Page 15 of Worst Nanny Ever (Babes of Brewing #2)

CHAPTER TEN

HANNAH

“I’m definitely not into Travis,” I tell Sophie, glowering at her and Briar across the table from me. It’s Saturday, and we’re having breakfast at Tea of Fortune. It’s like they’re presenting themselves as a united front to grill me. “He isn’t my type, and I’m guessing I’m not his.”

Sophie shrugs, clearly ready to play peacemaker, but Briar says, “I thought we promised not to lie to each other.”

“I’m not lying,” I insist, even though I keep thinking about the other night. Watching that movie snuggled up next to him…

I fell asleep with my head on his shoulder and woke up during the final credits, practically in his arms. My hand was on his chest, so I could feel his heartbeat thrumming through me. I looked up at him and found him looking down at me, the longer hair at the top of his head brushing my face.

“I guess you don’t like the movie as much as you thought you did,” he’d said.

“Maybe it was the company that was lacking,” I’d replied, but it took me several seconds to find the will to move. I liked being there, cocooned with him. I felt safe.

I’d wanted to stay in a way that scared me .

I definitely wasn’t ready to tell my friends about it, though. Not after I’d pledged never to touch anyone connected to Rob.

But Sophie’s still staring at me, as if she can will me into confessing.

“I’m not lying,” I repeat, feeling even more like I might be.

“So maybe he’s not your type, but you do like him,” Sophie says.

“It doesn’t matter,” I insist, which is obviously not the same as a no.

My phone rings, and I’m happy to pick it up, even though it’s a number I don’t recognize and probably a scammer on the other end who wants to grill me about my car’s extended warranty.

I lift a finger as I answer, signaling that I’ll just be a second. “Hello?”

“Yes, hello,” says a man with a monotone voice. “This is Eugene Peebles. Have I reached Hannah…” He pauses, then adds, “Moroney?”

I grin at my friends as I say, “Yes, you absolutely have. I’ve heard you’d like to get together and discuss your position at Big Catch?”

“Yes, I thought a passing of the torch would be in order. I was wondering if Friday would suit you. Perhaps at nine a.m.?”

“It would suit me perfectly.”

“At Big Catch?” he asks.

Panic unleashes inside of me.

No. Not yet. I’m not ready to see it yet.

“We’ll meet at Tea of Fortune,” I say, then give him the address. “I know the owner, and she’ll take excellent care of you.”

“I wouldn’t want to put anyone to any trouble.”

“It’ll be no trouble at all,” I say. Then we exchange super polite goodbyes and hang up .

“Your replacement?” Briar asks with raised eyebrows.

“Yes, I’m excited to meet him.”

“Isn’t he that unpleasant old guy who wears all the corduroy?” Sophie asks.

“Yes,” I say, grinning at them. “I’m going to enjoy messing with him, and hopefully I can get him to calm down so he stops bugging my friends.”

“You have a strange idea of fun,” Briar says with an indulgent smile.

Dottie, who was passing by, stops near our table to give my shoulder a squeeze. “How’s our young man doing?”

“Ollie’s doing fine,” I say. “We’ve had a lot of fun together. I’m seeing him this afternoon while the guys’ band plays at The Ginger Station.”

Sophie and Briar glance at each other.

“Are you going?” I ask them, trying to sound like I don’t care about GingerBeerBabe and haven’t given her half a thought.

The second part is somewhat true—my mind’s been busy with other things—but I definitely haven’t forgotten her.

“We’re not going,” Briar says. “I have to work.”

“And I’m going to the Buchanan Brewery Halloween party,” Sophie adds. “I invited you.”

“Travis definitely wouldn’t want me bringing Ollie there.” I glance at Dottie. “So I guess we’re never going to be friends with the illustrious GingerBeerBabe.”

Dottie gives me one of her patented knowing smiles. “The time isn’t right yet, but it’ll happen.”

“Of course it’s not,” I joke. “Maybe we’ll all be in the same retirement home together, accidentally sleeping with the same old dude with dentures. That would be so us.”

“Nope.” Briar shakes her head. “I don’t think I’m ever going to start dating again. Staying single has been way better for my mental health. ”

This time Dottie directs her patented knowing look at Briar. “Don’t give up on love yet, my dear. It has plans for you.”

“You make it sound like some kind of stalker,” I say, laughing. “Is it going to hit her over the head in the library with a candlestick?”

