A Bundle of Mannies

by Lorelei M. Hart

  On one level, I thought it seemed unlikely he’d be able to convince someone of her stature to go to so much effort, but what did I know about him, really? He’d already managed to bring his little nephew along on my dime. And within a couple of hours of boarding, he’d turned my careful schedule on its ear. But to what result? He had told me he intended to be there during practices, helping out. Was he maybe getting off on Marilyn’s celebrity status?

  And was the older woman interested in younger men? Graysen was a good-looking guy. I’d noticed, of course, although I had no interest in pursuing him, even if he did smell incredible, a bit like the forest, early on a summer morning when the pines just started to warm up. Being a boy toy for someone like Marilyn Temple would probably pay a lot more than teaching.

  Then I shoved all of that aside. It didn’t matter if he was handsome or smelled great, or had eyes that seemed to see inside me—a not always comfortable sensation. Or even if he wanted to attract a rich woman to support him and his ward.

  Not. My. Business.

  As long as he took care of Eric for two weeks. I wasn’t thrilled with the play idea, but at least it should show Eric what hard work the stage was. I’d never told him about his late daddy’s appearance in a few off-Broadway shows before we married, had I?

  I didn’t think so, but perhaps he’d overheard a conversation at some point and wanted to experience treading the boards for that reason?

  As I dressed for dinner this first night aboard ship, however, my thoughts turned back to the manny subverting my instructions. Tie in place, I buzzed the cabin steward and arranged for a babysitter. I’d been invited to dine at the captain’s table. The invitation included a plus one, which of course I didn’t have. But why not bring the manny. It would give us an opportunity to talk away from the children. I wanted to be sure we understood one another. He’d gotten his way concerning the musical production, and that would necessitate some schedule changes we could go over after dinner.

  After glancing at my watch, I headed into the common room where I found Eric sitting in the easy chair with Seth cuddled next to him, listening to my son read to him. I couldn’t suppress my grin at the topic, though.

  Graysen was across the room on the sofa, holding a stylus and his tablet. I sat down beside him. “Your nephew has quite an interest in Spanish.”

  He looked up and grinned. “Apparently so. Or maybe it’s that your son makes everything he reads sound so interesting.” He pointed to another book lying on the table beside the boys. “Earlier, Seth was introduced to engineering. Judging by their giggles, the text is very amusing.”

  I shook my head. “Who knows? You may have an engineer building bridges in South America in the making.” We sat for a moment watching the two who didn’t seem to have noticed my arrival. “What are you doing while they study?”

  “Oh, just doing some sketches.” He held the tablet toward me. “What do you think?”

  He’d perfectly captured the pair who had now switched to botany. At least this book had a lot of illustrations. “I think Eric has made a friend.”

  “More of an admirer.” He sighed. “But it’s time for them to get ready for bed.”

  “Oh.” I suddenly remembered why I had come in. “Have you eaten dinner yet?”

  “No.” He set the tablet down and stood, stretching. “I fed the boys on deck earlier but thought I’d order a sandwich or something once they’re tucked in. You must be about to go yourself. You look very dapper.”

  “Dapper?” I chuckled. “Kind of old-school. Am I really that stuffy?”

  His eyes twinkled. “Not stuffy exactly. Serious maybe. But truth...in that suit, you look yummy.”

  Oh my god, where was this going? “I think I’ll stick with dapper. It’s better for my rep as a visiting child expert.” The dress code for tonight wasn’t formal, so I wore my charcoal-gray suit, but the tie was almost the exact color of my eyes, or so I’d been told. I was suddenly glad for the choice.

  “Probably.”

  “So anyway, the reason I came in. Did you bring a suit?”

  “Yes. I didn’t think I’d need it, but just in case. I don’t have a lot of cruising experience so better to be safe.”

  “Then go get changed and you can come with me for dinner.”

  “I can’t leave the children unsupervised.”

  I mentally rolled my eyes. “I never suggested you should.” A rap came on the door. “I arranged a sitter. That should be them now.”

  Still, he hesitated. “I don’t think, that’s I mean...you’re already paying me for that job. You don’t have to take me to dinner.”

  Did he think I was hitting on him? For just a second, I entertained the notion before whisking it aside. “I understand that. But I would like to review some schedule changes necessitated by Eric’s participation in the theatrical production. We can dine at the captain’s table and then meet in one of the common areas, maybe have coffee or an after-dinner drink and take care of business. After tonight, I will be very busy, so this is my only opportunity to take care of these matters.”

  Did he look disappointed?

  “Okay. Let me introduce the sitter to the boys first, unless you want to?” I guess he was just thinking.

  “I will,” I told him, “while you get ready. We’re dining at the captain’s table, so we don’t want to be late.”

  Chapter Ten

  Graysen

  I slid on my suit jacket and flinched at my image in the mirror. Whereas Kylos looked like a dapper gentleman fit for Ms. Temple’s company at the captain’s table, I looked like I’d borrowed a neighbor’s suit to go to a funeral—a neighbor two inches both taller and wider than I.

