by Lily Kate
“What?!” I spread my arms. “It’s good for him. And the woman’s name is Caroline, and she’s a nurse.”
“A nurse?” Kathleen scrunches up her face. “But our Jack needs someone who challenges him. Mentally.”
My stomach is roiling at their response, and I don’t even know Caroline. All I know is that she seems incredibly sweet and intelligent. I also know that if this is their opinion of nurses, their opinion of me must be even lower.
“He’ll go with Sandra,” William says, putting an end to the matter. “She comes from excellent parents and is on track to complete her residency this fall. They can marry next spring and then have children the year after.”
“I’ve gotta leave,” I say. “I have a, uh, thing.”
“A thing?” My mother says, watching as I kick my chair back. “What sort of thing?”
“A kickball thing.”
“Since when have you taken up sports?” William asks. “I’ve always seen you as the bookworm type. Didn’t have an athletic bone in your body when you were younger.”
“Gee whiz, thank you,” I say, taking two sandwiches for the road. Their opinion of me can’t get any lower anyway, so I might as well take the free food. After all, I am on a teacher’s salary, as they’ve so kindly pointed out. “I’ll let Jack know you say hello. Good luck with your... uh, engagement talk.”
“Oh, dear, one second.” Kathleen holds a finger up. “You mentioned dogs earlier, and I had a favor to ask you.”
A sense of dread creeps in as I say, “Yes?”
“Our sitter is out of town the week after the gala. Would you mind substituting for our poodle nanny?”
“Dog sitting?” It’s not the idea of dog sitting that’s offensive to me. I happen to love dogs quite a bit, even the Darcy poodles. It’s the fact that they think of me in the same breath as their dogs, but not their son. Charming.
“The poodles, well, they know you. Of course we’ll pay. Let us know how much you need to make ends meet.”
“I’m making ends meet already,” I say. “But I’ll do it. Just email me the details or whatever.”
“Great. I’ll contact you to set up time for an orientation beforehand.”
“Orientation?” I wince. “What sort of orientation?”
“The poodles require impeccable care,” Kathleen says with a tilt of her nose. “Our groomer is in Paris, our trainer in Germany, and our normal poodle-nanny is British. They are the highest quality of dogs.”
“Of course they are,” I mutter. “I don’t know if I can—”
“I’ll leave a check for five grand on the counter,” William says. “Will that suffice for a week?”
“Well, in that case, I’ll be there.”
Trying to sound chipper, I pop a pink macaron into my mouth and flounce away from the table. My car’s still impounded, but the club is close enough to my parents’ house to walk.
As I stroll outside, the beautiful summer day warming my bare shoulders, I turn over the teatime conversation in my mind. There’s not much of it that makes me happy, and I wonder if I shouldn’t have sold out for five grand to be a poodle nanny.
Then, I remember I have an impounded car, a one-bedroom apartment with a broken couch, and student debt that needs paying. Also, when that impounded car comes back, I should get the battery, brakes, and transmission replaced.
Basically, I need the money. There’s not a whole lot I wouldn’t do for five grand besides break the law or sell my body. In the end, I decide that watching a pair of finicky poodles is the least of my problems.
Also among my problems is now the worry about Sandra Swank. I should probably tell Jack that his parents are planning on parading him around the club like a show poodle.
I only wish the thought didn’t squish my heart so much that it hurt. When the day comes, it’ll be hard to give my time with Jack up to someone—anyone—else. But it would be hardest of all to see him married to a woman he didn’t love.
With renewed vigor, I decide to ramp Romance Academy up to the next level. Jack needs to fall in love before the gala. I might not want to see him married, but he can’t marry Sandra Swank.
Chapter 8
KICKBALL RULE #2: Don’t play if you can’t aim.
“He has, uh, a lot of aggression to get out.” Caroline crosses her arms over a bright red shirt with the words Kick-Ballers scrolled across it. “Should I be concerned?”
“He’s always been good at sports,” I say with a shake of my head. “Unfairly so.”
