Elijah watched Dylan cannonball into the pool and wondered how he’d gotten so lucky.

They’d had their ups and downs over the last few years. But hearing his kids’ laughter now made everything worth it. They’d gone to a movie, played some video games, even had a little batting practice at the cages. Seger had worked on his pitching. Kid had a cannon on him. Now the sky was ablaze with orange and pink and Elijah was tired, but it was a pleasant tired. He wished he could borrow a little of his sons’ energy for the tour—they were still going strong: swimming laps, diving, running, roughhousing. Eli was kicked back on the patio making sure they didn’t drown each other.

Now, away from the heaviness of his old house and the memories it held, out here in the warm early summer air where he could breathe, he was almost ashamed he’d been such an asshole to the nanny today. She’d looked scared to death, and whatever orders Heidi had given, it wasn’t Iris’s fault. He might even have been feeling generous enough to apologize to her, but he damn sure didn’t care to call Heidi to get her number . . . even though that would make his ex-wife think, wouldn’t it? The idea made him chuckle.

He didn’t like an outsider infringing on his time. He imagined Iris sitting with him now, her prim and proper glasses perched on her pert little nose, and all traces of mirth left him. She would probably be horrified the kids were running around the pool right now. Aghast that he’d let them load up on soda and candy at the movies. Chewing his ass out for not making them wear face masks when they played catch.

Please. They were kids, for fuck’s sake, and they were his kids, and he’d had a blast doing all of that shit when he was little, and he was still kicking. So what if a fly ball had broken his nose once? He should have caught it.

Of course, Iris’s diatribe only played out in his mind’s eye; he didn’t know if she would be outraged over those things or not. He could just see those crossed arms and her looking down her nose at him, like a teacher about to smack his hand with a ruler.

Frowning, he shifted his weight in his seat, wondering why that image was kind of hot.

That was certainly an attraction he didn’t need, but it did give him an idea.

There was no doubt about it: Iris was cute. She was about to be a piece of meat in a lion’s den, surrounded on all sides by horny-ass rock stars who would fuck anything that could bend over. If he could hook her up with someone, she might be out of his hair for a while. And if she even thought about feeding information to his ex-wife, then Heidi might learn her precious paragon wasn’t so angelic after all.

Two could play at this game.

But in the meantime, Eli just couldn’t wait to hear what his bandmates would say about him bringing Heidi’s nanny on tour. Jesus. Kill me now.

––––––––

THE WORST THING ABOUT her job, Iris often thought, was not being able to talk about it.

No one could even know who she worked for. Not friends, not family. All a part of a non-disclosure agreement she had signed with Heidi when she was hired. She had no one to vent to, no one to agonize with over the summer ahead of her. Not that anyone would feel sorry for her. Sara, her best friend, would absolutely flip out if she knew Iris was touring with Elijah Vance this summer. She was a rock fan and had actually seen him in concert before.

How fun would it be to arrange a meet-up between the two of them? But it would never happen.

Iris eyed Sara over their martinis and ached so much to tell her about everything that she almost couldn’t force the words back down her throat. Specifics aside, however, her friend was going to need to know that she would be absent for two months, or Sara would have the police looking for her.

“So . . . I have some news.”

Sara’s hazel eyes—currently surveying the restaurant for eligible men—swung to Iris and widened slightly in enthusiasm. “Yeah? Good?”

“That’s debatable.” Iris took a sip to fortify her courage, though she feared it might dull her wits. This could get tricky.

“Uh-oh. Spill.” Sara leaned forward, all ears.

“It seems my job is taking me away for a couple of months.”

Sara knew she was a nanny for a high-profile person. But that was all. “Oh my God! Did you say months? It’s loud in here.” She put a hand to her ear as if she were hard of hearing.

Iris nodded. “Months.”

“Like a vacation?”

“Not exactly. I just wanted you to know I’ll be gone.”

“You don’t look very happy about it.”

“I’m not, if you must know.”

“Is this something your average person wouldn’t be happy about? Or just something you aren’t happy about?”

Iris had to laugh. Sara knew her too well sometimes. “That’s hard to answer. Who is your average person?”

“Say I’m your average person.”

“You would be happy about it.” God, would you ever. Elijah wouldn’t know what hit him. Even sadder than never being able to introduce Sara to him, though, was the fact that Iris couldn’t warn her friend that one of her favorite singers in the world had a streak of colossal a-hole in him. Oh well. It was something she would have to take to her grave. Sara’s ignorance could be her bliss.

