first class anyway. No point counting calories now. Of course Liam Gunn didn’t book me an economy ticket. I’m not sure he even knows that part of an airplane exists. My hips appreciated the extra space and the fact that no armrests had spent the flight trying to carve their initials into my flesh.
With my tray stocked with caffeine and a giant sweet treat, I carry on preaching. “Liam loves you. Worships the ground you walk on. To the point of having you arrested at Heathrow Airport.” I snort at my retelling of how far he went so she couldn’t leave him behind. It was crazy, disproportionate, andohmygod, so romantic too.
The high arch in her eyebrows hints that she didn’t find it as amusing.
“April, he did all that because he couldn’t go a day,a single day, without you. For God’s sake, let the guy spoil you. Where is the asshole billionaire, by the way?”
“Hey, I call him that too!” We giggle; two long-time besties in the making, even though we’ve only known each other for a few months.
“Don’t try to claim the credit. I came up with that years before you came into the picture. And the difference is that you can use this term of endearment to his face and get away with it.” To be fair, I’ve called him that multiple times and made it out unscathed.
Over the years I worked as a PA for Liam Gunn, we developed a nice friendship during work hours. Well, Iused towork for him. I came to the US at his request, but now, I’ll be working for April’s boss instead. As a nanny. Talk about a career shift.
“He sends his apologies. But a meeting came up. The owner of the hotel we’ve been living in is in town just for today and invited him for a business lunch.”
“Business? Isn’t this supposed to be his billionaire-in-love sabbatical?”
Her lips curve into a devious grin. “I dare you to say that to his face.”
I give it some thought and a shrug. “Meh. Ask me again when I’m bored.”
April lets out something between a laugh and a shriek, and that right there is one of the reasons I enjoy her company so much. She cracks up even when I’m not joking. The girl is too easy to please.
My sweetened life elixir is filled to the brim with my unique blend of four different syrups, bordering on a diabetic coma. Two sips in, the caffeine—and most likely the sugar—hits my system, and I’m ready to tackle this new time zone. I’m all amped up, off to grill April for gossip instead of intel about my new job. But she jumps in first.