We watch as Jack warms up with someone he calls Shane. The two men are pelting the ball at each other and catching it. To me, it looks more like a war zone than a fun activity. That’s why I’ve chosen to stay far away on the sidelines and utilize my time to get to know Caroline.
“How long have you worked at the hospital?”
“A few months,” she says. “It feels like longer.”
“Jack’s looking good out there, isn’t he?” I wink at her. “He’s a really nice guy.”
“Mmm-hm.”
“Are you single?”
“I am,” Caroline says slowly. “And I’m also not looking.”
“Is it because he’s a little awkward to get to know? We’re working on that.”
“No, I’m just not looking in general.”
“That’s the best time to fall in love...or so they say.” I give a crusty laugh. “Not that I’d know.”
“Yeah, but, not with a co-worker,” she says, swishing her long blonde hair behind her back. “I’m focused on the new job. Anyway, how long have you known Dr. Darcy?”
“My parents say since the day I was born,” I tell her. “But I think that’s a lie. I can’t imagine they would’ve brought Jack to the hospital. So, maybe since I was a week old.”
She smirks. “You grew up together?”
“Oh, yeah. We did everything together. I know him well—anything you need to know, just ask.”
“That’s cute.”
“What?”
“The way you say ‘we’.” Caroline wiggles her eyebrows at me. “I thought you two were married.”
“Me and Jack?” I shake my head and roll my eyes all at once, which is a bad idea. By the time I manage to stare straight forward again, I’m dizzy. “Nah, that’s not going to happen.”
“Why?”
“We’re—” I’m interrupted by the high-pitched whistle that means Jack’s trying to get my attention. “What does he want now?”
Jack waves for me to join him, so grudgingly, I bid goodbye to Caroline and stand up.
“This conversation isn’t over,” I tell her with a smile. “I’ll let Jack know you say hi.”
“No, that’s okay—” Caroline waves me off, but at the last second she stops. “Whatever. Sure.”
With this, I march over to Jack and the rest of the Blue Team. The captain is trying to give us the starting lineup for the game, but I figure they’ll tell me when it’s my turn, so I don’t pay much attention and instead choose to whisper to Jack.
“Caroline’s looking mighty pretty today, don’t you think?” I lean against Jack and nudge him with my elbow. “She says hello.”
“Why would she say hello?” He frowns as he glances in her direction. “We drove here together. I just talked to her.”
I exhale. “She’s flirting.”
“You, back there—new girl.” The team captain points to me. “You’re going to be up after Darcy, okay?”
“Nah, put me last, please,” I squeak out, sinking into the background. “I don’t actually want to play. I’m just a warm body to pad your lineup.”
“We alternate guys and girls. You’re up after Jack.”
“I hope they know I’m horrible,” I whisper to Jack. “Did you warn them?”
“I warned you not to come here. You hate sports.”
“You’re not making me feel very welcome.” I pull Jack away from the group. “I’m here because I’m your coach. You asked me to help you fall in lo
ve, so I have to monitor your behaviors and give you pointers. And this?” I wave my finger around in front of his body. “This is a bad attitude, Mr. Darcy.”
“Dr. Darcy,” he corrects. “Work function.”
“Well, Dr. Darcy, maybe you wouldn’t be so snippy with me if you knew the full picture.”
“What picture?” Jack’s hand snakes out and wraps around my wrist. “What aren’t you telling me, Allie?”
I’m too busy staring at his hand on mine to answer right away. He’s got this grip that’s powerful, possessive, and I sort of like that he’s using it on me. Even if he’s just trying to get at my secrets.
“Allie,” he murmurs, his voice dropping into that low register, a secretive rumble that sends a flutter through my stomach. “What news?”
“This whole Romance Academy thing, it’s...” I hesitate. “It’s more urgent than ever that you find someone.”
“Why?”
“Because your mom has this awards ceremony, and she and your father are preparing to set you up with an awful date.”
“How do you know it’s awful?”
“Sandra Swank.”
