CHAPTER 22
Zaki
I knew it would happen eventually. I never expected it to happen the first time we kissed. I’d been so caught up in the moment, I’d forgotten what a high-profile event this was.
I’d forgotten my celebrity status.
When I was with Arwyn, I felt normal. She didn’t want anything I could give her, not material things or to travel. She was happy in her home, doing her thing.
Though she looked shaken up, Arwyn assured me she was fine, and we went back in to the gala. She went to the ladies’ room, and I perused the silent auction in an effort to avoid conversations with people who wanted things from me. I won a VIP ticket package to the Colorado Ballet, which the girls would love, and it came with a behind-the-scenes tour that featured time with the set and costume designers.
When we arrived home, she went straight to her room, and Trudy and the girls were up before we could talk about the kiss. I prayed we’d have a chance to discuss what happened before she went on social media.
The next morning after church, we headed out toward the mountains. The drive up to the cabin was lively. Arwyn had shared the songs from Anne of Green Gables: The Musical with the girls and sang along to it with them. As I unpacked the van, I found myself humming about being the lost Lady Cordelia DeMontmorency.
That Anne sure was wild.
It was an unusually warm day for February, and I was disappointed to find my backyard rink slushy. I’d have to test the ice before skating.
After delivering all the bags and gear where they needed to go, I joined the girls at the counter that separated the kitchen from the living area while Arwyn unpacked Chef’s lunch. She’d brought her white apron with the ruffles and wore it over a blue cardigan that brought out the lightness in her eyes. A plaid skirt, in colors similar to the flannel I had on, peeked out from under the apron.
“Anything we can do to help?” I asked.
She shook her head but smiled as she placed my plate in front of me.
“Look, girls—just what I wanted! Salmon with a side of salad. Can you say that fast ten times?”
I took a bite and winked at Arwyn as the girls accepted the challenge.
“Salmon with a side of salad. Salmon with a side of salad. Salmon with a slide of salad! Salmon with a slide of slallad! Slammin’ with a slide of slallad!”
“Nice try,” I commended them. “Slammin’ salmon makes it sound so much better.”
Arwyn placed their plates of sandwiches and fruit on their placemats and then came around the counter to sit in the stool next to me to eat her grilled chicken salad. The girls were ignoring us, still trying to outdo each other and beat the tongue twister, so I took the opportunity to check in.
I leaned away from the girls and spoke low. “Are we okay?”
She nodded. Her lips twitched, then spread into a small smile. “I am if you are.”
“I’m better than okay,” I assured her. I took a bite of salmon and chose my words carefully. “There are pictures. From the gala. And a video. If you see them, just scroll past, okay?”
I didn’t think her ivory complexion could get paler, but it did. All color drained from her face as she pulled her phone out of her pocket and pulled up social media. She went directly to Instagram and typed in my handle.
Photo after photo, plus reels of us kissing by the gazebo, some with captions—favorable and unfavorable—but a common theme throughout.
The Nanny That Stole His Heart. Is Marshy Marriage-Minded? Hot for the Help! Puck Bunny or Black Cat for Denver’s Most Eligible Dad?
After a few seconds, all I could see was red.
Before our relationship could even have a chance, it was hit with this test. This was not how it was supposed to go. I desperately wanted a chance for our love to grow privately—not on social media, in front of the world.
“Excuse me, girls. I think I left something in the car.” Arwyn slid off her stool and speed-walked to the front door.
“Daddy, can we help her find it?” Amelie asked.
“Yes, let’s!” Isla agreed, and before I could answer, they were off and running out the door.
I followed them and watched from the window. I needed to call Viki.
“So, you and the nanny, huh?” Viki sounded upbeat and happy.
“Me and the nanny.” I sighed. “If she’ll even have me after this. Sorry I didn’t tell you. I caught big feels, and last night was so fancy—I couldn’t hold back.”
“I’m happy for you. But”—she blew out a breath—“does this mean you’re staying in Colorado?”