“I really envy you, you know that? And while I’m sitting over here nursing my jealousy, you’re taking all this for granted.”

Iris sat up straighter, her brows drawing together. “I don’t take it for granted. I’m not as . . . affected by it as some people might be. It’s about those kids.”

“Know any other famous people who are hiring?”

“You don’t even like kids.”

“Damn. I forgot.” Sara snapped her fingers. “Well, I can pretend, right? Put on a movie and throw some snacks at them?”

“There is sooo much more to it than that.” Many times, Iris had almost slipped and said Heidi’s name, or one of the boys’ names. She tried to avoid talking about her job at all. And now that she’d relayed the needed information, she wanted to steer the conversation away. Falling into Elijah Vance’s arms earlier today would be the only professional gaffe she would allow herself. He sure smelled good, though. Expensive. Like leather and sin. “Anyway. When I drop off the face of the earth in a couple of weeks, you’ll know why.”

“Wait, I won’t hear from you at all? Isn’t that, I don’t know, weird?”

“It’s not, really. You’ll hear from me, just maybe not as often. I’m not sure what breaks I’ll get, or when.”

“God. I hope they pay you well.”

She had no complaints. Sometimes this job consumed her life but, sadly, she didn’t have much of one to consume. Sara was her favorite date, and as far as her family, she was never inclined to visit them. Like ever.

“There are definite perks. Like you said, I guess the average person would jump at this.”

“I’m rethinking being an average person. The average person probably likes kids,” Sara said.

“It’s kind of a requirement for the survival of our species.”

“Ha! The world is overpopulated. I don’t know, maybe I would like my own kids if I ever have any. But can I just say I respect the hell out of you? It must take a lot to put your life on hold for someone else’s family.”

Iris reflected on that in silence, sipping her drink. She was pretty much on call 24/7. If Heidi had a “thing” come up at this very moment, as often happened, Iris would abandon their meal and run to her side. Rain or shine, weekday or weekend. But in return, she’d gotten to take some fabulous vacations with the family. She had days off when Eli took the boys—while not necessarily rare, she sometimes wished for a little more frequency there. She loved Seger and Dylan, but she needed a break from someone else’s life every now and then. She valued her quiet time.

Something she wouldn’t get much of on a tour. On a bus. With rowdy boys and a surly rock star. Ugh.

Sara was scrutinizing her through narrowed eyes. “I’m dying—actually dying—for details. You’re too good an employee.”

Not really. I did get busted eavesdropping on my boss. But hey, Heidi wanted her to hone her snooping skills, so what better time than the present? “Not really. I sort of got in trouble.” She could divulge that much, at least. She supposed.

“Ooh, do tell.”

Iris shrugged. “I was interested in a conversation about this . . . thing coming up. I was listening through a door. And I got caught.”

Sara laughed. “That’s awesome.”

“It was not awesome. I felt so bad.”

“Oh, come on. Immaculate Iris has to fuck up every now and then, right? It makes the rest of us feel better about ourselves.”

“I really do hate it when you call me that.”

“Then you should work a little harder to make me not call you that. Maybe this was a first step. Give me something else. Let your hair down a little when you go do this thing, whatever it is, and tell me all about it. What you can, anyway.”

“Fat chance of that. My hair will stay up.” What kind of role model would she be for those boys if she partied it up? Not to mention, Elijah would probably love any excuse to get Heidi to let her go. He’d looked at her like something gross he’d found stuck to the bottom of his shoe.

And why shouldn’t he, really? He thought she was a snoop. He wasn’t wrong.

She didn’t understand why it nagged at her so much.

Sara usually made Iris feel better, but not tonight. She left her friend after dinner with anxiety gnawing in the pit of her stomach, making her nearly sick as she drove home. I can’t do this echoed through her head, no matter how she tried to silence that voice. She had even expressed that concern to Heidi before Elijah had found her with her ear to the bedroom door. Now she was even more certain. Heidi had waved off her worries. “You’ll have fun once you get out there,” she’d said airily, then reminded Iris of all the cities she would get to see, all the people she would meet, all the excitement of a live rock show. “I miss it,” Heidi had concluded, showing a rare glimpse of melancholy over her lost marriage.

They were different people, though. Iris wasn’t a social butterfly; she never had been. She wasn’t interested in meeting people. And while some rock was okay, Elijah’s brand was way too heavy for her. Elijah himself was way too heavy for her. She didn’t deal well with people like him. Confrontational people.

She really wished she could change Heidi’s mind about this.