“No, I don’t think it is going to happen in the library.” Dottie glances around as if she’s worried about being overheard. “I’ll admit I got a little tipsy last night, and I tried pendulum dowsing with Penny.”

“My aunt?” Sophie gasps as if scandalized, while I say, “What the fuck is pendulum dowsing?”

“Oh, it’s wonderful fun,” Dottie says, squeezing my shoulder. “You hold an activated crystal suspended on a string, and it moves in response to yes and no questions.”

“And what did this pendulum tell you about Briar’s love life?” I ask, trying not to laugh.

“It seemed to think she was going to fall in love at Silver Star Brewery,” she says, starry-eyed.

“There you go,” Briar says, waving a hand. “I’m going to fall in love with my work.”

“Oh, that wasn’t my interpretation at all,” Dottie says. Then she glances at me. Uh-oh.

“You did it for me too?”

“ Of course. ”

“Let me guess. I’m going to fall head over heels in love with Eugene Peebles, and we’re going to have a May-December romance for the ages.”

“I’ll be sure to send you a tea basket when it happens,” Dottie says with an amused expression, and then she walks away without saying anything else.

“She didn’t tell me what my pendulum thingy said,” I complain .

“That you and Eugene are sitting in a tree,” Sophie teases, while Briar stares after Dottie.

“Now, that’s a woman who knows how to work a room,” she says with an admiring smile.

Several hours later, Ollie and I are sitting on the couch in Travis’s living room.

He’s stuck in a funk so deep he’s refused to do anything, including going to a trunk-or-treat that has gift bags. Gift bags full of candy .

“So why don’t we just sit here and make funny faces at each other?” I ask, pulling my mouth dramatically to one side.

“Nanny Rose says your face will get stuck like that if you do it, so you’d better not. I think she was kidding, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

“Uh-oh,” I say, keeping my mouth twisted up. “It’s too late. I’m going to have to spend the rest of my life like this, Ollie. Will you be embarrassed when I pick you up at school?”

I arc an eyebrow to complement the weird mouth thing I have going on, and he finally cracks a smile. “You’re teasing.”

“No, I swear, it’s really happening,” I say, “but I think it’s going back to normal. I can feel it.” I let my mouth slide back into its neutral position, then dramatically twist it to the other side. “Oh no, it shifted!”

Now, he’s laughing in a steady stream that has me grinning back at him.

“Thank goodness,” I say. “I was worried you were going to frown forever, and then we wouldn’t be able to get ice cream, because everyone knows you can’t frown while you’re eating ice cream. ”

“I don’t think I’m supposed to eat ice cream before dinner.”

“What Travis doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

He smiles and nuzzles his face against my arm. “You don’t talk like any of the other nannies.”

“We can both be grateful for that.”

I’m about to ask him if he’s ready to go, but something gives me pause. My intuition’s telling me he’s not pissed off at the world in general. Something specific happened today.

“Ollie, why are you so upset today?”

He sighs and meets my gaze. “Don’t tell Travis.”

“I only will if I have to. What happened?”

“I have this iPad that Roland gave me, and I’ve been using it to play games in my room sometimes. Travis thinks I only read in there.”

“Oh, I won’t tell him about that,” I say. “Consider this record sealed.”

“Well…there was this game subscription service on it, and Roland cancelled it.” His eyes look glassy, and I can tell he’s trying not to cry. “I think he hates me.”

Oh, that fucker . That absolute maggot. It wasn’t enough that he completely abandoned the kid he’d helped raise—a kid who’d played no part in his wife’s deception—he seriously had to do that ?

I inhale a deep breath before slowly letting it out. “Do you know this joker’s address?”

“Of course, I do, Hannah,” he says practically. “I used to live there.”

I pull out my phone. “I’m going to send him some presents.”

“Why would you send him presents?” he asks, his forehead furrowing in the exact same place Travis’s always does. “He has everything he needs.”

“Halloween’s on Tuesday. This guy took away your treat, so he’s getting a bag full of tricks. He asked for it. ”

“What? You’re really sending him tricks?” he asks, his face lighting up.

“Sure. Plus, I’m guessing you’re wrong about him having everything.

He probably doesn’t have a glitter bomb.

Or catalogs for every major store. If you know his email address, we can also get him on dozens of spam lists, which would be fun.

And that’s just for starters. I have all kinds of inappropriate ideas I can’t share with you. ”

His smile widens but then slips. “My teacher says we’re supposed to treat other people like we want to be treated, even if they’re not so nice to us.”