  It had been the best I could afford for my day in court as I tried to get guardianship of Seth. Thankfully, the judge was so grateful to get him to a family member and not in the foster care system that they did not comment on how unprofessional I looked, going so far as to show up without a lawyer, thanks to the one I hired simply not showing up for our court date. Didn’t stop him from charging me.

  It would have to do. I’d already agreed, and the sitter already had the boys listening to a story, Eric humoring her as Seth sat there giggling at the pictures of silly animals. I had to give it to her, she knew how to work the room.

  I stepped out of the bathroom, trying to come off as both confident and sexy, not accomplishing either, and really, not sure I should want to be sexy around my boss. Had we met under different circumstances, I could see Kylos and myself acting on the physical attraction I had a every reason to suspect we both felt. But he was my boss, and I was there to watch his kid. Full stop. Fine, not watch his kid as much as educate him but still. Same difference.

  “Ready to”—he swallowed—“go?”

  Fair to say I looked better than I felt, which boosted my confidence that I wouldn’t look like the hired help at dinner. Not that there was a bloody thing wrong with being hired help. Still…

  “Yeah. Let me give Seth a hug and we can leave.” It would be far easier on the sitter if I snuck out, but he’d had enough adults sneaking out on him and not coming back already. I didn’t need to have him think, even for one second, I might be one of those.

  I walked over, kissed him on the head, and promised him I would return after dinner and to have fun with Maisy, the sitter.

  “Ereee,” he said and grabbed at Eric.

  “He said my name,” the young boy pronounced proudly.

  “Why, yes, he did. He must like having you around.” I fluffed his hair like I often did with Seth. “I do, too.”

  Eric had a lot of things he felt confident in, but I’d snagged a few hints from him that he was never quite sure how the people around him felt about him and had decided early on to make sure he knew where I stood, hoping it would build his confidence.

  “Thanks, Gray.” He tested a nickname and quickly changed it to my full name, “Graysen.”

  I met Kylos at the doorway, assuming he’d said his g
oodbyes while I got ready, and, with a little wave to Maisy, we walked out of the room.

  “She’s going to have a much easier night than normal, I imagine.” Kylos spoke with pride. “Eric is very well behaved.” He was, too, and mostly out of fear of disappointing his father than desire to not test waters.

  “But she also has Seth, and when he gets hangry or tired...watch out,” I teased.

  “Hangry?” he asked as we reached the end of the corridor.

  “Surely you know about being hangry.” I turned to watch his expression and was shocked to see it clueless. Did he live under a mushroom? “Hangry is when you are so hungry you get angry at everything—hangry.”

  “She will of course feed him if he so needs.”

  I burst out in laughter. I shouldn’t have. This was my employer, but, for some reason, I was unable to hold it inside.

  “I fail to see the humor.”

  I settled my hand on his shoulder as I spoke, “Seth is a toddler. Toddlers tend to not realize what they need until it is a huge need.” He just stared at my hand, and I saw my error. This was not a friend. No. This was my boss. I snapped my hand back quickly. “Sorry,” I mumbled and started to walk again, embarrassed by my overstep—one that had felt remarkably natural and right.

  We walked in silence the rest of the way to the dining room where we would be eating, and, just as we got there, he whispered what I thought to be, “You look very handsome tonight.”

  So like a complete dork I answered, “Thanks” as we walked into the dining room.

  In my mind, a cruise ship had always just been a big boat where everything would be nice but smaller than the equivalent on land. Our room said otherwise, but it was a fancy suite, so my brain still held on to the ill-conceived belief that things would be miniature. Stepping inside that dining room shattered what was left of that inclination.

  The room was larger than any restaurant I’d ever been in and larger than the cafeteria I’d had at my small college. Somehow, even with its size, the place held an elegance I’d never experienced anyplace other than books. We stepped up to the podium where we were greeted by a maître d′ who quickly whisked us away and to the back where we were greeted by someone else who I couldn’t quite figure out the role of—not a waiter but not a maître d′—who took us the short distance to a private alcove where the captain sat.

  We were the first to arrive and sat on his right but were quickly joined by most of the others. I had a feeling I should’ve known who at least some of them were. I did not.

  One by one, they were introduced to us, Kylos introducing me by my name and not my place in his life, earning us a couple of quizzical looks. It became my game to decide who they thought I was to him—a gigolo, his omega, his help, his assistant, his escort...so many possibilities, and thinking about them relaxed me enough that I was no longer bouncing my knee slightly under the table or feeling like I was about to puke. I called it a win.

  It wasn’t until Marilyn came in that everything was turned on its head.

  Chapter Eleven

  Kylos

  We had just been served amuse bouche, a trio of miniature pre-appetizers although we were all waiting for the captain to begin eating, when a ripple of applause rolled across the room toward us, announcing the late arrival of Marilyn Temple. She bowed her head and nodded to those she passed, waving off their attempts to rise, and finally arrived at our table where the captain rose and took her hand.

  “Ms. Temple, what a pleasure.”

  “Captain, I am terribly sorry to be late. Everywhere I go on your lovely ship, everyone is so kind to me.” She allowed him to help her into her chair, smiling at each person until her gaze landed on Graysen who sat to her right, and she clapped her hands. “And I see I already have a friend here. Did the little boy’s father agree to allow him in our production?”

