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  “Really?”

  “Really, really,” I confirmed. “My mom would always go crazy when she saw the kind of messes my sister made.”

  “Did your sister get in trouble for doing that?” Laura asked, solemnly, her expression thoughtful as she paused what she was doing.

  “She didn’t get in trouble for playing. She would only get in trouble if she didn’t clean up after herself because you know it’s important to clean up your own messes.”

  Laura nodded eagerly. “Yes, I like to do that, but mummy says it isn’t my job.”

  This kid was going to grow up to have serious issues if her mom kept going at this rate, and she was going to give her parents a hell of a time especially once she realized the kind of privilege she was born into.

  Pity washed over me in spades, and I wished I could warn her, but there was nothing I could do.

  “What’s your favorite color, Laura?” I asked, deftly changing the subject. Regardless of my own personal opinion, it was not my place to contradict what her mother said, and even if I didn’t agree, I didn’t know all the facts. Perhaps there was a reason she chose this particular parenting technique, and maybe if I knew, I would understand why.

  Laura thought for a moment, her eyebrows scrunched together as she gave the matter some serious thought in a way that only an eight year old knew how.

  “Green,” she said, finally, her blue eyes alight with amusement.

  “Green, huh? That’s a good color. Just green or dark green?”

  Laura tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Emerald green.”

  “Emerald green, wow. That sounds fancy.” I gave her a grin. “That’s a nice color, Laura. How about green like the grass?”

  Laura made a face. “Well, grass is pretty, but no not green like the grass.”

  I set the spray can aside and took off my shoes, allowing my toes to dig into the freshly cut grass. I sighed as I relished how it felt against my feet, cool and soft.

  Laura stared at me in surprise, her mouth slightly open. “Your feet are touching the grass.”

  She was acting like I’d walked on water as opposed to just taking off my shoes. Yet another thing I was willing to bet she wasn’t allowed to do.

  “Yeah, and it feels great. Cool and soft. Kind of ticklish.”

  “Really?” Her voice was filled with awe as she stared down at her feet longingly. She darted a quick glance at the front door, no doubt wondering if her mom was about to emerge in a cloud of fiery smoke to extract her vengeance.

  Laura tilted her chin up stubbornly, her blue eyes blazing as she reached down and took off her sandals. The look of pure unfettered joy on her face as her toes made contact with the squishy grass was a delight to watch.

  “I think I like grass green,” she admitted quietly as she wriggled her toes and giggled.

  “Yeah, me too, but I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite color.”

  Laura tilted her head to the side as she spread her arms out like a bird. “What is your favorite color?”

  I thought for a second. “Blue.”

  “Blue like my eyes?” She smiled, and it light up her whole face.

  “Sure, Laura, you’ve got very pretty eyes.”

  “Thank you,” she beamed as she rocked back and forth. “Why do you like planning events?”

  “I think it’s fun to plan them,” I answered simply as I ran my fingers over one of the leaves to make sure the water was spread out evenly.

  “But they’re events for other people,” Laura pointed out, clearly confused.

  “Sure, but they make other people happy, right?”

  “I guess,” Laura sounded skeptical as if she didn’t quite believe that. The concept of doing things to make other people happy wasn’t new to her, but she still wasn’t able to grasp why an adult would willingly do that.

  “I like planning events that can make people happy. I like making their moments special,” I admitted as I frowned. “I need to fix this little beauty.”

  I sunk to my knees and used my hands to dig in the dirt. Once I had freed up enough space, I adjusted the flower that was falling precariously, barely hanging on.

  I began to dust my hands in satisfaction as Laura watched me in amusement.

  “You’re funny,” she declared. “And you like to play in the dirt outside. I like that.”

  I laughed. “Thank you, Laura. I like you too.”

  That was one of the things I admired most about kids. Their unfiltered honesty. There were times when it got them in trouble, but they persisted nevertheless. Because society hadn’t molded them into polite adults yet. They could still get away with saying outrageous things.

