Page 44 of Skate the Line

I impulsively decide to be honest with her. I shove my hands into my pockets. “You’re the first nanny I’ve ever had that I feel like I can trust, Ms. Edwards. Ellie likes you.”And I guessI do too.“Now that we have you, we’re not letting you go. So it’s either you let me put you up in some penthouse with a real security system, or you move into my house where I can assure you the heater works, you’ll have your own bathroom, and I’ll put a lock on your bedroom door if that’s the issue here. We can even add it into the contract.” I inhale a breath because I’m beginning to sound desperate. “It would make things a lot easier for me, if I’m being honest.”

Something flashes across her face. Where I normally see smile lines, I see worry ones instead. I leave her to think it over while I go check on Ellie. I tell her to wash her hands since she’s nearly done painting, and when I come back toward the front door, I catch Sunny’s eye.

“Okay,” she says.

Okay? That’s a yes.

Her shaky breath fills the small area, and she nods to herself.

“I’ll send Marco to grab you before dinner.”

That gives her time to gather her things and me time to get the guest room ready. The last time anyone was in that room was when Ellie decided to hide from one of the nannies…for three hours.

“We will see you in a few.” I grab Ellie’s backpack.

After she says a quick goodbye to Sunny, we make it outside before she glances up at me. “Do you have a game tonight?”

“As if you don’t have the schedule memorized.”

She puckers her lips and climbs into the backseat of my truck. I buckle her into her booster seat. “Then why is Sunny coming over?”

I step back. “She’s going to move in.”

Her little jaw opens.

“She’ll stay in the guest room, and there will be some ground rules,” I add. “We can talk about it when we get home. Just likewe are going to talk about what happened at school today with your music teacher.”

Ellie grumbles under her breath, and I know for a fact she learned that from me. That’s the hard thing when you’re a single parent. All their bad habits come fromyou.I shut her door and glance behind me at the sound of shuffling feet.

A group of jocks, wearing their college letterman jackets, slowly walk past Sunny’s. They’re all looking in the window like a bunch of fucking creeps.

Yeah, she’s definitely not staying here.

Seventeen

SUNNY

“I don’t seeanything wrong with it.” Ruby is doing her best to calm me down in my panicked state. I’m surprised there isn’t a hole in the floor from my incessant pacing. “Plenty of nannies live with their employers.”

“Well, yeah. I know. I used to be one of those.” My heart thumps.

“Look at it like this.” I stop pacing and stare at the screen. Ruby is slicing fruit for Marybella while she plays in the background. “If you continue to think about the past with every little thing, you’re still letting him get into your head.”

I make a face, and she points the knife at me.

“Which wedo notwant. Rhodes is different. He’s already proven that, right?”

They couldn’t be more opposite, so I nod.

Ruby and I share silence, and I know what she’s thinking. She’s thinking about how I showed up at her doorstep with tears running down my face, a torn shirt, and a busted lip.

“I hate him,” she says quietly.

And I hate that he still lingers in my head.

Lights appear through the window, and I’m positive it’s Marco pulling up. To save him the trouble of coming to the door, I quickly hang up with Ruby and rush to greet him.

He’s somehow already standing there.

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