Formal Arrangement

by Gilmore, Kylie

  Hailey remained unperturbed. “Yes, I’ve invited some single book club members too. It’ll be like a casual girls’ night out with the potential for more.”

  She calmed down a little. “Yeah, that sounds okay.”

  “It will be. Marcus is happy to host us. He’s nice and nice looking.”

  The woman was devious. She knew Lauren adored nice people. Marcus was one of Mad’s honorary brothers. Lauren had never said more than a brief hello to him at Claire’s wedding and at that romance quiz night. Ty was the only guy at quiz night who was into romance and guess what? He swept jaded, tough Charlotte right off her feet. Lauren wanted to be swept off her feet too.

  She took a deep breath, ready to give it another go if there was a chance of sweeping or at least stumbling into strong arms. “Have I met the other men already?” She didn’t have very high hopes if Hailey was pulling from the same pool of men from quiz night who could care less about romance.

  “It’s Ethan, Ben, and Marcus. The other guys were busy.”

  Those were definitely from the same pool of nonromantic men. The honorary brothers who grew up close to the Campbell family. She hadn’t spent very much time with any of them. She only knew that Ethan was a cop and Marcus owned the bar. She knew nothing about Ben and didn’t ask. Her hopes for Make Love Bloom (TM) were rapidly wilting.

  “Okay?” Hailey asked. “We’re in this together and I won’t let you down.”

  Lauren sighed. “Do the guys know why they’re there?”

  “I told them it was for my birthday.”

  “Hailey! That’s a month away.” And the funny thing was Lauren and her friends had planned a surprise birthday party for her. That must be why only a few of the guys were showing up. Everyone had been invited to Hailey’s party, so they must know something was up with this early get-together at Marcus’s bar. They probably suspected it was another one of Hailey’s matchmaking efforts. And they were right.

  “Close enough,” Hailey said. “One month difference is nothing.”

  “What did they say about your birthday? Were they surprised?”

  “Of course they were surprised. They don’t know when my birthday is.”

  “What if they get you presents?”

  “Then I’ll say thank you.”

  She grinned, sort of happy to have a secret on Hailey since it was a good one that she’d like when she found out. “Okay. I look forward to it.” Lauren put on her stern teacher voice. “But, from now on, no more one-on-one dates without a thorough screening. You have to eliminate the weirdos before they get to me.”

  “I solemnly swear no more weirdos. Sorry, Laur.”

  She instantly forgave her, given the sincerity of her words. “It’s okay.”

  “How’d your interview go with Alex?”

  “Great. I start on Monday.”

  “He’s cute.”

  “He looks a lot like Josh, don’t you think?” she asked with a wicked smile. Luckily Hailey couldn’t see her.

  “I’d better go. Very busy. Bye!”

  “Bye.” She hung up, smiling to herself. Wouldn’t it be fun to set Hailey up with Josh? Especially if neither of them knew they were being set up. All she had to do was take Hailey’s best practices for setting Lauren up and reverse engineer them. What would Make Love Bloom (TM) be in reverse? Maybe the Exploding Love Making plan. Oh my! That would be an embarrassing trademark to file. She’d have to keep it under wraps.

  Chapter Five

  Alex still couldn’t believe the overly qualified sweet Lauren was willing to commit to the entire summer with Viv so quickly. He figured she didn’t fully comprehend how bad it was at his house, so he called her on Sunday and told her the first day could be a trial run before making her final decision. Her response: “I don’t mind observing for the first day so I can learn your routine, but I already know I’ll love her to pieces, so let’s just say I’m all yours through the end of August.”

  An angel of mercy sent to rescue him from his personal hell.

  Of course, he remembered Lauren from Jake and Claire’s wedding. She’d swooped in like an angel then too, offering to hold a sleeping Viv so he could relax and enjoy the reception.

  He almost wished he’d asked her to move in and be a full-time nanny around the clock. But, of course, that wasn’t practical. His three-bedroom ranch home wasn’t large enough. He and Viv each had their own bedroom and the third bedroom was his art studio. Besides, he couldn’t have Viv getting too attached only to say goodbye at the end of the summer. He was just so damn grateful for Lauren’s calm sweet demeanor in their lives. And she hadn’t even started yet.

