Page 56 of The Nanny and the Beefcake
That was an understatement.
But talk of her deadbeat dad ended when Phoebe rounded the corner and called out to them. “Libby, Harper, Penny, Charlotte, the game room is awesome! It was so big Oscar and I played hide-and-seek in there. This whole house is like twenty houses in one,” she exclaimed before belting out one behemoth of a yawn.
“It sounds like you’ve had quite an adventure,” Penny replied, smoothing a lock of Phoebe’s hair.
The guys returned with Mitch carrying a sleeping Oscar.
“Where’d you find Oscar?” Phoebe asked with another yawn.
“Under the pool table, asleep,” Mitch answered, shifting the boy in his arms as Charlotte removed the Polaroid camera from the child’s grip.
“That explains why he didn’t come out when I called to him. He can’t party like we can, right girls?” Phoebe mumbled, rubbing her eyes.
Libby chuckled. A little dose of this hilarious girl helped ease the pain that came along with the thoughts of her father. She and her friends bit back grins as Rowen scooped the pint-sized party animal into his arms. Phoebe let out a dreamy sigh, then relaxed into her uncle’s embrace.
“Thanks for checking on us. I’m not sure you needed to break into the bloody house. But I,” Raz turned to her, “I mean, Libby and I,weappreciate your concern.”
Libby nodded as that rush of tingles returned.
We.
“Yes, thanks,” she stammered.
She had to get herself under control, especially when it came to Erasmus Cress.
“Would you like to leave out the front? The press is probably gone,” Raz added.
Rowen gestured with his chin toward the back of the house. “We’ll go the way we came. We’re parked on the street behind your place.”
“And we’ll go ahead and sign Sebastian up for the camps and activities Phoebe and Oscar are doing in Aspen,” Charlotte added.
“Yeah, thanks,” Raz answered with that hint of trepidation in his tone that seemed to accompany any talk of his son.
Libby twisted her jade bracelet as the sound of her friends’ footsteps faded, and then it was just the two of them.
The two of them and a bag of vibrators.
She glanced around the ornate foyer. Decorated with opulent, Victorian-style carved cabinets, antiques, painted vases, and two high-back chairs angled toward each other that screamed,do not sit on me! I’m for looks only.
“You have a beautiful home. This entryway is…lovely—so spacious.”
Buddha, help her! After everything they’d been through over the last handful of hours, that’s what she had to say to the man?
Raz scanned the vast entryway. “The house came like this. It’s a rental.”
“Well, it’s a nice rental. Lots of…character,” she replied, sounding like a deranged real estate agent. Still, how was she supposed to navigate this strange new life? One minute, she’s ready to kiss the guy into oblivion, and the next, they’re staring at each other like two awkward preteens at a middle school mixer.
“Are you hungry?” he asked, then gestured toward another hallway. “The kitchen’s that way.”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Would you like to see the laundry room?” he continued.
She stared at the man. “The laundry room?”
“For your jumper.” He gestured toward her shoulder—her shit-covered shoulder.
“You mean my yoga wrap?” she corrected.
