Page 42 of The Troublemaker
“Baby?”Whit says, eyebrows raised, and walks toward the hallway.“Can’t wait to hear this one.”
I scramble from behind the counter and wheel Tanner down the hallway and into Grandma’s office, but there’s not a ton of room in here.
Whit is at my grandma’s desk, sipping his drink.“I need to make this fast.Brea has an appointment today, and I have to get the kids from school.”
I sit on the same chair from the other day.“I want the store.”
He huffs, and his expression says he doesn’t agree with my decision.“The letter’s what did it?”
I nod.“And this place is all her.I don’t want to let it go.I know it can be a success.”
“Anything I can say to sway you the other way?”
I’m not surprised.Whit’s rational.He’s calculated.He never decides anything without weighing the pros and cons and doing a risk/reward evaluation.He would never dream of taking on a failing bookstore.He also wouldn’t agree to marry a man and be his nanny for a year to get said bookstore.We’re different, but at least with him, he’ll understand why I need to do this, unlike Sloane or our mom.
“Nope.”
“Okay, so explain the baby.”He nods at Tanner.
“Promise no judging?”
He arches an eyebrow.“No.”
I sit up straighter and cross my legs.“Okay, well, that is Easton Bailey’s baby, and I’m his new nanny?—”
“You think the nanny job is going to help you afford this place?”
I shake my head, and his eyebrows rise higher up his forehead.
“I’m going to be his nanny in exchange for him being my husband.”
His eyes roll so far behind his head you’d think they were marbles.I’m surprised they come back around.“Hadley.”He says my name with exhaustion.
“We’re friends.It’s going to work and be completely fine.”
“He’s a public figure, Hadley.Why couldn’t you choose some quiet accountant who holes himself up in his office and doesn’t have a social media platform?”
“Because I don’t know anyone like that.I’m telling you, Whit, it’s fine.It’s like anI scratch your back and you scratch minekinda thing.”
“Except that you know him because you scratch more than each other’s backs, right?”
My cheeks heat.“Well… not anymore.”
I’m not sure how true that is, but if we do sleep together, it might make it really confusing while we’re playing house, so maybe we should take it off the table.The problem is I really like sleeping with Easton.He’s amazing in bed, and he isn’t at all what people think he is.
“And what did Honor say about this?”
“What does Honor have to do with my decision?”
“She’s your yin.I figured I could trust her to talk you out of this.”
I shrug.“Sorry.”
“I give you about two weeks.But… this is your choice.No one can know it’s fake, though.Grandma’s lawyer and Mom especially.Is he ready for her?”
I don’t know if Easton is, but I’m not.
Whit has brought up a point I hadn’t thought of.What will my mom think about this?Will I have to bring Easton to family obligations with Tanner?If it ever gets leaked, it’s going to cause another set of problems.How did I not consider this when I thought of Easton as my only option?
