Page 146 of The Nanny and the Hothead
Jesus! He was a mess!
“Here, Charlotte, you can keep this with you,” Oscar said softly, then reached into his pack and retrieved the orange ceramic heart.
“I’ll treasure this and keep it safe,” she answered, holding the heart to her chest.
“I brought this one with me. I hope you don’t mind, Dad,” Oscar said, pulling the old white lock from his pack. “Do you know if Charlotte’s key opens it?”
“I don’t know.” It seemed crazy that they hadn’t tried to open the lock. Then again, life had been going at Mach ten from the moment Madelyn stepped into his office and handed it to him. Or maybe he didn’t want to know—didn’t want to chance that something that felt so right wasn’t what unlocked his heart.
The bell rang again, and Oscar looked up at him. “We’ll do it when I get home from camp. Love you, Dad! Love you, Charlotte! You guys don’t have to worry about me,” he called, flinging his arms around them.
“Yeah, Oscar’s got me,” Phoebe added, flicking a brown braid over her shoulder. “I’ll keep him out of trouble.”
He nodded to the little girl. And then, they were off, running to join the children gathering in front of the camp directors.
He and Charlotte stood there, waving until the children disappeared down the side of the hill toward the cabins.
“It’s just us. What do we do now?” she asked, still pressing the heart to her chest.
He took her hand. “I have an idea. I could use your help.”
“With what?” she asked with a coy lilt to her words.
He glanced from Charlotte to the Lamborghini as a deliciously dirty idea took hold. “It’s high time we got to the bottom of my issue with camping supplies.”
Twenty-Five
Mitch
Feelinglike a kid on Christmas morning, Mitch spied the spot he was looking for, slowed the Lamborghini SUV, then pulled over onto the side of the road.
Charlotte watched him closely. “What’s your master plan? When you mentioned camping supplies, I assumed that…”
“We would make out in the car like a pair of teenagers because it’s just the two of us?” he supplied.
“That would be a yes,” she answered, then peered out the window and stilled. “But hold the sexy supply train for a second. Why do I feel like I’ve been here before?”
He grinned. He couldn’t help it as he recalled the melee that had taken place in this very location. “You have been here before. Holly’s cabin is down that gravel road,” he answered, pointing ahead.
Charlotte took off her seat belt and swiveled around. “Then that’s the tree Oscar climbed to pelt us with rocks,” she cooed like being bombarded with pebbles was an endearing experience. And maybe it was. Life had changed so drastically since they were last here. His relationship with his son had transformed. And then, of course, there was the woman sitting next to him who revived his battered heart.
“You know what else it is?” she said, then licked her lips.
And hello, car make-out session! His auburn-haired beauty was game for it.
“What?” he asked, drinking her in as her expression grew decidedly dirty.
“It’s where I confronted you after you kidnapped me,” she purred.
He feigned mock outrage. “I take issue with your characterization of the events that led up to our tête-à-tête on the side of the road. But if you want to get technical, the first time I kidnapped you was after you waltzed into a bar dressed like a mermaid, drank a gallon of margaritas, hoovered a slice of pizza, took my picture, then passed out on a park bench on my lap,” he answered, trying to be clever. Still, there it was again—that flash of regret in her eyes.
What was that?
She could be feeling the effects of their goodbye with Oscar. That had to be it. He squeezed her hand. “Hey, it’s okay to miss him. I do, too. But he’ll be fine—better than fine. He’ll have a blast this week, or Phoebe will sneak into the boys’ cabin to be with Oscar, and they’ll both get thrown out. Either way, I’d say we have at least six hours before anyone from the camp calls us.”
Charlotte chuckled, but something still weighed heavily on her heart. He could feel it.
It was time to change tack.
