Page 154 of Only Fate

Sydney smiles wide and waves. “Hi.” She skips over to my abuela and hugs her from behind the chair. “I’ve heard so many good stories about you. Foster says you’re, like, the funniest person ever.”

My abuela grins and mouths,I like her, to Foster.

“Everyone loves Sydney,” Callie says.

“Does that mean everyone is here now?” Mia asks, glancing at the doorway, as if nervous Trey will walk in and ruin her night.

I’ve started learning how to read my new friends.

Essie has also filled me in on some of their history.

Though she swears she can’t say anything about Trey and Mia.

River takes the chair beside Ava but pretends to focus on his phone. His brows are furrowed, and he looks ready to leave.

“I think that’s everyone,” Ava says. “UnlessEaston wants to invite his nanny.”

Easton, who’s on his phone, but not pretending it, lowers it from his face. “What?”

“You’ve been texting her all night,” Ava says.

“He texts her all the time,” River adds, ready to back up Ava even though he’s not happy with her.

Easton glares at River and uses his phone to point at him. “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Of course I text my nanny, the person who I trust to watch over my daughter.”

“They’re not only nanny-related texts,” Ava says. “I know this because Jasmine showed me something on his phone, some weird YouTube video where grown-ups fake pretend to play babies—which is kinda weird, BTW—and one of the nanny’s texts popped up. Itwasnot about Jasmine or a babysitting schedule.”

“Oh, you and the nanny,” Sydney says, plopping down on a stool, and Foster stands behind her. “Super cute.”

“Since when do you have a nanny?” Essie asks.

Everyone’s attention is pinned on him, as if he’s now our favorite gossip.

“Work has been busy, and now that Uncle Hudson is stepping down”—he shoots Mia a glare, as if it were her fault since it’s her dad—“all the work is on me. I need help on the days my mom can’t babysit. Plus, the nanny also helps out around the house.” He shrugs. “You guys are making a big deal out of nothing.”

“Let me just add that the nanny is hot as hell,” Ava adds with absolute certainty, a grin spreading across her face. “Like model gorg.”

“Can we not talk about my employees like that?” Easton narrows his eyes at her.

“I’m just curious why you didn’t invite her to the party,” Essie, always my nosy one, says.

“We’re in a bar,” Easton says, doing a sweeping motion of the brewery. “I can’t bring my daughter here. Hence why she needs a nanny in the first place. If she came, what would I do? Hire a nanny’s assistant to watch her?”

“Fair point,” Foster says.

“You could make her an executive nanny and hire people underneath her. She’d be the boss of them,” Callie suggests.

The smiles on their faces tell me they’re really going out of their way to give Easton a hard time. I like it since he’s usually the one who’s the most straitlaced out of the group.

“She’s just his nanny,” Willow, Easton’s mom, says, shooting him a sympathetic look. “I’m actually the one who hired her. He has so much on his plate, and he needed a breather.”

“All right, let me see a picture of this nanny,” Essie says, wiggling her fingers like she wants someone to hand over the evidence.

Easton shakes his head and sips his beer. “Let’s talk about someone else’s life, please. I’m over here, just taking care of my daughter.”

“Found it!” Ava holds out her phone and shows everyone.

“Okay, she’s super hot,” Essie says, showing the picture to me, as if asking me to agree.

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