Page 164 of The Nanny and the Hothead
Seth exhaled a tight breath. “Because any kid would be lucky to have you as their dad. You have so much to give.”
“Jesus, Seth!” he replied, sinking to the ground.
“I need you to hear me, Mitch, not as the guy who stole your girlfriend, but as someone who’s been to hell and back. Don’t throw away a good thing. Don’t turn your back on love. Don’t let what I did to you taint the rest of your life.”
“Seth is right, Mitch. We’re here because we care about you, and we want you to be happy,” Ines added when the crunch of wheels on gravel grumbled in the air.
He came to his feet, his focus bouncing between Louise and Ines. “Who the hell else did you invite here?”
Louise craned her neck and stared down the dirt road. “No one,” she answered as a mammoth black Suburban with dark-tinted windows came to a screeching halt behind the Helping Hands vehicle.
Was he being investigated by the FBI for being a colossal jerk?
The doors swung open, and Madelyn, Rowen, Raz, and Landon exited the vehicle.
“Did you all drive down to Telluride to yell at me, too?” he asked on a stunned breath.
Rowen adjusted his glasses. “No, we took my plane. Remember, rich people things? We had a car waiting for us there. I would have chartered a helicopter, but there isn’t a place to land near the cabin. You should really think about installing a helipad. You know, for your rich friends,” the man answered, then cleared his throat.
Oh, for the love of Christ!
“Why are you here?” he pressed, scanning the new arrivals.
“We’re here because of Charlotte,” Rowen answered.
Mitch cradled his head in his hands. “Yeah, that’s why they’re here, too. I screwed up.” He took in the decent-sized group of people. “Seth Graham, Ines Gordon, and Louise Dagby, this is Madelyn Malone, Rowen Gale, Raz Cress, and Landon Paige,” he said, salvaging his manners when a spark of hope ignited in his chest.
Wait a damn second!
He had Charlotte’s best friend’s fiancé right here.
Penny must know the ins and outs of what was going on with Charlotte. He turned to Rowen. “Has Penny spoken to Charlotte?”
“Yes.”
He stared at the guy. “And?”
“Your assessment is correct,” Rowen continued. “You must have really screwed up because Charlotte decided to go to London. However, in Charlotte’s defense, Penny tells me that Charlotte earned a full-ride scholarship to attend an extremely prestigious photography workshop. In my fiancée’s friend Harper’s words, you’re a giant douche canoe for not being proud of Charlotte’s accomplishment.”
The anger that had taken over when he’d learned of the workshop had disappeared. In fact, he was proud—damned proud. That crazy chick with the hat and scarf was right on the mark.
“We’re here to help you reduce your douche canoe factor and get her back,” Landon added.
“Yep, you’re a grade-A wanker, Mitch,” Raz began. “But you’re far less of a…what does Charlotte call him again?” Raz asked, turning to Rowen.
“A hothead,” the man supplied.
“Yeah, you’re far less of a wanker hothead when you’re with her. And we know you love her, so get over your bullshit and figure out a way to get her back.”
Seth stared at the men, wide-eyed. “Are these your friends, Mitch?”
“No, mate, we’re not friends,” Raz answered as Madelyn eyed the man. “Right, right! We’re sort of friends in a forced proximity kind of way.”
“Ines texted me, and I gathered the boys to come to check on you,” Madelyn answered.
Shit! That’s right! Ines and Madelyn were as thick as thieves.
Still, it was quite something that these people had trekked across the state to find him. “You’re here for me?”