“This is a special occasion,” I say. “It’s almost Halloween! Besides, it might make you feel a little better, and it’s okay if it does. You don’t have to be a little ray of sunshine all the time.”

He studies me for a moment, then takes my hand. “Is my mom coming back?”

“I don’t know, Ollie,” I say tightly, because let’s be honest, Lilah’s even worse than Roland.

She’s the one who lied to everyone, and now she’s off in Australia, chasing a good time and letting everyone else fix her mistakes.

Still, I can hardly go Rambo on her given there are custody issues to sort out.

This producer guy, however, is fair game.

I squeeze his hand. “What your mom did sucks. My mom walked out on us too, so I know what it feels like. But she didn’t do it because you suck. Because you’re the coolest kid I know.”

“I’m glad you’re here.” He bites his lip. “I know boys aren’t supposed to admit it, but I was really scared when she left me here. And not just because I didn’t know Travis. I’d never left Nashville before. Whenever they went on trips, I stayed home with Nanny Rose.”

I take a deep breath, burying my anger, and say, “You feel however you want to feel, Ollie. It’s okay to admit you’re scared. Only psychos don’t get scared. ”

“Thanks, Hannah,” he says with a soft smile. He pauses, his eyes lighting up with mischief. “Can we send a glitter bomb to Travis too? Not because I don’t like him. I just think it would be kind of funny.”

I laugh at the mental image of Travis covered in glitter.

“So do I, and I’m an easy customer right now. I’d do just about anything to make you smile.”

We go on an online shopping spree for tricks, then go out and get ice cream sundaes with all the toppings, an indulgence guaranteed to ruin his dinner and probably my stomach. Worth it.

Travis gets home at around six, wearing a dark T-shirt and jeans, looking like a snack, if I’m perfectly honest. He’s got a bit of a glow, the kind he gets when he played well and knows it.

When he sees the smile on Ollie’s face, he lights up and shifts his smile to me. He mouths thank you.

His approval means nothing to me, obviously, but when he insists on walking me to my car, I don’t object.

“I knew you’d cheer him up,” he says after opening the door for me.

I slide into the driver’s seat and look up at him. “You’re a smart man.”

One corner of his mouth lifts up higher than the other. “I am an expert at maritime law.”

“Look at you, cracking jokes about your birthright.”

He hesitates, then says, “I realize I should have asked you this inside, but would you like to stay for dinner?”

I can’t think of the last time a man offered to cook for me, but I have to set firm boundaries. I can’t slip into any more dangerous behavior with him. “No, thanks. We already got huge ice cream sundaes.”

“You’re messing with me again,” he says with a slow smile.

“Nope. ”

“And you didn’t get me one?” he asks, still leaning into the car.

“Nope, but maybe next time I’ll save you my cherry.”

Dammit, Hannah. Bad Hannah!

He smiles wryly, shaking his head at me. “You have a good night, Hannah.”

When I get home, I do something I’d promised myself not to do and google Ollie’s mother—Lilah Santiago.

The woman has a Wikipedia page because her (now) ex-husband produced one god-awful single for her.

She’s also some sort of “influencer,” with an Instagram page full of artsy shots of her face, a grapefruit, and some kitchen implements I doubt she’s ever used, and has an IMDb page for a few roles as an extra in TV shows and movies.

I purse my mouth to the side, studying her face.

Of course she’s pretty. She looks like she comes from a long line of models on both sides, with her perfectly sleek, waist-length black hair, and big almond-shaped gray eyes.

Her boobs are also freaking huge, although I’m guessing they’re too perky to be one hundred percent natural.

I snap a photo of her and text it to Briar and Sophie.

This is Ollie’s mother.

Briar: Are we going to put up STD posters of her too?

I laugh out loud. After we figured out Jonah was a creeper who was four-timing all of us, I started putting up posters of him all around town, warning women he was infested with STDs. There are still a few he hasn’t tracked down, including in the bookstore bathroom, which amuses me to no end.

Sophie: No, that wouldn’t work. She doesn’t live here.

Me: I love that we’ve awakened Sophie’s dark side, but no. I’m just showing you this so you can see I’m totally not Travis’s type. THIS is what he likes.

Briar: Tall, dark, and evil?

Me: Not me, basically. Karen’s tall and brunette too, so he probably has a thing for brunettes.

Me: I mean, from what little I remember about Karen.

Sophie: Do you WANT to be his type?

Me: No, I was proving a point.

Briar: Yes, you’re doing internet searches on his exes. We can all tell you’re definitely not into him.

Well, shit.