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The kids started a victory whoop, but I shushed them, still not convinced it was a good idea. “What are you going to do with all this free time?” I asked.
Harrison sighed. “We’ll just be spontaneous.” He gave Bailey one of his know-it-all looks. “I’m pretty sure Dad doesn’t know what that word means.”
I was outraged at first, then burst out laughing. “Don’t know the meaning?” I asked, immediately taking out my phone to message my assistant, telling him to cancel everything that day. “I’ll show you that I invented that word. I’ll show you spontaneous.”
“What are we going to do?” Ava asked, practically standing in her chair.
“Coney Island,” I said on a whim. “Rides, the beach—” I was cut off by their raucous cheers.
Thankfully, they’d already mostly finished their meal because the way they started bouncing around the room like pinballs I knew I’d never get them back in their seats. Ava grabbed my arm and hugged it, then went back to being a monkey with her brother.
“Hurry up and get dressed,” I said over the noise. “Fun is waiting.”
Bailey stood up and herded them out of the kitchen toward their rooms, shooting me a smile. I smiled back, feeling proud of myself to the point of being a bit smug about it.
“I’ve never been,” she said. “I guess it’s pretty awesome based on their response.”
“Oh, just you wait.” I got even more excited to learn it would be her first time there. I was determined to show her I knew what fun and spontaneity meant.
Chapter 14 - Bailey
The morning passed in a whirlwind of fun, as we played the carnival games, getting more competitive with each one. I won a stuffed bear and a marshmallow shooter, and Will won a sparkling tiara that Ava promptly put on her head, and a Betta fish in a tiny bowl that Harrison instantly named Fighty. I almost made him ask for another prize since I thought those little bowls should be illegal but realized I could probably give the fish a better life if we took him, and Harrison would have probably gone on a rampage with his marshmallow gun if we’d turned it down.
He carried it himself for most of the morning, careful not to slosh the water, and Will remarked on how responsible he was being.
“That’s Freddy’s good influence,” I said. “Harrison never once complains when it’s time to take him for a walk, and he never opts to stay in the apartment with the cook, either. I think having pets is really good for kids.”
“Well, hopefully they don’t mourn too long when we’re flushing Fighty down the toilet next week,” he said ruthlessly.
I shook my head. “That’s not going to happen. You’ll see.”
He laughed and put his hand on my shoulder to guide me through an extra crowded part of the arcade. The kids were in our sights a little way ahead of us, and I hurried to break through the crowd to catch up with them. The feel of his hand lingered, warm and heavy, but I refused to let things get awkward again.
At lunchtime, we met up with his younger brother Eli, who worked for their family publishing firm as well. When I found out he was the editor of my favorite New York lifestyle magazine, he put his arm around his fiancée, Violet, saying the latest issue was all her ideas.
“Not all,” she said, leaning across the table to wipe a toasted sandwich crumb off his lips. “You had the idea to use people off the street as models.”
“I loved that,” I said, trying not to feel lonely or worse, jealous, of their very obvious love for each other. “It made me think one day I could be a model, seeing all those normal people in those beautiful clothes.”
Will snorted. “You actually could be a model,” he said, taking Harrison’s fish away so he’d stop putting hamburger bun pieces in the water. He looked up when Eli and Violet went silent, then scowled when they burst into teasing laughter.
As for me, I all but glowed at the inadvertent compliment and gave him a smile of thanks.
“He’s actually right, though,” Violet said. “We’re doing the real people in unreal clothes thing again in a few months. I’ll call you then and see if you’re still interested.”
“If she’s still with them,” Eli said under his breath to her.
I wasn’t supposed to hear, so I ignored the comment. I’d learned from other nannies at the kids’ activities that my predecessors hadn’t had very long tenures. If I had my way, I’d be working for them until they graduated high school. I was sure those other nannies were just wimps.
After we said goodbye to his brother and soon-to-be sister-in-law, we headed for the beach, where we laid out a big blanket from the pack Will had been lugging around heroically all day. The kids ran around in the sand for a while, and we stared at the ocean, lulled into a daze by the rhythmic waves lapping the shore. When they crawled onto the blanket with us and dozed off, I sighed contentedly, trying my hardest to be in the moment and not wish for more. I was happy being a valued employee in this situation. I didn’t need to be part of the family for this day to be perfect. Or so I kept reminding myself.
“What made you come to New York?” Will asked. “Any secret dreams you wanted to fulfill?”
For a brief moment, I thought about confessing I’d been tricked into thinking a narcissistic, abusive jerk was an actual human who could feel love and followed him here after only knowing him for a month. But I still felt stupid for falling for Rick’s false charm and didn’t want Will to view me as a victim, so I kept it to myself.
“No secret dreams,” I said. “Just wanted to live in the best city in the world.”
“What made you take so long to apply at the agency?” he asked.
