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Lexi, Tate's wife, laughed. "Good for you. And it's going to look good for your school project too."
"I know." Paisley nodded.
"What's that? I didn't know it was a school project," I said.
"Yes, in geography. We were asked to try and make our main playground climate friendly. The tree house is made of wood, and the light is solar," Paisley said proudly.
"And you got Luke and me to do most of the work. You're a genius."
Paisley grinned. "I know."
Reese went over to her, fluffing her hair. “Well done. You’ve got a bazillion uncles. Why not use them?”
She was undeniably a Maxwell. I was so proud of her.
Gran didn't seem to share our joy. "Young lady, don't eschew your schoolwork and pawn it off on others."
"I wasn't," Paisley said indignantly. "I wasmanagingmy uncles. I came up with all the ideas."
That made even Tate start laughing. He shook his head. "Next time, manage less and do more operational stuff. That's how you learn, Paisley."
"Anyway," Paisley said, taking one of the plates from the kitchen island, "now I'm going to my room because I have homework, and I am doing the operational tasks of that." Her voice was very confident. She was truly a little manager.
We all kept poker faces until she left the room. After her steps grew fainter up the stairs, we burst out laughing.
"When did she grow up so fast?" I asked.
"Beats me," Tate answered.
Lexi laughed. "They start being smartasses at this age." She was a teacher, so she’d know.
My brother winked at her. They’d gotten married recently and were still in the honeymoon phase. Tate had divorced Lexi’s mother years ago, and for a long time, he seemed closed off to the world. Then he'd hired Lexi to nanny Paisley for the summer, and everything changed.
“I’m going to check on Paisley,” Gran said. “I don’t want her to be mad at me.”
“She’s fine, Gran,” Tate said, but she went upstairs anyway. Gran always mellowed out when it came to Paisley.
“How are things progressing with the hotel?” Tate asked me.
“Too slow for my taste but heading in the right direction. Now that Tim is on board, the pace will quicken, I’m sure.”
“Tell us more about the trip,” Reese said with a knowing smile.
I could barely hold back my laughter, knowing exactly what she was getting at. I was betting the whole family knew by now. Bonnie was still on my mind. It fucking annoyed me that I didn’t have her number anymore, and I hadn’t had time to track her on social media yet. Either way, I wanted to get in touch with her because no way in my mind had things ended.
“What exactly do you want to know?” My tone was taunting.
Reese clapped her hands before pointing both forefingers at me. “We know all about Tim. How about Bonnie?”
Neither Lexi nor Tate was surprised. I was right. The whole family probably knew.
“It was unexpected, and that’s all I’m going to say on the topic. Besides, I know what you’re doing—deflecting from the job proposal. You’re considering other offers, is that it?”
Reese blushed. “I do have a few offers, but that’s not the holdup.”
“Then what is?”
She bit her lip, glancing away. To my astonishment, she looked upset. “I just need time to think.”
