Formal Arrangement Read online

  Table of Contents

  Formal Arrangement

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Formal Arrangement

  Happy Endings Book Club Series, Book 4

  © 2017 Kylie Gilmore

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  Lauren Bishop has her whole summer planned out—working as a nanny for a desperate single dad and finding the elusive Mr. Right. She even signed up for the local matchmaking guru’s Make Love Bloom (TM) service end-of-summer guarantee! But somehow her plans got derailed because now she finds herself longing for her emotionally unavailable employer.

  When his two-year-old’s molars turn his little sunshine into a demon from hell, single dad Alex Campbell finds himself longing for the simpler days of teddy bear picnics. This is a parenting nightmare! Then sweet Lauren drops into their life like an angel sent from above. Alex doesn’t do relationships, which is why he turns down every woman who comes his way, but he can’t afford to lose this nanny. Can he convince her to stay even though she’s looking for the one thing he can’t give her?

  Author’s Note

  The Happy Endings Book Club was inspired by my own wish for a romance book club. I hope you’ll feel right at home with Hailey, the leader/matchmaker of the club, and all the single women there hoping for a happy ending. Hot single dad alert! Alex Campbell is my first single dad hero and I hope you'll fall in love with him and his adorable two-year-old daughter Viv. Lauren sure did! Read on and join the club!

  Hidden Hollywood (Book 1)

  Inviting Trouble (Book 2)

  So Revealing (Book 3)

  Formal Arrangement (Book 4)

  Bad Boy Done Wrong (Book 5)

  Mess With Me (Book 6)

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  Chapter One

  Alex Campbell was cursed with a two-year-old demon from hell. He’d thought Viv’s first year had been difficult. No-o-o-o, that had been a cakewalk compared to this. Two-year molars were going to kill him. Three weeks with no end in sight. He’d taken her to the pediatrician, scoured the Internet, asked his very experienced dad, and THERE WAS NO CURE.

  Her fresh wails threatened to rupture his eardrums. He set her down in the kitchen, pulled an ice cube from the freezer, and wrapped it in a washcloth. Then he scooped her up and pressed it to her lips. “This’ll make your gums feel better. Put it where it hurts.”

  She sucked on the washcloth and dropped it, wailing again.

  He stared at it on the kitchen floor. Five-second rule. He snagged it and offered it again. “Here. Put it in the back where your molars are coming in.”

  Her gums were swollen, the tiniest bit of white showing in the upper gums. The lower molars had come in with no problem. He helped her get the ice in the right place on the side with the most swelling and she quieted. He relaxed a tiny bit, taking in her chubby cheeks now red from so much snot and tears, her light brown hair messy and probably tangled, another struggle he was not up to dealing with, her big brown eyes sleepy.

  He sank to a kitchen chair with Viv on his lap and glanced at the time on the microwave. Only six p.m. He was not looking forward to another long sleepless night, up every two hours, trying to comfort a crying, cranky spawn of Satan. Wait, that would make him Satan. He was a damn saint in this scenario.

  The doorbell rang. Yes! He’d asked his older brother Josh to stop by with takeout from the restaurant he managed, Garner’s Sports Bar & Grill. Alex didn’t have the energy to make dinner. He was running on fumes, so behind on work, hopeless and desperate for relief for both his little girl and him.

  “Dinner’s here,” he told Viv, rushing to the front door with her in his arms. She had to be held constantly or she tantrumed. He’d never known a true tantrum until the two-year molars turned his little sunshine into baby Chuckie.

  She dropped the washcloth on the way, her outraged cry so loud his ears rang for a moment. He opened the door where Josh stood, same height as Alex, six feet, similar build, but Josh’s dark brown hair was fashionably rumpled, no dark circles under his brown eyes, his jaw was clean-shaven, and his black T-shirt and faded jeans stain-free. Alex noticed these things now that he’d reached the hell zone where looking presentable was a luxury. Most important, Josh looked well rested and stable. A life jacket to a drowning man.

  “Come in!” Alex exclaimed loud enough to be heard over the wailing. “Thank you so much for coming.”

  Josh stepped inside, took in Viv, Alex, and the messy house and declared, “You party hard around here.”

  Alex barked out a laugh and quickly explained the two-year molar situation.

  “I brought your favorite, Viv,” Josh said, ruffling her hair and holding up the take-out bag.

  She turned red-rimmed eyes to her uncle, quieting for a blessed moment of peace. “Worms?”

  Josh chuckled. “Yeah, worms and dirt balls.” Spaghetti and meatballs. He gave her a high five and headed to their small square kitchen table.

  A delirious spark of hope ignited. Maybe spaghetti and meatballs would work. He’d requested them in desperation, she hadn’t eaten his version of the meal, but this was Garner’s much better food. And this was Uncle Josh, who Viv adored. Probably because Josh was mellow and laid-back, like Alex used to be before he knew the immense responsibility of caring for another human being totally dependent on him for everything. Viv’s mom, Tammy, had died during the C-section having her. Alex was it for Viv, a parent with zero experience with babies, thrown into the deep end.

