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en we were in school, but then what happens to them? Do some of them change? What about the ones who don’t?”
Mel pursed her lips. “It’s unique and fun,” she said, thinking out loud. “I like it. Go for it.”
She marked Caroline off, then went to the next person. “Trish, I assume you’re writing about the president being court-ordered to turn over his tax returns?”
The rest of the meeting went without a hitch, so much so, Mel had no idea what she had been worried about, and by the time lunchtime rolled around, she was practically bursting at the seams with the need to chat with the girls.
The three of them plowed into the freebie closet. Marti turned and closed the door behind them, while Mel pursued the spring fashion rack with renewed interest. Once the fashion staff was done with the clothes for the photo shoots, all editorial employees were allowed to borrow items. Mel had never considered it before, herself, mostly because Blue had been extremely territorial over it, but now that she had a new position, she could use a little wardrobe refreshing.
“Wouldn’t this be great for Paris?” Marti asked, plucking out a little black off the shoulder dress with an A-line hem.
Ignoring her, Caroline squealed and bounced on her toes, drawing Mel’s attention away from a royal blue wrap dress that would look amazing under a fitted blazer. “You were amazing!”
Mel grinned and took a seat on the plush bench in the center of the room. “I was, wasn’t I? I mean, I was petrified at first, and then I saw both of you, and I realized how stupid that was. I’m actually going to be able to pull this off,” she said in awe, more to herself than anyone else.
“Of course you are,” Marti said. “I only wish we could go out for celebratory drinks Friday night. Do you think this new manny might be willing to work a little overtime?”
The thought of drinks with her girlfriends sounded amazing. How long had it been since she’d had a night out?
“That would be incredible. But I don’t know . . .” An image of Blake from Friday night flashed in her head—his tired eyes and the look of pure exhaustion. “I think it’s a bit soon,” she added. It would take a lot of nerve to ask him to watch the kids for an evening after spending all week with them. “Besides, he has his own personal life that doesn’t involve three four-year-olds.”
“Maybe he could use the money?” Caroline asked, hopefully.
“Definitely not. He’s not doing it for the money, remember? And he owns his own business.”
“Wait. He does?” Marti asked, her brow wrinkling with the question.
Caroline nodded, eyes bright, already having gotten the scoop from good ‘ol Lorenzo. “He owns B’s Bikes, that fancy custom bike place in Queens.”
“Seriously?” Marti’s eyes widened.
“Seriously,” Mel said. “He’s only helping me temporarily until I can get the kids back at their school and daycare,” Mel said.
“But why? That makes no sense,” Marti spluttered.
“Well, he didn’t tell me the whole story, but he wants to propose to the woman he’s with, and I get the feeling her family doesn’t like him. He said it’s to prove to them that he’s husband and father material. But I don’t know . . . I mean, that’s weird, right? The whole thing seems . . .” She searched for the right word. “Juvenile, maybe? Like, who tells their daughter’s boyfriend he has to get a nanny gig to prove himself? I feel like there’s something else at play, but it’s none of my business, so I didn’t press.”
“Is he hot?” Caroline asked. She groaned as if just the notion of him being hot was excruciating. “I bet he’s hot.”
Mel stifled a laugh. “Not that it matters, but he’s not bad on the eyes.”
“Not bad on the eyes.” Marti snorted. “He’s a total babe.”
Mel scoffed and straightened, plucking a piece of lint off her shirt, avoiding their eyes. “I didn’t say that.”
Caroline and Marti laughed. “You didn’t have to,” Caroline said, “it’s written all over your face. You must be crazy attracted to him. Otherwise, you would’ve just told us he was hot instead of hedging.”
“I wasn’t hedging.” Okay, maybe she was hedging. But who cared if he was hot? It was irrelevant. He was her nanny for goodness sakes. Not to mention, practically engaged.
“Dang. Too bad he’s taken,” Marti said, eyes fixed on the ground, clearly deep in thought. “Hey, maybe his girlfriend’s parents will come clean about hating him, she’ll dump him, and you can have a go.”
Mel made a choking sound. “I don’t want ‘a go.’”
“Come on. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a guy around for the kids? Especially Brady and Peter?” Caroline asked.
Mel swallowed, fighting off a flicker of irritation. Her friends were just goading her, and they meant well. But the fact her children—her boys especially—didn’t have a father figure in their lives killed her. "We’re doing just fine on our own,” she said in a flat voice.
Marti’s smile faded, and Caroline cleared her throat. Both of them stared at something else in the room, clearly realizing they’d hit a nerve.