  On Monday morning, he was determined not to scare her off. He’d borrowed his dad’s blender and made Viv a banana smoothie for breakfast. It was the second day for smoothies and so far, so good. They filled her belly without hurting her swollen gums. After breakfast, he put Viv in her favorite blue dinosaur T-shirt with blue and red striped leggings. Then he brushed her teeth and rubbed the numbing gel on her gums so she’d at least be civil for an hour or so in the beginning. She stood on her plastic step stool at the bathroom sink.

  “Miss Lauren is coming to play with you today,” he told her as he grabbed the brush and brushed out her light brown wavy hair. It just reached her shoulders. He’d washed it last night and combed it out with the baby conditioner, so it was an easy brush today. “She might even play with you all summer.”

  Viv looked curious and interested. “Old lady?” She was fascinated with old ladies because of a picture book she loved with a white-haired grandmom. Every white-haired lady she saw she was sure was a grandmom. She didn’t have a grandmom of her own. Tammy’s parents had disowned their daughter—serious mismatch there—Tammy a defiant wild girl, her parents Puritanical hardasses. Alex had showed Tammy’s parents a picture of newborn Viv at the funeral. They’d sent a large sum of money for Viv’s care and wanted nothing more to do with their granddaughter. The card that accompanied the check read: “Our debt is now paid. Don’t expect another cent.” Hell yeah, he took it. He figured Viv deserved it, whether it paid for child care, art classes, or college. He kept it in a separate account just for her needs. Between that and his savings from website work for some major companies, they were doing fine, even with the recent interruption to his work schedule. His own mom was permanently out of their lives since she’d walked out on her six kids.

  “Not an old lady,” he said. “Aunt Mad’s age probably. Twenty-six or so. That’s not old. Hold still.” He parted her hair down the middle and brushed half of it into a high pigtail on one side. She looked extra cute with pigtails. They needed all the help they could get.

  Viv scowled. “Nanny?” Smart girl. She knew not many people came over to play with her that weren’t nannies. Just family usually. His social life had been nonexistent since she was born. By choice. He’d had offers, but he didn’t have the desire or energy for a relationship.

  He wrapped the hair band around the pigtail then twirled the hair so it made a corkscrew curl. “She’s better than a nanny. She’s like an angel.”

  Viv’s eyes widened. Shit. She’d recently learned about angels and heaven. “It’s just an expression,” he said. “She’s not an angel. She’s a very nice person.”

  She shifted, done with standing still and ready to bolt when he caught her. “Hold on. One more pigtail to go.” He quickly gathered her hair up, not bothering with the brush, and wrapped the band around it. She moved before he finished the second wrap around, pulling her own hair.

  “Ow!” she cried, shooting him an accusing look.

  “I told you to hold on.” He finished with the band and managed half a corkscrew curl before she took off. Close enough.

  Viv ran to her room and returned wearing her Frankenstein mask. Great. That was her stay away, I’m scary tactic.

  “Put the mask away,” he said. “You’ll like her.”

  Viv shook her head. Her pigtails flew around from where they stuck out the top o
f the mask. Still pretty cute. It was one of those plastic masks with a thin rubber band in the back. She’d fallen in love with it last Halloween.

  The doorbell rang. He took a deep breath and went to answer it. Lauren stood there looking freshly rested and young; her long light brown hair fell over her shoulders, her green eyes bright, her lips pink and sweet. No, not sweet, just pink. His eyes followed more pink to her tank top that showed some cleavage with white shorts that ended high on her thigh. Her legs were long, toned, and tan. His gaze took the return trip back up those beautiful legs before he realized she was speaking.

  He jumped back. “Hi, come in.”

  Lauren smiled, her eyes only for Viv, who was now holding onto his jeans, peeking around his leg at Lauren. “Hi, Frankenstein,” Lauren said. “Great to see you today.”

  Viv growled.

  “Viv,” he warned, “say hi to Miss Lauren.”

  Viv let go of his jeans and got closer to Lauren, her hands in claws, growling ferociously.

