Page 93 of The Nanny and the Hothead
“Is it time for school?” Oscar asked.
Phoebe shook her head. “That’s the first bell. We have five minutes. This is the time when my teacher usually comes out to tell my uncle about something I did at school,” Phoebe answered, then pointed toward the building. “Look, Penny! Look, Uncle Row! My teacher’s coming out, and Mr. Bergen is with her. He must be helping in our classroom.”
“Phoebe, what did you do now?” Rowen asked, eyeing the child.
“Hi, Mrs. Bergen! What did I do now?” Phoebe called.
A smiling woman with dark hair and a clipboard accompanied by a tall man joined them. “Nothing at all, Phoebe. I was coming your way to see if this was our new student, Oscar Elliott.”
“Yes, ma’am, that’s me,” his son replied. And damn, look at his kid and those manners.
“I’m Mrs. Bergen. I’m going to be your teacher. We’re so happy to have you at Whitmore. We’ve got lots of great activities coming up.”
“Oh no!” Phoebe chimed.
“What is it, Phoebe?” the teacher asked.
“Oscar missed the school ski trip, Mrs. Bergen,” the girl lamented.
“But the best is yet to come! We’ve got the Whitmore Carnival and our week-long class camp trip coming up. I think you picked the perfect time to join our class,” the woman countered, smiling at his son like the academic version of Mary Poppins.
“And you’re Mitch Elliott, the chef,” the man who’d accompanied the teacher said, extending his hand. “I’m Brennen Bergen, Abby’s husband. You’re the Say Cheese, Louise guy, right? I watched your show and hit up your food truck more times than I can count back in the day.”
Mitch shook the man’s hand. “Yeah, that’s me.”
Everyone in Denver knew of the Bergen family. The Bergens owned a mountain sports empire and were involved in many philanthropic pursuits.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mitch. My husband saw the food truck and about lost his mind,” the teacher added.
“Are you starting it back up?” Brennen pressed.
“For a limited run—a couple of months at most.”
A wide grin spread across the man’s face. “You’ll have to bring it to the Whitmore Carnival. The city agreed to close off a few streets in the Crystal Creek business district for it this year. We’ve got games and activities lined up, but we could sure use a food truck. I’m on the planning committee for the event. It’s only a few weeks away. Can I put you on the list as a vendor?”
“That’s a terrific idea!” the teacher agreed.
“Can we do it, Dad?” Oscar asked. “Can we help my new school?”
What was he supposed to say to that?
“We’d be happy to,” Charlotte answered for him. “Count us in for the carnival. And let me introduce myself. I’m Charlotte Ames. I’m—”
“Charlotte’s my everything,” Oscar interrupted, then frowned, thinking hard. “She’s more like my dad’s everything.”
Jesus! First the lock and key business and now this! Could everyone in the city see that something was going on between the hothead chef and the nanny?
“I don’t quite understand,” Mrs. Bergen replied.
“I’m Oscar’s new nanny,” Charlotte clarified. “And I’m also assisting Mitch with the food truck.”
“And she’s a photographer like me,” Oscar threw out.
“I wear lots of hats,” Charlotte replied as her blush returned.
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of each other. And just a heads-up. You’ll want to check Oscar’s backpack every day. Today a flyer is going out with information about the end of the year camping trip and the carnival,” the woman finished as another bell rang.
“Time for school!” Phoebe exclaimed.
