Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
JACE
I would say it was nice to meet you, but I was naked so . . . it wasn’t.
Samantha Young, On Dublin Street
A fter Leah showed me to a bathroom, I’d quickly washed off the makeup to reveal a nasty red rash on my face and neck. I filled up the sink with cold water and began submerging my head for as long as I could hold my breath with palpable relief. I’d just gone for my last dip when I thought I heard something from the next room. Taking my head out of the water, I waited for another noise but heard nothing. Feeling like I’d been in here too long, I grabbed a towel, my skin burning at the touch as I pressed it to my face to dry off. I’d also rinsed my shirt as it had been soaked with sweat, so I wrung it out and shook it, not looking forward to the burn I’d feel pulling it over my head. Slinging the shirt over my bare shoulder to delay the inevitable, I opened the bathroom door.
“Fucking molasses!”
Startling hard, I pressed my shirt to my chest and stumbled backward. My mouth went slack as I stared at Polly Alberton, who was standing against the door, green eyes livid.
“What the hell are you doing in here?” she yelled—and I mean, yelled —but not before I noticed her eyes rake up and down my shirtless chest.
I honestly had no words. Probably the reason why I was standing in her house shirtless with a clown suit tied at my waist would be a good start, but before I got the chance, her daddy burst into the room.
He also had a great question. What was going on here, indeed? I was debating if I could make a run for it in these shoes, when Polly pointed at me.
“He’s our new nanny!”
Shock froze my body. What did she just say?
“What do you mean, he’s your nanny?” Face furious, Polly’s father continued to look between us. I remained motionless.
Polly clasped her hands behind her back and took a step to the side, like a soldier at ease. “He’s the nanny I hired to watch Ryla and Max. We met when he was working with the school summer program. He also runs a theater program here in Green Valley for kids and offered to do the clown bit for Ryla as a surprise for her birthday.”
I did a double take because Polly just lied like a pro, her entire demeanor morphing from startled, to angry, to calm faster than I could juggle three eggs.
And I was an excellent juggler.
Polly’s father looked me up and down, as if judging the veracity of Polly’s words. I smiled hesitantly.
“He looks familiar. Who are you?” he barked.
Spurred into action, I piped up, my voice squeaking for the first time in ten years. “Jace. Jace Vargas, sir,” I added, holding out my hand that he didn’t come forward to shake.
Moving his gaze from me, he glared at Polly with hard eyes. I instinctively took a step closer to her.
“This is my father, Judge Alan Alberton,” Polly explained calmly to me, still acting as if everything was normal.
Oh, my fuck. Her daddy was a judge? I bet he was good at his job, because I’d never felt more judged in my entire life. A prickling sensation came over my body at his calculating stare. Or maybe that was the rash.
From what I’d heard, a county jail was very different from prison. Local cops. Interesting company. Someone new always coming and going. Sure, there was probably only one toilet and a dirty blanket stiff from someone else’s urine, but you didn’t have to be anyone’s bitch to survive.
At least I hoped not, because jail was definitely in my future guessing by the way the judge was glowering at me.
“As you can see, Jace had an allergic reaction to his clown makeup. These will be his rooms?—”
Oh, the judge didn’t like that. His head snapped from Polly, to me, then back to her, his face turning beet-red with anger.
“—when he moves his things in tomorrow.”
Honestly, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think Polly was an actress in another life. She was even making me start to believe her.
“He can’t be your nanny. He’s a boy.” The judge’s words made me stand up straighter and puff out my chest, forgetting I was naked from the waist up and clown from the waist down.
“You’ve really gone and made a mess of things, Polly. First with the divorce, then the party today, and that’s not to mention the kids’ schooling. Now you bring this boy into my home to watch your children. What are people to think of a mother who?—”
“Who brings someone reliable into their home to watch their kids?” Polly cut him off with a sharp voice, eyes hard and even. Her retort seemed to surprise the judge because his eyebrows hit his hairline.
“Jace is an adult with more experience with kids than most people his age. He has glowing recommendations, an impeccable driving record, and most importantly, he’s kind—a trait I value in anyone who cares for my children. Now, unless you’re telling me that men and women can’t do the same jobs equally, a fact I don’t think you’d want anyone in the public to catch wind of, I think we’re done here.”