Jack’s lips purse, and there’s a flash of something dark that fills his eyes before he pushes it away and, as usual, remains emotionless on the surface. “I’m not going anywhere with Sandra Swank.”
“The way your parents are talking, it doesn’t sound like you have a choice. Look, I think it’s messed up. They were talking about falling in love like...I dunno, breeding dogs or something. It was weird.”
“Why were you talking to them about...” He clears his throat. “My love life?”
“I got roped into a tea party with them at the club.” I gestured to my car behind us in the parking lot. “My dad said he’d pay the impound fee if I sat through it with him. I sat through it, and he got my car back.”
“You got towed from the hospital?” Jack’s eyes, formerly dark, lightened. “Because you ran after me to deliver my phone?”
“And then proceeded to make a fool of myself and sweep the floor with my hair. Yes, I remember what happened. You know, except for the part where I blacked out.”
“I would’ve paid your fee, Allie, you didn’t have to—”
“It’s fine. I’m glad I sat through the stupid afternoon tea with them. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have heard them talking about pairing you up, and I wouldn’t have been able to warn you.”
“You didn’t have to—”
I shake my head, a sardonic grin on my face. “You always have my back. I have yours. Consider us even.”
“I mean it, you didn’t have to. I might not even be in town for my mother’s award. When is it?”
“A few weeks out, but... hold on. Where will you be?”
“I meant to tell you, but I haven’t had the opportunity yet, and—”
“You’re up, Doc Darcy!” The man who’d been playing ball with Jack before the game hollered across the kickball field. “We’ve got two outs. Don’t fuck it up.”
“Hold on a second! That man is really annoying,” I say, turning back to Jack after yelling to the captain. “He needs a chill pill. And you need to tell me what’s going on.”
“Shane’s the best neurosurgeon on the West Coast,” Jack says, an amused smile playing at his lips. “He’s allowed to be an ass.”
“I don’t care about him. I care about what you were going to say.”
“It’s just something that came up—”
“Darcy, get your ass over here. If they pitch and you’re not at the plate, it’s an automatic out.”
“One second.” Jack squeezes my arm in sympathy before releasing it. “I’ll be right back.”
He marches to his place as kicker, looking like a college football star. Several ladies out for a stroll turn to stare as he rubs his hands together and eyes Caroline, the pitcher, with intense concentration. Feeling sullen, I drag myself back to the Blue Team’s bench and watch as Caroline throws the first roll.
“What is that piece of shit?” Shane yells at Caroline while the ball bounces on an erratic trajectory toward the plate. “Keep the damn ball on the ground.”
Caroline cringes, waves an apology to Jack and Shane.
“It was an accident,” I murmur underneath my breath as the Shane strolls by. “Take a chill pill.”
“Do you even work here?” The hot-shot neurosurgeon stops in front of me. “If I recall, you’re the chick coasting in with Darcy. What is it you do? School nurse?”
“I’m a kindergarten teacher.”
“Exactly.” He snorts, then stomps off to the side. “Nail this one, Darcy. Don’t be a pussy.”
“That’s rude.” I stand up, storming in front of him. “Do this whole team a favor and pull the stick out of your ass, please.”
“Jack, get your girlfriend under control, will you?”
“I’m not his girlfriend.”
The captain twirls to face Jack, and I catch the name on the back of his shirt. Diamond. He turns back around, smirking at me. “Well, if you know what’s best for you, sweetheart, you might try harder to make him your boyfriend.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“I’m telling you that—” Dr. Diamond is cut off mid-sentence by a collective gasp from the crowd.
I freeze, halfway into telling Dr. Diamond what I think of his lousy attitude, when the wail begins. As I turn, I catch Jack muttering a particularly vulgar stream of expletives. He seems stuck in place at home plate, though the ball is nowhere to be seen.
“Run, Darcy!” Dr. Diamond yells. “That’s a fair ball.”
My stomach sinks as I finally catch sight of the scene that has everyone stopped cold. “Oh, shit. Caroline!”
