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Natalie looked longingly at Ben, and Jake said, "Babe, let's go."
"And by the way," I said, "next weekend, you're all welcome at the new place."
Natalie perked up. "Great, we'd love to come!"
As everyone went to the door, Ben started to fuss on my shoulder. I had a feeling we were going to have another long night. Which brought another subject front and center in my mind. I really had to get my shit together and find a nanny.
"You know what, Spencer? If you want to go out any time in the evening, I'm happy to look after Ben. You need to have fun too. Take a bit of a break." Grandmother winked at me. "And see if you meet someone special.”
I glanced at my brothers to make sure I hadn't misunderstood. They looked just as surprised as I felt. My grandmother had taken up matchmaking recently. She’d been very successful with Jake and Cade, but surely she had to realize that dating was the furthest thing from my mind.
"Yeah, Grandmother, not to piss on your parade," Gabe said. “Pardon the language, but you're barking up the wrong tree with this one."
I cleared my throat. "What Gabe here wants to say is that you should drop the subject for now."
"Ah, polite as usual," Gabe said. "You're really, really barking up the wrong tree," he added as everyone headed out. Cade burst out laughing as I closed the door.
While I was ruthless in business, in my family I had the reputation of being something of a pacifier. I had no idea how I’d ended up in that role. Probably because as teenagers, after we found out about Father's infidelity, my brother Cade went through a phase where he pulled a lot of shit. I was the one who tried to smooth everything over.
In business, I could keep everyone calm even when things were in crisis. Until I could ultimately convince them to do things my way.
I sat down on an armchair, drawing in a deep breath. Now with the family gone, the silence was deafening. The loneliness was palpable. Damn, I wasn’t prone to introspection. Maybe I was rambling simply because I was exhausted. Ben fell asleep on my shoulder, but I knew it wouldn’t be for long.
"Can you believe your great-grandmother? Gabe’s right. She's really barking up the wrong tree. It's going to be you and me for now. By the time I start dating again, you'll probably be in high school.”
Chapter Two
Penny
Iloved Taylor’s place. I couldn't believe I was getting to house-sit my best friend’s mansion for two months. Taylor and I had been friends since our college days, and she'd become a huge successful influencer over the past four years. She'd been smart with her money and bought this absolutely extravagant Colonial-style villa in Beacon Hill. I'd lived in Boston for ten years, but I'd rarely ventured over to this area. The first time I came to the neighborhood was for her housewarming party. Now she was touring hotels in Europe for a few months and needed someone to take care of her beloved dog, Becky, and her three cats, Sage and Sam and Simon. She asked me to house-sit, insisting that she didn't want this place to stay empty.
I think my friend was just looking out for me. She knew I needed a change of scenery after my divorce. I’d signed the papers two weeks ago, and I was grateful for the opportunity to move out of the condo I’d shared with my ex.
I’d visited Taylor often and knew the mansion by heart, but I was still going to explore every single room later. Right now, my main task was to spoil Taylor's four babies. I first went to the cat section, which had five climbing trees and an assortment of toys that, according to Taylor, were supposed to help them get rid of pent-up energy. She didn't allow them outside. Taylor was too afraid they might get hit by a car. Sage and Sam were both completely black, except for Sam’s white circle at the base of his tail—that was why I’d nicknamed them the twins. I had to be careful not to mix them up because they had separate diets. Taylor had labeled everything accordingly. All I had to do was pour the precise amount of food into the bowls.
Becky's care was a bit more involved. She was a gorgeous collie. I had to take her out on a walk three times a day and brush her twice, but I didn’t mind. I found the tasks to be soothing.
