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I laughed again. “Don’t say that.”
“I’m serious, though. You really do need someone good in your life, and it sounds like you’re happy with the sky. Why can’t it be more?”
“Because it’s Aaron Steele. Come on, Liv, we both know that Aaron doesn’t do serious and commitment and long term…this is what he does, and I knew that about him, so I’m accepting it. Besides, I’m his nanny,” I said.
“Yeah, okay…for once, I’m going to say you actually have a good point.”
I giggled. “You’re not going to scold me for being too hard on myself?”
“This is completely different,” Olivia said with a laugh. “You’ve learned and grown, and I’m proud of you.”
I snorted. “Thanks, Mom.”
“Have you told him the truth?” Olivia asked. “You know, about you not really being a nanny––”
“You don’t have to remind me!” I rubbed my fingers along my hairline. My head started to throb dully. “And no, I haven’t told him. I’ve tried a couple of times, but the conversation goes in a different direction every time, and I don’t know how to bring it up again. Besides, it’s not such a big deal, right?”
“Right…” Olivia said, but her voice trailed off, making me think she didn’t agree.
“Tell me,” I said.
“Well, I just think that even though it’s not a big deal––you’re great with Ben, and he obviously likes you––it might be a problem that you weren’t honest with him. Honesty doesn’t have to be only about big things. It can be small things, too.”
She was right. Olivia usually was––she was the best person to talk about these things with.
“Okay, I’ll tell him,” I said.
“It won’t be a big deal if he hears it from you,” Olivia pointed out. “You just shouldn’t hide it from him. It really isn’t a big deal, though, so I don’t think he’ll have a problem with it. After all, if you guys can keep going like this, you’ll be a lot more than a nanny to that boy.”
I blushed hard again. “You’re saying it like it’s final.”
“Well, it might be. Where do you want this to go? You don’t want it to stay a fling, do you?”
I thought about it for a moment, and then I shook my head. “No, I don’t want it to be a fling. Aaron isn’t the type of guy I want to have a fling with; he is long-term material.”
“Exactly, that means you’ll be a stepmom, eventually.”
I squeezed my eyes shut. Thinking about a relationship with Aaron was one thing. Thinking about being a mother to Ben was another.
After deciding that I would talk to Aaron about it, Olivia was satisfied, and the conversation turned to what her week had been like. She had been busy at the restaurant and didn’t have much more to offer. Now that I was with Aaron and he hadn’t come in this week, we didn’t even have that to gossip about.
“Hurry up and come home; I miss going out for drinks with you!” Olivia said when we started to end the conversation. “I can’t wait to hear more about this new love you found.”
I giggled. “It’s early days. It might still amount to nothing.”
“I won’t have any of that negativity from you!” Olivia cried out before she burst out laughing. I laughed, too. Olivia was such a breath of fresh air, always putting things into perspective for me.
Finally, we ended the call after making plans to see each other soon. I opened my bedroom door and walked toward the office. I couldn’t hear any voices, so the conference call must have finished. When I popped my head around the corner, looking in through the door, Aaron stood with his hands clasped behind his back, looking out through the full-length windows.
“How did your meeting go?” I asked.
Aaron turned and looked at me over his shoulder. “It went well. Better than I expected. I don’t usually get along with my brother, but he was in a good mood today.”
Aaron had mentioned that he and his brother didn’t get along but never wanted to go into detail.
He still looked serious, though. “Is everything okay?” I asked.
Aaron nodded and turned to me completely. “Better than okay. I wanted to talk to you about something.”
