Chapter 1: Chapter One—Katie

-Don’t do this, Katie!

I read the text my BFF, Dawn, had sent me three hours ago. She told me not to follow my boyfriend Ben, but I had to find out for myself. I was working two jobs to pay the rent and everything else in L.A. since we moved here three years ago. I’d left my family and friends to live in this city, and I was exhausted. Ben told me he’d had an acting offer, and I left Ohio and every dream I ever had to be with him.

'You support my dream, and then when I hit it big, I’ll support yours.'

That was the deal we made when we left home. Now I knew he was cheating on me. I felt it in my bones and I smelled it on the perfume on his clothes. He had auditions all the time and we argued. I mean, we used to argue before, but not like now. Now it was different, everything was different, and I didn’t mind working so much because I had a dream—we had a dream—but I was tired.

Tired of being taken for a fool.

It was a Saturday night. What agency would call someone to go for an audition at eleven p.m. on a Saturday night?

None.

I had exactly six hours and counting until my morning shift started at the diner, and instead of catching up on some well-deserved rest, I was following Ben.

I pulled up my beat-up SUV, which was clearly on its last legs. It’d nearly died on the way here, and Ben had accused me of being too sentimental and promised to replace it with a new one once he hit it big.

I coughed as I thought about all the lies he’d told me. I hadn’t eaten in the last two days—well, not exactly starving since I’d had a couple of candy bars, but I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had a meal.

I turned off the engine, put my overgrown dark bangs behind my ears, and took a deep breath. It was then that I walked closer to the building Ben had stopped at, and realized it was a strip club.

What the hell was he doing here?

Curiosity got the better of me as I crossed the road and hovered at the side of the curb. Ben high-fived the bouncer as if they were old friends. He looked hot in his dark shirt and matching pants. The same ones I bought for him when I could have done with clothes myself, but he needed to look decent for auditions—that was what he told me. But instead, he wore his decent clothes to a strip club.

A blonde girl with a clipboard came out, hovering along the streets and complaining to the bouncer. I drew closer to hear what was being said.

“She’s late. So damn late. The guys are going to kill me!” she screamed. Like everyone in L.A., she was blonde, beautiful, tall, had long legs, and a gold-sequined hotpants just to emphasize her long legs.

The tall bouncer said, “Well, they shouldn’t have brought their kids to work.”

“I know, but it’s not their fault, and I told them I had it all under control.”

“What time should the nanny have been here… Excuse me?”

The last part of the conversation was directed at me. The streets, which were once empty, were filling, so I drew closer so I could hear what they were talking about easier. All I could think about was getting inside. Clearly, I couldn’t go in as a stripper—I was wearing jeans, no make-up, a pink shirt, and compared to her, I was on a completely different level. Cleaner did spring to mind, but then I had no idea how it all worked in a strip club.

Nanny.

They needed a nanny. I’d babysat nearly every kid in my family—and there were one too many kids in my family. Mom used to tease that in a few decades, our family could be a whole town by itself with the way the generations had gone from having one or two babies to at least three to five in each household.

“Yes,” I said weakly, then realized if I needed to convince them, so I had to be more assertive and try to convince her. “I’m from the agency.”

The girl, who was frowning and acting as if her world was coming to an end, suddenly smiled, then frowned. “Well, you’re late. I mean, you should have been here like” —she looked at her phone— “four minutes ago.”

I shrugged. “Sorry, parking was bad.”

“The agency filled you in?” she asked, ignoring my complaint.

I shook my head. “No.”

“Typical. Okay, so you need to take the twins home, get them ready for bed, and that’s it until the guys tell you otherwise. They said depending how well you do tonight, they may make it a full-time gig. Got it?”

I nodded, taking in the information and wondering if this was really a good idea. What if the real nanny showed up?

I didn’t have time to think. I had to move. The girl, who didn’t bother introducing herself—which suited me because I didn’t know what name the agency had given her—started to move into the club.

It was a little quiet; there were one or two people sitting and then at the corner, I saw him. Ben. I ducked my head and moved to the side, hoping she was moving in the opposite direction of him, which she did.

She stopped in her tracks and turned to face me. “Are you listening to me?”

“Sorry, I thought you were on the phone?”

I didn’t, because I was hiding from Ben, but I did see her pick her phone up and hold it to her lips to speak.

“Yeah, I was leaving a voice message.”

Then she carried on walking, got to a black door, turned the key, which was on a chain around her neck, and we were in a dark hallway. I was scared because it was dark, and the echoes of her heels were the only sounds. I turned around, wondering if someone was behind us, but there was no one.

“So, as I was saying before… neither of them have allergies. You’ve got tons of experience, so I don’t need to spell it out to you. It’s late, and when I last checked in on them, they were a bit irritable. Their dad said it was way past their bedtime, but he had no choice but to bring them.”