  He put her in her high chair, added a bib, and served her a plate full of dinner along with a plastic fork. He hadn’t even finished filling his plate when the fork bounced on the table followed by a frustrated scream. Heart-wrenching sobs followed. His head throbbed and his chest ached for her. He understood. It wasn’t just the pain, it was that she couldn’t enjoy her favorite food. Her mouth was wide open, bits of noodle stuck to her lips and chin. He quickly cleaned her up with the bib, ready to cry right along with her. But he didn’t have time for a breakdown. Instead he stared at her, trying to think of what he could do to make it better.

  Josh spoke up. “Did you give her the baby medicine?”

  “She throws it up. I have this numbing gel, but the doctor said to use it sparingly. I save it for bedtime so she can try to get some sleep.”

  Alex dug around in the cabinets. Maybe he had some old jars of baby food. That stuff tasted terrible, but she wouldn’t have to chew. Nope. He needed a blender. He added it to his mental to-do list, hoping he’d remember later. He turned to the refrigerator, got out the milk, and poured some in her favorite pink and green cup with the straw. She took it, slurped, and coughed a bunch.

  He lifted her hands in the air. “Touchdown.” She kept her hands up while he patted her back. That settled, she started drinking again.r />
  He sank to his chair, too tired to even bother with dinner. He’d have to stop eating in a few minutes anyway when Viv finished her drink.

  Josh stared at him. “You’re a mess.”

  Alex scrubbed a hand over his scruffy face. “I know.” He hadn’t shaved, he had dark circles and bags under his eyes, his last shower was…he wasn’t sure. When was his dad last here?

  “How much sleep are you getting?”

  “She’s up every two hours. It’s worse than when she was a baby. Everything upsets her—all day and all night.”

  “What did Dad say?”

  “Mom dealt with it.”

  Josh’s lips formed a flat line. Their mom was a sore subject. “What did Dad do with Mad?” Their dad had been a solo parent with their younger sister, Mad, since she was one. That was when their mom left her six kids, suffering from severe postpartum depression. And then she never came back. Alex hated his mom for that, but lately he’d had an inkling of understanding of the total black despair that could make a parent want to escape. Not that he’d ever leave Viv. She was his everything and he was hers.

  “Mad never cried over teething,” Alex said.

  “Eat something,” Josh ordered.

  Alex shoveled some food in, figuring he should try to keep up his energy. A few minutes later, he heard his name.

  “Daddy,” Viv said, reaching for him.

  He took off her bib and lifted her out of the high chair, pacing with her in the small kitchen and rubbing her back like he did when she was an infant. Viv rested her head on his chest and then lifted it, putting her hand to her cheek and crying again. He bounced her a little.

  “Ice?” Josh asked.

  “She spits it out.”

  “Ice cream?” Josh asked.

  “Ice cream!” Viv hollered.

  “No, you had some already,” he told her.

  Viv screwed up her face, but before she could get out a good wail, Josh interrupted. “Popsicles! The kind that’s just fruit juice.”

  Viv reached for Josh and Alex gladly handed her over. Josh pushed his chair back from the table and Viv knelt on his lap, putting both hands on Josh’s cheeks and staring into his eyes. “I want popthithe.”

  Josh smiled. “Okay. Uncle Josh will get you popsicles.” He turned to Alex. “I’ll run to the store.”

  “We’ll go with you,” Alex said, not eager to be left alone with Viv so soon.

  Josh winced.

  “She’ll nap in the car,” Alex said. “It’s my only chance for peace.”

  Josh lifted Viv off his lap and set her on the floor. “All right, let’s go.”

  Viv rushed Alex’s legs and grabbed tight, making his knees buckle. He pried her off and lifted her into his arms. “Can you drive?” he asked Josh. “Keys are on the table by the front door. I haven’t slept through the night in three weeks. I don’t think I’m safe behind the wheel.”

  Josh’s eyes widened. “So you’ve been home the past three weeks?”

  Alex gestured to head out. “Yeah, Dad drove me a couple times to the store and the pediatrician, but otherwise, home.” He worked from home as a graphic designer with a variety of projects—book covers, picture book illustrations, logos, and website design.

  Josh shook his head and snagged the keys from the skinny cedar wood table that served as a holder for keys and miscellaneous crap. The bottom shelf held Viv’s shoes—rain boots, snow boots, and sneakers. Today she wore her white sandals since it was a warm June day.

  Josh opened the door. “That’s not healthy. You’re like a shut-in.”

  Alex followed him out the door. “My life is not my own.”

  They headed to Alex’s car, a silver Honda CR-V, chosen not because he liked it all that much, aesthetically speaking it was blah, but it was safe and reliable. That was his goal in life ever since Viv had been born. He buckled her into her booster seat and got into the passenger seat.

  It was a ten-minute trip to the supermarket. Viv whined and cried and then conked out five minutes into the drive.

  The sudden silence should’ve been welcome, but, as often happened in quiet moments, Alex fell into a dark place of self-recrimination. He’d actually thought of Viv as a demon. She wasn’t. She was his little sunshine. The light in his dark life. Guilt over Tammy’s death burned in his gut like it always did when he felt overwhelmed as a single parent.

