Page 41 of The Grump I Got Stuck With

She giggled. “I ate them already.”

“You didn’t save me any?”

“Nope!”

I pressed my hand to my chest. “You wound me, child.”

Beside me, Madison chuckled. “You didn’t really think you could come between a girl and her cookies, did you?”

Weston and Lena stood behind the girls, hand in hand. “Now that’s a dangerous game. Anyway, yes, indeed. We’ve brought your child back now that we’ve filled her up with all the sugar.”

“Which I appreciate so much,” I quipped. It still amazed me how far we’d come from those boyhood days, climbing trees and chasing sheep around his grandfather’s property. We’d certainly never imagined chasing our own families around Braeburn’s festivals.

“Since Princess has boots, can we bring her to play with Milo and Bonnie at our house?” Aisling asked.

Kenna yawned even as she nodded in agreement.

Lena stroked Aisling’s hair back from her face. “I think you both probably need to get sorted for bed, sweetheart. It’s been a long afternoon.”

“I’m not sleepy,” Kenna said, forcing her eyes open the way she always did when she insisted on one more bedtime story.

“Me neither,” Aisling agreed, jumping up and down. “See? I have so much energy.”

“That’s sugar energy, and you’re going to crash out hard soon,” Lena promised. “You might be able to force yourself to stay up, but you won’t have any fun because you’ll be too tired. So what about tomorrow instead?”

“How about I call Uncle Alistair in the morning and we sort it out?” Weston suggested.

That was a reasonable compromise, and I quickly agreed before Kenna got riled up. Overtired Kenna was an emotional Kenna, and I didn’t want the day ending in tears. It had been a lovely afternoon—on all accounts.

My gaze darted in Madison’s direction. I couldn’t help studying that perfect cupid’s bow, wondering how it would feel to run my lips across hers. Kenna leaned against her, and Madison’s hand instantly fell to her head, stroking the braid she’d wrangled her hair into this morning. Seeing them like that, so natural together, warmed me even more than that almost kiss had.

Tension throbbed behind my ribs, and I yearned to reach out, to curl my arm around them both. The intensity of the desire caught me off guard, and I tore my eyes away. Asking Madison to be Kenna’s nanny for the month had been out of desperation, but seeing how quickly Kenna had taken to her had reassured me that my decision was correct. Madison had walked into our lives a stranger but was already becoming so much more than that.

Part of me worried what that would mean for Kenna when Madison eventually chose to move on. Soon, the month we’d agreed to would be over. Soon, she wouldn’t have to stay, which meant I’d actually have to get around to looking over the resumés of the nannies Alfie had lined up for me to evaluate before setting up interviews. My chest twinged uneasily at the thought. It shouldn’t bother me as much as it did. These were the terms we’d agreed to. Plus, there was no sense in worrying since I knew she wouldn’t be leaving right away. Especially not with how excited Madison had seemed to be about starting classes with Lesley.

She might not have to stay in Braeburn, but it sure seemed like she wanted to.

“All right, you,” I said to Kenna, giving her a little nudge. “Say goodbye to everyone.”

Kenna hugged Weston, Lena, and Aisling, then promptly held her arms up for me to carry her back to the car. As we parted ways, I thought about the day when Kenna would be too old to want to be carried, and I held her a little tighter as she snuggled against my shoulder.

By the time we reached the car, she’d gotten a second wind and pointed at the little brown bag Madison deposited next to her booster seat. “What’s that?”

“Those are some jewelry pieces Madison picked out,” I said.

“Can I see?”

“How about when we get home?” Madison suggested, climbing into the passenger seat with Princess. “They’re all wrapped up.”

“Okay,” Kenna said.

I finished buckling her, then walked around to the driver’s side, climbing behind the wheel. “What did you get up to with Uncle Weston?”

“Besides acquiring Princess the most excellent little boots,” Madison added.

“We had hot chocolate with sprinkles.”

I hemmed as Madison laughed. “Weston really did squeeze every possible ounce of sugar into that thirty minutes, didn’t he?”