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Chapter Sixteen
Alice
The ride home is quieter between Simon and me than the ride to pick up his daughter. But Ivy chases away any awkward silences by chattering about whatever pops into her head. Her enthusiasm for every topic she brings up makes me smile, and I find myself turned in my seat to keep up a steady stream of conversation. By the time we arrive home, I know all the important things about her.
Favorite color: purple glitter.
Favorite animal: zebra.
Favorite food: mint chocolate chip ice cream.
Favorite memory: when she got a scooter for Christmas last year.
If she could go anywhere in the world: Florida since it’s all the way across the United States from California.
Simon and I share a smile over that one. I’ll have fun showing her just how big the world actually is.
“Hey, go put your bag in your room and come back downstairs. I—we need to talk to you,” Simon says to Ivy as soon as we get inside the house.
He gives me a quick look, and I purse my lips, unsure of where he is going with this. I follow him into the den, where he flops onto the couch with a sigh.
“Care to fill me in first?” I ask him.
He licks his bottom lip, staring at the blank TV above the ornate fireplace. “I figure we need to go ahead and tell her what’s going on with the show … and with us. So she doesn’t get any of her own ideas.”
“Ah.” I drop beside him on the couch, nodding. I suddenly feel hot, and I start to take off my cardigan that I donned for the trip home.
“What are you doing?” Simon asks.
I smirk at him. “Obviously, a striptease,” I say and gesture to my one bared shoulder, where the cardigan has slipped off.
Ivy comes bouncing into the room before he can reply, and he jerks his attention away from me. I finish taking my cardigan off and drape it over the back of the couch.
The room is silent for a moment as Ivy regards both of us from her seat in the plush chair across the coffee table. Her dark hair—the same color as her dad’s—curls around her shoulders, and she looks simultaneously big and small, sitting in the chair.
“I want to talk to you about everything going on and what Miss Alice is doing here,” Simon says.
She merely nods, listening. It’s the quietest she’s been since we picked her up.
Simon clears his throat and looks at me. It’s clear he doesn’t know how to begin and … is that nervousness I detect?
Out of impulse, I grab his hand, squeeze, and then let go. His eyes flick to his hand, and I look at Ivy.
“Ivy, you know about the dating show your dad is a part of, right?”
“Yeah,” she says, another emphatic nod.
“Good. Well, I’m also on that show. With your dad,” I say and give her a smile.
“But you’re my nanny.” She wrinkles her nose.
I nod. “Yes, exactly. I’m both. I’m participating in the show, but in the meantime, I get to hang out with you.”
“Okay,” Ivy says, bouncing in her chair. For a moment, Simon and I exchange looks of relief until Ivy speaks again, “So, will you also be my new mommy?”
“No,” Simon barks, and I try not to flinch at his tone.
I don’t look at him, afraid to let him see the hurt in my eyes.
