Chapter 3

Sofia

“One applicant got a breakup text from her boyfriend while she was in the interview,” Lucas says, grinning and exposing his dimples. He shakes his head. “She kept trying to finish the interview, even though I told her she could leave, and her phone would buzz, and she’d cry a little and then go back to talking about her year abroad. Then she remembers that they met the same year—”

I sip from my second cup of coffee, subtly watching Lucas from beneath my lashes. He’s cute. I’m not sure how old he is, but his skin is firm and bright, in spite of those silver threads woven into the thick, dark hair lining his forehead. It’s his eyes that look old. The broad expanse of his chest tells me that, even if he’s deep into his forties, he still looks damn fine naked. Not that I care. Not that I’m going to see him naked.

Not that I’m cared for and precious in this plaid flannel shirt.

But I had to learn his name by glancing down at some mail on the kitchen counter. There’s no way I’m going to be able to pull this off long-term, but hell, all I need is a little cash and a place to spend the night. And all he needs is someone trustworthy to watch his kids this week. We’re a match made in heaven, if heaven is a place that can only last a week at best.

“And you saw Fig, right?” Lucas wonders, his espresso eyes gleaming with amusement. They fix on me and I lean and start to glow.

“The hippie?”

“She clarified that she did not want me quote, sniffing around her door, unquote.”

I giggle against the warm coffee touching my lips and then drink. My pants have dried, and I’m so warm and so safe. I don’t want to leave. But this is temporary. Very temporary. “I guess we’ve all got our skeletons,” I whisper, wondering about that background check.

“Ah, you’re right about that,” Lucas replies.

“Daddy,” a small voice pipes up from near the kitchen entrance, and both our eyes are drawn from each other and over to a tiny, chocolate-haired girl with large dark eyes. “There’s a girl in your shirt,” she says, shuffling forward in bare feet and juice-stained pink jammies.

“Hi.” I stretch my hand out to shake hers. “I’m So... so Maggie,” I recover. “And you must be very Madison.” Nailed it.

“I am very Maddy,” the little girl agrees brightly, instantly won over by the wordplay. “Are you the manny?”

“Not since I last checked,” I say, eyes flitting to Lucas to share in the joke with him. But his eyes are already boring into me, absorbing me while I talk, and looking at him only makes his eyes dart away.

I blush and turn my gaze to Maddy again. “I’m the new nanny.” But not for long.

Lucas sets Maddy up with a healthy post-nap snack.

“And where is Charlie?” I ask, thinking of the ten-year-old son he mentioned.

“Probably locked in the bathroom,” Lucas muses. “Maddy is easy. She’s crazy, but she’s nice. Charlie might be the oldest, but he’s going to be tough. It’s been a hard year on him. The divorce, the move. All of it.”

The divorce. The move. “What happened?”

Lucas looks at me and hesitates, as if he might consider telling me. Then he grimaces and shakes his head. “Long story short, I needed to get out of the city and focus on my kids.” He winces a little. His kids are a sore subject for him, I guess. “But work is suffering. I can’t keep things on hold any longer.”

“Oh? What do you do?”

The question seems innocent enough to me, but Lucas’s eyes flash with suspicion. “I would think that Rachel told you that much,” he says.

“Right!” I laugh, maybe a little too loud, and smack my forehead with my palm. “I was just making conversation. I remember now.”

He nods, though his mouth is still hardened. “It’s fine. You will never need to worry about doing anything for Graytech. I know that isn’t your job. That’s Rachel’s job,” he adds with a charming smile, and the bubble of anxiety in my throat finally clears. “Have you been in Fallaway Peak for long?”

“Just started looking for work,” I say, trying to keep my answers as tight and light as possible. No more room for mistakes. “I love the house. It’s so big for homes in this area.” I’m trying to sound like I know Fallaway Peak. In all truth, this cabin would be big in any city.

“My brother and I built it ourselves,” Lucas says, glowing. “That’s James, by the way. My brother. I’m sure you’ll meet him soon.”

