AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I’d made mistakes in my past, but I’d learned from them. I hoped I wouldn’t revert to my old ways. I didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize my future here because there was nothing left for me in California.
CHAPTER2
SAM
Why did Alice have to be so attractive? I should have known, because Elle was, too. But for some reason, I expected someone different. Elle told me that Alice had been living in her home for the past three years, helping them out with Amelia and rarely going out on her own. Elle said it would be good for Alice to get out.
I assumed that meant she wouldn’t be good in social situations, but she was refined. I would have thought she came from money, but she wasn’t wearing anything that screamed designer or wealth. Even her car was an older model.
I was intrigued when she spoke to Maggie first and then immediately got down on her knees to play with her. She was good with kids. It didn’t matter if she went to college or had any formal training. I wanted someone who was good with my daughter and who’d show up for work.
I didn’t know if it would work out. I hadn’t known that with any of the other nannies, either, but I had a good feeling when I watched her interact with Maggie. It was almost like something aligned in my chest. A missing piece clicked into place.
This was the woman I’d been looking for all along. She was young and energetic. She didn’t mind getting down on the ground to play with Maggie. Alice would also introduce her to her niece, so she’d have a friend. It was more than I was hoping for at this point.
I couldn’t afford to lose her. I’d do anything in my power to keep her. Especially since Maggie seemed taken with her. If Maggie was happy, it was easier to leave and go to work. The guilt wasn’t so heavy.
The only problem was this ridiculous attraction I had to her. She was exactly my type. Girl next door with brown hair, expressive eyes, and long, tan legs. In her favor, she didn’t seem interested in me. She was solely focused on Maggie. As she should be.
I should have been happy about that. But the part of me that hadn’t been interested in a woman in a long time took notice of her. As long as I could control this attraction to her, I’d be fine. I didn’t want to do anything that would mess this up for Maggie.
Maybe Alice already had a boyfriend and that’s why she didn’t go out much. She was already settled and happy, just biding her time until she got engaged and had kids of her own. Her back story didn’t matter. The only thing that did was that she was a reliable employee and wouldn’t walk around the house in sleep shorts.
I’d never offered the guest room to any of the previous nannies, but I was hoping it would help with the early hours. After meeting Alice, I should have nixed that idea. But I hadn’t, and now it was too late.
Maggie tugged on my fingers. “Daddy, Daddy. When can Miss Alice come back?”
“She’ll move in tomorrow.”
Maggie’s eyes grew wide. “Will she sleep in my room?”
I smiled at her assumption. “The guest room.”
Her face fell. “Oh.”
“She needs her own space.”
She nodded. “Right.”
“And this way, Alice will be here when you wake up.”
“She’ll make me breakfast?” she asked hopefully.
“That’s the idea.”
She clasped her hands together and did a little twirl around the room. “I’m so excited.”
The tension in my shoulders eased. Maybe things would start going my way. Ever since Maggie’s mom, Felicia, moved out of state to finish her residency at a hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, I’d been her sole support. It was tough not having anyone to share the burden with. But I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world.
Maggie looked at me as if I was her everything, and I loved that. I didn’t want to be a weekend dad. I wanted to be with her full time, even when I had trouble finding someone reliable to watch her when I was working.
I tried to find her a day care, but they didn’t start as early as I needed to be at work. This way, Maggie could be in her own home, playing and relaxing. Hopefully, Alice was the solution to all our problems.
“You ready to go to Grandma’s for dinner?”
“Yes, yes, yes,” she said as she ran over to the front door and sat on the floor to pull on her shoes.
I was lucky to work with my brothers and father and live so close to them. It meant Maggie had a large extended family and didn’t ask about her mother much. She was so young that she barely remembered a time when Felicia lived closer. I was almost grateful for that, even as my heart ached for what she was missing out on.
