Page 108 of Bang

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, please. You think all kids are monsters."

"Yeah, butyouonly have one monster. I have two. And they're bigger."

"Which means," I reminded her, "they don't require as much care."

"That's whatyouthink," she said. "Their mom lives in Italy, and the dad isalwaysgone. I know why, too."

"Why?"

"Hello? Because his kids are monsters."

I sighed. "So you said."

"That's why they need a nanny, you know."

I gave her a look. "Because they're monsters?"

"No. Because the dad has sole custody. And he's goneallthe time, which is a real bummer."

"You mean for the kids?"

"Well, yeah. That too." She leaned forward. "But Imeantbecause he's super-hot."

I'd never seen the guy. "Oh?"

"Yeah, totally." She smiled. "And I think he likes me."

This wasn't a surprise. After all,everyguy liked Livia, with the possible exception of Mason. And for some reason, this made me want to smile.

As far as the dad across the river, I couldn’t help but ask, "But how can he like you if he's never home?"

"Well, sure he's gone all week. But he's almost always home on the weekends." She giggled. "Plus, we talkallthe time on the phone. He's got thisgreataccent, too. It's super sexy."

I shook my head. "Wait, I thought you liked Mason."

"I did," she said. "But now that I know he's yours, I figure I'll focus on the bird in the hand, you know?"

Mason wasn't mine.And yet, for some strange reason, I didn't correct her.What did that mean?

It was something I'd need to think about later.

But for now, I couldn’t help but appreciate Livia's loyalty. It made me feel just a little bad for assuming the worst of her. And to be totally fair, I'd never once seen her go after another girl's guy.

With looks like hers, she definitely could've.

Even at the club in Petoskey, it's not like Mason had been my boyfriend. He'd been a prospective employer, and I'd already turned down the job – which meant that he was technically fair game.

I guess.

As I tried to sort it out, I looked to Livia and said, "Just how long have you been working there, anyway?"

She gave it some thought. "Oh, a couple of months now."

I did a double-take. "And I’m justnowseeing you?"

"It's the kids," she said. "They keep me super-busy." She smiled. "And then, there's the dad on weekends."

By now, I hardly knew what to think. I decided to switch gears. "Hey, did you get my messages?"