  He sighed. Really, she knew better. He was about to tell her to be nice when Lauren crouched in front of Viv, bringing them eye to eye. “Tomorrow I’ll have to bring my Frankenstein mask, though yours is much more scary.”

  Viv turned and ran, leaping on the wood coffee table and doing a stomping dance in her bare feet. An accident waiting to happen.

  “Get off the table!” Alex yelled.

  Viv leaped to the sofa and jumped the length of it.

  “No jumping on the sofa!” Alex rushed over to grab her, but before he could, Viv climbed on top of it, assuming a corpse pose, her hands folded over her stomach. Alex grimaced and backed away.

  Lauren appeared at his side and asked loudly, “Is that Sleeping Beauty?”

  Viv shook her head and resumed her pose.

  Alex leaned close to Lauren and whispered, “She’s playing dead.”

  She whipped her head toward him. “Why?”

  He inclined his head for her to follow a distance away. Viv kept on pretending to be dead. Finally at the edge of the room, he lowered his voice and explained, “She noticed I’m the only dad on the playground with a bunch of moms. You know, during the work day. So I had to explain where her mom was. I said she died and is sleeping forever in heaven with the angels.” He stared at his Frankenstein daughter. “I know it’s morbid, but I figure she’s connecting in her way and for a few minutes at least I don’t have to worry what she’s getting into.”

  “It’s okay,” Lauren said sweetly. “Whatever works for her.” Her voice was melodic, patient, and understanding. She smelled like flowers and spice. Sugar and spice and everything nice. Not his type at all—he’d liked edgy and wild back when he actually cared about getting with a woman—but she was perfect for Viv.

  “Wake up!” Viv shouted, rolling down and dropping onto the cushions below.

  He and Lauren rushed forward at the same time in case Viv rolled off onto the hardwood floor or hit the coffee table. Instead Viv sat up, holding her cheek under the mask, and started crying.

  “Are you hurt?” Lauren asked. Viv kept crying, more like wailing.

  “It’s her teething.” He scooped her up and rubbed her back. “She’s getting her two-year molars in on top. The gums are swollen.” He tried to pull the mask off, figuring it was soaked with tears, but Viv pulled it back down.

  “Have you tried kids’ ibuprofen?” Lauren asked. “It should help with the pain and swelling.”

  “She throws it up.”

  “What flavor?”

  “I don’t know. Red.”

  Lauren stuck out her tongue. “Red is gross. Let’s try grape or bubble gum.” He hadn’t even noticed there were other flavors. Of course, he’d been at the drugstore with a cranky Viv right after the pediatrician appointment, where she’d been less than cooperative, and in a hurry to get out of there.

  Viv wiggled to get down and he set her on the floor. She raced away, arms straight out in front of her, making Frankenstein noises. “Err, err, err.”

  Lauren moved the coffee table further away from the sofa. “Just seems safer.”

  “I know,” he said. “She pushes it back. She has ideas about where things are supposed to go.”

  Viv raced in circles and then started spinning—arms spread wide—until she lost her balance and landed on her big diapered butt.

  “Have you tried potty training yet?” Lauren asked.

  He let out a breath. Lauren seemed to notice everything and it wouldn’t be long before she realized just how much work Viv was. “I tried off and on the past couple of months. We read the potty book. I got the potty that plays a song when you go and she could care less.”

  Lauren nodded. “I’ll have her trained by the end of the summer. It’ll be easier when she goes to preschool.”

  His brows shot up in surprise. “You could try.” He lowered his voice. “The main problem is she wants to stand and be like me. And she doesn’t have the patience to sit for long.”

  Viv stood and took off toward her room. He and Lauren followed, watching Viv dig through her basket of toys.

  Lauren spoke confidently. “I helped potty train my sister and a couple of the kids I nannied for. You just need the right motivation. I’ll find what works for her. Consider it done.”

  He liked the confidence, but had serious doubts. She had no idea how stubborn Viv could be. “Okay, thanks.”

  Lauren turned, looking up at him, and he realized he was standing too close because the air suddenly felt charged like he was about to kiss her sweet pink lips, which was ridiculous. He stepped sideways and focused on Viv. He’d have to be careful to keep an appropriate distance. Lauren was only a few inches shorter than him.