  My cheeks heated. My cheeks never heated. “I beg your pardon, Ms. Temple. I am the father in question.” Why delay the inevitable.

  “Ah, I see. And have you made a decision?” She seemed to see deep inside me, an uncomfortable sensation to be sure. “He is quite talented, you know.”

  If I hadn’t already agreed, I’d have had to now or look like a terrible father—and that wouldn’t make me a good choice for keynote speaker on a parenting cruise. “Is there any question? What an incredible opportunity for Eric and all the children aboard ship. To work with a star of your caliber?”

  All true, but it didn’t make me any happier at having my son’s schedule so thrown off.

  The many courses came quickly thereafter, and Marilyn Temple quite monopolized Graysen throughout the meal. But she didn’t act as though she was hitting on him—a fact it took me a while to realize. She simply drew him out, asking lots of questions, and learned more about him in that time than I’d gotten from the agency or our time together. He readily agreed to help design and create sets for her, having done a bit of that in college, and told her he would be there for Eric under any circumstances so he might as well be useful.

  I considered his watching Eric useful without any painting of trees or flowers.

  But their conversation gave me time to watch Graysen enjoy himself. He answered her questions in an animated fashion, offering to send her one of the graphic novels he’d illustrated and telling an amusing story about a “guerilla art project” where they had to sneak some sort of art into the environment undetected. The two of them were so delightful, soon the entire table was drawn into their conversation.

  Eventually, dessert was served and cleared, and I declined to stay for an after-dinner drink because I wanted to get Graysen alone for our meeting before it was too late After all, he had a busy day with Eric and Seth tomorrow. We said goodbye to everyone, and Marilyn even offered her cheek for his kiss.

  As we left the dining room, I asked, “Would you like to go to the little bar on our deck? That way we’d be close to the suite afterward. I won’t keep you long, but we do need to adjust the scheduling based on recent events.”

  “That would be fine,” he said, but he seemed distracted. “She’s very nice, isn’t she? So easy to talk to. I always thought famous people would only want to talk about themselves, but she managed to get me to talk about all that stuff that can’t have been interesting to her.” He cast a glance my way. “I hope I didn’t bore her to tears.”

  Picturing the group gathered around the table, I shook my head. “Are you joking? The two of you were the center of attention. I don’t think anyone, least of all Ms. Temple, was bored. Here’s the bar. Do you mind if we sit on the outside patio? It’s a nice night, not too cool.”

  “Sounds good to me.” He trailed me across the bar and outside. “Will you look at that moon? Do you suppose it looks so huge because we’re at sea?”

  I sat down at a table by the rail and looked at the golden orb casting its reflection in the ocean and its light on Graysen’s face. Despite what people tell you, moonlight isn’t always flattering, but in his case it was. The shadows set off his high cheekbones and stubble and made his eyes appear dark and mysterious. Even the cheap suit couldn’t hide the impressive physique, and I wondered what physical activities he did to look so good. We sat there for a few moments in silence. He looked out over the water. No wonder everyone always wanted shipboard romances. I was here for a simple meeting, but all I could think about was kissing him.

  The waiter came and took our drink orders—a special coffee drink with brandy for him and a port for me—and when he’d returned and set them on the table then left again, I reluctantly drew my tablet from my inside pocket. “All right, then, the schedule. I see we need to make some adjustments to ensure Eric isn’t overworked.”

  “Yes, the play will take up a lot of time, but as you pointed out,” he said, “it’s quite an opportunity.”

  “Once in a lifetime,” I agreed, but I wasn’t sure I was talking about the play. If he noticed my husky tone, he didn’t comment on it. “I think if we move engineering to just after
lunch…” And it went on from there. I made notes on my tablet and told him I’d send them to him, and then our drinks were empty and the moon was high in the sky. I pushed back my chair and sighed. “I suppose we’d better go relieve the sitter. Busy day tomorrow for us all.”

  We strolled side by side along the deck toward the suite, talking of this and that and nothing important until we reached the door to the suite. It felt a lot like the end of a date. Which of course it was not.

  We parted ways, inside, once the babysitter left. Me to my lonely room and him to the one he shared with the boys. I had many events after their bedtime and never wanted my son alone in a hotel room without me there. As the door closed behind him, I heard a little voice asking for water and felt a crazy urge to go in and tuck them all in bed.

  The urge would pass if I ignored it.

  Chapter Twelve

  Graysen

  “Ms. Temple has offered me some extra vocal lessons.” Eric played with his broccoli which was now dripping with dip. We were dining in the suite where it was quiet and not so overstimulating for Seth, allowing him to take his nap. “Do you think that is because I’m not good enough? Maybe I only got the lead because of who my father is. That happens a lot you know.”

  I just let his confession flow. How long had he been holding on to all of that? Did he second-guess all his accomplishments? Sure, he was given opportunities most children never would, but the results of those opportunities were all him.

  “Ms. Temple wants to work with you because you sing like an angel—her words not mine. She didn’t even know who your father was.” Or at least pretended as much, so I was sticking with it. She appeared to know a lot more than she let on.