“Great. Would it—maybe this is crazy, but—would it be OK if I stayed here tonight, instead of coming over in the morning? I prefer to hit the ground running.” True on so many levels.

“I know you said your car is out of commission,” Lucas says. “Can I drive you home to get a change of clothes?”

“Oh, no.” I flick a curly blond lock off my forehead, as if this is such a casual exchange for me. My heart beats in my ears. “I can get a ride home. But would it be OK to start tonight?”

Unfazed, Lucas nods. “That’s fine. I’ll get you some cash for the week tonight, too.”

My entire system relaxes a little at the word “cash.” I didn’t know how I was going to survive without some. Maybe the universe is finally giving me a break.

“Can I see my future room?”

“Your tentative future room,” Lucas reminds me, “but yes. Come on. You can meet Charlie, too.”

We ascend a wooden staircase and then arrive on the second floor, which has four bedrooms, two on each side, adjoined by shared bathrooms. Lucas pokes his head into one of the bedrooms and murmurs, “Hey, Charlie? Do you want to meet the new nanny?”

“Ugh,” Charlie grunts. I can almost hear the eyeballs rolling in his head. “Sure. Fine.”

Lucas opens the door wider and there’s a boy with gold hair and crisp blue eyes, sitting cross-legged on his bed. He holds a half-constructed dinosaur in his hands, made of some tiny pieces much more complicated than Legos.

“Wow,” I say, and I seriously do mean it. I lean down and squint at the craftsmanship. “You did this? Yourself?”

“It’s not a big deal,” Charlie informs me, blasé.

“I couldn’t do it,” I reply. “My name is Maggie.” For the first time, I don’t screw that up. “I’m going to be the new nanny, at least, until my background check comes back, and my references get checked.” Then I’m back on the street, running. But I can still enjoy the beautiful family and the warm, dry house while I have the chance. “You must be Charlie.”

A small, real smile turns at the corners of Charlie’s lips, and he nods once.

“Nice to meet you,” I say.

“You, too,” he says.

“I’m going to check out my new room now but I’m sure I’ll see you later tonight.”

“Sounds good.” I get another small, real smile and step out backward through the open door, bristling up against Lucas’s chest for a second. He’s shutting the door as I crowd against him, and I spring away, flooded with heat. It tingles up into my cheeks and fingers, like I was frozen cold and then brought by the fire.

“You got more than a syllable out of him,” Lucas says, true admiration in his eyes. “I didn’t even know if that could be done anymore.”

“All most kids need is a little encouragement,” I say, even though I have no idea what most kids need. I don’t have a degree in child psychology.

“I’m sure the fact that you’re a young, beautiful woman had nothing to do with it,” Lucas adds. I slant him a look and he recoils, looking around like someone else must have said that. “I mean, a regular woman,” he amends. “Charlie likes regular, average-looking women.”

I can’t help but smile. He thinks I’m beautiful.

“And this is going to be your room,” Lucas finishes awkwardly, pushing open my door. There’s a massive bed overloaded in pillows and fragrant candles filling a luxurious vanity mirror. I couldn’t have gotten a better room in a five-star hotel.

And yet, all I can think is that the only thing separating my bedroom from Lucas’s is a bathroom. A bathroom we share.

Maybe you need to get some. Soon. And not from anybody’s daddy. Not from your boss. So messy. You need to get some from a young, uncomplicated idiot in town.

As he leads me back down the hall, I notice a family portrait with Lucas, Charlie, Madison, and a blonde woman I don’t recognize. Her hair is blown out and teased all to hell, her makeup flawless and her bosom presumably fake.

“Is that their mom?” I ask. I use a low voice, so I don’t upset anyone. Maddy is watching cartoons now, the canned laughter and shrill squeaks leak out of the den, but Charlie might still hear.

“That’s Astrid,” Lucas answers in an equally low voice. He sounds twice as grim as I do, though. “And I don’t want to scare you away from this job, I really don’t, but we should talk about her before you say yes.”