  A stuffed cat and a doll with chopped-off yellow hair flew out of the toy basket, joining the assortment of toys on the floor. Viv was searching for something special.

  “When do you work?” Lauren asked.

  He spared her a quick glance. “When Viv’s sleeping.”

  “Does she take long naps?”

  “No, she stopped napping right after she turned two, except for short naps in the car. I meant at night.”

  “So you watch her all day and then you stay up all night working?”

  “Pretty much, like half the night. Well, I used to. The past few weeks she’s been up crying every couple hours from teething, so I haven’t been working at all.”

  “Oh, Alex, that’s not healthy,” Lauren said with so much sympathy he got a lump in his throat. It did suck and having someone acknowledge it made him emotional for some reason. Like he wasn’t alone in this private hell.

  “Yeah,” he managed.

  “Okay, how about this? Since I’ll be here nine to five, we’ll gradually shift your work hours to the daytime.”

  “That would work if I could get some shut-eye in.”

  She nodded once. “I’ll see what I can do about that.”

  Viv emerged from her toy basket, rubber snake in hand. She rushed over and shook it at Lauren.

  Lauren squatted down to Viv’s level. “Ooh, snakes are my favorite. Did you know snakes smell with their tongue?” She stuck her tongue out and wiggled it. Alex quickly averted his eyes, focusing on Viv instead.

  Surprisingly, Viv took off her Frankenstein mask, tossing it behind her, and imitated Lauren, sticking her tongue out and moving it around.

  “That’s right,” Lauren said. “You’d make a very good snake. Let’s put these toys back in the basket; then we’ll slither like snakes.”

  Alex watched in amazement as Lauren sang an “It’s time to put the toys away” song that ended with “so we can be snakes” that had Viv eagerly helping. Lauren looked up at him, smiling as she sang, a halo practically hovering over her head. She shooed him out of the room with one hand.

  He left, overwhelmed with gratitude. Lauren reached out to Viv in a way no nanny ever had. He wiped under his eyes at the wetness there; the fatigue must really be getting to him. He was too tired to work, so he went to the
living room sofa in case he was needed. He closed his stinging eyes, sending a silent prayer of gratitude to whoever upstairs had sent him and Viv an angel.

  ~ ~ ~

  Alex must’ve nodded off because when he woke, Viv had moved onto blocks, dropping them with a clatter on the wooden coffee table.

  “We’re building pyramids with blocks,” Lauren said. “She wanted to show you and I figured you’d had a decent nap.”

  Viv got right to work.

  He straightened and checked the time on his cell, surprised to see it was eleven thirty. He was shocked Lauren had been able to keep Viv entertained all morning without Viv waking him up to show him something.

  Viv worked quickly on her pyramid. He went to take a picture with his cell. Too late—she swept the entire bottom layer out and blocks went flying.

  “I was thinking of taking her to the playground after lunch,” Lauren said after she and Viv put the blocks away.

  “Swing!” Viv exclaimed.

  “She’s not used to separating from me,” he said. “She’s only ever been comfortable alone with my dad.”

  “I just thought I could keep her busy while you get some work done or maybe just rest. What playground do you usually go to?”

  He wasn’t willing to let Viv go out on her own yet. “After lunch, we’ll all go.”

  Halfway through lunch, Viv started wailing. Even chewing strawberries hurt her gums.

  “Ooh, I see one of the little points poking through up top,” Lauren said. Hard to miss with Viv’s wide open mouth. “Let’s take her to Baldwin Park over in Clover Park. It’s a little further drive from here, but it has a fenced-in playground and the drugstore is within walking distance. We can get some medicine in her and then take her over.”

  “Okay, let me change her and then we’ll go.”

  She gave him a strange look. “I can do it. That’s what I’m here for.”

  “I got it.” He knew Viv would be difficult in her current state. He scooped her out of her high chair, took her to her room and did a quick change on her bed, distracting her with her teddy bear, making it kiss her neck. She giggled, momentarily forgetting her pain. He finished, pulled up Viv’s leggings, and slipped on her socks while she punched her teddy bear in the belly.