Chapter Sixteen
Cate
He knew.
I didn’t knowhowhe knew, orwhathe knew, but Gabriel Lyon definitely knew something had happened in Boston.
Because surgeons didn’t just spontaneously acquire carnival tickets.
They didn’t come home early on a Monday afternoon with a carefully controlled expression and announce family outings as if they were prescribing medication. And they definitely didn’t invite the nanny along unless there was an ulterior motive.
Okay, Cate, think. What does he know?
Did Fitz tell him? Quinton? Did they mention running into me at the game? Did they mention Tracy?
Oh God, did they mention Tracy?
I spent the next few days spiraling.
Tuesday:Managed to avoid direct eye contact with Gabriel for approximately seventeen hours. New personal record.
Wednesday:Made Megan’s lunch with the precision of a bomb defusal expert. No mistakes. No reason for Gabriel to ask if I was “alright.”
Thursday:Caught Gabriel looking at me with that expression again. The one that made me feel like he could seedirectly into my brain and was cataloging all my neuroses for future reference.
Friday:Gave up on avoiding eye contact. Accepted my fate. Decided that if he was going to fire me for being a disaster, he’d have done it by Monday.
And now it was Saturday.
One o’clock.
Carnival day.
I’d changed outfits four times.
Too casual. Too formal. Too “I’m trying to impress my boss.” Too “I’ve given up on life.”
I finally settled on jeans and a light sweater—the kind of outfit that said, “I’m a responsible nanny who definitely isn’t having a mental breakdown about spending recreational time with her impossibly attractive employer.”
Nailed it!
“Cate! Cate, are you ready?” Megan burst into my bedroom without knocking, because boundaries were a suggestion in my parents’ house.
She was wearing a sundress with butterflies on it and had already managed to get a stain on the front.
“How did you—” I gestured at the stain. “We haven’t even left yet.”
“Juice box,” she said cheerfully, as if that explained everything.
It kind of did.
“Alright, let’s get you cleaned up.”
“No time! Dad says we’re leaving in five minutes!”
She grabbed my hand and dragged me down the stairs with the kind of enthusiasm usually reserved for Christmas morning or the last day of school.
Gabriel was waiting in the foyer, talking with my parents.
