Total pages in book: 20
Estimated words: 19091 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 95(@200wpm)___ 76(@250wpm)___ 64(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 19091 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 95(@200wpm)___ 76(@250wpm)___ 64(@300wpm)
Fuuuuuck.
He shook her hand, suddenly beaming from ear to ear. “Do you like video games?”
“I do, and I’m really good at them. But I also like walking and football and going for bike rides.”
His eyes widened in delight. “I like all those things too.”
“No way.” She grinned that enchanting smile. “So, what’s your favorite video game right now? Let me guess … Fortnite?”
“Of course.”
“Cool. I like Mizuki.”
Michael was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. “You really play it? Do you want to play now?”
The front door opened before Kenna could reply, and Innes popped her head through. Her expression apologetic, she said, “I’m sorry. It slipped out and then he wouldn’t stop pleading to come home.”
“It’s fine, Innes.” It wasn’t, but it wasn’t her fault either. “I’ve got him.”
“Okay. Have a nice …” Her words trailed off when she caught sight of Kenna. “Day,” she squeaked out and then shot me a look.
I’m pretty sure my expression begged her to help me.
Her lips pressed together like she was trying not to laugh. Then she waved at Kenna. “I’m Innes Williams. My son’s best friends with Michael.”
“I’m Kenna.”
“My new nanny,” Michael offered, making my stomach drop. “So you’ll see her around. Come on.” He grabbed Kenna’s hand. “Let’s play Fortnite.”
Kenna looked at me.
I could feel Innes watching us.
My gaze dropped to Michael, whose eyes had grown round like a puppy dog, begging me not to disagree.
This … this was why I didn’t want him involved in the interviews. I would pick a friendly, warm-spirited older lady much like Jean. And Michael would pick the stunning twenty-something who knew who the characters in Fortnite were.
And because I was terrified of disappointing him the way Deena had his whole life, I knew at that moment I was sentencing myself to an indefinite period of blue balls.
One
Kenna
Present day
Christmas Eve, Ardnoch
Having lived in Scotland my whole life, I knew it was just the luck of the draw whether we got a white Christmas or not. For the first time, I wished for no snow.
So, of course, as I sat in Flora’s, the most popular café in the village, I glanced up from my phone to see white flakes dropping from the sky.
Oh, vomit on cow turd. Eff my life.
“Mom, it’s snowing!”
I turned toward the slightly accented voice to see Callie Harrow, a pretty blond in Michael’s class, gaping excitedly out the window.
“Yeah, it is!” Her mom high-fived her, just as excited.
Our eyes met, and despite my worries, we shared a grin.
Sloane Harrow and her daughter were California transplants. We’d shared friendly hellos at the school gates and I’d bought delicious baked goods from the bakery Sloane owned across the street. She was engaged to a dauntingly massive fellow Scot, and I had it on authority from the gossiping mums at school that my boss, Haydyn, had shown an obvious interest in the gorgeous American before her fiancé won her over. I’d tried to ignore the flare of jealousy I felt at that information, just as I’d tried to ignore any romantic feelings I had for Haydyn.
It seemed he and Michael shared taste, however, because I was pretty certain Michael had a crush on Callie, who was a mini version of her mum. He teased her constantly and was highly competitive with her. More telling, however, was that before I came along, word had it he and Lewis Adair were pretty friendly. But the two boys had gotten into fights over Michael’s teasing of Callie, who was Lewis’s best friend.
I smelled jealousy on Michael a mile away, but he was too young to understand that’s what he was feeling.
Time would only tell, and I’d keep my eye on the situation. It shocked me that ten-year-olds were talking about crushes and boyfriends and girlfriends, but when I thought back on it, I’d had a wee boyfriend in my last two years of primary school. In P7 we used to kiss behind “the huts,” the mobile classrooms where they taught religious education. The memory made me snort inwardly.
“First snow?” I asked Sloane and Callie.
Sloane ruffled Callie’s hair, the stunning diamond engagement ring on her finger winking in the light. “Second snow, but it’s still pretty exciting for us.” A look crossed Sloane’s face that I didn’t understand until she asked, “Will you be all right? If the snow gets heavy?”
Understanding dawned. The downside of living in a village was that everyone knew everyone’s business.
When I moved to Ardnoch, I’d planned to get out of my cousin’s flat and into my own home as soon as possible. The problem was that property was scarce in Ardnoch, and the only homes that had come up for sale were way too big. I could afford them, but I didn’t need that much space. However, Una, my cousin, had proven impossible to live with. She didn’t know how much money I’d inherited, but she knew I had money, and I’d noticed money going missing from my purse. Then she’d started asking for more money than I owed in rent and utilities. From there, she began raiding my closet and wearing my clothes without asking. It just got so weird and strained between us that I ended up securing a caravan on a caravan site out by the water. It was owned by a retired businessman. Gordon. He was lovely. And he’d given me a good deal on renting a caravan for as long as I needed it. I’d been in the caravan since late October, and it was bloody Baltic. Something I lied about every time Haydyn asked.