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“You won’t know if you don’t try. He said he’s had issues with finding nannies who could work those hours. He wants someone to be there for his daughter. Who can be consistent. He doesn’t want his daughter to have to go through a string of different nannies.”
I frowned. “Yeah, that’s not good for her.”
Elle called for Amelia to come to the table and then asked me, “Should I reach out to him?”
I moved the pancake around on my plate. “Did you say anything about me to him?”
“Just that you might be looking for something. That you were reliable.”
“Yeah, but you’re my sister. It’s not the same.” Of course, I was there for Amelia. She was my niece, and I loved her.
“You’ve done an amazing job with Amelia. You’ll be great for his daughter too,” Elle said firmly.
Amelia ran from the living room and scrambled onto the high stool with Elle’s help.
Watching Amelia hadn’t felt like a job. Maybe this position with Sam’s little girl would be the same. “You’re right. It can’t hurt.”
“We’re going to miss you around here,” Gray said gruffly.
“You’re leaving?” Amelia’s eyes were round as she looked at me.
I grinned and poked her in the arm. “You’re leaving me, silly girl. You’re going to school, remember?”
She shifted so her knees were folded under her. “I can’t wait. I’m going to meet my best friend there.”
“How do you know?” I asked her.
“I just do.” She took a large bite of her pancake, the syrup dribbling down her chin. I dabbed at the spot with my napkin. Amelia was so confident. It was admirable, but then, she was only four. She hadn’t experienced the bad parts of life.
Talk turned to school and Amelia’s new outer space backpack. I wished life were as simple as choosing the perfect book bag, but it was so much more complicated. I’d avoided thinking about the future for the past few years. But it was time to take control of my life, whatever that meant.
* * *
A week later,I drove to the address Sam gave me for his house. We’d talked on the phone after Elle connected us, and he’d invited me to meet him and his daughter, Maggie.
Nerves had me fidgeting in my seat. Never having interviewed for a job before, I didn’t know what to expect.
Parking in the driveway of his nondescript suburban home, I smoothed a hand over my skirt, took a deep breath, and made my way to the front door.
I knocked, my heart thumping in my ears.
Heavy footsteps sounded on wood floors. Then the door opened. My gaze was immediately drawn to the little girl in the man’s arms. She tucked her head into her daddy’s neck as if she were shy, her blonde curls covering her face.
“Hey there,” I said with a smile.
She lifted her head tentatively.
“I’m Alice. It’s so nice to meet you.”
“She’s a little shy when she first meets someone.” Sam’s voice was deep, his bicep bulging from holding his daughter on his hip.
Too late, I realized I’d addressed the child before the man. “I’m sorry. I’m Alice Carmichael.”
“Elle’s sister,” he said, and it wasn’t a question.
“That’s right. We talked on the phone.”
He stepped back. “Come inside.”
