Page 20 of She's the Star

“Okay. That would be fine, I guess.” I’ve never really thought about that being an issue, but if they’re offering, I can accept small favors. It’s the big ones I can’t handle.

“Excellent.” He keeps tapping away. “We can add to the contract as we go along if necessary. Nothing is set in stone. Except for the confidentiality. Click to initial, sign in the box, and then submit.”

As I start clicking, Maddy leans forward and tumbles into me—her head lands on my thigh, and her chest settles against my leg. It’s adorable when her fist finds her mouth, and she burrows against me like she’s never been more comfortable.

“She’s so happy,” Amber says, blinking back a bit of moisture. “She knows you’re going to take good care of her.”

I look from Maddy to Amber. They both grin at me. Damn. I think I might be happy, too.

Isn’t that something?

It isn’t even eight the next morning and I’m sitting outside Amber’s front gate, waiting for someone to buzz me in. When the gate slides open, I follow the curving stone driveway to the house. From the front, it almost looks modest. The outside has a modern feel, with cream-colored walls and black accents, but the design makes it impossible to tell how enormous the interior truly is. There’s a distinct possibility my entire house would be able to fit into the great room everyone was gathered in yesterday.

I park to the side of the six-car garage and head toward the glass front door. It swings open before I hit the porch steps.

“Hey,” Amber says with a welcoming smile.

Maddy is perched on her hip and she’s wearing an oversized sweatshirt and a pair of leggings. Her face is scrubbed clean, and her hair is pulled into a loose ponytail. It’s the third time I’ve seen her, and it hits me that I’ve never seen her glammed up. I ought to know better than to assume she sits around her house wearing smoky makeup and too many sparkles, but I’m still surprised.

With a slight shake of my head, I return her smile and then shift my focus to a slobbering Maddy. I’m a bit nervous, which is possibly the most ridiculous thing ever. If there’s anything I’m good at, it’s taking care of kids. I’m not going to fail at this. Nor am I going to let Amber down.

I might just ruin her for every nanny that comes after me.

A snort almost escapes my lips as I wink at Maddy and follow them into the house. The large living room is quiet and perfectly put together, all evidence from yesterday’s party gone.

“So, it’s Friday,” Amber says as she sinks onto the ground. She lays Maddy on her back and holds up both a ring with chunky movable shapes and a light-up toy with brightly colored buttons. Maddy ignores both and rolls onto her stomach, so Amber sets them in front of her and switches her attention to me. “We weren’t supposed to go into full preparation mode until Monday, but since you agreed to start today, I managed to round up my band for rehearsal this morning, and my dancers for rehearsal this afternoon.”

“You rehearse at your house?” The tour she gave me yesterday before I left didn’t include a studio—let alone a room with enough space to practice choreography.

“Sometimes. I have a recording studio here, and a room specially designed for dance rehearsals, so we’ll be here until the week of the first show. Then we’ll spend a couple of days on a soundstage that’s much bigger, and then we’ll be in the arena rehearsing for two full days.”

“Okay.” I’ll deal with the week of the show later. For now, all I need to consider is today. “Is there a particular schedule you want me to follow during the day?”

She makes a face. “I haven’t really mastered the whole keep-your-baby-on-a-schedule thing. I’ve tried, but things usually go sideways. If she seems fussy, I feed her. Or put her down for a nap.” She chews on her lip. “Full disclosure—she hates napping. It takes me at least as long to get her to sleep as she spends actually sleeping.”

That doesn’t surprise me. Babies are notoriously bad at falling asleep. “You usually shoot for two naps during the day?”

“Umm…I guess.” She shifts onto her knees. “As I said, I haven’t found a consistent schedule. I don’t want to micromanage you. I mean—I’ll probably try sometimes, but if you find a schedule that works for you, I’m going to follow your lead, not the other way around. If you can get her to nap once, I’ll be thrilled. Two or three times, I’ll erect a monument in your honor.”

I chuckle. “Sounds good. Anything else?”

“You can’t leave the grounds,” she says in a rush.

“Ever?”

“When you’re with Maddy,” she clarifies.

“You don’t take her places?”

“Obviously, once the tour starts, she’ll be traveling with us. But I don’t take her out in L.A. There are too many people and too much interest. We could get mobbed. Or worse.”

“What about swim lessons?”

She winces. “That was the first time I’ve done anything like that. You saw how well it turned out.” She picks up a wooden caterpillar and absently tugs it apart, piece by piece. “It isn’t that I don’t want Maddy to socialize and experience things. I thought we had everything under control for our first outing, but—” She shrugs. “I shouldn’t have taken her on my own. I don’t have a normal life, and I…shouldn’t pretend I do.”

“It’s going to be hard to shield her while you’re on tour, isn’t it?” I have no trouble remembering what it was like going places with my father when I was young. I didn’t do it often, but when I did, the attention was oppressive. Sometimes, I felt like I could hardly breathe.

She sighs, her blue eyes pained. “I know. But we’ll have a lot of security, and now that I have you, I should be able to distract the press and the fans. Not completely, maybe, but hopefully it’ll be enough.” She starts to put the caterpillar back together.

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