Page 135 of The Nanny and the Hothead
“Come on, Phoebe! Let’s go!” Oscar called as the pair sprinted toward Say Cheese, Louise.
Charlotte stared at the man. The guy had something up his sleeve—something both he and Rowen were keeping close to the vest. But she couldn’t tell what it was. “Another event? I didn’t see anything else on the schedule—especially tonight,” she remarked, looking for answers.
“This came up suddenly,” Mitch replied, biting back a grin.
Okay, this was starting to get weird. She parted her lips to express her concern when Erasmus Cress jogged up to the group, his giant body weaving through the crowd.
“Am I late? I just saw your text,” the man asked as he slipped his phone into his pocket.
“I thought you were supervising the video game trailer, Raz?” Penny commented.
“Bloody gong going off left and right two tents down,” the man answered, his expression hardening. “I told Landon to take over. He was trolling around in the corner, trying not to beseen. You know—all those fans looking to bombard him with requests for autographs.”
“You’re right on time, Raz,” Mitch said, clapping the guy on the shoulder. “Do you know what to do?”
Erasmus crossed his muscled arms and surveyed the truck. “I stand inside the food truck. People tell me they want a cheese toastie. Then I tell the blokes cooking to make it,” the man answered as his crisp British accent peppered the air.
“It’s called a grilled cheese sandwich,” Mitch corrected.
The big guy waved him off. “Bullocks! You’re not toasting the cheese. You’re toasting the bread.”
“Raz?” Mitch chided. “I need you to work with me.”
Charlotte shook her head, suppressing a grin. If she wasn’t so annoyed at being kept in the dark, this exchange between the men would have been absolutely hilarious.
“Fine!” Erasmus conceded. “I’ll call it agrilled cheese.Would you like a grilled cheese where the cheese is not grilled, and the bread is toasted?”
Charlotte looked from Rowen to Erasmus, then zeroed in on Mitch. “Why are your friends helping you out tonight?”
Mitch’s cocksure expression faded a fraction. “Yeah, we’re not friends.”
“No, we’re not mates. Not even close,” Erasmus supplied.
“We’re just…dudes,” Rowen added, then cringed.
“Dudes?” Mitch repeated.
Erasmus grimaced. “What do you mean, we’re dudes? We’re not surfers. This isn’thang tenin California, is it?”
Charlotte shook her head. The whole Three Stooges act needed to end.
“Wait a second,dudes! I need to get something straight,” she began, eyeing the trio. These men were clucking like hens, and she needed answers. She pegged Mitch with her gaze. “Why are Rowen and Penny taking Oscar for the night? And why is Erasmus helping Erick and Sergio in the truck?”
“I prefer Raz,” the muscled man interjected. But she didn’t have time to worry about what this beast of a man wanted to be called. She stared him down. And he raised his hands defensively.
“Or Erasmus is fine,” he eked out, lowering his voice. “You’re right, mate. She can be quite feisty,” he finished, tossing her a wink before jogging over to the food truck.
“Mitch? What are you up to?” she repeated as the hum of a helicopter purred in the distance.
The man looked quite pleased with himself and pointed into the air as the approaching chopper landed on top of a boutique hotel a few blocks down the street. “What I’m up to is waiting for us right there.”
“A freaking helicopter! Is this a joke?” she exclaimed as a cocky grin stretched across the man’s face.
“No, this is no joke. It’s how rich people avoid traffic,” Mitch answered, eyes glittering with delight as Rowen nodded in agreement.
Charlotte’s gaze bounced from Mitch to the helicopter on the roof of the nearby building when her brain kicked in. She and Mitch were leaving on that mechanical monstrosity sitting atop a six-story hotel. She turned to Penny—the only person she didn’t want to throttle. “Make sure Oscar brushes his teeth, especially the ones in the back. And oh no! He doesn’t have his pajamas or his toothbrush or his pictures. He needs the picture of his mother. He likes to say good night to her.”
Her heart was back to beating like a drum.
