“Now, as far as trips,” he said. “I do have a conference the last week of July.”
“Okay,” I said, already mentally mapping out a week at his house.
“It’s in Hawaii,” he added. “Maui, specifically.”
“Oh.”I blinked. “Nice.”
“I was thinking of bringing Charlotte with me.” He nodded. “I’ll be tied up during the day, but I’ll be available in the evenings to spend time with her.”
“Okay…” I said slowly, waiting for the rest.
He exhaled and scratched the side of his head. “When I was first planning it, I thought it might be nice if Charlotte and her nanny came along. I know there are childcare options through the hotel, but since I don’t know anyone personally, I’d probably just spend the whole conference worrying about her.”
That made sense.
“So…” he continued, glancing at Charlotte and then back to me. “I don’t know if this is something you’d even want to do. But if you’re open to it, I’d love to have you come with us. You’d watch Charlotte during the day, and in the evenings you’d be free. Explore. Do your own thing. I’d give you a stipend for activities. Luaus, snorkeling, excursions, whatever sounds fun.”
“Oh wow,” I said after staring at him for a beat. “That would be amazing.”
“Really?” he asked, like he hadn’t expected that answer at all.
“Did you think I’d say no?” I laughed. “As in, ‘I’m sorry boss, but watching your daughter in paradise sounds like such a drag.’”
He scrunched his nose and chuckled. “Well… maybe?”
“Well, then you’re crazy,” I said, laughing again. “Because I’m pretty sure that sounds incredible.”
“Awesome,” he said, his smile broadening as his green eyes met mine. “I’ll have Linda book you a ticket and a room, then.”
“Sounds perfect,” I said, my stomach giving an unexpected flip as I thought about exploring Hawaii. I’d always wanted to go there but hadn’t had the chance to yet.
“Anyway…” He cleared his throat and glanced down at his phone. “According to my calendar, we’d leave on Saturday, July twenty-ninth, and get back Sunday, August sixth.”
“So, we’d be there for just over a week?”
“Yep.”
“Perfect,” I said, pulling out my phone and adding the dates before I could forget. Once I saved it, I looked back up. “Are there any other trips I should know about?”
“That’s the main one,” he said. “I’ll also be heading to the Hamptons for the Fourth of July weekend, but since part of that is for your brother’s party, I’m sure you’ll be there, too, and probably wouldn’t want to take the extra days with Charlotte.”
“Yeah, sorry about that.” I scrunched my nose. “I’ve actually been looking forward to it. I even got invited to the Hastings’s yacht party on the fourth. Finally made the cut.”
He laughed. “Me too.”
But then, his brow furrowed, like he was trying to figure out how he’d make that work.
“Do you think you’ll be able to still go if your nanny isn’t available to watch Charlotte?” I asked, worried that he wouldn’t be able to go now because of me.
“I’m going to try,” he said, biting his lip. “I was thinking about asking Alisha’s parents to take her that weekend. They usually have a big family gathering for the holiday, and I think they’d love having her there.”
“That’s nice they’re still involved in Charlotte’s life,” I said, suddenly curious about how close he was to his in-laws.
Were they still called in-laws when the person who tied you together was gone?
“They’re great.” He nodded. “Alisha was really close with her family, and I know it’s been hard on them not seeing Charlotte every week like they did when Alisha was alive.”
“They live in Manhattan, right?” I asked, remembering thatdetail from the bits and pieces Lucy had shared with me about her brother through the years.