I’m in deep trouble.
CHAPTER 20
Nash
“Here,I’ll grab our coats, and we can sneak away without anyone knowing.” I let go of Magnolia’s hand long enough to open the giant coat closet by the front door.
It’s the same size as the room I grew up in. Some things still take me back to my grandfather’s lifestyle. The lifestyle that my dad grew up in. He gave up his life of luxury because he loved my mom so much. I wish I’d had more time with him.
I flick the light on and am greeted by a pair of bright eyes.
“Hello. Are you the new valet?”
“Ha. You couldn’t pay me enough to wait on rich, entitled people,” Harper replies. She clicks off the flashlight she’d been using to read her book.
“Aha, spoken like a rich and entitled person,” I mutter.
I’m fairly certain I hear Magnolia snicker behind me.
Harper must have heard me too since she glares and folds her arms. “How does that make me entitled?”
I lean a shoulder against the doorframe, perfectlyaware that Magnolia is still standing behind me. “Well…if you weren’t rich and entitled, then you’d have to work for a living. Some people don’t have the luxury of being choosy about their jobs. I used to be a valet.”
Magnolia makes a sound of surprise behind me, and I’m glad I’m able to shock her—at least a little.
“You learn a lot about people when you work in the service industry. Lots of people-watching. Lots of work. Builds character. It would be good for you, Harper.”
Harper stands up. “You’re not a very nice cousin—you know that?”
I shrug and she continues, “You’re the only one who would think being a valet would be a good idea.”
“As I said, it builds character—something many people in this family lack,” I mutter.
I just want to grab our coats and leave, not talk a nineteen-year-old through an existential crisis.
But I have no such luck, because now Harper is looking at me thoughtfully.
“But at least you’d still talk to me. Nicely, that is.”
“If you were a valet, I’d recommend you to all my friends,” I promise.
Dang, I hope I never have to parent a child through the teen years. Hopefully, little fairies will show up and somehow teach them everything they need to know.
Harper continues to stand in the way. “Do you suppose Dad would be mad if I wanted to be a valet?”
“Yes.” I don’t even need to think about that answer.
“Okay. Perfect. I’ll become one. I’ll make sure to tell him it was your idea.” She smiles brightly and flits out of the closet, brushing past Magnolia, saying goodbye as she leaves.
“I like that cousin,” Magnolia comments.
“Yes, I do too,” I reply as I pull our coats out of the closet.
I hold hers out as she slips her arms in. She turns around and looks up at me with those big blue eyes. I begin buttoning the gray peacoat from the bottom up. Her lips part, and her gaze focuses on my fingers.
I jerk my hands away and ask, “Did you wear a scarf?”
“No. The washing machine at the Laundromat ate my scarf.”
