Regan gave him a half-hearted smile. “Sweet tooth.”
“Dad?”
Lewis stood at the bottom of the staircase in his Marvel pajamas, rubbing sleep from his eyes as he stared curiously at Regan.
“Hey, bud.” Thane strolled over to his son to give him a morning kiss on his head. “Your sister still sleeping?”
Lewis nodded, his focus on Regan.
“Morning.” She gave him a little wave.
In answer, Lewis surprised Thane by walking over to climb a little sluggishly onto the stool beside her. Unlike Eilidh, who woke up bright and bubbly, Lewis was like his old man and needed time to wake up. He rarely talked until he’d eaten breakfast.
“Hi,” he said to Regan. “You came.”
“I promised I would.”
“Eils will be glad.” Lewis yawned and then asked randomly, “Have you seen the Red Sox play?”
His son liked American baseball. Watching their interaction in curiosity, Thane pushed Regan’s coffee and a plate for her pastry toward her, took her thanks, and got Lewis’s breakfast together. All the while, he listened to the two of them chat about baseball. Regan’s dad was into baseball, so she’d gone to games when she was younger, but she admitted she wasn’t one for sports. Though, she announced proudly, Robyn was going to teach her MMA.
Even when Thane had put a bowl of cereal and juice in front of his son, Lewis didn’t take his eyes off Regan. She chatted animatedly with him about the small baseball team his friends had formed, and he noted how relaxed Lewis was.
Lewis wasn’t even three years old when his mum died. Like his father and his uncle Lachlan, he was serious by nature. He was also protective of his family and sister, and shy of strangers. He’d never really taken to anyone outside the family, including Robyn and Lucy, the way Eilidh had.
But there he was smiling and giggling at Regan’s story about a time in high school when she was supposed to be guarding home plate and someone walked by with a hot dog, and she was so busy trying to persuade them that the hot dog should be hers that she let someone slide into home.
“Did you get the hot dog?” Lewis asked.
Regan grinned mischievously. “Best hot dog ever.”
So focused on how his son interacted with this woman, this near stranger, he didn’t hear Eilidh come down the stairs.
“Regan!” his daughter squealed, and he turned to watch her almost trip off the last step in her excitement to get to Robyn’s sister.
Regan hopped off her stool to catch Eilidh as she flew at her. Despite her slender build, she hauled Eilidh into her arms with ease, beaming at her. “Hey, superstar.”
Eilidh clasped Regan’s face in the palm of her hands and said with an almost grown-up tenderness, “You came!”
And just like that, Thane saw the genuine fondness soften Regan’s expression. “I keep my promises.”
Fuck.
Thane couldn’t possibly be considering accepting Regan’s proposal.
It was preposterous. His kids hadn’t even known the woman for twenty-four hours. And yet, they’d bonded with her faster than he’d seen them take to anyone.
Moreover, he’d liked how she’d handled Lewis at dinner. What she’d said about kindness and the way she’d defused the tension at the table. She had a knack for knowing just the right thing to say to the children to settle them.
Lachlan would be against it.
So would Robyn.
Or would they?
Regan had worked as a professional nanny, so clearly, other parents had trusted her with their kids.
And Thane was in a real bind.
He started work on Monday, and he still had no nanny.
What was he even thinking?
No.
He hadn’t been entirely lying when he said that hiring family wasn’t always a good idea. Besides, Robyn might not want Regan around for the next six months.
No.
Regan was out of the question. He’d just have to come up with something else. And fast.
5
Regan
Blisters chafed in gnawing pain at the back of my heels and along my toes as I finally turned down the narrow country road that led to the impressive contemporary homes in the distance. I could hear the sea and smell the salt in the air.
The distance from Ardnoch village to Caelmore didn’t seem like much when I was in the car. It’s why I’d insisted, after Robyn dropped me off this morning, that I could walk back. She’d offered a pair of her hiking boots, but I’d refused because she wore a size bigger than me, and I thought that would be worse. I was wrong. Thinking of the hiking boots I’d left back in Boston, along with half of my belongings, I whimpered as I limped along the private, packed-dirt road.
“Screw it.” I kicked off my heels and sighed in relief as my swollen, hot feet met cool earth.
Bending to collect the Mary Janes I’d assumed would be better than the stilettos I’d brought, I cursed my love of heels and dresses. In my rush to leave, I’d stupidly left all my backpacking gear behind. A cheap flight meant the inability to take luggage over a certain weight. I’d brought a tiny suitcase, and there was not a pair of sneakers or flats to be found in it. If I was going to stay, that would have to change.
Though, it was doubtful I could stay if I didn’t find a job soon. I’d spent all morning and part of the afternoon charming every shop, café, and restaurant owner in the village.
Ardnoch was the quaintest place I’d ever been.
A main square with a large parking lot for visitors was central to Ardnoch. I’d discovered on my employment quest that the shops, restaurants, hotels, and bed-and-breakfasts were scattered throughout the village on cute row streets.
The historical architecture and design was amazing. Prior to coming here, I’d stalked Robyn’s Instagram for her new photos, so I’d seen Ardnoch through her lens. But seeing it in real life was even better. I knew from my sister’s photo captions that all the buildings here predated the mid-twentieth century, and dominating it all, near the Gloaming—the town’s biggest hotel, right on the square—was a medieval cathedral. The main thoroughfare of Ardnoch was called Castle Street. Guessing it was so named since it was the road that led out of the village toward Ardnoch Castle and Estate.
Castle Street was an avenue of identical nineteenth-century terraced houses with dormer windows. A lot of the homes had been converted into boutiques, cafés, and inns. Off Castle Street were identical row streets with fewer converted businesses. Still, I left no stone unturned and walked the four-block radius before it became apparent the rest of the buildings were residential.
No one was hiring.
It was the end of the summer, and soon they would let go the temporary staff they’d hired for the tourist season. How could an entire village not need new employees? No servers, no shop assistants, no cleaners, nothing!
And after the increasingly awkward and tension-filled interactions with Robyn over the weekend, there was no other option but to get a job and move out of Lachlan’s house. I knew she wanted me to stay, but I didn’t think it was a good idea.
Lachlan was a quiet one. I still hadn’t figured him out. All I knew so far was that he watched over Robyn like a man ready to take a bullet for her. With me, he was a different kind of watchful. Sometimes, it was like he saw too much.