The Summer of Sunshine and Margot(62)

He couldn’t remember all the steps that had gotten him from a need without an obvious solution to an actual woman on his doorstep, but here he was and damned if he wasn’t apprehensive that certain things were going to go badly.

Today was Sunshine’s day off. At least that was something. He wasn’t sure he could have endured her giggling in the background. Not that she would have been giggling, but she would have known some measure of what he was thinking and dear God, he needed a drink.

Given that it wasn’t even noon, he pushed that thought away. He was about to retreat to his office in an attempt to distract himself when Connor came running into the kitchen.

“They’re here! Elijah’s here! I’m going to show him my ant farm before we go for batting practice, okay, Dad? You won’t rush us?”

Declan smiled at his son. “You take as much time with the ant farm as you want.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

His plan was to take the boys to the batting cage for an hour or so, then grab lunch before heading to the gardens at The Huntington where they would spend the rest of the afternoon. Both boys should end the day tired and ready for a quiet evening, which was Declan’s understanding of a successful playdate.

Connor ran to the front door to let them in. Declan followed more slowly, more unsure than reluctant.

He’d met Elijah before. The kid was about Connor’s height, also on the thin side, with red hair and freckles. His mother was a pretty redhead with short hair and an easy smile. She wore jeans and a T-shirt and had a kid-size backpack over one arm.

He tried to figure out if he was attracted to her, but couldn’t get past the weirdness of having to ask the question.

“Hi,” she said, holding out her hand. “I’m Phoebe Salvia. You must be Declan. Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.”

Connor motioned to Elijah. “Come see the ants. They’re really happy in their new home and they’re busy all the time.”

The boys raced down the hall.

Phoebe shook her head. “All that energy. I just want to crawl back in bed and read for a couple of hours.” She handed him the backpack. “His batting helmet is in there, along with a clean T-shirt, just in case.”

“Good thinking. So the plan is what Sunshine discussed. I’ll drop him off between three and four.”

“That’s perfect. I have a huge list of errands to get done today.” Her smile turned impish. “We can’t all have a nanny.”

Declan knew she was teasing, but still felt a little uncomfortable with the topic. “We’re lucky to have her.”

“Yes, you are. Maybe instead of a raise, I could ask my boss for nanny credits.”

“What is it you do?”

“I’m a manager at a large insurance company.”

“Oh, that’s...”

“Don’t say interesting.” She laughed again. “Seriously, it’s not, but that’s okay. I’m responsible for three call centers and a hundred salespeople, so the work is challenging, but whenever I say insurance, people immediately tune me out.”

“I won’t do that.”

“I’m happy to hear that.” She glanced down the hall. “Please don’t say anything encouraging about the ant farm to Elijah. There is no way on this earth I’m paying to have ants in the house.” She shuddered.

“I will discourage any ant farm conversation.”

“Thank you. Well, I should probably get going.”

She hesitated a second before opening the door. As if waiting for something.

While they’d been talking, Declan had forgotten to be nervous, but as soon as she lingered, he suddenly felt like a fifteen-year-old unable to keep from having an erection at a funeral.

“Good luck with the errands,” he said. “I have your cell if I need to get in touch with you.”

“Yes, you do.” Her tone was pointed.

Crap. Double crap.

Not knowing what else to do, he reached around her and held open the door. “I’ll see you this afternoon.”

“Have fun with the boys.”

She waved and walked out of the house. He closed the door behind her, then shook his head. He was totally and completely hopeless, he thought, unable to shake the sense of having missed something.

He didn’t want to deal with any of this, he thought as he started for Connor’s room. He didn’t want to have to figure out if he liked someone or if she liked him. He wanted things to be easy, like they were with Sunshine. Around her, he was always comfortable—well, except for the wanting her part. Not that it was her fault she was so incredibly hot. But it was more than that. He liked talking to her. They found the same things funny, they never ran out of things to say. If she wasn’t his nanny, he would ask her out in a second.

But she was his nanny and he didn’t want to lose that or screw up what they had. Which left him with the social graces of a twig and the knowledge that he really wanted to get laid.

  Alec saw Bianca sitting out in the garden. There was nothing unusual with that—the afternoon was warm and sunny. However, what caught his attention was the fact that his mother was smoking. He’d never seen her smoke before and went out to investigate.

She looked up as he approached the stone table, but didn’t say anything. Sure enough, there was a pack of cigarettes next to her, and an ashtray.