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“It’s his family’s winery, so yes,technicallyI’ll be spending a month and a half in the Loire Valley, but it’s not like this is some grand vacation for me. This is for his family. I haven’t met most of them, and if I don’t go, it’s like thumbing my nose. His grandmother is turning ninety, and she still runs the business. We should all be so lucky. Not to mention, his sister is getting married, too. I have to go.”
“And on the day the phrase, ‘veiled excuse,’ was redefined…”
She lets out a frustrated laugh. “Cor, I’m not going through this again. Yes, I’ll be having a good time, and yes, I have to leave the kids behind to do it so they don’t fall behind in class. That doesn’t make me a negligent mother.”
“I never meant to imply that. To be honest, I’m probably just jealous—
“Oh, I know you are, but I need you to stop making this sound like I am not doing my job.”
I rake my fingers through my hair and sigh. “I’m sorry, Abs. You know I think you’re a great mom, right?”
“Most of the time, yes. I know this trip is a point of contention for you, but I’m going. Which means we need a nanny, and—
“Where does my inherent inflexibility come into all of this?”
She sighs. “Because I scheduled an interview for a new nanny.”
“And?”
“The interview is going to be at the Somerset Harbor Yacht Club.”
I close my eyes and huff. “Seriously?”
“I am tired of meeting them at coffee shops and I’d like to make a good impression on a nanny for once. It’s the nicest place in town.”
“You’re worried about making a good impression on the nanny, but we’re the ones hiring her. Shouldn’tshebe the one who is concerned about impressions?”
“Where have you been lately? Under a rock? Young people want a good job. They want to know they’re coming to work for someone who respects them and will take care of them. We need to step up our game, Cormac.”
I smell a fib. “Is this because Daphne got that British nanny that worked with Mick Jagger’s family?”
She laughed. “Not entirely. But not entirelynotthat. I’m not looking for a celebrity nanny, but attracting a suitable candidate is tough. Especially for two kids as rambunctious as ours. We need someone who doesn’t sweat under pressure.”
“Someone who will impress your country club friends…”
“Is it so wrong to want impressive people around our children? They deserve to have all the good influences we can give them. You said yourself on more than one occasion your nanny was an invaluable part of your childhood. I want that for Franny and Aiden.”
Meeting at my family’s sworn enemy’s yacht club is not the worst thing to happen in history. Get over yourself, Cormac.“Still. The Cargills’ place? There are plenty of excellent restaurants in town.”
“I want the best, and your family’s beef with the Cargills is notmybeef with the Cargills anymore. I promise, when you finally get the resort open, we can interview all future nannies there.”
I grumble, “It’d be great if one actually stuck around, and we didn’t need to interview anyone else.”
“And that is more likely to happen if we wine and dine her, don’t you think?”
She’s not wrong, which is very annoying.“Fine. I will cross enemy lines to meet this nanny, but she better be amazing, Abs. I’m talking about a nanny with a CV a mile long and an accent and first aid training and—
“She comes highly recommended by one of the teachers at Billingsley. I’m not sure if we can ask for much more than that on such short notice. Why did the last one quit, anyway?”
“Something about how she would rather go back to the abbey and live a cloistered life than deal with our demons.”
“During the interview, be surenotto mention our children scared off a former nun.”
I laugh. “I prefer to think they reinforced her belief system and helped her find her true calling.”
She laughs, too. “I don’t—
My call waiting beeps. Ignacio Flores. It’s then that I see I’ve missed some texts as well. “Uh, sorry, it’s one of the partners—
