Page 97 of The Nanny and the Nerd
“Phoebe, be careful!” Penny dropped to a knee and reached for the child’s hands before the kid could fall over and twist an ankle.
“You’ll have lots of clothes to wear on Uncle Row’s boat. But it’s not really a boat. What’s it called again,” she asked, tugging on her uncle’s robe.
“A superyacht,” he supplied.
“A superyacht?” Penny asked. She’d never been on anything larger than a canoe.
The man shrugged. “It’s pretty big.”
“And we have to fly there, Penny. It’s in the Cabba-beena,” the child added.
“The Caribbean,” Rowen corrected, biting back a grin.
“And that got me thinking about Bodhi Lowry Bergen,” Phoebe prattled on. “He’s my fourth-grade buddy. It’s a thing we do at school where the big kids come into our classroom, and we do a project together.”
“Bergen?” Penny asked.
“Yeah, he’s my teacher’s nephew,” Phoebe answered with the same subtle wave of her hand as her uncle. “Anyway, yesterday, when his class came to do our buddy project, I told him about our trip and my big boat. He said that he has a helicopter. Why don’t we have a helicopter, Uncle Row?” she asked with a cock of her head.
“Is that what you want for your birthday, Phoebe? A helicopter?” he probed without an ounce of irony.
Penny gasped. It was one thing to be rich. It was an entirely different ball of wax to give a child a personal aircraft. “Rowen, you cannot give a first grader her own helicopter!”
He grinned. “I’m kidding.”
“Thank goodness!” she answered in a relieved breath.
“She’ll get her own plane,” Rowen countered.
She poked him in the chest. “I hope you’re still joking.”
He held her poking hand, and for the space of a breath, their connection sent a fresh set of butterflies fluttering away in her belly.
“I am,” he answered, running his thumb across her knuckles before releasing her hand.
Phoebe’s face lit up. “I have a better idea! You can let me play AI-77. I want to be Princess Amelia.”
Penny smoothed the little girl’s hair. “This game isn’t for kids your age, honey,” she answered, but Rowen shook his head as a curious look crossed his face.
“It’s actually not a bad idea,” he said, giving Phoebe a high five. “AI-77 without the violence could still be an engaging game.”
She nodded. He was on to something—something she knew a bit about.
“I’ve been doing a little research and noticed that in games for kids, many incorporate reading and math. Instead of the graphic battles in the adult version, you could add in challenges based on a player’s academic ability,” she added, then turned to Phoebe, her nanny brain kicking in. “Which reminds me! You need to pack a bag of things to do on the airplane. You can use your backpack and fill it with crayons and coloring books. And don’t forget to pick a favorite stuffed animal. Can I trust you to do that?”
The child saluted her, then bounded down the hall toward the kitchen and the cubby that housed her school items.
Penny watched the little girl scurry off. “She’s pretty great, isn’t she?”
“I think you’re both pretty great,” Rowen answered.
“The three of us make a good team,” she said, again, lost in his eyes when a woman’s voice cut through their sexy staring game.
“Excellent! Excellent!” a chic woman dressed in black purred in a thick French accent. “You must be Rowen Gale, and this lovely creature must be Ms. Fennimore. Mr. Klein sends his regards,” she added with a tip of her head.
“I’m sure he does,” Rowen murmured as the doorbell rang.
What other surprises did her sexy nerd have in store?
