Penthouse Prince(5)
“She’s good. Just as much trouble as ever.”
“Nice,” he mumbles. “So, now that you’re back, when are we getting together?”
I nod even though he can’t see me. “We need to catch up and grab a beer.” I realize the problem with that as soon as I say it. “Although hanging out might have to wait until I can find a nanny.”
“Yeah? I know just who you should ask. My sister goes on summer break today.”
Corrigan.
Memories over a decade old flood through my mind, as bright and fresh as the days we made them. Corrigan laughing in the passenger seat of my car as we blew around town like nothing else existed. Her hand on my thigh, lips against mine, sneaking a kiss in the back row of the movie theater. Her bare in my bed, her body welcoming me inside for the first time, her face pressed into my neck to stifle her moans. Her smile when she said she wanted to give me her heart.
Her tears when I broke it.
The crushing guilt of that day still weighs heavy on me. Dak clearly has no idea what his precious little sister and I shared all those years ago because if he did he’d never suggest me coming within a hundred miles of her. I never apologized, never made things right after what I did either. I was young and dumb—but that’s no excuse.
Realizing I’ve hesitated too long, I clear my throat awkwardly. “I don’t know, man . . .”
“Why not? It’s the perfect solution. She’s a teacher. She loves little kids, plenty of experience with ’em, and she won’t have a job for the next three months. And you two always got along great.” He hesitates for a beat. “Well, until you left for college, anyway. She was really pissed at you for some reason. But that was years ago, she’s gotta be over it by now.”
I have no idea if that’s true. But surely Dak knows his sister better than I do. Besides, even if she still isn’t my biggest fan, I know what kind of person she is—caring, patient, fair, honest, and dedicated. I have absolutely no doubt I’d be able to trust her to take care of Grier, and it would certainly save a lot of time and effort in vetting nannies. At least for the summer.
And yeah, maybe there’s a part of me that wants to see her again. I want to know how things turned out for her, what she thinks of me, whether we can be friends again. Because I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think of her often, and truth be told, I’ve missed her.
“You’ve convinced me,” I finally say. “What’s her number?”
3
* * *
CORRIGAN
The sweet June breeze blows through my open classroom window, airing out the smell of a year’s worth of sack lunches and colored-pencil shavings. June has arrived yet again which means another school year is in the books, putting me at five full years of teaching first graders. As I box up the last of this year’s bulletin board decorations, I can’t help but get the tiniest bit sentimental. Where in the world has the time gone?
“I think we’ve got just about everything,” I say with a sigh, doing a full sweep of the room for any last decorations or books I might have left behind.
Once my best friend and saint of a clean-up volunteer, Sarah Jo, finishes disinfecting the desks with the wipes I gave her, we should be just about done. Then we can walk out of here and kick off my summer vacation with a much-deserved margarita.
I check my phone for the time—five forty-five—which means we haven’t missed happy hour yet. While I’m still looking at my screen, my phone buzzes once, then twice in my hand with two texts from Dak.
Ten bucks says he’s wishing me a happy last day of school. That or asking for a last-minute pair of hands at his bar tonight. I’m sure the place will be packed with teachers from this district, toasting to the end of the school year, just like Sarah Jo and I will be doing very soon.
“Quit texting and let’s get out of here,” Sarah Jo says with a whine, dragging a disinfecting wipe across the ledge of the chalkboard. “I can practically taste the tequila already.”
“It’s my brother. Just give me a second.”
But once I nudge the text open with my thumb, my stomach plummets all the way to the soles of my shoes. I think I’m going to need more than a second. A minute, maybe. Or a few weeks. Actually, no amount of time would be enough for me to fully process this news staring back at me. News I never would have predicted I’d receive.
Hey, IDK if you know, but Lex is back in town.
Lexington Dane. Once upon a time, he was my everything. Now just his name sends my good mood plummeting.
I suck in a slow, controlled breath, pushing down the anger and confusion bubbling within me, then scan the screen to see what else Dak has to say. Turns out, his second text is just as insane as the first.
He mentioned he might need some kind of favor from you.
“Everything okay?”
I snap my head up to see Sarah Jo looking at me, her head cocked and a disinfectant wipe in her hand.
“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s nothing,” I lie, managing a tight-lipped smile despite the pounding in my chest.
Knock, knock, it’s me, your heart. Reminding you of how freaking broken I ended up the last time we dealt with Lexington Dane.
Unconvinced, my best friend narrows her eyes at me. “If it’s nothing, then why do you look like you just saw a ghost?”