Page 165 of The Nanny and the Hothead
“Are you just picking up on this, or are you having a moment of introspective self-discovery? Because that shit happens when you least expect it,” Rowen remarked. And Mitch couldn’t help it. A grin stretched across his face, and he released one hell of a rip-roaring, belly bouncing, full-throated laugh.
Landon shared a look with Madelyn. “Are fits of quasi-psychotic laughter normal in the nanny match process?”
The woman nodded. “Mitch put it together. That’s the reaction of a man who’s figured out what matters to him.”
Holy shit! He had! The nanny matchmaker was right!
He glanced at the pad of paper.
Figure out who you are and what matters.
Don’t throw away the important things.
A spine-tingling euphoria passed over him. He got it! He had the answer.
“Rowen, do you know when Charlotte’s leaving for London?” he asked, his mind racing.
“Yes.”
Mitch ran his hands through his cropped hair. “Jesus Christ, Rowen! I need the dates!”
“Oh, sure! Penny says she’s leaving Saturday. My jet is at the airport. We can fly back to Denver, and you can talk to her tonight. You’ve got plenty of time.”
Mitch shook his head. “No, that won’t work.” He’d seen the look on her face. He knew what she thought of him. She believed that he’d chosen to embrace the hothead. He had to do something on the Mr. Cheesy Forever level if he wanted to prove that he wasn’t that hard-hearted, inflexible man anymore.
He needed a plan—something that would knock her socks off.
He surveyed the group as a rush of gratitude left him lightheaded. These people had come here for him—to help him. He pictured his grandfather—a miserable man who had soured on life and love. He’d kept himself locked away in the house. And as grateful as he was that Bruce Elliott had taken him in, he couldn’t allow that to be his fate—if not for himself, for his son.
He had a choice to make.
For the past seven years, he’d kept his guard up. He’d become the hothead until Charlotte showed him another way. He had to decide who he would be at his very core. He’d either seek out the worst in people, waiting for them to disappoint him, or he’d take the other path and look beyond the black and the white and understand that life wasn’t lived in absolutes. He’d either forge a future where the people around him were potential enemies, or he’d employ empathy, tear down his walls, and substitute compassion for callousness.
He removed the orange heart from his pocket as a plan, a crazy-ass plan to win Charlotte back, took hold. “I know how to give Charlotte her Mr. Cheesy Forever.”
“Mr. Cheesy, what?” Seth asked.
“I’ve got this,” Rowen replied to the man. “Penny filled me in. Mr. Cheesy Forever is the picture of what Charlotte used to want. But I have to warn you, Mitch. Penny said that’s not what Charlotte wants anymore. Charlotte mentioned that she doesn’t need a guy with a sign. I’m a little fuzzy on the sign part.”
But Mitch wasn’t.
He knew exactly what that meant, and he had an insane idea to win her heart.
“I have a plan to get Charlotte back, but I’ll need help to pull it off. A hell of a lot of help. This is big—really big. It spans two continents, and we’ve got three days to make it happen.” He turned to Rowen. “When exactly will Charlotte arrive in London?”
“Sunday at 5:44 p.m. GMT, 10:44 a.m. for us in mountain time zone. Despite my offer to use my plane, she’s flying commercial,” the man answered. And God bless nerds and their ability to retain and spit out data.
“If your plan has anything to do with the UK, I’ve got you covered, mate,” Raz announced. “I’ve got connections in London.”
“And I have a flat in London if you think you’ll be needing lodging in that neck of the woods,” Madelyn chimed.
Mitch’s pulse raced. This was it! They had one chance to pull off a display of love reserved for cheesy movies.
Cheesy! That was the ticket to her heart.
“Good, good!” Mitch answered, then turned to Seth. “And Seth,” he began, then stilled. He didn’t see the guy who’d betrayed him. Now, he saw the man who’d been his friend—a man who’d battled his own demons and who’d taken a chance to make amends.
“Yes,” his friend answered.