Polly crossed her arms as she glared at her father, reminding me of the woman who had threatened me at the front door earlier today. Hot damn. I’d never been more attracted to a woman in all my life.
“I will email Jeffrey tomorrow to inform him that a nanny is no longer needed,” Polly said stiffly. For a moment, I thought I heard a small shake in her voice, but she was still standing tall and proud.
“I’ll take care of it,” the judge replied gruffly. “I will see myself out.” Giving me one final glare, he stalked out of the room.
As his footsteps faded down the hallway, Polly moved to the door and shut it quietly. She put her ear to the door and paused, her body sagging with obvious relief after a few moments. She slowly turned around, eyes closed, and leaned back against the door.
Her eyes immediately locked with mine as she opened them, flashing despite the shadows of the dark room. Standing there, all assessing green eyes, pretty pink mouth, and silky blonde hair, I felt that tingling all over my skin again. It was definitely not from the rash.
Polly’s voice was a whisper. “How much of that did you hear?”
Confused, I hesitated. “Uh . . . I heard everything you said to your daddy.”
My response must’ve frustrated her because she shook her head quickly, squeezing her eyes shut, then opened them. “No, not what I said to my father. Before that. When you were still in the bathroom.”
Anyone could see Polly was agitated. So even though I was confused as hell, I tried to keep an easy smile on my face to put her at ease.
“My head was dunked underwater in the sink to stop the itching. So, I didn’t hear much of anything until I came through that door.”
Polly’s entire posture melted, visibly relieved to hear this news. “I’m sure you have questions.”
“Maybe a few.”
“It’s complicated between me and my father. We’re not close. This is his house. My kids and I are only staying here because he’s allowing it. I need a nanny until the end of summer who can live here and stay with the kids overnight in case I get called into the hospital on the days I’m on call. The call requirement for my job is ending by September first so by then I think I’ll be able to get by with only after school care. I haven’t been able to find a reliable nanny yet and my father keeps threatening to hire one for me that looks like—” Polly’s words stopped suddenly, her posture straightening. She turned woodenly and painted what I think was supposed to be an apologetic smile on her face.
Not her real smile. Her expression looked like this house felt: cold.
I hated it.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m sure you have better things to do than listen to my family drama. I’m sure I sound like a pampered rich girl, complaining about the thread count in her sheets.”
“Family’s complicated. And I don’t mind. I’ve got nowhere important to be.”
Polly’s civil expression remained. I wanted to banish all insincerity from her face. I wanted her to look at me with one of her blinding smiles, hell I’d even take her rage over this.
“You can trust me with your secrets, Polly,” I said softly, not even knowing I was going to say it until they left my mouth.
Polly did a double take, her perfect mask cracking at my words, her shoulders relaxing. Silence hung between us until she flicked her eyes once more down the length of my body and back up. Nodding to herself, as if a decision had just been made, Polly took a deep breath in and started to pace back and forth in front of me.
“Ok. Well. How could this work? You’d have to go along with telling people you’re our nanny. Or maybe just don’t say no if people ask.” Polly was looking between me and the ground, talking more to herself than to me. “Or only at the club. Just so my father isn’t suspicious. That would give me time to find someone else . . .”
A plan took shape in front of me as she spoke.
Going for nonchalance to cover the sudden thrum of anticipation in my chest, I placed one hand in the waist pocket of my clown costume, my other hand still held my damp shirt to my chest. It almost seemed too perfect. She needed a nanny. I needed a place to live. I liked her kids. And I’d be getting paid to see Polly, every day.
My mind wandered to what she might look like in the morning. Was she an early riser? Or did she wake up slow, all sleep rumpled and soft, yawning as she said good morning with a lazy smile? A wave of profound want swept over me, the desire to know her, the real Polly Alberton, becoming irresistible in that instance. But in the back corner of my mind, a small voice warned this job would only make her more off-limits.
“I have an impeccable driving record,” I blurted out, apparently deciding to hell with warnings.
Polly’s head snapped in my direction. “What did you say?”
“I’ve never been in trouble with the law, I have tons of experience with kids, and I could give you glowing references.”
“But”—she paused, disbelief in her tone— “there’s no way a twenty-four-year-old guy would be interested in being our nanny.”
