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Joe hisses from his perch on the banister.
Eric holds his hand out to Luke. “Pleasure to meet you. Are you Jillian’s brother?”
“Definitely not her brother,” Luke states.
Ainsley beams back at Luke in interest. “Can I call you Uncle Loo?”
“No,” he says quickly and shoots me a look.
I explain to Eric, “Luke is watching Ainsley tonight.”
“Oh, so you’re the manny,” Eric states with understanding.
Now, it’s my turn to giggle. “Luke isn’t the male nanny.”
Luke leans forward with a cocky, sarcastic stance. My giggling tops.
“Manny, huh? I could roll with that. I’m a man of manny, manny talents. I tend to all of Jillian’s needs.” He winks, and I mentally punch him in the face.
“Ignore him,” I state, grabbing my purse, and then I point a strong finger at Luke. “Behave. Bedtime is at eight.”
“Yes, Mom,” Luke and Ainsley reply in unison, causing me to do a double take.
They’ve only met a few times, and they’re already two peas in a pod. Apparently, Incendio genetics run deep with these two.
“Good night. I’ll be back as soon as my friend and I are done with dinner.” I give Ainsley another kiss, ignoring how close Luke’s face is to mine as I say good-bye to my daughter.
I close the door behind me and stop on my doorstep.
“You ready to go?” Eric asks with his hand held out to me.
I stare at it for a beat before taking it. “Lead the way.”
As we drive away, I note the sway of the dining room curtain being pushed to the side and the silhouette of a man watching every second of my departure.
fourteen
LOST IN THOUGHT INthe front seat of Eric’s Bentley, I look out the window and am surprised when we pull up to the Valor County Helipad on the outskirts of Greenwood Village. There are rows of helicopters lined up in the open lot that is reserved for the town’s elite who want a quick commute to Manhattan or Boston. While I’ve seen the helipad many times, I’ve never driven past the chain-link fence and onto the tarmac.
“Eric,” I say with mild trepidation.
“I know I should have asked you first, but I wanted to surprise you.”
“You should know that I am not the biggest fan of surprises.”
“Your mother said that. She also said if I suggested this, you’d say no before we got here.”
I raise a brow. “Say no to what?”
“Dinner.”
I look out the front window. The only building in sight is an office with one rectangular window. “Is there a restaurant here?”
“It’s in Manhattan.”
“Manhattan is eighty miles away.”
“Yet only an hour by helicopter.”
