“Pop Tarts!” Gillian shrieked, appearing from nowhere and bouncing up and down in front of us. “Yes! And you have the chocolate ones. Can I have three?”
Slade laughed and started tearing open a foil package, but I put out a hand to stop him. I jerked my hand back when I realized I’d actually touched his arm. His gaze met mine and he raised a brow. I tore my gaze away from those stupid eyes of his and focused on Gillian.
“No, absolutely not.” I put on my best do-not-even-think-of-arguing-with-me face. “Your mom said no sugar.” She’d actually said one sugary treat a day was okay, but I figured none was even better.
Gillian’s face fell, and she turned her big blue eyes on Slade. “Puh-lease? I love them…and Mommy never buys them for me.” She faked a sniffle.
I rolled my eyes at Slade, who was trying to hold back laughter.
He closed the box. “Sorry, kiddo,” he said. “Gotta do what Trina says.”
Gillian pivoted toward me, glaring. “You’re not the boss of me.”
Barely two hours into our first day together and already she was staging a mutiny. I took a deep breath, refusing to look at Slade.
“Gillian, while you’re with me, I am the boss of you. It’s my job to take care of you while your parents are at work. And your mom said no sugar.” It would be easier to just let her have a Pop Tart, but I was terrified of how much crazier she’d be, hopped up on sugar.
She crossed her arms over her chest, still glaring at me.
“Go put your clothes on,” I said, “so we can get to the museum.”
“Hey, Gillian,” Slade interjected, “that’s a great idea. See, I kind of need your help.”
We both turned to Slade. His expression was all innocent and wide-eyed, and I watched in amazement as he turned the topaz eye power on full blast for a five-year-old. “See, Max doesn’t like me being the boss of him, either. So you could really help me out by getting dressed, and convincing him to get dressed, too.” He turned on the full wattage smile, complete with dimple. “Do you think you could do that for me, sweetheart?”
I watched her melt right before my eyes. Her glare morphed into a dazed smile. She nodded enthusiastically, then turned and ran out of the room.
Unbelievable. I didn’t know whether to thank him or throw something at him.
Then he turned the full Slade wattage on me. “Kids,” he said, shrugging like it was no big deal that he’d just completely defused both a mutiny and a meltdown.
“Yeah,” I muttered. “Where’s the bathroom?”
He pointed to a doorway. Once inside the bathroom, I locked the door and dumped more lavender oil on my wrist.
Desperate times called for desperate measures.
The museum swarmed like a noisy hive of families and tourists. Max wanted to stay in Prehistoric Journey where all the dino skellies were, but Gillian wanted to spend her time at Space Odyssey, pretending she was an astronaut and controlling a fake Rover on the moon.
After listening to the kids argue, I told Slade we should split up. I made sure he had his cell turned on and we agreed to rendezvous at twelve thirty for lunch.
Before lunch, I spent a painful fifteen minutes trying to convince Gillian that she needed to take off the astronaut costume so we could meet Max.
“You’re not the boss of me,” she declared. Again.
I made a desperate ploy. “We’re meeting Slade, you know.”
Her sour expression transformed to syrupy sweet, and she clambered out of the astronaut suit.
I texted Slade. Meet you at the café in five minutes.
At the café, I looked everywhere for Max and Slade. They weren’t sitting at any of the tables in the atrium and they weren’t in line for food. I texted him again.
Hello? We r at café? Where r u?
Gillian pointed. “There they are.”
Framed in the glass windows, Slade was kicked back on a bench in the sunshine, talking to two cute girls. Max sat on the ground playing with rubber dinosaurs.
“Damn him.”
“You cussed,” Gillian scolded. “Mom says no swearing. Unless she hurts herself. Or if Dad’s being a real jerk.” Gillian glared at me, hands on her hips. “And you’re not hurt.” She glanced out the door. “Are you and Slade married?”
My head snapped toward her. “What? No!”
You’re halfway through the day, I told myself. If I could just get her fed, we could relax in the IMAX movie.
After we snaked our way through the long line for food, Gillian rushed outside with her tray, making a beeline for Max and Slade. I followed slowly, not thrilled about eavesdropping on Slade’s pickup lines.
