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A cute little white Jetta pulled up in front of the house, and my jaw dropped. How in the world did a twenty-year-old afford wheels like that? Maybe her parents bought it for her. Was I going to judge her for that? No, after all, Lexi was a result of my parents helping fund my dreams coming true. The young lady sat in her car long enough for me to wonder if I should go to the front door and open it to spur her on. Lexi would be awake sooner than later, and after the disaster earlier, I really didn’t want her to deal with meeting another person yet. Especially if this wasn’t going to work out. Which would mean I’d have to keep my appointment with my last prospect later this afternoon, and Lexi would definitely be wide awake for that.
Finally, Ava exited her vehicle, stopping and pulling her sunglasses down her nose to slowly peruse the neighborhood and then the front of my house. Well, alrighty, I hoped my two-story home met her approval. Wanting to get this show on the road, I strode to the front door and flung it open. The petite young lady grinned and waved as she quickened her step toward me. Maybe there was hope yet. “Hi, Mr. Wadsworth. I’m Ava. I’m so sorry I’m late.”
Friendly, check. Polite, check. Bubbly, check. Yep, Lexi would like her. I stretched out my hand. “No problem, Ava. Come on in.”
We shook hands in the entryway, then I directed her to the family room like I’d planned. I gestured for her to have a seat on the couch, and I took the chair across from her. “So, Ava, tell me about yourself.”
“Well, I’m a college student, as you know from my resume.”
“Yes. What are you studying for?”
Her eyes sparkled. “Marketing. I want to work in a city for one of the big clothing companies.”
“That’s cool.” I’d printed out the resumes the agency had emailed me, so I held hers in front of me. “It doesn’t mention anything here, so I was wondering how you discovered you like working with kids.” A carefully couched question for, why should I trust you with my baby?
Her bright eyes dimmed, and her lips slanted to the side. “I actually don’t know. I mean, I needed a job, and my friend landed this great nanny gig through the agency. She makes a ton of money doing it, too. She told me about it, and when I looked into it, they said as long as I pass all of their classes and get my first aid certification, I’d be good to go.” She held up her hands at her sides. “So here I am.” She paused as if she was choosing her next words carefully, then continued on. “Honestly, I was kind of hoping for a gig like my friend Shelly’s. She picks up two brothers from elementary school, feeds them a snack, helps them with their homework, and then just kind of chills until their parents get home.”
“Oh,” I said, disappointed and annoyed that my time had been wasted—again. Why did she even come if this wasn’t what she was looking for?
Her bright smile returned again. “Don’t worry, though. I don’t mind helping you out with your kid. When the agency told me you were flexible with the hours, I figured, why not? I go to class in the morning, let you work in the afternoons, and then I have my whole evening free. Sometimes Shelly has to stay late so the parents can go to dinner or whatever.” She wrinkled her nose. “I mean, I guess, but I’d rather have my nights open to do my own thing, you know?”
Forcing some semblance of a smile and hoping it didn’t come out like a grimace, I nodded. “Yeah. I so get it.” And I did. Ava would definitely not be interested in watching Lexi at night. Not that it should matter to me. I wouldn’t be leaving Lexi with someone just to go out and hook-up. And I hadn’t gotten CJ’s number, so what were the chances of me running into him again? It was highly doubtful that going out would help me suddenly run into the man of my dreams.
“So where is she?” Ava looked around like Lexi was hiding under the couch or something. “It’s a girl, right?”
“Yes, Lexi. She should be up from her nap soon.” But did I want Ava to meet her? As sweet as she really seemed to be, Ava had no experience, and it sounded like she only wanted to take babysitting for a test drive. Did I want my child being exposed to someone who might not come back after a week?
On the other hand, hiring Ava would mean I might get at least a few days of work time during the afternoon, and it would get my people off my back. I knew they wanted the best for me, but damn, give a guy a break. Then, there was the added bonus that I wouldn’t have to interview Chris Armstrong. I really didn’t love the idea of someone living in my house, and his employment came strictly with room and board.
“Aww. Is that her?” Ava pointed behind me.
I turned in my seat to find my little peanut standing in the doorway. Her curly black hair was in complete disarray, and her thumb had found its way into her mouth, which only ever happened these days when she was waking up from sleepy time and still really tired or ready to go down. “Hello, Lex-Lex. You up from your nap?” I asked as I scooted out of my chair, sunk to my knees, and held my arms open to my daughter.
Her thumb popped out of her mouth, and ignoring the stranger in our living room, she squealed and ran to me. She was halfway across the room when I realized why she must’ve woken up. As I embraced her, I looked over her head to snicker at Ava. “Sorry. She’s still potty-training, so I put her in pull-ups for naps and bed. If my nose is correct, someone needs to be changed, and then I’ll introduce her.”
Ava’s face went green as she shook her head. “Oh, I didn’t know that I’d have to change her and stuff. I’m not really into that.”
“You knew she was a toddler, right? The agency said they included all the pertinent details in the information they sent you to see if you were open to an interview.”
She scrunched her nose again as she stood up and eased around the couch. “They did, but I thought that meant she’d be”—she flapped her hands around—“past all that.”
“Unfortunately, no.” By now, Lexi was wider awake and much more interested in Ava. She squirmed in my arms, trying to turn and see this new stranger I’d brought in. Lexi reached her arms out toward the young lady, who practically fell down tripping backward with her arms out like she was warding off evil.
“I think I better go. Thanks for your time, Mr. Wadsworth. She’s a cute kid. I hope you find someone, but…maybe this isn’t for me.” Then she fled, out the door, and into her little car.
Lexi looked up at me with wide eyes. “Poop, Daddy.”
Scrunching my nose, I nodded. “Indeed. Let’s get that smelly thing off of you, and you can pick new underwear for the rest of the day.”
“Cars. Cars. Cars.”
“Of course you want Cars. What was Daddy thinking?” Laughing, I carried her toward her bedroom.
CHAPTER FIVE
Kevin
“No, Mom, I don’t want you to come back.”
