A Father For The Twins

“From my research, I understand you don’t have a family,” she ventured.

Adam glanced up from the computer where he’d been entering information. “No. Why?”

“It just means you may also lack experience dealing with kids, but I suppose you don’t necessarily need it to be an effective agent.”

He gave her another one of the smiles that must have won him plenty of modeling contracts in the past. “I don’t believe so. In any case, experience with your own children is completely different than dealing with them in the business world.”

“True.”

She wondered what Adam’s views were on marriage. The research she’d done on Moonlight Ventures and its partners suggested he’d been linked with a number of beautiful women, though no one serious since his fiancée’s death years earlier. Her hidden romantic side wanted to speculate that he was still nursing a broken heart, but logic said the truth was probably much more prosaic...not to mention it was none of her business. Did all women turn into hopeless daydreamers when they met Adam Wilding?

“No one is going to release information about us, are they?” she asked, forcing her mind into the moment. “Such as where we live and other details?”

“The agency has strict confidentiality rules. We have security procedures in place to be sure that only legitimate employers can look at photos of our underage clients. Even then, we just post name and age. No other personal data is placed on a computer connected to the internet, so you don’t need to be concerned about hackers. Nonetheless, I can’t guarantee that someone in the media won’t get curious about you as the twins’ guardian or want to know more about them beyond their official biography. Especially if they become well known.”

Cassie winced involuntarily.

Her carefully cultivated privacy might be at an end. Of course, she could torpedo the whole project, but that didn’t seem fair to her niece and nephew. Any money they earned would be a big help toward college expenses.

Glen had become a demon researching which universities to attend and had been talking about top schools in different parts of the country. Out-of-state tuition was high and there were no guarantees he’d get a scholarship. Though Tiffany’s ambitions were less established, having a nest egg would help, whether she stayed in modeling or decided to do something else.

Adam leaned forward in his chair. “How soon do you think Glen will decide if he’s interested?”

“Probably by tonight. If so, I’ll call the agency in the morning. He doesn’t procrastinate, but he’s mature for his age and wants to weigh the pros and cons.”

“And Tiffany?”

Cassie shrugged. “She already knows what she wants. Tiff is a love. She’s also smart and has a good sense of humor. While she was nervous before coming in today, she’s over that.”

“Then I’ll draw up a representation agreement for her and one for Glen, in case he says yes. They should be ready in a few days.”

“I’ll have my godfather check them over. I don’t mean to sound suspicious—”

“You sound careful,” Adam returned. “It’s nice that you aren’t tearing into this like a stereotypical stage, er, aunt.”

She questioned whether he was telling the truth. Something about his manner made her think he saw her negatively, though it might be her imagination, of which she had plenty. A vivid imagination was how she stayed sane in the midst of complex computer programming issues.

She shook Adam’s hand and went back to where the kids were waiting.

Her palm tingled from contact with the dynamic former model and she reminded herself that men like Adam didn’t go for geeks like her, which is what she preferred. After all, she’d already tried to be the proverbial square peg in a round hole and she was much happier with her life the way it was now.

CHAPTER TWO (#u75b96caf-2f2d-596e-ab67-b8887b1ae83d)

TIFFANY CHATTERED EXCITEDLY all the way back to the small Victorian house that Cassie had bought years ago. It was tight living there with two teenage kids, but they got by. Glen and Tiffany used the bedrooms, converted family room and bath upstairs, while she’d moved down to the ground floor.

Someday she hoped to live in the mountains, but for now she was afraid she’d be ineffective as a website designer if she became too much of a hermit. Her clients wanted someone in touch with modern culture. Yet it was also a question of economics—the kind of mountain home she wanted cost money, her business was relatively new and now she was raising Glen and Tiffany. Her niece and nephew were more important than saving for another house.

Glen was quiet, no doubt processing the Moonlight Ventures offer to represent him, but Tiffany jumped and let out a little squeal of excitement.

“Hey, Aunt Cassie,” she declared, “when I make lots of money, we can buy a bigger place.”

“Nope,” Cassie replied serenely. “Anything you make will go directly into a trust fund. No matter how successful you are, there won’t be any sports cars at sixteen and no buying of houses.”

“It isn’t about me, I want you to have a bigger place and an awesome car like the one you had to get rid of when we moved in here.”

Cassie had traded her sporty convertible for a larger sedan before the kids arrived, wanting something safer and more solid. The kids had noticed the change, but she hadn’t realized they blamed themselves for the switch to a different model.

“That’s really sweet of you, but I prefer the car I have now. It’s newer and gets much better gas mileage than the other one.”

“Then what do you want?”

Cassie cupped her niece’s chin in the palm of her hand. “I don’t need anything, except to protect your income so that it’s ready to help your dreams come true.”

“She wants to make sure Mom can’t get her fingers on any dough we make,” Glen observed.

Cassie’s stomach dropped. She didn’t want the kids to feel their mother was a terrible person, though accepting Marie for what she was might be helpful to them.

Tiffany’s mouth turned down. “Is that the problem? Because Mom might take our money for booze?”

“I simply want anything you earn to be there for your future,” Cassie explained carefully. “This way, nothing can happen that we don’t expect.”

“Uh, okay.” Like Glen, Tiffany internalized and usually didn’t say much until she’d thought it through, such as her comment about the car.

* * *

LATER THAT EVENING, Glen came in as Cassie finished cleaning the kitchen.

“I’m gonna do that modeling thing,” he told her.

“You thought the guys at school might give you a hard time. How will you feel about that?”

He made a face. “Not so hot. But money for medical school sounds terrific, and it might be the best way to earn it. Besides, I hate mowing lawns and yanking weeds and that’s the only other kind of job I’m gonna get for a while.”

Something Adam had said came back to Cassie...that at the twins’ age, they didn’t have many work opportunities. It was true. Unless they had a video go viral on social media or came up with a brilliant entrepreneurial scheme, their income-earning potential was limited. In Glen’s case, it was largely offering his services as a general garden helper. Even when he turned sixteen, it would mostly be minimum wage.

“We can’t know how much you’d earn at modeling,” she warned, wanting him to be realistic. “It’s probable that only a few people make the huge bucks.”

“Maybe, but I’ve been thinking about what Tiff said earlier. If we make some money, it shouldn’t all go into a trust fund. We should help around here.”

His eyes were serious and Cassie hated knowing he’d needed to grow up faster than other kids.

“That isn’t your job. You’re thirteen and—”

“Almost fourteen.”

“In a few months. But it doesn’t make any difference. You’re a kid and it isn’t your responsibility to provide for yourself.”

“That isn’t fair to you.”