Jack turns to look at me, a horrified expression on his face. For being a quick-thinking doctor, he’s not always the fastest to react under normal circumstances.
“Go to her!” I yell, ignoring Dr. Diamond’s calls for a home run. Until I can’t ignore Doc Diamond anymore because he’s screaming in my ear. Finally, I turn to face him. “Don’t be an asshole. There’s an injured woman out there.”
Then I leave his side and jog over to check on Caroline and slap some sense into Jack.
“Did you just call Dr. Diamond an asshole?” Jack mutters as we reach Caroline at the same time. “Do you know who he is? He’s the leading—”
“I don’t care what he does for a living, he’s a jerk,” I say, kneeling down. “Caroline, are you okay?”
Her eyes blink open, and she forces a smile. Her hands cover her face and tears, probably a reaction from the pain, as she attempts to sit up, but fails and retreats back to the ground. “I’b fine. It hurbts, bud I’ll be ob-kay—wreally.”
“Jack, what did you do?” I turn to face Jack, who’s staring at Caroline as if she’s a broken doll, and he has no clue if she can be fixed. “What happened?”
“I kicked the ball,” he begins, and then trails off. “It happened so fast...”
“You hit Caroline in the face with a kickball?!” I smack his arm. “Seriously, Jack. You could’ve aimed anywhere in the world except at Caroline’s face. Let’s see, honey. Can you move your hands so Jack can look at the damage?”
Caroline gives a slight shake of her head. “Ib’s bw-eeding, and—”
“If you’re worried about earlier, I’m fine,” I tell her. “You’re surrounded by doctors here. Let someone take a look.”
“Ob-kay,” she says, with a fleeting look of dismay at me. “But—”
Jack gently reaches for her hands, and that’s when I catch sight of it. It wasn’t obvious before because Caroline’s shirt was bright red, and I had only focused on her face. A crowd has formed around us now, however, and someone points out the stain on her clothing.
As Caroline lowers her hands, everything happens at once. Her eyes have already started blackening above the nose, and underneath there’s blood everywhere. It’s dripping from her nose, down her shirt, pooling in a small puddle
to the side of her cheek.
“Let’s sit you up,” Jack says. “We need to get you...shit. Allie?!”
The black stars dance in mean little circles around my skull, and I sway against Jack, against the crowd, against the asphalt beneath my feet. I clutch for something, someone, but it’s too late.
That damn blood is knocking me out once again, and I can’t do anything about it.
“Jack,” I whisper, and then crumble forward onto Caroline.
Chapter 9
JACK DARCY
Well, I’ve done it.
I’ve set the record for the world’s most awful man.
Because of me, one of my co-workers now has a broken nose. Other than some slight pain, Caroline has insisted she’s fine. She’s accepted my profuse apologies with a wave of her hand and demanded I not feel bad about the accident.
Allie, on the other hand, is struggling.
Then again, she did have a tough day.
She fainted not once, but twice, sat through a torturous afternoon of tea with our parents, and had her car impounded. For the cherry on top of this disaster Sunday, she’s made an enemy of the region’s most prestigious neurosurgeon.
This day, right here, is why I keep business and pleasure separate.
Allie and Caroline are now resting next to each other on matching hospital beds. The kickball park was only a few miles away, and it was easiest for me to pop back to the hospital while Allie was revived and someone saw to Caroline’s nose.
“I’m going to take off,” Caroline says, straightening up in bed, then climbing down and joining my side. “It looks like Allie is getting more coherent, and maybe you can drive her back tonight?”
“Of course. I’m so sorry, again. If there’s anything I can do...” I follow Caroline as she moves to the edge of the room. Her eyes are black, there’s a massive bandage over her nose, and I feel like a monster. “I didn’t aim for you, I swear. The ball came off my foot and—”
“It’s a sport, people get injured.” Caroline gives me the thumbs-up. “I look pretty cool, don’t you think?”
“Badass,” I agree, though it doesn’t make me feel any better. “If you want a few days off, I’m sure we can arrange something.”
