Page 83 of Sleeper: The Palisades Edition

“Good point. But I’m not looking.”

“Why not?” She eyes me suspiciously. “Do you already have one?”

“No.” Fortunately, I’m up next to pay for admission, so I can ignore her when she asks me if Papa should have a matchmaker.

“But where will you go when the new nanny moves in?”

“I don’t know for sure yet. Probably back to Nico’s place for a while.”

“I don’t want you to go,” Lucky whines. “I don’t like the new nanny.”

“What new nanny?”

Summer lets go of me so she can jump in front of Lucky and cover his mouth with her hands. “You’re not supposed to say anything, ’member? Oy vey!”

“You already met your new nanny?”

Summer lets her head drop back and smacks her forehead. “Yes!” She takes my outstretched hand again. “At spring break. Mommy made us meet her. I mean, Mama. I liked her. She brought cookies.”

This is news to me, although I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that Margo would want to interview nannies while she was in town. It’s just odd that Shane hasn’t mentioned it. And that somebody didn’t want the twins to mention it to me. And it’s ridiculous that I’m feeling a pang of jealousy about being replaced, because it’s not like I want to be their nanny forever. I’m just hoping—perhaps it’s irrational of me to beexpecting—to be in their life forever and ever.

But I can’t think about that now.

This garden is the perfect size—not small, but it doesn’t feel expansive. It’s blissfully peaceful and quiet. There are so many trees that provide shade and dappled light. I can tell I’m going to love it here. I let go of the twins’ hands for a few seconds to study the map handout.There are a lot of different sections and paths. Some paths are paved around the perimeter, and some go through the woods in the center of the property.

After making the twins close their eyes and inhale the incredible scent of the wisteria near the entrance, after agreeing to buy Summer a soft pretzel for her to share with Lucky, and after taking them both to the bathroom, we’ve finally made it to the Japanese Garden. The kids are happy to stand here on the little bridge and watch the koi in the pond. I check my phone to see if there are any messages from Shane. After seeing how he was constantly surrounded by people before and after the screening a month ago, I have some idea of why he doesn’t have much time to keep in touch when he’s working.

There aren’t any messages from Shane. But there is an e-mail from my mentor in Versailles, letting me know that the German perfume studio in New York still has one lab tech position available. I had politely declined to interview after he first told me about the job because I still had two months of nanny work left and I didn’t want Shane to worry about finding someone to replace me. But Margo will be back from Poland in just under a month. I need to figure out my next move.

I have a good chunk of change saved thanks to Shane, but it would only be enough for a deposit and a few months’ rent, given the money I have to put into my new business. Christina at the boutique keeps ordering more of my perfume oil every week—she sells out within days every time. I have steady sales on Etsy now, but it’s not enough to cover rent yet since I don’t have time to produce and ship more than thirty bottles a week now. So I’d pretty much have to stay with my brotheragain. I’ve been designing my own website storefront, which I plan to launch once I’m done working for Shane, but I’ll need space for all of my supplies. I haven’t talked to Nico about setting up a work area yet.

I’m starting to panic just a little bit. Shane’s busy schedule has meant that we don’t get much time to talk, much less kiss each other, and I keep getting glimpses of what his life would be like when I’m not living with him anymore. I need to have a plan. I can’t ignore this job opportunity.

By the time I look up from my phone, Summer and Lucky are no longer on the bridge. I see Summer dragging Lucky over to the Japanese Tea House. “Summer! Wait for me!” I am already questioning my decision to bring them here by myself. I usually just shuttle them around, picking them up and dropping them off, or I take them to the beach where it’s easy to keep an eye on them. The other times we’ve gone on outings like this, it has been the four of us.

“You have to stop running off like that.”

“We weren’t running!”

“You need to stay with me. Both of you. Always.”

“But you were looking at your phone! Oy!”

“I was just checking to see if your papa sent a text or not.”

“Did he?”

“No. Let’s keep walking.”

“Can I get a hot dog?”

“You just ate a pretzel.”

“But I finished it.”

“We’ll have lunch in an hour, Summer. You’ll just have to wait.” I don’t mean to snap at her, but oy vey.

She doesn’t growl at me or stick out her lower lip likeshe usually does. She just frowns and goes silent. Which is even more troubling.