“Hey.” Max stopped his dinosaur battle and stared at Gillian. “I want a hot dog. Where’d you get that?”
Slade and the Barbies turned to stare at us, too. Slade winced as he pulled his cell out of his pocket, reading my messages.
“Damn. I totally lost track of time, Trina. Sorry I missed your texts. I had my phone silenced, cuz the security guard gave me crap about it ringing too loud.” He gave me one of those sexy grins that he used to charm his way out of trouble. But like I’d told Desi, I was immune to his tricks.
The Barbies glanced over their shoulders at Slade as he went inside for food, then giggled as they strutted away. Watching them sashay in their cute miniskirts, I felt like a dork in my shorts and flip-flops.
Gillian plopped down next to Max. “Where’d you get the new dinosaurs?”
“Gift shop.” His T. rex pinned a dinosaur with a fringed head.
“Gift shop!” Gillian eyed me like I was a prison warden. “I wanna go to the gift shop. Max got to go. It’s not fair!” And right before my eyes, she supersonicked straight into meltdown mode. Her screams echoed off the walls of the museum. Max stared at me anxiously, obviously expecting me to do something.
As I sat frozen in shock, the tiny part of my brain that still functioned realized that all of my previous babysitting experiences with Gillian had been at her house. I hadn’t actually taken her out in public before. Still, I knew she was hell on wheels, so I should’ve been prepared. I closed my eyes and wished for a fairy godmother to grant me super nanny powers.
But instead of a fairy godmother, Slade reappeared with a tray of food, just in time to hear the meltdown reach its maximum volume. He assessed the scene, looking unfazed by the chaos.
“So”—he settled himself next to me on the bench—“how much nanny experience do you actually have?”
It took all my self-control, which I have tons of, not to expose Gillian to more swear words than she’d ever heard in her life.
Instead I just glared at Slade, then turned to Gillian. “I will take you to the gift shop,” I said, trying to drown out the tantrum, “if you stop screaming.”
She stopped screaming, wiped a tear off her cheek, and fluttered her eyelashes at Slade.
Slade chuckled as he handed Max a hot dog. “Bribery, huh? Personally, I’d wait until I’d exhausted all my other tricks before resorting to that.”
Using my super-human self control, I squelched the overwhelming desire to attack him with one of Max’s dinosaurs.
“Speaking of experience,” I said, “tell me about yours, oh great nanny oracle.”
He snorted. “It’s not so much experience as having the right attitude. It’s like a Zen thing. You have to let go of expectations.” He shot me a meaningful look. “Let go of schedules. Of plans. Go with the flow.”
We stared at each other, not speaking. It was like whoever blinked first was admitting their nanny style was wrong, so no way was I losing this battle. I wanted to tell him that I was getting paid to teach him, not the other way around.
But while I bit back everything I wanted to say, I noticed his topaz eyes had flecks of green in them. His eyelashes were long and golden brown, matching his messy hair. Desi said that Slade was a golden child, born with the sun god’s blessing, and that was why everyone loved him. Desi was very into astrology and mythology a
nd had made up her own weird amalgam of the two.
I felt a blink coming on. I opened my eyelids wider, ignoring the dryness in my own boring, non-flecked brown eyes. I tried to ignore the odd tightening in my throat. And my rapidly increasing heart rate. I desperately wanted to sniff my wrist but didn’t dare.
“You’re stubborn,” he said, finally blinking.
“Ha!” I gloated, pointing at him. “I win.”
He shrugged, leaning back against the bench. “Maybe,” he said, “maybe not.” He took a bite of his sandwich and swallowed. “You still have to take Gillian to the gift shop. Max and I are headed to the IMAX movie.”
I glanced at my watch. He was right; the movie started in ten minutes. No way could I drag Gillian in and out of the gift store that quickly.
Gillian jumped up. “Gift shop! Gift shop!” she chanted, spinning in a circle.
I snuck a peek at Slade, who looked so smug I wanted to stab him with my fork.
