Crescent City Confidential by Aurora Rey

Author:Aurora Rey [Rey, Aurora]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781626397651
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2016-12-31T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

Tess didn’t really expect Carly and Becca to have a problem with Sam tagging along to babysit. She’d only wanted to give them the official say, without the pressure of knowing she’d already told Sam yes. What she hadn’t expected was the level of excitement the plan stirred up. According to Becca, dates that included babies were serious business. Carly readily agreed and it took Tess nearly half an hour to downplay the significance of the whole thing—to them and to herself.

Sam offered to pick her up and Tess readily accepted. She’d never admit it because it made her feel old, but she hated driving at night. Besides, Sam had a nice car.

She went back and forth over what to wear. It was a date and she didn’t want to feel like a slob, but she was spending her evening with a baby and wanted to be practical. She flipped through her closet again, as annoyed with herself as with her selections. Ultimately, she settled on leggings and dress with a busy pattern that she figured wouldn’t show spills or stains.

Annoyed that she’d put so much thought into so many aspects of the evening, Tess stood by her front door, tapping her foot and checking her watch every fifteen seconds. Sam’s car pulled into her driveway exactly one minute past the time Tess told her to arrive. Tess wasted no time, stepping out and pulling the door closed behind her. The second she opened the passenger door, Sam started spouting apologies.

“I’m so sorry. Am I late? I got stuck on a phone call with my editor. I hope you haven’t been waiting too long.”

So not only had she been hovering, she was scowling, too. She took a breath, forced her features to relax, and smiled. “You’re fine. I was ready early.”

“Okay. I just didn’t want you to think I was shirking. I take babysitting very seriously.”

The choice of words made Tess laugh. Why was she being high strung? She hated being high strung. “It’s all good. We have plenty of time.”

Tess gave Sam directions, then watched her as she drove. Even in jeans and a henley, she looked classy. A short while later, they pulled into Carly and Becca’s driveway five minutes early. Tess took another deep breath, trying to will away any lingering nervousness.

“What a cute neighborhood. Great house, too.”

Tess had always thought so. If she weren’t so attached to Algiers, or if she ever had a family, Mandeville, with its 1950s subdivisions and spacious yards, would be near the top of her list. It struck her as odd that someone like Sam would find the old-fashioned ranch charming. “It feels about ten times bigger on the inside than it looks from the outside.”

“Sounds just like the house I grew up in.”

Tess filed that detail away. It had never occurred to her that Sam didn’t grow up with money. She needed to be better at asking questions.

They climbed out of the car and Tess led the way to the side door.

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