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“What’s going on? You keep looking at me and frowning. Do I have something on my face?” I stretched Milo out on the couch next to me and moved over to sit on Kendall’s couch with her. “You’re putting out some weird vibes.”
She sank back into the couch and groaned. “Can I ask you something? You’re not super old. Maybe you’ll get it.”
I nodded. “Of course.”
“I’m friends with this girl, Beck. She’s really cool, you know?” Her cheeks darkened and she chanced a look at me. “Like, really cool.”
My eyebrows climbed higher as I started to connect the dots. “Andyouthink she’s really cool?”
She nodded. “Yeah.”
“Okay. So you think Beck is really cool. Got it.” I smiled and turned so we were facing each other. “Does she think you’re really cool?”
Kendall flopped back on the couch and sighed dramatically. “I don’t know. She followed me on Insta but she also follows this other girl, Frankie. Frankie goes to our school and came out when she was like ten. Everyone thinks she’s amazing.”
“Cool name.” I snorted when she shot me a dirty look. “It’s a horrible name, actually. Stupid, stupid name.”
She let a tiny smile touch her lips before sighing. “How do I find out if Beck likes me?”
I grinned because I couldn’t help being excited and happy at the idea of young love. It was beautiful and so full of hope and opportunity. “Okay, so are you the bold type?”
Her eyes widened. “What do you mean?”
“Would you approach her? Sometimes it’s best to just be bold and go for it.”
“Is that what you would do?”
I laughed and shook my head. “I’m a big coward. I’ve only made a move on one person in my entire life. Even then, he’d done most of the work already.”
She fiddled with her phone and shrugged. “I don’t know if I can. What if she doesn’t like me? Or laughs at me? Oh, god. I’d never survive that. Plus… No one really knows.”
“No one?”
“My best friends know but no one else. Dad doesn’t know. He’d probably avoid me even more if he knew.” Her face held so much grief that I wanted to hug her. “Courtney wants to message Beck for me to ask if she likes me…”
I scooted closer to her and gripped both of her shoulders. “I don’t know anything about your dad, except the fact that he’s really weird about his closet, but if he treated you any differently for you being who you are he’d be the problem. Not you. Either way, though, I don’t spill secrets. Now. This Courtney character… Can we trust her to represent you in a good light?”
Kendall’s face lit up for a nanosecond as she nodded. “Courtney’s been my best friend since we were three.”
“That’s amazing. Well, I think having Courtney sniff out the situation could be a good thing. And if Beck has even half a brain, she’ll think you’re really cool, too.” I hesitated. “Wait. Are you allowed to date? I’m realizing that I’m not a great nanny. Don’t tell anyone, okay?”
Her laugh was cut off by the sound of her father’s shouting coming from deep inside the house. Her eyes went comically wide and she gripped my arm. “We’re dead.”
A wave of satisfaction went through me. “Nah, we’re good. You just act clueless. We did nothing. We know nothing.”
She nodded. “If you get fired, add me on Insta so I can tell you what happens with Beck.”
16
***Joe***
Angerscrambledmybrainas I took in the mess that was my closet. Hours earlier, when I’d left my closet after dressing for the day, it had been pristine. I could barely look at the mess as it was and wanted to tear everything down. It wasn’t that I was obsessive. I wasn’t. I just liked order. The only person who’d come into our house who didn’t seem to appreciate order was the new nanny. The giant thorn in my side.
I didn’t even think before storming through the house to find her. She was done. I was going to fire her ass so fast that her head spun. It probably already spun since shehadto be possessed. There was no other explanation for her insane behavior.
She spent so much of her time in the library, something I knew from watching the security feeds to make sure she wasn’t sacrificing the kids. When I’d gone into the space the night before, a space that was typically all mine, it smelled sweet like honey and vanilla. She was invading all of my senses in all of my spaces and I hated it. I didn’t give a shit if she was able to handle Milo most of the time. She was done.
As I stomped into the library I got the distinct feeling that I was being set up. Working in the business world with stakes that couldn’t be higher, I’d learned all the moves people used to get what they wanted and to protect themselves. Ada was using Milo as a shield. He was asleep in her arms and she was gently rocking him with a serene smile on her face.
