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Kacee’s eyes snap up to me, her whole expression quickly transforming into shock. She seems to wear her emotions on her sleeve at all times. I wish she’d stop looking at me like she is right now.
“Are you sure?” Kacee asks, and I frown.
“I’m not sure,” I say truthfully. “I said ‘fine’ for their sakes, not yours. But this is temporary. Just as a trial run.”
“Okay,” Kacee agrees. I can see she’s trying to hold back a smile and nearly succeeds at it. “Thank you so much for this opportunity. I swear I won’t let you down. I think this is going to be really good for them.”
“If you say so,” I say. “What were your qualifications again?”
“She can send you her resume,” Penelope interrupts, appearing behind Kacee so suddenly I nearly jump. I haven’t been paying enough attention to anything outside of Kacee to see my sister approach. “For now though, I actually have to go back into the city, so—”
“What?” I demand, at the same time Kacee asks the same thing.
“No, no, it’s for work,” Penelope assures us both. “I can’t stay.”
“No!” Evie exclaims, jumping up off the sofa and running over. “You can’t stay for dinner? Daddy made corned beef.”
“As good as that sounds, I can’t,” Penelope says. “But I think Kacee can.”
Every head turns to Kacee, including my own. Her whole face goes red under the scrutiny, but she nods.
“Well, if you’re giving this live-in nanny thing a shot, I’ll go grab her bag,” Penelope says giddily, ignoring Kacee when she asks how she knows we’ve decided to give it a try. I stop myself from rolling my eyes.
“She does this,” I say. Kacee looks up at me like she’s surprised I’m speaking again. I wonder what she thinks of me exactly.
I clear my throat and turn away from her to look at Evie. “Now, I thought you liked corned beef.”
“I do!” Evie exclaims. She grins up at me, then runs after Penelope, who is already coming back in with Kacee’s suitcase.
“Let me know if I can bring anything else up,” Penelope says, heading down the hallway to the guest room. “I’ll just leave this in the spare room. Once you work all the details out, maybe she can move up here long-term.”
“We’ll see,” Kacee says nervously, pointedly not looking at me. I’m not particularly chatty, but I think I can be a charismatic guy. Looking at Kacee’s reaction to me, I think I might be out of practice.
“Well, I really do have to go.” Penelope looks at Kacee then makes eye contact with me. “You guys have a nice corned beef dinner. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She smiles wide as if this was her plan the whole time.
“Are you sure about this? If not, I can go with Penelope,” Kacee asks pointedly. I’m horrible with chatting to people, but I thought I was a bit more personable. Perhaps not. Maybe she feels awkward being alone with me. I bring my expression back to neutral and look away. Penelope smiles at me, seeming almost a little smug, and I glance out the window instead.
“I’m sure,” I tell Kacee and look at Penelope who smiles approvingly.
“I’ll be back tomorrow, I promise.” She turns to Evie and Jackson with open arms. “Come on, kids, where’re my goodbye hugs? Bring it in!”
Evie and Jackson sprint to hug Penelope tightly, then Jackson escorts her to the door while Evie stares at Kacee in the kitchen. I clear my throat, and Evie glances at me, apparently snapping out of her own thoughts.
“You’re really pretty,” Evie says to Kacee.
Kacee blinks, then smiles. “Thank you,” she says. “That’s a nice thing to say to someone.”
“You’re welcome,” Evie replies politely. I’m happy at least one thing is going right. “Thank you for staying. I’ve always wanted another friend.”
Her words actually hurt my heart. Fuck.
“Let’s set the table and get washed up for dinner,” I announce, and Evie and Jackson run toward the bathroom to wash their hands and faces.
“Do you always eat before it’s dark?” Kacee asks. I raise an eyebrow at her when she looks up at me. “I’m just curious.”
“It’s a good time for kids to eat,” I say. Kacee looks like she’s actively trying not to say something. “We eat at the same time every day.”
“I’ll get used to it,” Kacee says before her face goes red and she turns away. I wonder if she would stay around long enough to actually get used to it or not. I’m leaning toward not, but I said I’d wait and see, and I will.
