"How's it going?" Libby asked as she sipped the last of her delicious drink.
"Slowly," Kate complained. "I can't find the keys."
"Maybe you should learn to touch-type."
"What's that?"
"It's when you can type without looking at the keys. Shall I show you?"
"Yeah." Kate slid the laptop over to Libby.
Libby shifted the cursor so it was a couple of lines below where Kate had been typing. "It's like this." She kept looking at Kate while she typed a couple of lines of text.
"That's cool. How long did it take you to learn?"
"A few months. I practiced each day until I learned where all the keys were and then it was a matter of getting faster."
"I want to do that."
"There are lots of free typing lessons on the internet," Libby told her. "Maybe your uncle can download one for you."
Adrian came back into the room.
"Libby says I need to have touch-typing lessons," Kate said.
Adrian raised an eyebrow.
"Hang on a second." Libby raised her hands, palms facing outward. "I suggested you might like to learn – I didn't say you had to."
Kate grinned at her and then turned to Adrian. "Can we download something?"
"I'm sure we can find something for you, kiddo." He paused. "George was on the phone. We need to head in a bit earlier tonight."
Kate pouted. "Do I have to go? I'm busy writing."
"Afraid so, kiddo. You can't stay here by yourself."
"Libby can look after me." Kate turned to Libby, her eyes pleading. "Can't you?"
Libby was torn. She had writing she had to do. She should go back to her room and spend a few hours on her own work, but she was enjoying spending time with Kate and Adrian. If Kate wanted to write, perhaps Libby could use the time to write too, especially considering how slowly Kate was typing.
Maybe Adrian would offer her the job if she proved herself.
"Kate, why don't you go into your room and let me talk to Libby?" Adrian's voice was mild but there was something in his tone that cautioned against refusal.
"Yes, Uncle Ade." Kate saved her work and left the room.
Adrian turned to Libby. "I'm sorry she keeps putting you on the spot like this."
"No, it's fine." Libby braced herself. "I don't mind taking care of her tonight – as long as you don't have a problem with it." She paused. "Kate is a delight, and I was only going to spend the night writing." She glanced at Kate's laptop. "I can probably do that here, or wait until Kate goes to bed."
Adrian rubbed his palms against his thighs. "I'm not sure."
It was better than a flat-out rejection. Perhaps he wasn't sure whether he trusted her yet. "I have a couple of friends you can call for character references," she said. Just not childcare references.
"No, it's not that." He sighed. "Kate is getting attached to you. I'm worried she'll be hurt when you leave tomorrow. She's still really fragile after her parents' deaths."
"What happened?"
"Car accident, a year ago." His voice was flat. "Truck driver had been on the road for eighteen hours and drifted to the wrong side. Killed Daniel and Penny instantly. Kate was trapped in the back seat until emergency services pulled her out."
Libby gasped and brought a hand up to her throat. "I'm so sorry."
Adrian had pain in his eyes. "Kate still has nightmares."
The poor girl. To have so much tragedy at such a young age. Libby couldn't even imagine what it would be like. It would have been so difficult for Adrian as well, having to cope with the deaths and help Kate through her mourning.
She glanced down at the words Kate had written on the laptop. Perhaps writing the story would be a form of therapy for her. Maybe Libby could help her heal.
"Would it help if I became Kate's nanny?" The words came out of her mouth before she could think about it.
Adrian stepped back and Libby rushed to explain, the slight panic at what she'd just said speeding up her heartbeat. "I have a month before my next job starts – I could tour with you and Kate. We can work on her story and it might be good therapy for her. It's about a superhero who can save people."
Adrian cursed quietly and rubbed a hand against his face.
Oh, God, she sounded desperate. "Why don't you think about it?" she said. "I can look after her tonight and then you can decide."
He was silent for a long moment. He was going to refuse.
"All right."
Libby had been expecting a no and quickly regrouped. "What time do you have to leave?"
"In an hour."
"I'll go now to give you some time together and be back in an hour." She had to work out how she would manage her writing if he actually said yes to her offer, but she reminded herself that she was flat broke and might need more money for a bond. It was a sensible plan and would benefit them all.
"That's fine," Adrian said and Libby gathered up her things. He walked her to the door, and as she stepped out, he put his hand on her arm.
It was warm and sent a jolt through her.
"Thank you."
Libby couldn't speak. She smiled, nodded once and headed for the elevator.
Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.
***
Adrian turned away from the entrance and sighed. He was torn. The pain of his brother's death crept up and blindsided him, making him vulnerable. Was that why he was considering hiring Libby as Kate's nanny?
It was true she was good with Kate. Buying her the notebook had been a lovely gesture and she was patient and attentive. But he saw Kate gravitating toward her in a way she never had with Emily. Emily had been all business – friendly enough, for sure – but always slightly stand-offish. Libby was just Libby, interesting and kind.
And that was another problem. He couldn't deny he was attracted to her and he had to add that to the equation. The nanny he hired had to be the best for Kate's wellbeing and nothing to do with him. He'd promised himself he wouldn't hire anyone he was attracted to. But he also didn't have a lot of choice.
He went to Kate's bedroom and poked his head in. "You can come out now."
Kate jumped off the bed and raced out, looking around. "Where's Libby?"
"She's gone to her room to get ready. She's going to come back and look after you tonight."
"Yes!" Kate did a little happy dance.
Adrian smiled. "Kiddo, we need to have a talk."
"Uh, oh."
He led her over to the couches and they sat down. "I need to find you a new nanny."
Kate slouched down in the seat. "Yeah, I know." She peered up at him. "Can we make sure she's not like Emily?"
"What didn't you like about Emily?" Adrian asked.
Kate shrugged. "She was a bit boring. She didn't really like to play games or do anything except shop."
The guilt was sharp and hot. Adrian pressed his lips together. He should have noticed. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"It didn't really matter. You and I do all the fun stuff."
In other words, when he wasn't around Kate was unhappy. God, it had been a mistake bringing her with him. He'd thought it was for the best – she'd get to see the world, and being in a different place might help her forget for a little while – but maybe he'd been wrong. Maybe Susan had been right. The doubt that was never far away hovered over him. "What's on your nanny wish list then, kiddo?"
"What?" She squinted at him.
"If you chose your nanny, what kind of person would she be?"
Kate sat up straight, screwing up her face as she thought. "She'd have to like to play games like cards and board games."
Adrian jumped up and took her notebook from the table. "Games." He wrote it down.
Kate grinned. "She needs to like to go out and do stuff – but not shopping. Go exploring."
"Exploring," he said as he added it to the list. "Got it. What else?"
"She should be able to cook. Emily wasn't very good." Kate twisted her hands together. She did that when she wanted to say something else but she wasn't sure she should.
"Spit it out, kiddo."
"Well, it would be cool if she knew about writing."
Adrian's hand paused for a second on the notepad. "Writer. Okay, is there anything else?"
"She should be fun and kind too," Kate added in a rush.
"All right. I think I've got it all. I'll see what I can do."
Could he ignore his attraction to Libby for the good of Kate?