“Ready for the movie, Max-man?” Slade rose from the bench and swished his trash three-pointer-style into a receptacle several feet away.
Max jumped up, obediently stuffing his dinosaurs into his backpack.
Meanwhile, Gillian had made herself so dizzy with the gift shop dance that she collapsed on the ground, giggling hysterically.
Slade shot me a sideways smirk, and I knew he was thinking what a pathetic nanny I was. This was so unfair. Gillian never gave me this much attitude when I babysat her at home.
“Meet you at the car after the movie.” Slade grabbed Max’s hand, and they disappeared into the museum. I stared at their retreating backs, shocked that he’d actually bailed on me.
Gillian lay on the ground, staring up at me with wild eyes. She banged her feet on the ground. “Nooo!” she howled. “Gift shop! Gift shop!” She tugged her T-shirt over her head and pulled at her shorts, trying to strip down to her bathing suit.
“Gillian, please,” I begged, sinking to my knees next to her. “Let’s go to the movie with Max. We’ll head to the gift shop after.”
Why had I taken this job? I could have gotten a job at the mall with Desi, at a gas station, anything but this. This shouldn’t be happening. I didn’t fail. Ever.
“It’s a space movie,” I pleaded. “You’ll love it.” I pulled her shirt down over her swimsuit. I was dying to sit in the air-conditioned IMAX theater and get a break from her energy.
Her hair splayed on the ground like a tangled mess of red snakes, reminding me of Medusa. She’d have turned me to stone if she had the power.
“Mommy said I could go to the gift shop. She gave you money.”
“I know she did. But we can do it after the movie.”
My phone pinged with a text message from Slade.
Saving you two seats.
I frowned at my phone, confused. Didn’t he just abandon us?
“Come on, Gillian. Slade’s saving us seats. You can sit next to him,” I said, hating myself as I said the persuasive words.
She hopped to her feet. “Hurry, Trina!”
We rushed to the theater, arriving just as the usher closed the door. “Sorry,” he said. “You’re too late for this showing. There’s another one at three fifteen, though.”
Gillian’s face crumpled.
“Please?” I gave him a pleading look. “We’re meeting friends. They’re saving seats for us.”
He shrugged, his pimply face a mask of total boredom. “Sorry. No late entries.”
I grabbed Gillian’s hand. “Come on. Gift shop. We’ll see Slade and Max after the movie.”
“But I want to sit next to Slade!” Her wail made the usher take a step back from us.
“Gillian, come on.” I tugged her behind me like a stubborn dog on a leash. “They have lots of space toys in the gift shop. And candy.” All of my rules were flying out the window and the day wasn’t even over.
While Gillian hovered in the space toy aisle, I sat on the floor, exhausted. I thought I’d sail through today, dragging Slade along on as he watched and learned from me. Instead he and Max were the ones sailing, while Gillian and I flailed around like frantic survivors of a capsized boat.
I pulled out my phone and texted Desi: Day from hell. Even worse than I predicted.
Except as soon I hit send, I realized I’d texted Slade, not Desi.
Crap. Why hadn’t the stupid phone people invented a way to recall texts?
And it’s not over yet. Where r u? he answered.
I bit my lip as I pondered my reply. Hopefully he thought my hell reference was about the kids, not him.
Gift shop. Usher locked door.
His reply came a few seconds later. Want us 2 leave and meet u?
Huh. That was sort of…nice. I considered his offer. We could leave early and try to get the kids to nap. Gillian perched on the floor, a stack of toys next to her. She looked content, finally.
No just meet us here after.
OK.
I leaned against the store wall with my eyes closed, grateful I could hide unnoticed. So far, Slade’s first day report was not looking good, since he kept bailing on Gillian and me. It was going to be so easy to get him fired by the end of the week. As soon as the week was over and I was flying solo, the kids and I would get into a groove and there wouldn’t be any more tantrums or meltdowns.
“That bad, huh?”
My eyes flew open at the sound of Slade’s voice. He towered over me, his arms folded across his chest. Max had found Gillian and settled next to her on the floor, helping her choose a toy.
Slade tilted his head, looking embarrassed, but I told myself that I didn’t buy his remorseful act. Or notice his dimple.
