Chapter 8
CHAPTER 8
LAW
The party spreads to the restaurant after Colby and Gabriella say their vows, and though Carlie has dropped my arm, she walks next to me up the beach. There are finger foods set up in the restaurant, but the main attraction is the dance floor. Amid laughter from the guests, the first song is a rap song that Colby drags Gabriella onto the dance floor over, and they hop up and down, joined by teammates and other guests within thirty seconds.
Carlie turns to Ava, laughing as she watches. “Tell me someone’s going to post this.”
Ava already has her camera up, grinning ear to ear. “Mmm-hmm. Gabriella can’t put it on her account, but I’m sure it will send the right message when I post it.”
Jett chuckles. “Maybe I should.”
Ava widens her eyes. “Oh my gosh, would you, babe?”
He takes Ava’s phone, turning it around to film him dancing with her to the song. Pretty soon they’ve put the phone away and head for the dance floor.
“Did I miss something?” I ask, looking down at Carlie.
“A Houston influencer blasted Gabriella last year for having this song on her wedding playlist. It was some stupid political thing that has to do with book banning.” Carlie smiles as she watches everyone dance ridiculously and Colby shouting over the top of every swear word to bleep them out. “The woman implied that Gabriella approves of kids being able to listen to stuff like this without parental supervision. She was just looking for trouble.”
It’s an open secret that Gabriella’s on track to run for Congress in the next few years. My mom has even talked to me about it. She’s all for helping Gabriella make the right connections and was excited when I got the contract with the Pumas. She’s been on me to make an introduction.
“Looks like Gabriella’s going to be just fine.” I grin. Jett has the camera up again, filming a good chunk of the Houston Pumas football team bouncing to this song, with Gabriella in the middle of them. I can’t wait to see what Jett posts about it. “So,” I say. “Food or dancing?”
“Food.” Carlie tugs on my arm, and I follow instantly. “Always food first. But we’ll dance later?” She raises her eyebrows in question.
“Absolutely. I’ve been looking forward to it.”
We fill our plates and sit down away from the dance floor so we can hear each other talk.
“Spam again?” I ask with a smirk as Carlie picks up a Spam musubi.
“Unashamed.” She grins as she bites into it. “I’m sure, as a history buff, you know all about Hawaii and Spam and World War II, right?” she says when she finishes chewing.
“Obviously.”
“It would be remiss of me not to celebrate it properly.” She takes another bite and then says, “I’m going to need more of this. It’s amazing.”
“Should I go get you some?” I scoot my chair back, ready to serve at her beck and call.
She shakes her head and waves her hand. “No. Sit down. Tell me your favorites.” She nods at my plate.
I relax, grateful to have these moments with her, uninterrupted. I’m more than happy to have her family come and see the turtles with us in the morning—the McCombs kids will love it—but I hope that before we leave, she’ll let me spend more alone time with her. It’s hard to remind myself that Jett thinks I should take this slow. He has good reason, I’m sure, and it’s only been a few days since I met Carlie. There’s no reason to rush anything. Even if my desire to brush kisses over her bare shoulders says otherwise.
“It’s hard to choose between these teriyaki BBQ meatballs or manapua.” I break open one of the breads with the pork char siu filling.
“I thought they were just rolls!” she exclaims, eyes brightening at the meat inside. “I will also need one of those.”
Her enthusiasm for the food is contagious. I have three on my plate, and I’ve already eaten one, so I offer her the unbroken one.
She tilts her head, but then smiles and accepts it. “Do you think we’ll actually be able to dance once we’re done with all this and the obligatory seconds?” she asks, motioning to the food around us.
“I hope so. I’ll carry you if necessary.” My phone rings, and I pull it out to check the caller. I frown. It’s Chad. “I’m sorry.” I scoot my chair out. “I think I should take this. It’s my neighbor, and it could be something with my house.”
“No problem. Easier to stuff my face without you watching me.” She waves me away with a reassuring smile.
I stand and move away from our table before I answer. “Hello?”
“Law. Thank you so much for answering.” Chad’s voice sounds equal parts exhausted and grateful. “Can I ask a huge favor?”
“What’s up?” I’m relieved that he’s not calling about my house flooding or on fire or something, but I do hope he makes this quick.
“I need someone to watch the girls last minute. They couldn’t stop talking about you last time you helped me out, and I need someone ASAP. Is there any way you could swing it?”
I grimace. Chad’s wife left a couple months ago, and he’s been treading water ever since. He has a demanding job that requires him to be available at all hours, but he’s a devoted dad too. “I really wish I could, Chad. I’m in Hawaii with my teammates, though.”
“Oh yeah. Forgot about that.” Chad sighs, and I hold back a chuckle. It’s not like I expect him to keep up with my schedule. “I need to just give in and get a nanny. But it’s just one more thing on the list that I keep meaning to get to.”
My gaze strays to Carlie. Ivy has taken my seat at our table, and they’re laughing together while Ivy eats the food from my plate. Normally, I wouldn’t care at all about that, but what signal is it sending Carlie? I’ve already noticed how she’s aware of everything around her, and there’s a look in her eyes when she studies me and Ivy. I think she believes Ivy and I are just friends, but this won’t help if there’s any niggling doubts.
I shake my thoughts back into place. “I might actually be able to help you there. I know someone who might be looking, and she’s got some great credentials.”
“Is she in town?” Chad asks.
