Page 46 of Late Nights & Love Lines
Some of the ice leaves her features. “He’s probably the only person I’ve ever missed.”
That one sentence gives me hope in the harebrained scheme the merry fucking meddlers came up with.
“Well, hello.” Lottie drags out the wordhellolike a Broadway performer. “You two are awfully cozy. Again.”
Rowan shoots eyeball daggers at her friend.
“Anyway,” Leo says, clearing his throat. “This is Tabby, my fiancée, and our son, Ryker.” A small woman with a baby strapped to her chest and flour dusting her cheek steps forward with a wave. Her dress is a patchwork of uncoordinated colors, and she’s wearing a rainbow apron beneath the sleeping baby.
We share greetings, then refocus on Leo. “And this is Maria. She’s our new camp director, and she’ll be taking over all our needs for the next few weeks while she prepares for a full July session. I’ll be in and out, working on refurbishing various parts of the camp and running yoga sessions on the beach. You have my number should anything come up, but Maria will be your point of contact for the nanny mixer.”
Tabby dances on her toes. “And we’re having a sand dance tonight, so you have to come.” She clasps her hands under her chin, and her happiness bounces off her as she continues brightly. “Bella Moonbeam, she’s my friend. Well, she’s everyone’s friend. She’s the town party planner and the sweetest human on the planet. Anyway, she pulled this one off at the request of Beck and Elijah which is just, gah, it’s so nice of them.They don’t usually get involved in these. So basically, that means you all have to come. Okay? Great. I’ll see you all there.”
She bounces out of the office. Did she even breathe through that entire spiel?
“She’s, ah, excitable,” Leo says affectionately.
“She’s lovely,” Rowan says with her eyes pinned straight ahead.
Just to test her, I step forward so I’m in her peripheral vision and grin. She can’t ignore me, no matter how hard she tries.
“It’s nice to meet you, Maria.” Rowan steps forward and shakes the woman’s hand.
Rowan steps back, and I repeat the greeting, returning to stand a little closer to Rowan.
Lottie and Maria discuss some things about her date-a-nanny event—I mean, herhire-a-nanny event—and I take the opportunity to speak quietly with Rowan.
I don’t necessarily intend to crowd her space, but when she takes a step back, I follow until she’s pressed against the wood paneling.
“Sebastian,” she says through gritted teeth. “What are you doing?”
“I’m saying hello to my friend.”
She narrows her eyes and screws up her lips. “I know what you’re doing, but I’m your nanny. Your temporary nanny, not your friend.”
I dramatically clutch my chest. “Rowan Ellis, I’ve known you since you were eight years old. Are you saying you won’t be my friend?”
Her nose twitches, reminding me of a baby bunny, and she twists the pink and black bracelets she’s always wearing around her wrist. Something partially hidden by her bracelet catches my attention, and I pull her hand up high.
A vision of pinning her naked to the wall floods my mind, and I bite back a groan.
When I push down the beads, the air in my lungs turns to cement. A sea of memories washes over me while I gently rub my thumb over the tiny tattoo on her wrist.
“It’s a peach,” I say, dumbfounded. The words are a guttural sound I have no control over.
She shrugs. “It’s just a tattoo.”
“Just a tattoo?” My throat rumbles with the words. “Does anyone else call you Peach?”
“No. It’s a tattoo, nothing more.”
“When did you get it?”
“When I turned eighteen.”
She won’t look at me, but a smile erupts across my face, and the emotions I’ve been holding at bay break free.
She didn’t forget me.
