Page 91 of The Nanny and the Beefcake
“Okay,” she whispered when the chorus of creaks and footsteps caught his attention, and they pulled apart.
“Augie and Luanne are here,” Sebastian reported, grinning from ear to ear, clearly amped up from the activity. “I met Luanne. Augie says she’s his friend, but I think she’s his girlfriend.”
“That’s enough of that, lad,” Augie teased in a dry tone, coming up the stairs with Luanne by his side.
The addition of Aug and Luanne begged another question.
What the hell were they doing here, and what exactly had Briggs scheduled?
Again, he wanted to punch himself in the mouth for blowing off those emails. He took in Aug’s rosy expression. The man hated pressers. He’d gotten damn good at them over the years, but that was only because everyone loved an old sourpuss. But today, he had a bona fide grin on his face. Then again, he’d never had Luanne by his side at one of these dog and pony shows.
“Briggsy’s about to blow a gasket. How much longer will you make them wait?” Augie harped.
There was the piss and vinegar trainer.
“Oh, give him a break, honey,” Luanne said with a pat on Augie’s arm. “How are you, Erasmus?” the woman continued. In khaki pants and a blue tunic with a straw hat covering her silver hair, Aug’s girlfriend looked the part of a seasoned geologist ready to venture into the field.
He embraced the woman. “It’s good to see you, Luanne. It appears you’ve met my son, Sebastian.”
“I showed Luanne Libby’s gemstone, and she knew it was aquamarine right off the bat,” Sebastian chimed, tittering with delight. “She didn’t have to look in a book or on the internet or anything. She said I was a budding something or other. What did you call me, Luanne?”
“A budding rockhound,” the woman replied, gifting Sebastian with a grin. “You’ll love this part of Colorado. There are rock and mineral treasures just about everywhere you look.”
Libby reached out to shake Luanne’s hand. “We haven’t met. I’m Libby Lamb the…”
“The spiritual advisor slash nanny,” Luanne interjected, sharing a look with Augie before shaking Libby’s hand. “Yes, Sebastian was telling us about this special yoga you two are doing up here.”
Special yoga? More like sucking face like horny teenagers.
It could be worse, though. At least Luanne didn’t ask if he was up here nursing a sour belly and farting up a storm.
“Yes, the special yoga! So very, very special,” Libby replied through a blush.
And the awkward meter had skyrocketed through the roof again.
He had to shift the subject from thisspecial yogato literally anything else. But what? His mind had gone blank.
Fall back on formality. You’re English. Use your bloody manners.
“Libby, you remember Augie from the night we agreed to…”
He shot a look at Sebastian, then met Libby’s gaze.
Crikey, so much for relying on pleasantries to introduce a neutral topic!
He should have asked about the blooming weather. Brits could go on and on about that subject. He sure as bloody hell couldn’t mention the whole vibrator debacle with Sebastian standing two feet away.
“Yes, I remember Augie,” Libby said, swooping in. “We met the night you and I agreed to represent Denver’s first responders in the Ass-in-Nine pack burro race. An event we absolutely weren’t coerced into doing under threat of prosecution.”
Oh, sweet Jesus.
“Well,” Luanne said, amusement sparkling in her eyes, “you both should be commended for caring about the community.”
“We’re happy to help,” he answered, plastering on a grin.
Yep, that’s it.
It was run with jackasses or face time in the slammer.
