All Stars Fall (Seaside Pictures #3.5)(21)

Bella nodded then put her sticky hands on Penelope’s cheeks. “Are you brave and strong, Penny?”

I didn’t miss the tears in Penny’s eyes as she nodded and then slowly said, “I try very hard, but you know what makes me feel brave and strong?”

Bella shook her head.

“You.” They touched foreheads. “Because look! That lizard was like two of you! And you did the right thing. You yelled for your daddy. You only cried a little bit and now, now we can have cake, right?”

“Cake!” Bella squeezed her neck.

Penny let her down as all the kids started running toward the picnic table. It was only a few feet away from the fence to the backyard barbecue. All the kids gathered around the table singing, leaving me and Penny alone with the reptiles, a keeper, and a worried-looking security guard.

I wasn’t sure why I did it.

Maybe one day it would occur to me not to just act on impulse when it came to women.

But I grabbed her hand.

I squeezed it.

I didn’t let go.

And neither did she.

I wasn’t sure how long we stood like that, hand in hand, watching the kids eat cake like it was the most interesting thing on the planet.

But we did.

Two adults.

Two very different worlds.

United by one very similar love.

My children.





Chapter Eleven



Penelope




The feel of his palm against mine would be forever imprinted on my mind. It wasn’t a normal hand holding.

It felt…personal.

Raw.

It felt like something I never wanted to share with anyone else. Even the thought of talking about it out loud seemed to take away the specialness of it.

We hadn’t talked about it.

Bella had at one point looked over at us and smiled.

And then Eric had promptly thrown cake at Malcom’s face, shattering the moment as Trevor sighed and went. “Looks like I’m up.”

I helped him clean up Malcom and made my way back to the barbecue to grab a plate of food. Bella came with me and Eric trailed behind.

“I hope he’s paying you overtime for this,” Drew said as he handed me a plate and then took Bella out of my arms and held her.

I frowned. “Overtime? What are you talking about?”

Drew gave me an odd look. He’d been telling me funny stories about Trevor and the rest of the band on the road, stories that made me greedy for more Trevor, which was basically the worst idea on the planet at this point. I was already getting too attached, wasn’t I?

“Bella, why don’t you go sit next to Uncle Will and Aunt Angelica for a bit? You too, Malcom.” Drew said. They both sprinted in the opposite direction. I made sure they actually listened to him and then faced Drew in curiosity.

“Look.” He licked his full lips. “It’s a good thing, what you’re doing for Trevor. I just don’t want him to take advantage of you.”

“Take advantage,” I repeated, feeling almost embarrassed. “I like the kids, love them actually. I was a teacher. I’ve always loved kids, and he needs help. That’s all this is. Plus, I don’t really think about it as a job, you know?”

His eyes widened. “You do realize they set their last nanny on fire?”

I laughed.

He joined in and shook his dark hair. “Yeah, you should get hazard pay.”

“They’re harmless.” I shrugged as Malcom tripped over his own feet and face planted in his hot dog. It fell onto the grass, Will picked it up and dusted it off then made a face at Malcom, which I’m sure prevented Malcom from crying.

“So harmless,” Drew echoed. “So, should we go out?”

My smile dropped as I turned and frowned at him. “I’m sorry, what?”

“On a date.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Food’s usually involved, intelligent conversation on both sides, possibly more on yours, since I like to hear your voice. What do you say?”

“No,” Trevor’s voice answered for me. “She says no.”

Drew gave him a murderous look. “No offense, man, but she’s the nanny, not your girlfriend.”

I flinched.

I hated that he was right.

“Exactly,” Trevor said through clenched teeth. “My kids’ nanny, my employee, which means hands off.”

“Funny.” Drew crossed his arms.

“What?”

“You should listen to yourself and then go take a long hard look in the mirror. Just because you can’t have her doesn’t mean you can keep her away from someone who could.” He smirked at both of us and then saluted Trevor with his middle finger and walked off toward Ty and Linc.

“Sorry about that,” Trevor murmured. “He means well.”

I turned and glared. “I get that you’re my boss, but that doesn’t mean you get to dictate what I do off the clock, right?”

His eyes widened. “Yes. No. I mean—” He gulped. “He’s a player. He’s not good, not for you.”

I pressed my lips together. “And that’s your call to make because…?”

He stared me down, his eyes heated.

I almost backed away.