Page 44 of Just My Luck

“We can’t pretend we’re a couple. I told you, he knows me. He would recognize me.”

“Even if you’re staff?”

He looked at her blankly.

“Don’t you get it? I’ll be a wealthy divorcée. You’ll be my manny. You’ll be the one watching my kids.”

“You’re saying…bring Eddie and Mia?”

“Maybe just Eddie, because Mia’s a little too old for a nanny. He wouldn’t go anywhere near Tanaka. We’d just be playing at the pool and that sort of thing. As his manny, you can take little breaks and snoop around. One of us will be watching Eddie every second.”

Shoving his hands in his pockets, he leaned against the window. Behind him, nothing but darkness and rain as the storm raged. “It’s too risky.”

“Is it riskier than letting this Tanaka guy have free rein with your crystal?”

Muscles flexed in his jaw. “His bodyguard saw you at the Royal Leilani.”

“My hair was up then, and I was wearing my staff uniform.”

He shook his head. “He still might recognize you. You’re very…beautiful.”

The compliment made her skin tingle. “Well, I’ll make some changes just to be safe. New hair color, new clothes, some oversized sunglasses, that sort of thing. I know the drill.”

She’d done it with her father, although this was different. It was a public service. The crystal could pose a danger if it was found by the wrong person. In this instance, she’d be using those old acting muscles for good, not to rip people off.

“The only catch is, I don’t have the funds for any of that kind of thing,” she added. “That part will be on you.”

“I’ll get you a credit card to use.”

Her gaze flew to meet his. She saw wary acceptance on his face.

So they were doing this. They were going to infiltrate the Kona Queen as a rich divorcée and her manny. She was already filling in her backstory. Her ex, an elderly oil tycoon, had cheated and forgotten all about his prenup.

“Better make sure that card has a limit.” She winked at him. “I’ll probably need a lot of help to look like someone who can afford a full-time manny.”

“It won’t have a limit. You can use it however you want. Charge your mortgage on it for all I care.”

“What?” That didn’t feel right. She untangled her legs from the chair and rose to her feet. “No. Sorry. You’re not my sugar daddy.” He winced, making her wish she hadn’t sounded quite so harsh. “I mean it,” she said, more gently. “It’s just for expenses related to this…mission, or whatever you want to call it.”

He tilted his head, his deep green eyes going hooded and cautious. Had she hurt his feelings? Too bad. She had to draw her boundaries.

“And I’m going to pay you back for all those bribes at Banyans, and the Urgent Care bill you covered. That was you, wasn’t it?”

Embarrassment rippled across his face. “It was, but please don’t pay me back. Consider it a thank you for helping me get into the Kona Queen, if we do this. That’s fair, right?”

She thought about it, and decided that she could live with that. She was taking a chance aligning herself with Lincoln Kerr, and especially bringing Eddie into it.

“Fine. One more thing. You mentioned a police force you have working for you. Could one or two of them be assigned to watching Eddie on the down-low while we’re doing this? I wouldn’t mind having backup.”

“Done,” said Lincoln. He pulled out his phone to give the orders.

“It’s nearly midnight. You’re going to call them now?”

“My security staff is on call twenty-four-seven.”

“Why not just make a note and call tomorrow? Let whoever it is get their sleep?” It made no sense to her. Everyone needed sleep to perform their best. Even his crack security team. If they were going to be protecting Eddie, she didn’t want them groggy and yawning.

Slowly, he removed his thumb from the key he was about to press. “Fine,” he said. “I suppose you make a good point.”