Page 8 of The Maxwell Brothers

"Why are you mobbing the guy? He's having a hard time picking the next sitter, knowing he'll probably fire her before the summer ends," Travis said.

“Or the month,” Luke added.

Our inability to keep our opinions to ourselves was chronic.

"I don’t fire people because I’m an asshole. Those I fire do things on the clock they aren’t supposed to. Most leave becausethey get tired of the job. It's tough on Paisley because she gets attached, and now the only candidate I like is Lexi, an elementary school teacher who told me upfront that she can only work until the end of the summer."

"But she’s your best candidate, right?" Luke asked. I nodded.

"Wait a second," Travis added. "He's too silent. My money is on the fact that he likes Miss Lexi a little too much. Don't you?"

Busted.

Tyler burst out laughing. "Dude, don't do that. Don't go there. Hooking up with your daughter's nanny is a bad idea."

"She's not my daughter's nanny yet, and I haven't hooked up with her," I said.

Luke patted my shoulder. "Yet, right?"

Declan raised a hand, motioning to the bartender. "Give us a round of tequila shots. Beer isn't going to cut it tonight." He looked at me with what I called his lawyer face, and I knew he was going to warn me off. “Tate, don’t go there. The last thing you need is a harassment lawsuit. And?—”

"Declan, save your breath. Give me some credit, will you? I've never even looked at one of my daughter's nannies, and I'm not going to start now."

That wasn't exactly true. I'd looked a lot at Lexi, and I'd fantasized a whole lot more.

"Okay. Why don't we talk about something else?" Tyler said. “Anyone spoken to Reese recently?”

Reese was our cousin from Dad’s side. She and her sister, Kimberly, had practically grown up in our home, and we were all very close. Reese was going through a rough time since discovering her scumbag ex-fiancé was cheating on her. To make matters worse, they were going to go into business together.

“I speak to her daily,” Declan said, “but she’s not telling me much. Mostly, she’s worrying about Gran’s building.”

When selling the chain of bookstores, Gran insisted on keeping the building where they’d opened the first one. It was symbolic because it reminded her of Grandpa. It meant a lot to her. Reese and the scumbag were going to turn it into a spa. Now everything was a mess. Declan was helping with the legal ramifications.

I turned to Luke. He was closest to Reese and Kimberly. “She’s coping. But it doesn’t help that the scumbag isn’t making it easy on her. He still wants to open the spa.”

“He’s going to be trouble,” Declan said.

I gritted my teeth. “Then he’s not just an asshole but also an idiot. He doesn’t know who he’s messing with.”

He was going to be very sorry for hurting Reese. I was very protective of her—all my brothers were. Business was business, but family was the most important thing for us. I wouldn’t allow my family to get hurt.

I spent time with my brothers until later in the evening. Paisley was at Gran's house tonight. Once at home, instead of heading upstairs, I went down into my home office.

I could ask my Gran to look after Paisley for a while longer while I told the agency to send me more applicants, but I didn't want to do that. It wasn't fair to them. Besides, I'd searched for nannies often enough to know I wouldn't come across someone like Lexi Langley again too soon. The way she'd instantly bonded with my daughter shifted something inside me, something I didn't want to analyze. She’d been real; it wasn’t just a job to her.And the way she'd clicked with Paisley proved therewassuch a thing as chemistry.

Paisley had asked to meet with the other women I was interviewing too, and I gave in. After all, they would be spending time together. It was fair for Paisley to weigh in. As it happened, she liked Lexi best too.

I sat in my leather armchair and picked up the phone. There was no point postponing this. I was going to employ Lexi Langley, and I was going to keep my distance. I wouldn’t ruin this for my daughter.

I dialed her number before I could change my mind yet again.

She answered after a few rings.

"Hi, it's Mr. Maxwell, right?" she asked loudly, but I could still barely hear her over the music in her background.

"Yes. Is this a good time to talk?"

"Sure. Let me move a bit farther away from the music."