“What? No.”
“Her life is there, Zak. If she’s someone you want to be with, does she know that you’ll put the girls first?”
“She knows. And honestly? I’m pretty sure she’ll put them before me.” I opened the door to get a better look, and the dogs almost tripped me trying to get out there. The girls were inside the van. The trunk was open, and Arwyn was pulling out blankets. When the girls emerged from the back, she wrapped them each in a blanket and closed the trunk.
“I’m glad. But Zak, if you want to stay in Colorado?—”
“I don’t. And if that’s a dealbreaker, that’s a dealbreaker. We’ll part as friends at the end of the season.”
“Even if she’s the one that completes you?”
On top of the tree trunk I used to split logs, Arwyn had the girls’ Anna and Elsa dolls and was performing some sort of skit. The girls giggled as they watched. I reached back inside to snag the dogs’ leashes from the hook just inside the door.
“Even if.”
“You could miss out on the love you’ve been looking for your whole life. I’m sure the girls would understand.”
“Seriously, Vik?” It angered me that she even thought that. “If Arwyn is the person I want, she wouldn’t want me to give up my girls.”
“No,” Viki agreed. “She wouldn’t.”
“I gotta go. The girls will call you tonight.”
“Bye, Zak. Good luck.”
I shoved the phone in my pocket and jogged out to the dolls’ stage on the tree trunk. The dogs sensed me and met me halfway. I snapped on their leashes and walked them back to the girls.
“Don’t let them run away,” I whispered to the girls. “Call for me if they get antsy.”
I nodded to Arwyn and went back into the house. I was debating whether to put in a call to the PR team when my phone rang.
Monty.
“Looking to hire me to perform at your next party?” I joked.
“Not unless I decide to throw a grad party for Clown College.”
I rolled my eyes. “What do you want, then?”
“What I want is for my wife to speak to me. Security failed big-time last night, and Tasha isn’t the easy-to-forgive type. She can’t get hold of Arwyn. I suspect she’s with you and not answering her phone because of all the publicity. I need to apologize to her. And if you’ve got a brain in your head and a heart that cares for that sweet girl, you’ll put out a statement about this madness.”
“Hold on.” I closed the door and went back to my spot at the front window. “You think me saying something will end this? What kind of statement?”
“Seriously? The only statement. You love her, right?”
“It’s been a month, Monty. I hardly know her. I just kissed her last night, for Pete’s sake.”
“Yeah, no brain in your head. Well, you may not know it, but the rest of us do. It doesn’t take long to fall in love when you know. It’s instant. Boom. Life changed.”
Instant? That wasn’t how it was with Viki. I was living with her family for a year before I even asked her out. Our feelings had grown gradually, and…
“Monty—how did it switch for you? You and Tasha were friends for a long time before you fell for each other. How did you know those feelings were real and not just … convenient because of all the time you spent together?”
“Convenient? Look, Marsch, I didn’t call to become your therapist. If you’re referring to your ex—your high school sweetheart-turned-hockey-wife, yeah, I think you have an argument for convenience. Especially if you were friends first. But there’s nothing at all convenient about loving Tasha. Never was, never will be. She’s my rose and my thorn. And I can’t live without her. So let me apologize to Arwyn so my wife will speak to me again.”
“I—okay.”
As I turned to the door, Laffy and Vennie began barking in earnest. I hurried to open it and investigate.
Horror stopped me dead in my tracks. Arwyn, waving the Anna doll, stood between the dogs and the stump. The girls were trying to pull the dogs backward, but the Westies strained at the leashes.
Barely visible in its surroundings coiled a prairie rattler.
I pocketed my phone and ran as fast as I could, scooped up a dog and a girl in each arm and carried them back to the house. Amelie screamed as Vennie’s leash slipped from her grasp. He wiggled out of my grip and bolted in the direction of the snake.
I had to protect the girls. I hurried them to the safety of the cabin so I could help Arwyn before it was too late.