Page 21 of The Nanny

“What?” She looks genuinely confused. “Don’t be. It’s my job, right?”

“Yeah,” I answer, unscrewing the cap on the water while I round the counter, leaning against it as I keep a safe distance from the living room. “Right. Sorry.”

Cassie laughs quietly. “You have a habit of apologizing when you don’t have to.”

“Sorr—” I frown. “I don’t even realize I’m doing it half the time.” I notice her gaze flick down to my T-shirt that is still pretty drenched with sweat, and I give her an apologetic look. “I need a shower.”

“Kind of,” she chuckles. “I don’t know where you find the energy to work out with the late nights you’ve been pulling.”

I shrug. “You get used to it. Just have to steal time where you can.”

“Couldn’t be me.”

I nod toward her laptop. “What are you working on?”

“Nothing fun,” she sighs. “But I have to get it done before my on-campus labs this weekend, and I promised Sophie we’d make mini pizzas tonight and watch a movie.”

“She told me.” I smile. “She also told me to tell you that it’s her turn to pick.”

Cassie snorts. “She would say that. She totally tricked me into picking the one she wanted last time. This will have to be our third time watchingEncantoat this point.”

“Encanto?”

She looks at me like the question is an offensive one. “Really? ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno’?”

“Why don’t we talk about Bruno?”

“How have you missed this? I feel like Sophie has sung this song at least eight dozen times in the last week.”

“Wait. Is this the one about a wedding?”

“It’s catchy as hell is what it is. I haven’t been able to shower without that damned soundtrack making an appearance.”

Don’t think about her in the shower. Just don’t.

“I guess I need to watch the movie.”

“Oh, don’t worry. She’ll corner you eventually and force you.”

I laugh at her expression, disgruntled and yet somehow affectionate. “I think she likes you.”

Cassie perks up. “You think so?”

“I do. She likes to act tough, but I can tell she’s already warmed up to you.”

“She could throw me a bone and let it show.”

I can’t help but laugh. “That would be too easy. She’s got to make you think you earned it.”

“She’s so stubborn,” Cassie says, grinning. “I sort of love her.”

“I am... very glad to hear you say that.”

“She’s an awesome kid,” Cassie says seriously. “It’s kind of hard not to.”

There’s still a touch of a smile at my mouth as I look down at my feet. “She is.”

I think I dread one-on-one conversations with Cassie because they are soeasy.Sure, there are sometimes lulls or awkward silences where I am trying not to notice her in all the ways I shouldn’t be—but every time I talk to her, it’s almost as if we’ve been talking forever.

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