  “I think that we should play with the water,” Laura announced as she smiled wickedly.

  “What do you—“

  Before I could finish my sentence, Laura had aimed the spray can at me and splashed me with water. My eyes reflexively squeezed shut, and I chuckled as I let her have her fun. When she was done, I spit the water caught in my throat to the side which only made her laugh more.

  “That’s what you mean.” I pushed my wet hair out of my face and glanced down at the front of my clothes which were slight soaked, but they were manageable. It was a good thing I had a change of clothes in the car.

  “You can’t—“

  I returned the favor and watched as Laura’s eyes grew as wide as saucers before they sparkled with mirth and delight. I crouched and took off after Laura whose shrieks of delight echoed throughout the garden. She ran smack into a man who was crossing the lawn, and who looked startled when he righted her to keep her from falling.

  Laura gazed at him, her mouth slightly agape. From my vantage point, it was obvious that he wasn’t one of the people hired to work the party tonight, and he looked a little intimidating with his broad chest and tattoos.

  Laura seemed frozen in fear, and I quickened my pace to get to her.

  Chapter 2

  I didn’t know who this man was, or what he wanted, but Laura was scared out of her mind when I finally approached her.

  “I’m sorry,” she stammered. “I didn’t mean to bump into you, honest.”

  When I finally reached Laura, I placed my hand on her shoulder, and she nearly jumped out of her skin in fright. She shifted her body, so it was partially obscured by me, and I let her.

  “It’s okay,” the man said, his voice slightly deep and gravelly.

  As if he’d smoked one too many cigarettes.

  Up close, he was a lot more attractive than I originally noticed with his dark jet black hair, wide chest, and muscled arms.

  Here was a man who was obviously used to being checked out because when my eyes finally dragged themselves to his, I found myself staring into the bluest eyes I’d ever seen.

  And he looked smug about it.

  My eyes immediately narrowed in response as I placed my hand on my hips. Unfortunately, this drew attention to my breasts which were prominently showing because of my wet shirt, and I could see he noticed that too.

  He wasn’t nearly as discreet as he thought he was. Not that he was trying to be. He made no apologies to the fact that he was ogling me, nor was he trying to hide it.

  He wanted me to know.

  Arrogant bastard.

  I already didn’t like him.

  “Can I help you?” I asked, my voice sounding haughty and prim. I bet even Mrs. Montgomery would be proud.

  He raised an eyebrow. “I’m looking for the Montgomeries.”

  “This is their residence,” I informed him, tartly as I crossed my arms over my chest. I was aware that it wasn’t helping my case, but I was too ticked off to care.

  Laura peaked out from behind me. “My mom is inside. My Daddy is at work.”

  “I see.” The tall dark-haired stranger nodded. “Can you tell your mommy that I’m here to see her?”

  Laura looked to me for assurance, and I nodded tightly, but before Laura could
move, the sound of her mother’s shrill voice resonated, so that even we could hear her from a distance.

  “What is the meaning of this?”

  Dread settled in the pit of my stomach.

  Shit.

  How was I supposed to explain this?

  I could say that I was watering the plants, but my shirt was going to give me away, and so was Laura’s. She would probably cut some of my pay for being unprofessional, but it was poor Laura who would get the brunt of her anger.

  Laura, who wanted nothing more than to play like a normal eight year old. Even now, I could feel her shrink in fear behind me beneath the weight of her mother’s furious gaze. I comfortingly laid a hand on her shoulder and kept it there.

  Mrs. Montgomery continued to level us with a gaze that would’ve melted even the polar caps, so eventually we all shuffled forward like some irate schoolchildren who were about to get a lecture from the headmistress.

  The trek from the front of the lawn to the house seemed to take forever. Time was moving forward at an agonizingly slow pace although I knew that it wasn’t that far. It was simply our perception.