“Sorry about the movie. It was a strategy, when we left you outside. I thought Gillian would come chasing after Max.”
He ran a hand through his messy waves of surfer boy hair, tugging out the shoelace and shoving it into his pocket. “It used to work on my cousin when she was younger.” He glanced at me from under those stupid eyelashes. “I was going to come get you, but the usher said if I left I couldn’t come back. And Max wanted to stay.” He put out his hand. “Come on. I owe you ice cream.” He gave me a disgustingly sexy smile. “Whatever you want. I’ll buy.”
I hesitated before I put my hand in his. He tugged gently, and I jumped to my feet, trying not to notice the unexpected tingle shooting up my arm. I pulled my hand away and turned toward the kids, disconcerted by how much his presence was rattling me.
“Trina, hold up.”
I took a breath and turned back to him
“Maybe I should be the one to tell Gillian it’s time to go. She sort of, um, resists when you tell her what to do.”
I hated the truth in what he said, but I couldn’t let him take over like this. The only reason Gillian listened to him was because of a silly infatuation. I’d been babysitting her for years and he’d only spent half a day with her.
A wave of anger and frustration pulsed through me. “What are you saying, Slade?” I heard the rising hysteria in my voice, but couldn’t stop it. “You think there’s something wrong with me? That I don’t know what I’m doing?”
He put up his hands as if I were hitting him. “Hey, chill out, Trina. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with you.” But an expression flitted across his face that said otherwise.
I took a deep breath. I needed to get myself under control. But that look on his face…it made me feel small and embarrassed. I moved away from him, toward Gillian and Max, who watched us open-mouthed.
I had to stop letting him get to me. What did I care what he thought about me, anyway? He was a flake who hadn’t even earned this job, and he’d be gone by next week. I crouched down next to the kids.
“Stupid playboy,” I muttered then I forced a smile. “What did you decide on?” I asked Gillian.
She squinted at me. “Why are you so mean to Slade?”
“Yeah,” Max said, watching me suspiciously. “Stupid is a bad word.” He blinked at me. “What�
�s wrong with being a playboy? I like to play.”
“And he’s a boy,” Gillian added.
“But Max isn’t a playboy,” Slade said. Again with the towering over me thing. “And it’s not really a nice word, guys,” he said, his voice low and full of warning. “So you probably shouldn’t repeat it.”
Just kill me now. Maybe it wasn’t too late to get a job scrubbing toilets somewhere. So what if I gave up the double salary? I busied myself putting toys back on the shelf, refusing to look at Slade, or the kids, who were glaring at me.
“Gillian, are you ready? Let’s go pay for your evidence.” Slade smiled and reached for her hand.
She fluttered her eyelashes at him. “My what?”
“Your proof,” Slade said, grinning. “That you were here.”
“Oh,” she held out a box to him.
“Very cool, Gilly,” he said, checking out the Mars Rover kit.
I watched her swoon We needed to have a serious girl chat, or it was going to be a very long week.
“Her name is Gillian. Not Gilly,” I snapped.
Slade raised an eyebrow at me, but said nothing.
“I don’t mind,” Gillian whispered, looking up at him with adoring eyes.
Gag me. I stood up. “Let’s pay for this and get out of here. We should have been home half an hour ago.”
Slade sighed and released Gillian’s hand. “The moms said as long as the kids are home between five and six, it’s fi—”
“Are you ever on time? Anywhere?” My voice vibrated with frustration.
His eyes narrowed. “I wouldn’t know.” His voice was smooth and even, but anger glinted in his eyes. “I don’t wear a watch.” He stared pointedly at my wristwatch like it was an instrument of torture. “Let’s go wait by the car, Max-man. I need some fresh air.”
And with that, he bailed on me, for the second time in one day.
Chapter Five
Slade
Monday, June 3
“So,” Alex asked. “Was there bloodshed? Tears?”
I’d met Alex at the pool right after I was released from nanny duty. Jumping into the water had felt awesome, washing away all the stress and weirdness of my day with Trina.
Playing the Player Page 4
