The Kid, the Boss, and the Incorrigible Nanny

BONUS CONTENT (EPILOGUE)

The bell on the front door jingled as Adrain gently pushed his way inside the store. The smell of pumpkin and cinnamon drifted into his nose, as welcoming as the first time he'd entered the space.

"Any luck?" he asked.

The owner of the store - her name, he had learned during his first visit, was Aggie - poked her head up over the checkout counter. It was practically covered in candles of various sizes. "They think they've found it."

He made his way toward the back of the store and stowed his phone in his pocket. He ought to have known that they wouldn't have made any progress in the twenty minutes he'd been outside talking with the caterer.

"Adrian!" Aiden practically bounced with joy when he spotted him. "We need two."

Uh oh. "Two of what?" He glanced over to where CJ and Sam sat on a pale blue antique settee. Sam beamed at him. CJ smirked.

"Two couches!" Aiden's voice was insistent.

Adrian shook his head. "We talked about this, A. One rug. One set- uh, couch - the coffee table, and some candles."

"Lots of candles," CJ corrected.

"Zillions!" Sam enthused.

Adrian shrugged. "Okay, yeah. Zillions of candles."

"But we can't just have one couch and no other seats, Mr. Lawson," Sam's voice reminded him somewhat of a teacher trying to be patient with an unruly student.

"Why not?" He asked. "There will be three of us: Me, Kid, and Aiden. There is enough room for three people on the settee. I don't see the problem."

"Ah, but you're forgetting kid logic," CJ reminded him.

"Exactly!" Sam bounced up out of her seat. "You need enough room for everyone to spread out. Don't you want to be able to lay back and look up at the stars?"

"Well, I suppose so," Adrian rubbed a hand over his chin. "I didn't really think we'd be outside that long."

Aiden joined his friend, a cylindrical purple pillow clutched in his arms. "We also need pillows."

That was a head-scratcher. "Pillows?"

Sam nodded, pulling the pillow out from Aiden's arms and clutching it to her chest. "And there's gotta be enough seating for us, too."

Ah. Now it made sense. "Oh, you're coming to this party, are you?"

Sam froze in place, suddenly aware that she'd revealed her true intentions. "Umm."

CJ laughed. "That's why you're so hung up on the seating arrangements?"

Sam frowned. "You told Kid I was coming over this afternoon. Why wouldn't I be there." She sat next to her mother. "Aren't you going to be there? Isn't Daddy?"

CJ's playful expression melted into one more tender. "Sam, honey. You and I aren't actually going to be staying around after we help Aiden and Adrian set things up."

"What?" The kids' voices rose in a chorus. Their tones, heartbroken. Their faces, crestfallen.

Sam grew very still. "I thought you said if it wasn't for you that Mr. Lawson wouldn't have ever realized he liked Miss Kid."

"Hey-" Adrian tried cutting in, but Sam continued.

"And that you pushing them together on the beach trip is what made them realize they were in love."

"Alright, I think I deserve a little bit more credit than that." Adrian sputtered.

As if they'd planned it, Sam and Aiden whirled to face him. Their lips had already formed perfect, synchronous pouts. "Please?"