The Nanny with the Skull Tattoos Read Online Free PDF Page A

like they might be sisters occupied another table, young children tucked between them. In the back corner, sitting at a table alone, a young woman with dark hair and golden brown skin watched him. A black pea coat was slung over the back of her chair. She wore jeans with boots and a short sleeved tee, exposing an arm of bright tattoos. She watched him with curious, luminous eyes. He looked away, turning back to the barista, who handed him his order.
    “Thanks,” he said, balancing the drinks and Chloe.
    “Here,” a soft voice said at his side. Brown hands reached out for his drinks, plucking them away.
    He turned to find the girl from the back table at his side. Her dark eyes sparkled. Cocking his head, he dragged his eyes up from her sleeve of tattoos. Close up, he could see that they were colorful skulls. He frowned.
    “I’m Savannah,” she said, turning away and leading him back toward the table. “I’m assuming you’re Max and Chloe.”
    He followed her, too dumbstruck to speak. All he could see were the tattoos that covered every inch of her arm. They wound around the back of her bicep and forearm, a solid stream of skulls in a variety of colors. His eyes widened.
    Savannah set the drinks down at the table and resumed her seat. Smiling at him, she waved to Chloe. “Hi, pretty girl,” she cooed. Dimples appeared in her cheeks.
    Chloe waved back.
    “Is it cold outside?” Savannah asked Chloe.
    His daughter shook her head. Every time it snowed, she practically begged to go outside.
    Max folded himself into the chair opposite Savannah, balancing Chloe on his lap. He dragged his eyes up from Savannah’s arm to her face.
    “So,” Savannah said, turning her attention to him. “She’s two?” The smile remained on her face. Aside from the tattoos, she was kind of pretty.
    “What?” Max asked, tearing his gaze away. He looked down at Chloe, who held up her bottle of chocolate milk.
    “How old is she?” Savannah asked.
    “Oh,” he said, opening the bottle and handing it back to Chloe. “Almost three.”
    “Perfect,” Savannah said. “I used to watch a two-year-old little girl.”
    Recovering, Max nodded. His thoughts stopped spinning and he remembered what he was supposed to be doing. “Have you ever lived with the families of the kids you watched?” There. That sounded like a good, boss-like question.
    “I spent a summer in Florida with the last family I worked for,” she said. She sipped at a large cup of what Max assumed was coffee. Its contents were hidden by the cardboard to-go cup. She wrapped her fingers around it, and Max’s eyes jumped to her tattoos again.
    “What happened with the last family?” he asked, taking a sip of his own coffee. “Why did you stop watching their kids?”
    “They started school,” Savannah said, waving a hand. She seemed not to notice him staring at her tattoos. Aside from the sleeve, she seemed to have no other piercings or tattoos. He wondered when she had gotten them, if she had them while watching the other families’ children, or if the sleeve was new. He couldn’t imagine her getting an entire sleeve in one sitting. He didn’t have any tattoos of his own, but Levi had one, a phoenix on his upper back, right at the nape of his neck. If he needed to cover it, he could wear a shirt. Max wondered how Savannah hid her tattoos. She seemed not to care. She lifted her eyebrows at him, a pleasant but bemused expression crossing her face.
    “What?” he asked, snapping his attention back to the conversation.
    “I asked you if she’s potty trained,” Savannah said. “I’ve done it before, but it’s always easier if they already are.”
    “No,” he said. “She isn’t.”
    “Okay. No biggie.” Savannah grinned at Chloe, and his daughter smiled back. She reached a tiny hand out for the cookie in the middle of the table. Savannah unwrapped it and handed it to her. Chloe broke it in two nearly even halves, and held one out to Savannah. “Oh, thank