I grimace again, wondering if I’m helping at all. He sounds so hopeful. “Um, no. She’s here in Hawaii too. She’s friends with some of my teammates, but she used to be a preschool teacher at a fancy private school in Arizona.”
“Oh.” Chad sighs again. “Well, if she’s interested, I’d love to interview her when you guys get back. I need to start getting my life back together, and I have to admit that I need help with my girls. They’re my priority.”
“Have you been talking to Ivy?” I can’t help asking. It sounds so like her.
He laughs, the first time this whole call. “She brought over cookie-decorating stuff for the girls the other day, and we might have chatted for a bit.”
“I’ll talk to my friend. In the meantime, call Shelby’s mom. She wants to help, and she doesn’t blame you.” I say the second part gently. His mother-in-law, for now, has dropped in a couple times when I’ve been around. She’s careful, something I picked up on right away thanks to growing up around my mom, but in a different way. She doesn’t want to step on Chad’s toes, and her expression usually holds the guilt I suspect comes from being the mother of the woman who left.
He blows out a breath. “You’re right. Thanks, Law. I’ll talk to you when you get back.”
“Anytime. See you, Chad.” I hang up and head back to my table.
“What was that about?” Ivy asks, making no move to vacate my chair. We might have to have a talk about proper wing-woman skills. She took off with Carlie last night, and even though she came to the rescue to entertain Carlie while I took that call, she doesn’t look like she’s leaving any time soon to give me alone time.
“Chad needed some help that unfortunately I couldn’t give him.”
Ivy frowns and sighs in sympathy. “Chad is Law’s neighbor. His wife left recently, and he’s been struggling to deal with his demanding job and now being the full-time parent. I think he’s used to being the guy on top of everything, and he’s struggling not to have gotten things together,” she explains to Carlie.
Carlie nods. “That’s hard. I can’t imagine not being around my niece and nephews as much as possible, so leaving my kids is unfathomable. But you never know the other side of the story, right?” She shrugs, and her thoughtfulness for what Shelby might have been going through steals more of my heart.
“Amen,” Ivy agrees, picking up one of the BBQ teriyaki meatballs from my plate.
“And speaking of all that, what would you say if I might have gotten you a job?” I ask Carlie, leaning against my former chair. Her eyebrows rise in interest, and I continue. “Chad needs a nanny. He doesn’t live on the beach …” I shrug at her, and she feigns a disappointed sigh. “But his girls are cute, three and five, and he’s desperate. He wants to interview you when we get back if you’re interested.”
Her face lights up. “I’m absolutely interested. I loved my teaching job, but I’d also love to try my hand at something different too. Thank you so much for thinking of me, Law.” She reaches toward me and takes my hand, squeezing it.
I want to hold on to it, feel the warmth of it in mine for the rest of the night. “Of course. You’re the only potential nanny I know, and I couldn’t keep letting Chad down in that phone call,” I say.
She drops it as she laughs, and I miss it instantly. I give up on getting my chair back and find another one to scoot close to the too-small table. On the upside, I’m sitting very close to Carlie, close enough that by shifting my right leg I can rest it next to hers.
Bonus, she doesn’t move away.
“Why did his wife leave? Do you know?” Carlie’s gaze darts between me and Ivy.
“Not a lot,” I say. “I only met her a couple times after I moved in before she left. There was some definite tension between them, but they seemed like a normal married couple to me.” I shrug.
Ivy shakes her head. “Law doesn’t actually know what a normal married couple is.” I freeze, and Ivy instantly sends me an apologetic look, which I nod at. I get it. Carlie does already feel like a close friend, and that Ivy would slip and say something like that makes sense. “I think Shelby was overwhelmed,” Ivy says quickly to cover up what she said, but I can feel Carlie’s gaze on me even though I’m avoiding looking at her.
“Are the girls difficult?” Carlie asks, which I don’t blame her for. And I’m also glad she doesn’t push for more about why Ivy said what she did.
Ivy shrugs. “It’s hard to say. We haven’t spent a lot of time around them. They act out, for sure, but I get the feeling it’s out of upheaval and trauma right now. Chad’s job requires him to be away a lot, something that’s also good for you to know, and I think that’s probably part of it. In the few times I met her, Shelby didn’t seem like she enjoyed being a mother.” Ivy smiles sadly.
“Not everyone wants that, but there’s a lot of expectation around that kind of thing, isn’t there?” Carlie picks up some fruit from her plate and says, “It’s so sad, though,” before popping a piece of pineapple into her mouth.
Ivy and I both murmur agreements, and I can’t help but think more about how unhappy Shelby seemed the couple of times I saw her. That happens in marriage. It’s not all rainbows and sunshine one hundred percent of the time, but Ivy’s always telling me I don’t have high enough expectations for relationships. No, she would say, it’s not realistic to expect bliss all the time, but you can expect happiness most of the time . I think she’s too optimistic for her own good. Isn’t that how life coaches are supposed to be?
I hold out a hand toward Carlie. “Should we go dance off some of this food so we can get some more?”
“Genius,” she says, widening her eyes in appreciation and putting her hand in mine.
When we stand, I don’t let go, using it to lead her toward the dance floor. Thankfully, the song changes to something slow as we approach.
I glance back at Ivy at our table, and she holds up her phone and mouths, “You’re welcome.” Of course she’s already made friends with the DJ.
Maybe she’s not such a bad wing woman after all.