He moved into the middle lane, getting ready to exit the highway. “How do you figure that?”
“It might give you an unfair professional advantage. Make you feel superior.” I laughed softly. “More than you already do, I mean.”
He grinned as he moved into the right lane. I noticed a few stray strands had escaped his shoelace, and the urge to retie his hair, after I ran my fingers through it, hit me with such force I caught my breath.
He glanced at me, raising an eyebrow. “You all right? You see a ghost or something?”
I shook my head. The sooner I got out of the car and away from him, the better.
He shrugged. “Well, if you ever change your mind, just let me know. I’d even teach you for free. Anything to get you into the sun and do something about that pallor.”
“Did you just use ‘pallor’ in a sentence?”
He burst out laughing and my stomach roller-coastered as I watched the laughter crinkle the skin around his eyes.
“Ever since all you girls became obsessed with vampire dudes, it’s like I had to learn a new vocabulary just to keep up.”
Laughter bubbled out of me, surprising us both.
The car exited the highway and rolled to a stop at a red light. He turned toward me. “That’s more like it,” he said softly, his eyes roaming over my face.
I turned to look out my passenger window. Not even two weeks into this gig and it had all turned upside down and backward.
“You really should get ‘just kidding’ stamped on your forehead,” I said, determined to ignore his spell. “As warnings go, that one seems to be made for you.”
He chuckled next to me. “Watch it, BB. Don’t forget we’re going to Jungle Fever next time. You’d better be nice to me so I’ll catch you if you fall.”
Too late, I wanted to say. I’ve already fallen.
Nanny Notes: Butterfly Pavilion
PROS: Slade is a better nanny than me.
CONS: Slade is a better nanny than me. Also, Gillian hates things with wings.
MAJOR CON 1: I’m no longer immune to the Slade Spell. How am I going to survive the rest of the summer with a stupid crush on my nanny partner?
MAJOR CON 2: How long can I keep up this fake mentoring? I’m not even earning this extra money.
MAJOR CON 3: I hate not being able to tell him why I can’t swim. But I can’t.
Not yet.
Chapter Nineteen
Slade
Thursday, June 13
“Lindsay, it’s Slade. Do you need a sub for next week’s swim lesson?”
“Slade! I’m so glad you called. I totally do.”
I smiled into the phone. “It’s cool. I don’t mind. I can use the extra cash. I’ll just plan on covering for you until you’re better. You shouldn’t rush it, you know. Sprains can take a long time to heal.”
“You’re the best, Slade.”
This was perfect. Trina couldn’t ignore me if I showed up where she had to be. And I had some ideas about the swim lessons that might make her hate me less.
I poured myself another cup of Dad’s sacred coffee and stared out the window. I couldn’t get a read on her. It was like she was afraid of me or something. No matter how nice I was or how much I tried to make her laugh, she put up some sort of anti-Slade force field around herself that I couldn’t penetrate.
Girls never reacted like that around me. Was that why I couldn’t stop thinking about her? Because she wasn’t interested in me? Or was it something else? I took another swig of coffee. One thing was for sure—the more she pulled away, the more I wanted to pull her close. Somehow she’d gone from being a weird little Bird Brain to this impossible-to-catch fairy, flitting in and out of my life and driving me crazy with the desire to capture her.
And figure out her secrets, because she had a few. I was pretty sure about that.
I’d seen glimpses of another Trina hiding under the tightly wound one. The other Trina, who did that victory dance at Putt-Putt golf and whose laugh and smile stirred up feelings I hadn’t ever felt before, not even with Kristen. There had to be a way to reach that Trina again.
And not just so I could win that stupid bet with Alex.
Chapter Twenty
Trina
Friday, June 14
Jungle Fever was a madhouse. Screaming kids tore around the place like maniacal monkeys, climbing up and down rope ladders, flying across zip lines, and scampering up rock walls.
I had a stress headache before we’d even found a place to stash our stuff.
Gillian took off like a rocket, ready to tackle everything. Max hung back, holding Slade’s hand and looking around with wide eyes.
Slade peered down at me. “How ’bout I chase after Gilly and you two take a look around?”
I nodded and reached for Max’s free hand. “Good plan.” I forced a smile. I’d made a vow to not be intimidated by Slade’s presence today. To act normal and casual, maybe even attempt a few jokes.