I didn’t recall telling her my age, so the fact she knew it made me stand up a hair taller. I raised my eyebrows. “A guy can’t be a nanny?”
She sucked in a breath, then released it. “That’s not what I meant. But I don’t know anything about you other than you valet at the country club and work with kids at the school during the week. How do I know you’re not a murderer that preys on small families while dressed as a clown?”
I chuckled, looking down as I shifted my ridiculous shoes. “I was born and raised in Green Valley. The house I’ve been living in is being sold, so I’ve been looking for a new place. Besides working for the school, I valet on Sundays, drive for Lyft most days of the week, and the rest of the time I work jobs that my buddy needs help with. I’ve lived next door to the county sheriff for years. I don’t know how to do a background check, but I know he’d vouch for me.”
Polly still didn’t look convinced. “The kids have summer school a few days per week, but otherwise you’d have to be with them all day. I’d need you Monday through Friday, about seven to five, sometimes earlier. And I have overnight hospital call every five days. I usually only get calls I can answer from home, but if I’m called in, I need someone here just in case. I would only need you through August. I’m a doctor, a pediatrician. I started with Mercy Health at the beginning of June.”
A doctor. The pieces were making more sense now. I shifted my weight, switching the hands that were holding my shirt to my chest as I remained quiet, sensing she had more to say.
“Does that really sound like a job you want?” I could hear the tension in her voice, so I gentled mine.
“I’d already figured it was a live-in nanny job, and as I’m looking for a place to live, that’d work out just fine for me. And I assumed that watching the kids means helping them get ready, picking them up from school and stuff, and playing with ’em would all be part of it. I’ve babysat kids plenty in the past, this doesn’t sound too different. My other jobs are flexible. The only thing I can’t miss would be the Young Wills nights on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I’m sure the two women who run it with me would be more than happy to have Ryla or Max there, too.”
Polly wasn’t smiling, but if I had to put a label on her expression, I’d say she looked more curious than angry. “Don’t you want to know the pay?”
“Alright, what’s the pay?”
“Twenty-five dollars an hour.”
Hot damn! Why hadn’t I become a nanny years ago? I merely nodded as if I was calmly mulling that over. “I can work with that.”
Polly went back to pacing, obviously thinking over what I’d just offered so I took the opportunity to shake out my still damp shirt. My skin itched just looking at it.
To hell with it.
I pulled it over my head, my burning skin protesting. After tugging it down, I looked back to Polly.
She was staring at me, then gave her head a little shake. Her voice was quiet, the low rasp driving me wild. “It’s a very tempting offer. But really, Jace, why would you want to work for us?”
Her expression was surprisingly unguarded. There was a sadness in the curve of her mouth and exhaustion in her posture. But in her eyes, I saw the flash of reluctant hope.
“Are you offering me the job?” I asked.
Taking a deep breath in and out, she nodded. “Yes.”
“Then I’m in. When do you need me to start?”
“When can you start?”
“I could start tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?!”
“Tomorrow.”
She bit her lip. She wanted to accept, I could tell, but something was holding her back.
I bent my knees a bit, tilting my head to the side to catch her gaze, which had been downcast toward the floor.
“Isn’t that what you’re saying you need, Polly?”
I could tell my question threw her for a minute. Like it took something for her to accept help, even though she was the one asking for it.
“Yes.”
I was a little surprised she agreed so quickly, but I wasn’t going to argue. “Great. I’ll plan on coming over tomorrow afternoon with my things. You want my number?” I grinned as Polly got her phone from her pocket and thrust it at me, her floral scent drifting over me. Plugging in my number and sending myself a text, I held out the phone to her. Taking her hand down from twisting her earring, she accepted her phone.
“Can’t say I ever thought I’d do an interview shirtless,” I teased. I gave a cursory look down at my now-covered chest, then back up to Polly, quirking one eyebrow. “Mostly.”
A laugh burst out of her as a shout sounded through the door. “Polly? Where are you?”
“Crap!” Hastily walking toward the door, she wrenched it open. “Coming!” she shouted down the hall.
Polly closed the door again, glanced over her shoulder at me. “OK. I guess we’re doing this.” Her eyes moved down to my neck, and she winced. “One percent hydrocortisone cream, Loradatine, and a cool compress. Don’t scratch that.”
And then she was gone.
I watched the door long after she left.