  Alex had been careless; Tammy had gotten pregnant. His fault.

  She didn’t want the baby; he did. He’d promised to marry her, to take over the bulk of child care, and then she died having the baby she never wanted. His fault.

  Viv had a rough start in life and deserved everything Alex could give her. Somehow it was never enough. His little girl was miserable. He was miserable. His fault.

  All of it, his fault.

  All my fault, all my fault, all my fault. The thought looped through his brain in endless torment until the car stopped in the supermarket parking lot and Viv woke with a harsh wail. Alex’s head throbbed, his ears ringing.

  “I’ll take her in with me,” Josh said. “Stay here and rest.”

  He couldn’t. Viv needed him. “It’s okay. I’ll get her.” Alex quickly exited the car and tried to unbuckle her. Viv was kicking, so it was tough. She was mad to be awake after such a short nap. He had to hold her legs with one hand and reach across her to undo the car seat belt. He carried his wailing daughter, stiff in his arms, through the parking lot.

  Josh shut the car door for him and caught up with them. “Hey, Viv, you want to drive a car cart?”

  She quieted. Josh pointed to one of the huge carts with a plastic toy car attached to the front. It had a tiny steering wheel. There were only two of them available, ever, and Alex had never let her drive one because he knew she’d want to do it every time and there was no guarantee there’d be a car cart every time. Nothing worse than a tantruming toddler in the supermarket, except maybe one in the throes of two-year molar hell at home.

  Viv nodded through her tears. Josh took her and put her in one, buckling her in. She slapped the squeaky horn in the middle of the steering wheel.

  Josh started pushing her toward the entrance in a zigzag pattern. “Whoa! Make sure you steer or we’ll crash!”

  Viv squealed in delight. Maybe Josh should be the one to take care of Viv, Alex thought darkly. Why didn’t he think of a fun distraction like that? Because he couldn’t think clearly at all. He felt like he’d been run over by a truck coming and going.

  By the time they made it to the register with two boxes of popsicles, Viv was happily “driving” the cart with one hand and sucking on a strawberry popsicle. Alex went ahead of the cart to pay. He peeked down at Viv. Red strawberry juice and drool ran down her chin, ruining her light yellow shirt, but he didn’t care because it was working. The popsicle was long enough to numb her gums a bit and she seemed, for the moment, like the sweet sunshine he remembered from long, long ago. The sunshine he feared had deserted him forever.

  He paid and they headed back to the car, Viv still enjoying her popsicle. “Let her finish in the parking lot,” he told Josh. “Otherwise it’ll get all over her car seat.”

  Josh dipped his head and put the bag in the back of the car, where Alex kept an insulated cooler. Having Viv taught him right quick the value of being prepared. He also had a complete change of clothes for both of them and extra diapers in an emergency diaper bag in there. Learned that one the hard way miles from home, both of them covered in barf. Good times.

  He rested his elbows on the cart handle, hanging his head, too tired to hold himself up.

  “You can’t keep doing this,” Josh said. “You need full-time help.”

  Alex lifted his head. “We’re fine.”

  “Are you behind on work?”

  He didn’t answer. He had to turn in a new series of fantasy book covers in two weeks for the children’s publisher he freelanced for. He’d completed one of the three and it was garbage. He was an artist who couldn’t creat
e. The well had run dry. He should just focus on the website-design side of his business. It paid well, though it was soulless. Who cared about his soul when he was already in hell?

  Josh tsked. “When’s your deadline?”

  “Two weeks.”

  “I repeat, you need full-time help.”

  He peeked at Viv finishing up her popsicle, her eyes bright and happy again. His heart squeezed painfully in his chest. He never thought he could love another person as much as he loved Viv. Not even her mother had gotten this deep into his heart. All he wanted was Viv’s happiness.

  He turned to Josh. “She goes to full-day preschool in September. Nine to three. I can make it that long.” Though now he was thinking of canceling the whole preschool thing. Viv still needed him so much. He’d registered her for a Montessori preschool that gave the kids a lot of freedom to explore their own interests and a lot of outdoor time too. She’d be two and a half, was already so smart, and he’d thought she’d be ready for more learning. But who else was going to get her through her day after the hellish night?

  “That’s more than three months away,” Josh said. “Hire another nanny.”

  “It’s a waste of time. Viv hates them or I hate them. Besides, who would want to be around either of us right now?”

  “That’s why you need someone even more. You’re a wreck.”

  He let out a long breath, knowing Josh was right, but also knowing he didn’t have the energy for another nanny hunt. “I can’t make any decisions right now.”

  “I’ll find someone for you.”

  He leaned against the cart again, resting his head in his hand and closing his eyes. “Whatever.” He must’ve dozed off because the next thing he knew, Josh was hollering at him to get in the car as he put a crying Viv in her booster seat.

  Alex checked that Viv was buckled in correctly. Yup, Josh managed it. He took his seat and buckled himself in. Viv conked out the minute Josh pulled onto the main road. Alex conked out a minute later.

  He woke when Josh poked him. They were in his driveway and Viv was thankfully still sleeping. “Thanks for your help, you’re the best,” Alex said and meant it. Big brother to the rescue.