  “Explain yourself.” She swung her gaze to me, her lips pressed into a thin line as her hazel eyes, so like her daughter’s in shape, pinned me.

  “I was watering the plants, and Laura came outside to look for me because my colleague couldn’t find me,” I lied, smoothly.

  Mrs. Montgomery raised one perfectly drawn eyebrow. “And why is your shirt wet, Ms. Carter?”

  “I forgot that the sprinklers were supposed to come on,” I explained as I gestured to the wet grass around us. Thankfully, the sprinklers had started a few minutes before the mysterious stranger arrived, so it didn’t look like I was lying.

  “And I suppose my daughter came out without knowing this either?”

  I wasn’t sure if she believed me or not, but it looked like she was inclined to. After all, she had no reason not to. Nobody was contradicting what I said especially not Laura who was moving her head up and down so fast, she looked like a life-sized bobble head.

  Mrs. Montgomery sighed as she pressed her fingers to her temple. “Come, Laura. Brigette will see to it that you change out of your clothes. We don’t want you catching a cold now, do we?”

  Laura shook her head as she reluctantly moved from behind me and headed towards her mother. She shot me one last grateful look over her shoulder, a small smile hovering on the edge of her lips as she allowed herself to be led away by the French maid.

  Mrs. Montgomery cleared her throat. “Ms. Carter, I trust that you have a change of clothes somewhere. If not, I’m sure we can find you something.”

  I gave her a professional smile as I straightened my spine. “I have a spare change of clothes in my car.”

  “Excellent. Decorum, Ms. Carter,” she reminded me as she threw her shoulders back and looked at the stranger who was dressed in a pair of ripped jeans, and a Cigarettes After Sex t-shirt. Her gaze lingered on the t-shirt, and I could see the creases on her forehead deepen in disapproval.

  “I assume you are Mr. Donovan?”

  “I am.” He held out his hand, and Mrs. Montgomery awkwardly shook it with the tip of her fingers as if she was afraid of him. I could see that she was weary, and to be honest, I was still trying to figure out what he was doing here.

  She didn’t seem like the type to hire a man who looked like that, since appearance mattered that much to her.

  “You came highly recommended,” Mrs. Montgomery said although her tone suggested that she didn’t quite believe it. “If you’ll just wait right here, I’ll ask Carl to come and show you what the problem is.”

  Mrs. Montgomery nodded at both of us before she turned on her heel and left. A little bit of the tension in the air went away, and I sagged under the weight of it as I quietly drew in a breath.

  “Holy shit, that woman sure doesn’t kid around, does she?”

  I blinked as I realized that he was talking to me. “No, she’s the meticulous sort.”

  The man snorted. “Meticulous isn’t the word I would use. I’ve dealt with a lot of people, and I know her type.”

  “Do you usually bad mouth your clients, Mr. Donovan?” I raised an eyebrow as I maintained eye contact.

  “That depends,” he ventured as his mouth curved into half a smile.

  “On?”

  “It’s working, isn’t it?”

  “You’re doing this, so you can talk to me?” I asked, incredulously.

  Why?

  There was no reason for us to interact.

  He obviously had the whole bad boy thing going for him, and I really wasn’t interested in that. I’d been there and done that.

  Had the scars to prove it, and I wasn’t about to go down that road again.

  Though I couldn’t deny that I was seriously attracted to him.

  Maybe that was just my libido kicking into overdrive.

  “After our earlier introduction, I figured it was good way to start over.” He smirked as he shoved his hands in his pocket.

  “You mean before or after you stared at my breasts?” I countered, hotly.

  One eyebrow climbed to his hairline in surprise. “Alright since we’re being honest. It was after you started checking me out.”

  My face turned beet red. “I was not checking you out.”

  “Yes, you were, and I was actually enjoying it,” he admitted, matter of factly.

  “But it isn’t true,” I sputtered as my face grew hotter by the minute.

