“But that’s so sweet. I knew she’d love you.”
“She wanted me to braid and rebraid her hair six times in a row. And that was just before lunch.” Kelsey liked to think she was a patient person. She also liked to think she’d developed some willpower in all her time climbing. But Julia? That kid could test the resolve of the fiercest, most determined mountaineer. Hell, she could test the patience of Supernanny.
Marie shrugged. “Hey, that’s why you make the big bucks.”
Kelsey rolled her eyes. “Right. Anyway, for lunch I suggested cereal but was informed that’s only for breakfast. So I tried to make macaroni and cheese but I managed to burn the noodles because I was so busy trying to clean up the broken light. Then the kids accused me of trying to give them salmonella when I offered them a bite of cookie dough.”
“You made cookies?” Marie interjected, amazed.
“Please.” Kelsey shook her head. “I took the kids to the grocery store and we bought some premade dough.”
Marie gave a small gasp. “You drove the kids somewhere? In your car?”
“No. I drove them in Ross’s car. After I burned the mac and cheese we were desperate for food and they didn’t have anything I could microwave. Apparently Jenna actually cooks for her kids. I don’t have a car seat and Ross didn’t want to bother trying to show me how to set it up. He was also obviously horrified by the condition of my vehicle.”
“Who’s Ross?”
“The dad. Jenna got called out of town and didn’t bother to mention it to anyone. Dad moved in to take care of the kids.”
“Oh, really? He wasn’t supposed to be coming to town for a month, I thought.”
“Plans changed. Jenna’s in China, dad’s home with the kids.” Kelsey relived in her mind the moment that Ross answered the door, and considered murdering her friend for setting her up for this nightmare.
Not that it was Marie’s fault. But still. It felt good to blame someone.
“So what’s the dad like?” Marie asked, leaning in with interest. “Any chance he’s a hunky divorcé who needs a little help with the kids? Or better yet, a rich hunky divorcé who might be interested in an extremely competent, unattached professional who runs her own nanny agency but would really like to be the sex slave of a gorgeous billionaire?”
“Why don’t you ask him yourself?” Kelsey said. “His name is Ross. Ross Bencher.” She pronounced the last name slowly, with careful emphasis.
Marie drew her brows together. “I’ve seen the file. Should that name mean something to me?”
With a proper dramatic flourish, Kelsey sat up and stared into her friend’s eyes. “Ross Bencher, you idiot. You met him once. In a bar. Three years ago. The night before I left for Annapurna.”
A squeak. Marie’s eyebrows buried themselves in her hairline. “That guy? The sexy hot rich football player you had crazy monkey sex with? That guy is Jenna’s ex-husband?”
“He’s not a football player,” she said grimly. “He does some kind of real estate work. I heard him talking to some people on the phone. He’s trying to make a deal with Armand Herriot.”
“Should I know who that is?”
“He’s the asshole who knocked down the old family lodge in Winter Park so he could build one of his resorts for the superrich.”
“Oh, my…” Marie paused and flipped Oscar onto her shoulder with the finesse of long practice. “Was it awkward?”
“Awkward?” Kelsey buried her face in her hands. “Oh no. What could possibly be awkward about babysitting for the guy you did upside down in a hotel bathroom?”
Marie blinked. She looked at Oscar and clucked her tongue. “I can’t believe she said that in front of you, honey. I’m so sorry. Thank goodness your brain hasn’t developed enough to comprehend speech.” She crossed over to Kelsey’s side and lowered herself onto the arm of the sofa. “This may be an ill-timed question, but you didn’t lose the job, did you? I mean, I just need to know what to say to Hope.”
Kelsey did not look up. “Yeah, thanks for your concern. I love you, too.”
“You know I’m a heartless businesswoman first, best friend second.”
Kelsey snorted. “Right.”
“Okay, seriously. If it’s that terrible I won’t send you back.” Marie bit her lip and looked down at Oscar. “I suppose I could handle it myself. I’d just bring Oscar along. His mom would understand. I think.”
Marie might not have been heartless, but she was skilled in the use of guilt. Kelsey knew there was no way she could actually insist on not going back. “Don’t do that. I mean, watching the kids did turn into a series of horrible disasters, but that’s just like the rest of my life, so there’s nothing new there. It was seeing Ross that sucked.”