Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 92417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
FOUR
austin
I’d entered the living room just in time to see the crazy—and crazy beautiful—woman in a wedding gown jump off the couch and perform some sort of martial arts move in which her foot went flying toward the ceiling.
Honestly, it was fucking impressive. You had to be pretty damn flexible to get your leg to do that.
I shoved all thoughts of her looks and agility aside—this woman was clearly nuts, and there was no way in hell I was hiring her to live here and watch my children. Had Mabel lost her mind?
Actually, I already knew the answer to that, since she’d just spent several minutes upstairs trying to convince me to give this woman a chance.
“Mabel, you can’t be serious,” I’d argued. “That woman is not right in the head. She’s wearing a wedding gown!”
“I know. Ari told me all about it,” Mabel said. “She was supposed to get married to some wealthy big shot today, and right before the ceremony she found out he was cheating on her. So she left him at the altar.”
“And went for a burger at Moe’s?” I shook my head, folding my arms across my chest. “This doesn’t add up.”
“Listen, you might be hungry too if you just defended your honor the way she did. This asshole controlled her life. Ari said it sounds like he was a real manipulative bastard who took away her old friends, made her delete all her social media accounts, and he paid for everything, so she was completely dependent on him.”
“Why didn’t she just leave?”
“Spoken like a true man.” Indignant, Mabel’s hands flew up. “I don’t know! You know how those rich jerks are—so entitled, they treat everyone like dirt, bossing people around because they think everyone is beneath them. You’re around that long enough, you start to believe it too.”
I clenched my jaw. I knew exactly how those guys were, I’d worked on their summer homes all my life. But even if I understood how this girl had been manipulated, that didn’t make her my responsibility. “Look, if that’s true, I feel bad for her. But it’s not my problem. And I don’t appreciate you ambushing me like this.”
“You’re the one who told me to find a replacement nanny! Can’t you just give her a chance? I felt an instant connection with her.”
“Why, does she love Hamilton or something?”
Mabel’s angry expression told me I’d hit the mark. “You would love it too, if you took the time to see it!”
“I’m busy, Mabel. I don’t have time for shows, and I don’t have time for this.” I turned to go, and she whacked my shoulder with the spatula.
“You won’t have time for anything if you don’t hire a new nanny!”
I exhaled, feeling a painful stab between my shoulder blades. I must have pulled a muscle today. “Does she have any childcare experience?”
“Um. She might.”
“You didn’t ask her?”
My sister fidgeted. “We talked about other things.”
I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. “Mabel, this is ridiculous. This woman could be a serial killer.”
“She’s not.” Mabel tugged my arm down and pointed her spatula at me. “Stop being so judgmental. She’s here, she needs a job, and you need a nanny, so we might as well interview her. Maybe you’ll like her.”
“I doubt it.”
“Then do it as a favor to me,” she begged. “I can’t go off to my dig feeling all guilty and ashamed. I won’t do my best work, and then I’ll blow my chances of getting into a good PhD program, and my life will have been one big waste. Do you really want that weight on your shoulders?”
I pinned her with my best older brother stare and held up one hand, fingers spread. “Five minutes. That’s all I’m giving this. I’ve got shit to do tonight.”
“Five minutes,” she agreed. Then her eyes lit up with mischief. “She’s pretty, don’t you think?”
“I didn’t notice,” I lied.
“Well, she is. So try to be charming.”
In the blink of an eye, I’d grabbed Mabel by the wrist and twisted her into a headlock—a classic big brother move I usually reserved for my male siblings since Mabel was almost ten years younger and much smaller, but I wasn’t above employing it when she was really annoying me. “Twerp, I am all fucking charm.”
“Ha!” She struggled to escape and couldn’t. “You left charming behind a long time ago, along with easygoing, relaxed, and fun!”
“It’s like you forgot you just asked me for a favor.” I tightened my grip playfully and gave her skull a knuckle rub with my other hand.
Laughing, Mabel clawed at my forearm with one hand and slapped my legs with the spatula. “If you had a girlfriend, you wouldn’t be so uptight. Now let me go! You smell like sweat!”
I loosened my grip, and she took off down the stairs, leaving me no choice but to follow her. On my way, I glanced at my shirt and noticed the pit stains. Shit. Should I change?