Page 271 of The Nanny and the Heartthrob

Penny swiveled on her swing. “The same Luxe people who own LookyLoo and the Luxe Grandiose in Vegas?”

“Yeah, and whoever Mr. and Mrs. Luxe are, they stay off the radar, but at the same time, they appeared to have their fingers in quite a few pies. They also own the Red Rocks Unplugged concert event. I overheard Landon on the phone with a Luxe lawyer. He had the call on speakerphone, so I heard everything. They invited him to showcase his new sound at Red Rocks Unplugged in a few weeks.”

Libby rocked back and forth, making circles with her heel in the packed dirt. “That’s what you guys wanted, right?”

“Yeah,” she answered, “but there’s more. There was an issue with his contract regarding the new songs he and I wrote together. The contract listed Landon as the sole owner of the copyright and didn’t mention me at all.”

“It had to be a mistake,” Libby offered, abandoning her circles.

“Maybe, probably. Landon said it was,” she conceded.

“Then what happened that made you leave?” Char pressed.

This was a slippery slope. She trusted her friends. They knew about her neurodivergent learner status, but sharing Landon’s wasn’t her information to spread.

She focused on a few pebbles mixed into the dirt and nudged them with the toe of her boot. “The internet wasn’t working at the villa. Landon’s place is in a secluded location in northern Italy. I’m sure stuff like that happens all the time. The record label was having trouble sending the contract electronically. The lawyer seemed to be in a big hurry to tie up loose ends, and he sent a paper copy of the contract via courier to the house. Landon’s manager was recovering from surgery and wasn’t available. It fell on him to figure out what to do.”

“A paper copy of the contract?” Charlotte repeated.

“Yes.”

Char’s brows knit together. “And let me guess. Landon had trouble reading it.”

What. The. Hell.

She froze. “How would you know that, Char?”

Her friend rocked on the swings a few times. “Oscar mentioned something.”

“Oscar?” she echoed.

“It was the day you left for Italy,” her friend explained. “Aria and Oscar were buddy reading in class that day before school got out. Oscar shared that Aria uses her e-reader with the special font because it makes it easier to read. She told Oscar that she and her uncle liked this special font. She also told Oscar that Landon didn’t like reading paper books to her because he had trouble making the letters stop wiggling. She said the e-reader made it easier for them. Oscar also said Aria was proud of being like her uncle with reading and proud of being like you when it came to writing music.”

She blinked back tears. “Aria said that?”

Charlotte nodded.

The cat was out of the bag.

“Did you guys know about Landon’s learning issues?” she asked, looking from Penny to Libby.

Penny nodded. “Aria said something similar to Phoebe.”

“And she mentioned it to Sebastian, too,” Libby volunteered.

“And it makes sense,” Penny continued. “The guy only voice texts. He plays the vain celebrity role, like checking on his social media followers and thinking people are spotting him in a crowd. But the more we get to know him, the more we can tell he’s not a shallow guy. He plays that part to distract others from seeing who he really is.”

Penny had hit the mark.

She twisted the hem of his shirt. “Landon could do so much good for kids like Aria if he was open and honest about his struggles,” she answered as a fresh wave of anger tinged with disappointment washed over her.

“Sometimes, it’s not that easy,” Libby supplied with a knowing grin. “Like Penn said, sometimes, people take on a persona to hide what’s going on inside when they don’t feel safe to reveal themselves—like, for example, playing the tough, snarky girl when you’ve got a heart of gold and a gentle spirit capable of writing beautiful music.”

“Heart of gold?” she challenged.

“H, you’ve been in our corner for everything from kids trying to steal our swings in grade school to making sure Rowen, Raz, and Mitch were the right men for us,” Penny answered.

“You terrify our fiancés. These guys are mavericks in their fields, and you don’t back down because you love us and want the best for us. And that’s what we want for you,” Charlotte added and reached out to touch her knee.

---