She stopped to sigh and then kept rambling. I was trying to keep up with her, thinking I really should have eaten today. I started to feel lightheaded, and I was hoping she would halt so I didn’t feel as if I were running a marathon I didn’t opt to compete in.

“Did you get that?”

I nodded, which seemed to be the only way to put her at ease.

“Good. Right, so here we are!”

Thank goodness. I just hoped that they weren’t babies. I could look after any aged kids, but babies seemed to be a hit and miss with me. Any age group, it didn’t matter, just not babies, I repeated in my head.

Then, as the door swung open, I saw two babies in carseats. It dawned on me that I shouldn’t have said it in my head; I should have got down on my knees and fucking prayed!

***

Luckily, I could leave my car in the parking garage, and another car was called to take us out. I should have been relieved about being sent out the back.

What the hell was I thinking?

The only reason I was inside the club in the first place was to spy on Ben. Somehow, in the midst of it all, I forgot why I was there. Now I was holding a carseat with one baby, while holding the other. I didn’t even know their names, and I was thinking about when I was going to have to tell her the truth.

I had to do it. The nanny would show up and my cover would be blown.

“Shit, shit, shit!” she huffed as she picked up speed. “I have to be on in like, two minutes!”

On?

Was she…?

No, she couldn’t be.

Then she swung the exit door open. I was trying to keep up with her; I was wearing sneakers and I couldn’t keep up her pace, especially holding the baby and the carseat. I had to be careful; I couldn’t remember if I strapped him in properly.

She ran past me. “I need to go. The driver is waiting outside. Good luck!”

I lifted the carseat, looked at the baby inside, and decided she had no idea what she meant when she said good luck. I wondered if she was talking to the baby or me.

I took a deep breath as I promised to look after the little soul. He had Steven written on his little hat—something I never noticed before, but she must have put it on. I was too busy thinking about Ben, why I was here, and how the hell to get out of the trap I set myself up in. I reached the door, the one where she left the other baby, and saw a tall, dark-haired man with glasses waiting for us—he must be the driver.

“I was getting worried there,” he said in a deep British accent. “Shit, excuse me. Let me get that. Steven, don’t worry. Rodney’s here.”

It was ironic and funny in a way to see a man who was clearly my dad’s age in a black suit, talking in a baby voice, as he took the seat and strapped it into the back of the Jeep. I wondered for a second if he was going to say something to me, but he didn’t until he was happy that both Steven and the baby he called Rachel were strapped safely at the back of the Jeep.

“Are you okay, luv? You look nervous,” he said as he stretched his arm in my direction as if he was about to give me a hug or something. I didn’t know the man, but in the space of a short time, I couldn’t believe he was showing me more compassion than anyone had since I moved to L.A.

I sniffed. “Ben.”

I didn’t know why I did it, but it was the first thing that came out of my mouth.

“Dear, he’s a jerk. I told Candy that she’s better off without him. I don’t even get what the girls see in him. Chris Hemsworth, one of the girls said, but just a darker version.”

It was then that it dawned on me as his words were pouring out that he’d told me all I needed to hear to get me into the car and as far away from here as possible.

He wrapped his arm around me. While we were nearly the same height, he made me feel as if he was bigger and, oh my, he had some big biceps covered in his dark blue suit.

“Please don’t tell me… he stole money from you, too?”

“Just my heart.”

He sighed. “That’s a big price to pay. Look, take this and wipe your tears.” He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket. “Let’s get these little ones in bed. Okay?”

I nodded as I took the handkerchief and wiped my tears. I couldn’t believe, in this day and age, that men still walked around with them. He was a driver, but then, he was different from any man I’d ever known. Men in my family were not cavemen, but they wouldn’t hold the door open as I stepped into the Jeep, let alone as I sat down. Nor would they make sure I was strapped before they started the engine.

Rodney was polite, and I loved the way he was comforting me during my time of need. So maybe I wasn’t a nanny, and I had nowhere to stay—because one thing was for sure, I wasn’t about to move back in with Ben. I would go for my things tomorrow after asking my new boss if I can take a couple of hours to sort things out. I just hoped he would be reasonable about it.

“One thing you don’t have to worry about, and I’m not sure if the agency told you, but the Steeles are great guys.”

“Steeles?”

“Yeah, your new employers. They’re generous and kind, even if they appear all stiff and moody on the outside. Well, Stan is anyway. My point is—cause I do love to ramble, joys of being Scottish—you need to look after those two angels and put the past behind you. The Steeles will take care of you and make sure you’re well looked after, which is a lot more than could be said for Ben. I swear, that guy would try selling a coffin to a dead person, and then claim a tax rebate. He’s so shady.”

Rodney had answered my question, but then raised another. Why did he say my employers, as in plural? Did it mean there was more than one?

Of course, he must have been talking about a couple. Then again, why would he describe them as tough on the outside? I listened as Rodney rambled; he said it annoyed most people in his family, but he didn’t realize how funny he was, especially to someone as sad as I was.