"His ex-wife is also his stepmom," he says, passing his phone around to show us all a wedding picture. The woman is young, maybe in her mid-thirties. She's prettier than I expected, considering Kevin. Light blonde hair, slight frame. Reminds me a bit of Addie. Except Addie's beauty is classic, and this woman is manufactured pretty. The man is significantly older, sports a potbelly, and a blotchy, sagging face. See? Dating older men isn't all it's cracked up to be.
"That's Kevin's dad," Mateo continues when Coop hands him his phone back. He swipes through it again. "And this," he passes me his phone, "is his new baby brother."
"Is it bad that I'm happy he's adorable?" I ask, tossing the phone to Addie.
"Damn," Addie says.
"Ouch, that hurts," says Coop.
I sip my beer. "While that sucks for him, I'm now the one without a job," I say.
"Work for Mateo." Coop shrugs. "He needs an assistant."
Mateo fidgets in his seat, looking every bit a child in an overgrown body.
"None of those other people were any good," Coop adds, nudging Mateo in the leg. "My mom's smart. She could totally do it."
"It's not the worst idea," Addie says, offering a small smile. "But don't blame me when he has you writing corny social media captions."
Mateo stays silent, but like with Coop, I can see the gears turning. He flexes his left hand again, an odd habit I'm not sure if he's aware he has. Finally, he looks at me.
"Flexible hours and the kid is always invited to tag along. For right now, I need someone to drive me to appointments. I also need help with social media, booking travel, and keeping my calendar organized."
"How flexible is flexible?" I ask.
Mateo's phone dings in his hand. "What's this?" he asks Coop.
"Her class schedule."
"I can work around this," Mateo tells me. "We'll need to reschedule a few PT appointments, but it shouldn't be a big deal."
Depending on another member of the Hayes family terrifies me. If I take him up on this, I'm putting all my eggs in one basket, and that's scary as fuck. I've spent most of my life not having anyone I could depend on. Standing on my own, without a stable base. And now, after only a few months, I'm leaning on an entire family. I don't like it. I'm about to turn it down, but then I consider what he said. Coop can come with me to work whenever I need him to, and he can work around my schedule, which means leaning on Charlie, Liam, and my mother a little less.
"My last assistant started at sixty thousand a year."
I choke on the night air. Sixty thousand?
"Hours will vary, though. Some weeks will only be a few hours, but others will be more like thirty. Kind of depends on my schedule. Oh, and there's a two-thousand-dollar signing bonus. Also, when we travel, all expenses are on me."
"Travel? I don't think I—"
"She'll take it," Coop and Addie both answer for me.
"Don't you want to know if I'm even qualified?" I turn to face him, and our eyes meet. Reflecting in his blue eyes, the flames from the fire rise. I avert my gaze but am immediately drawn back to him like a moth to a fucking flame.
He tilts his head and licks his lower lip. "I trust Coop."
Ashes to ashes.
Clapping drags my attention away.
"Does this mean we can go out on your birthday now?" Addie asks.
I groan. Addie loves birthdays. Me? Not so much. I used to wonder why my dad chose that day to leave, but the older I get, the more I doubt he knew what day it was.
"Come on," she says. "You're turning twenty-five, not forty."
"But Coop, I would have to get my mom to—"
