Page 16 of Whiskey Wednesdays

Chapter 5

The day after Christmas, my dad called. “Good morning, Belly.”

“You’re so funny.” I smiled because he couldn’t see me. “Are we still on for dinner tonight?”

“Yes.” He cleared his throat, and my radar went off. Whenever Dad said something he knew Liam and I wouldn’t like, he fidgeted and cleared his throat first.

“I need to tell you something.”

“What? Just spill it,” I prodded.

“Connor wants your phone number.”

I looked at my phone, then put it back to my ear. “Sorry, will you repeat that?”

“He wants your number.”

“What am I missing? There’s no way in hell he’s interested in me, and I’d rather eat roadkill than be in the same room with him.”

“Oh. I can see your confusion.” He cleared his throat again. “He wants to talk to you about Elodie and asked me for yourphone number. He, uh, wants me to–” His next comment was muffled and unintelligible.

My shoulders tightened. “Dad, what does Connor want you to do?”

He sighed. “He wants me to help take care of Elodie.”

“How,exactly, does he want you to help take care of her?”

“He asked me to be her nanny.”

My mind went blank.

“Isa? Are you still there?”

“Yeah.” My shoulders loosened. He had to be kidding. “You’re joking with me, right?”

“No, I’m not.” He sounded a little offended.

My shoulders tensed again. “Okay, I had to ask. And I’m not implying you wouldn’t be the best nanny in the world. Because you would be. I just … didn’t give Connor enough credit to realize it.”

Dad chuckled. “He didn’t. It was Elodie’s idea.”

“Elodie? How did that happen?”

“She was following me around again yesterday afternoon, and Connor came out and told her he planned to find her a nanny. But in the meantime, she needed to leave me alone and let me work.”

My heart hurt for her. “That probably made her feel sad. She told Harley and me the other day you are her best friend.”

“Well.” Dad sniffed a little. “Anyway, she took hold of my hand, looked up at Connor with big sad eyes, and asked ifIcould be her nanny.”

I could tell he was touched, but I was annoyed and confused. Why would Dad even consider it after being invisible to Connor for almost two years?

“Has he found her a school yet? Or any friends?”

“He’s working on it, and she’ll make friends. I told Connor I needed to talk to you first after what happened.” He cleared his throat again.

He wanted to say yes, and he wanted me to get over my anger. But Connor and I needed to come to an understanding first.

“Okay, Javy. Give him my number. But you can’t be mad if I offend him. He’s on my shit list.”

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