  “If it wasn’t then why is your face hot right now?”

  “Because it’s really hot outside,” I said, defensively as I drew my arms over my chest protectively.

  Of course.

  The first time I felt genuinely attracted to a guy, and he would turn out to be a smooth player.

  Thank you, hormones.

  Great job.

  “Doesn’t change the fact that you are flustered,” he pointed out.

  “Stop pointing it out,” I demanded.

  “Why?”

  “Because it’s annoying.”

  “Are you always this succinct—I don’t know your name.”

  “Forget about my name right now.” I waved his comment away. “Look, what happened earlier doesn’t matter.”

  He tilted his head to the side. “If you say so.”

  “Don’t say it like that,” I insisted. “You sound guilty.”

  “Of aiding and abetting an eight-year-old so she could play because her mother is too uptight? I don’t think I’ll go jail for that,” he commented, dryly as he leaned back against the marble pillar and eyed me in amusement.

  “Obviously not, but we could both get in trouble because it isn’t our job to interfere or let things get personal.”

  “You’re assuming you know what my job is.”

  Touche.

  He had me there.

  “Er, what is your job exactly?” I asked, curiously. He obviously wasn’t a planner.

  “Hacker,” he responded without missing a beat. “I thought my outfit gave me away.”

  “Not particularly no, but then again I can’t say that I’ve met any hackers,” I admitted.

  “We all dress like this. It’s how we get in,” he said, seriously only the slight twitch in his brow gave me away.

  “My condolences on the terrible uniform then.”

  “Yeah, you’re right, I’d much rather dress up like you.” He pushed himself off the wall and stood in front of me. With only a few inches of space between us, it was becoming hard to ignore the cackle of electricity between us.

  “I have no idea how you get any work done in that,” He confessed. “It can be very distracting I’m sure.”

  “It’s only because my t-shirt is wet,” I whispered in horror as I crossed my arms even tighter.

  “Trust me, it’s not the fact that it’s wet. It’s the shirt itself.”

  It was a button
down sheer blouse, and it was one of my favorites because of how soft it felt. It was a rare indulgence I allowed myself, and right now it felt itchy against my back as it stuck to my wet skin.

  I swallowed thickly. “We are not talking about my attire, it’s hardly appropriate.”

  “Shall we go back to our earlier topic then?” His eyes sparkled with mischief.

  “Hell no,” I said, quickly, not putting it past him to actually do that just to see how I would react. I’d only been speaking to him for a few minutes, but something told me that he wouldn’t mind pushing buttons just to get a reaction out of a person.

  At least he was honest about it.

  Some people tried to hide it.

  “You’re not related to them, are you?” he asked, suddenly.

  “No, why?”

  “I just thought it was cool, what you did for that little girl.” He shrugged as if admitting that was no big deal.

  “Oh, thanks.” I was suddenly at a loss for words, and I wasn’t really sure how to proceed.

  “So, what are you doing here?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Your job, I mean,” he explained. “I don’t think you work for them full time because you wouldn’t have let yourself be caught like that if you were. Too much of a risk.”

  He was perceptive too.

  Damn, he wasn’t just some arrogant air headed bad boy.

  That would make it harder to write him off.

  But I would persist nonetheless.

  “I’m an event planner,” I said, evenly as I brushed my hair out of my eyes.

  “Hmm, well, I guess somebody’s got to do it,” he said after a moments silence.

  “What?” The blood pounded in my ears. “You think that an event planner is beneath you?”

  “I didn’t say that.” He frowned. “It’s just that it doesn’t seem like it requires a lot of work is all.”

  I drew myself up, so that I was looking into his eyes, putting every ounce of energy I had into my poke. “I’ll have you know that my work can just be as tiresome and rewarding as yours. At least I’m not fiddling around on some keyboard.”

  “I’m not fiddling on a keyboard. It’s a lot more complicated than that,” he said, annoyance leaking into his tone.