Chapter 3
Alisyn locked her bedroom door and went into the bathroom. Her stomach dropped when she caught sight of her reflection. She looked even worse than she'd thought. The twins had to think horribly of her—not only was she only their dad's nanny, but at the first meeting she appeared not to care about her appearance in the slightest.
With any luck, she could rectify that with a better second impression. Not that she had much time to think about impressing the gorgeous twins, if they even cared at all about her. Alisyn pulled out her phone and checked out the to-do list that Carrie had just texted her in preparation for the big anniversary celebration on Sunday. She'd be lucky to get it all done before it was time to pick up the kids from school and take them to their practices.
She climbed into the shower and as the water poured down over her, she thanked the heavens above for sending so many distractions. With as much as she had to do over the next several days, she wouldn't have a spare moment to think about her anniversary—the day that had ruined her life as she'd always known it.
Not only did Alisyn have the kids and their activities to distract her, but she had the festival, the anniversary celebration, and now Shane Rockford. Alisyn hadn't so much as noticed a guy in the last four years. The fact that she couldn't get him out of her mind proved to her that she was finally moving on, but in a way, that broke her heart all over again. How could she ever move on and live a happy life for herself?
It was a good thing the twins were only staying for a week. She had no business getting distracted by her boss's son. It was probably a conflict of interest or something. Maybe she could even lose her job over it, and the last thing she wanted was that. The four kids were her life. Alisyn had grown up an only child and had always dreamed of being a part of a big family. Now she had that, and she didn't want to do anything to put that in jeopardy.
She needed to put Shane out of her mind. That was the only solution.
Once out of the shower, Alisyn found herself putting more attention than usual on her hair and makeup. By the time she was done, she'd never looked better—what a stark contrast to earlier.
Alisyn went downstairs when she was finally done getting ready. Other than Pookie sleeping in her dog bed, the house appeared empty. A quick glance outside showed that the sports car was gone. She picked up an unfamiliar backpack lying near the front door and slung it over her shoulder. It gave her a whiff of a pleasant rugged, woodsy smell. She checked the label on the suitcase next to the door—it belonged to Shane—then she grabbed the handle and rolled it into Peter's study. The couch had yet to be pulled out, so Alisyn set up the bed and placed the bags on top.
Her phone rang, startling her. It was Carrie. "Have you reconfirmed with the venue yet?"
"I was just about to," Alisyn replied. "I dropped the kids off, did the morning errands, and then when I got back to the house, Shane and Shayna were already here, so I—"
"They're in already?" she exclaimed.
"They went back out, but yes."
"Peter didn't think they'd be in by tonight—they said they would be, but he thought…" She took a deep breath. "Okay, as soon as you reconfirm with Sunday's venue, make reservations for eight at Liam's restaurant outside of town."
"Okay. What time?"
"When does Lacie's practice get done?"
Alisyn mentally went over the kids' schedules. "Five."
"Make the reservations for six. I'll need you to bring the children home and get cleaned up quickly. Then drop them off at Liam's. You know where it is, right?"
"On the east side of Silver Lake, right?"
"That's the one. Don't be late. Remember, call about Sunday first."
"I will," she promised.
The call ended.
Alisyn took a deep breath and tried not to take her boss's shortness personally. Carrie wanted everything to be perfect for the party, and she was laser-focused on details. It was times like this when Alisyn wished Carrie would take her husband's advice and work less—all the extra stress tended to fall on Alisyn who just wanted to take care of the kids.
She set the alarm on her phone and started making calls, beginning with the hall the Rockfords had rented for the party. Once she found out what she already knew—that everything was in place—she called to make reservations for that night's dinner and then moved onto the caterer.
By the time the alarm went off, Alisyn had made it through most of the list. Her muscles ached from the stress, but there were still more calls to make, and Carrie would surely ask about them.
Alisyn ran into the kitchen and threw together some snacks for the kids to eat in the car before their various activities. Realizing she'd forgotten lunch, she ate some snacks, too.
She stepped outside and squinted in the bright sunlight. Some early October afternoons made her forget it wasn't still summer, and this was one of them. She slid on her sunglasses and got everything into the car.
Shane's sports car pulled into the driveway. Alisyn waved to the twins and climbed into her driver's seat. Shane jumped out of his car. "Where are you going?"
"To pick up the kids."
"We can go with you." He turned to Shayna. "I want to see them, don't you?"
"Aren't they just going from school to their activities?"
"Yeah," Alisyn said. "I don't know if anyone told you, but you guys are all going out for dinner tonight. That might be a more relaxing time for introductions."
"I saw a spa in town," Shayna said. "Let's go there."
Shane groaned. "No way." He threw his keys at her and she caught them. "You go to the spa, and I'll go with Alisyn. I want to watch Cooper play hockey, anyway. Maybe I can help."
"Have fun." Shayna got into the Subaru and started it.
Shane gave Alisyn a mind-melting smile and climbed into the passenger side of the SUV.
Alisyn's heart raced. Was Shane Rockford really going to spend the afternoon with her?