Page 13 of The Strawberry Patch Pancake House

‘Yeah. Thanks again.’

Noah disappeared back into the yard he shared with his girlfriend, Hazel. Archer hadn’t known when he picked the house that Hazel had known Cate, but he was happy Olive had a familiar face next door. That is, until she kept disappearing to go find her.

He just prayed she never strayed farther than that.

One week into parenting and he didn’t think his heart could take it.

ChapterSix

‘So, you’re just moving in with this guy and his kid?’ Bex asked from where she was sprawled out on Iris’s bed among half of her wardrobe—the other half being already stuffed in a duffle bag.

‘Basically, yes.’ Iris held up an old sweater to her chest. ‘Keep, donate, or trash?’

‘Trash,’ Bex and Kira said in unison. Iris’s gig at the Christmas-tree farm was over for the season, but she’d kept Kira as a friend.

‘Don’t subject the less fortunate to that,’ Kira said with a laugh. She spun around in Iris’s desk chair.

Iris tossed the sweater in the trash pile.

‘Explain to me again, how you, the woman who finds children terrifying, got a job as a nanny?’ Kira asked, still spinning.

‘I’m not terrified of them.’

‘That was your exact word! I believe you said they were “terrifying, unpredictable and perpetually sticky”.’

‘Ew.’ Bex frowned. ‘Perpetually sticky?’

‘Well, they are,’ Iris said, adding a holey tank top to the toss pile. ‘Sticky, that is. But Olive is just one little girl. I’m sure I can handle it. She’s not scary at all,’ she lied. Iris was plenty worried about this new gig, but she wasn’t about to let her friends know that. Then they’d only talk her out of it, and shereallyneeded this job. And the free housing that came with it.

Kira had stopped spinning so she could pin Iris with a disbelieving stare.

‘You don’t think I can handle one child?’ Iris asked, flicking her braid over her shoulder.

‘Of course I do. But I told you, you’re welcome to come stay with me if you can’t make rent. We have space.’

Iris frowned. She appreciated her friend’s offer. She really did. But staying with Kira and Bennett in their love nest just didn’t sound appealing. Kira had been over the moon happy since he’d moved in, but Iris was not about to be a third wheel in their relationship. Or a witness to the constant sex they were probably having, judging by how much Kira smiled these days.

‘It’s not like we run around naked all the time or anything,’ Kira said, reading Iris’s mind.

Bex snorted.

‘Naked or not, I’d feel weird. Although, I do appreciate the offer.’

‘Hey, I offered, too.’ Bex tossed her another sweater Iris didn’t remember buying. Donate pile.

‘And I appreciated that, too, but you know our … schedules don’t match up.’ That was the nicest way Iris could think to say that she couldn’t tolerate listening to trumpet scales at 1am. She was weird like that.

‘Look, I love you both and I am incredibly lucky to have so many options, but I think this is the best one.’

‘Because he’s hot?’ Kira asked, one dark eyebrow raised mischievously.

‘Is he?’ Iris said, but her suddenly high voice gave her away. ‘I hadn’t noticed.’

Kira laughed. ‘The entire female—and half the male—population of Dream Harbor has noticed.’

Iris shrugged casually, like she hadn’t been thinking about Archer’s unfortunate hotness ever since her interview two days ago. ‘Well, I hadn’t noticed. I guess he’s not my type.’

‘Mmm-hmm. I know exactly how that lie goes,’ Kira said with a knowing smirk. She’d said the same thing about Bennett and look how that turned out. Now they were practically attached at the face.