AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“But I knew you’d love a princess like Willow. Callum Jacobs said I was his princess and he kissed me. It was so gross,” she exaggerates with an eye roll, making me chuckle. “My best friend, Lou Baker, loves Callum Jacobs, and I really like Adam Shoe. He’s my prince,” she declares.
“That’s… That’s a lot,” I state.
“Yeah. Adam Shoe doesn’t give me yucky kisses like Callum Jacobs. Does Liam give you yucky kisses?”
“Um,” I respond, wondering what to say. Cole narrows his eyes down at Mia, making me chuckle under my breath.
“Why don’t you tell us more about this Callum kid kissing you and the Shoe kid being your prince,” he demands. I bite my lip to stop myself from laughing out loud. His face... Oh, Christ. He looks as if he’s about to find these two little boys and beat the crap out of them.
“Shoe? It’s Adam Shoe,” she smarts back, her fists clenched on her hips. She looks freaking adorable standing there giving him all that sass. “He’s my boyfriend,” she admits, and I want to tell her that wasn’t a wise thing to say. Cole already looks like he’s hanging on by a thread. His eyes have bugged out now and he looks awfully pale.
“You’re not old enough to have a boyfriend. Does Dad know?”
“Of course not,” she answers, looking at him like he just asked the dumbest question. “Mummy said he wouldn’t like it, so we kept it our little secret.”
“Did she now?” He hums in annoyance. “Maybe I need to have a word with these two boys. Tell them to stay away.”
She frowns. “Stop it! Otherwise, I’m going to tell Mummy you looove Willow.”
“We’re, um… We’re not boyfriend and girlfriend,” I admit, ignoring the stare Cole is burning into the side of my head. My cheeks blush at his scrutiny.
“Yeah right,” she begins, but just as she’s about to say more, the sound of a key being put in the lock is heard.
Mia gets up, about to run off to meet whoever has arrived, but Cole tags her around the waist, pulling her back.
“Not so fast, Snot-face,” he warns, looking troubled. He gets up, his body tense, only to relax once his mum walks into the front room, looking haggard and tired.
“Sorry I scared you. They let me leave work early,” she greets, walking up to Cole and kissing his cheek before picking Mia up and raining kisses all over her face. Mia giggles and pulls away, but soon hugs her mum tightly when she stops. It brings a smile to my face.
“Liam is going to have a word with Adam Shoe and I don’t want him to,” Mia blurts out, pouting. I burst out laughing. It’s so cute how every time she’s mentioned someone in her class, she calls them by their full names.
“Liam Cole,” his mother scolds, shaking her head at him disapprovingly. Cole grunts, narrowing his eyes playfully at Mia. “Hi Willow. I’m sorry about rushing off this morning. I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself. I’m Jackie. I hope you’ve had a good day with Mia.”
I smile wide, thinking about the day with Mia and Cole. It’s been the best day ever. I’ve enjoyed spending time with them.
“It’s been great. Cole was here from around midday, so it was amusing to watch Mia wrap him around her little finger.”
Jackie sighs, looking at her daughter and son lovingly. “I bet it was. I spoke to Liam earlier and I trust his judgement. He doesn’t trust easily, so if he says we can trust you, we can trust you.”
I’m surprised. I knew Cole was a closed-off person, but he doesn’t seem like the type who has trust issues. I look over, surprised he even talked to his mum about me taking the job. And if I’m a little honest, I kind of feel honoured the big brute trusts me.
“I…” I start, my mouth agape, struggling on what to say.
His mum smiles at me, reaching out for my hand and squeezing it. She seems to understand.
“Mia’s with her grandparents tomorrow until next weekend, since we planned to fire the babysitter today anyhow. The weekend after we’re going away before school starts back. If it’s okay, you can start the weekend after,” she says, looking hopeful. I didn’t expect to find a job straight away anyway. I knew it would most likely take me some time, so the start date is fine with me.
“Sure. It’s actually perfect. It will give me time to settle in more.”
I don’t mention it will also give me time to go check out the nightlife and get drunk before I have to start getting up early on weekends.
“There may be times when I’ll need you in the evenings for an hour or two. Will that be okay?”
“I’ll have to check my schedule, but it should be fine as long as it’s in the evening,” I tell her, not sure whether it’s me or Allie who has a night class. Plus, for ten pound an hour, I’d do anything. Luckily, all I have to do is babysit Mia. Which doesn’t feel like a job at all. And I’ll be able to bring schoolwork with me on the evenings.
“Good. Thank you so much again for stepping in today. It means a lot. I hate dragging Liam away from uni and practise.” She grimaces. “Let me just go grab my purse.”
What? She’s paying me for today? But… I didn’t do much. “No! No, I don’t want paying for today. I liked being able to help out, and Cole was here most of the day with Mia anyway. I wouldn’t feel right taking it.”
