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She chuckles and drinks half her glass. “Not the kids. And for the record, they’re great. I’m not just saying that because it’s my job. I mean it, Cormac. They are a lot of fun.”
“Not too energetic for you?”
“Oh, they’ll give me a workout for sure, but I like that about them. Honestly, I’d been kind of judgy about Billingsley and the kinds of people who send their kids there. I wasn’t sure if they got to have a childhood. It’s good to know I was wrong about that.”
“Some kids don’t, I can assure you. I heard one parent makes their kids swim laps for an hour for every half hour of TV they watch. I’m not a fan of screen time, but that’s crazy. I make sure Aiden and Franny have a good childhood. They deserve to have the best childhood I can give them.”
She nods, smiling. “They really do.” But then her smile fades, and her eyes brim with thoughts. “We should probably talk about the situation. I totally understand if you don’t want me to work for you.”
“No, the kids like you already. Why wouldn’t I not want you to stay?”
“Because…of our night together…”
“Ah. That.” What do I say? Maybe just let her declare what she wants and go from there, because legally, this could get sticky fast. This is a delicate situation.
She worries her bottom lip, then says, “Like I said, the kids are great, and I could really use the job. But I don’t want things to be weird, either. That’s not good for anyone, especially them.”
“I agree.”
“So, I was thinking that as long as we keep thing professional between us, then there shouldn’t be any issues. You can be my employer, I’ll be your employee, and we won’t cross any lines. Right?”
That stings for some reason.But what did I want her to say? Please take me to bed right now?I finish my wine and pour another. “We are two mature adults. I don’t see any reason we cannot conduct ourselves as such.” But it feels like I’m lying to her. “I don’t know you in any real capacity, Lily, but I’m going to assume things in your former profession were apt to fall along these lines. Given what I’ve seen of kitchen culture in the media, I don’t think I’m too far off, right?”
She chuckles. “If by that you mean people in kitchens hook up a lot, yeah. A lot. All the time, in fact. I once caught a busser and a dishwasher trying to do it in the walk-in.”
I laugh. “Trying to?”
“He couldn’t stay hard because it was too cold.” She snickers. “So, yes, I am very familiar with how this goes.”
“Old hat, for you then. Good. I am not accustomed to such things, so if I overstep in any way, I ask that you let me know. I will try to keep things as professional as possible, understand, but if I behave too familiarly or in any way that makes you less than comfortable here, please tell me and know that I never intend to be anything less than professional with you.”Yep. That’s a lie. Is it?
She breathes a sigh of relief. “I’m glad we got that out of the way. I wasn’t sure how to bring it up before, and with the kids around, it never felt like quite the right moment—
“Trust me, I understand. I had thought to bring it up, but they are little sponges, and even if we spoke in code, I imagined they would somehow tell their mother what they heard and she would crack it.”
“So, you didn’t tell Abigail?”
I nearly huff a laugh into my wine. “Uh no. I’d like to keep this between you and me, if that’s alright with you.”
“I’m not sure,” she admits. “Do you think she should know?”
“I cannot imagine why.”
“She’s their mom, I’m their nanny. I don’t know. I’m not great with secrets.”
“You’re honest to a fault. That’s good, most of the time. But I don’t think it will do you any favors in this department. Abigail has a lot on her plate at the moment with her big overseas trip and that would only add stress, when there’s no need.”
“That makes sense.” She takes a breath. “I won’t tell. It’s not really anyone else’s business, anyway. I just wasn’t sure about how things are with the two of you.”
“We’re good, now that we’re divorced. Better at co-parenting than being married to each other, I’m afraid. We adore our kids and our friendship.”
She smiles, and something in my chest beats anew. “That’s nice to hear.”
“Worried I’d be some embittered ex-husband?”
“Well, you never know.”
I smile. “True. For instance, I never knew I had the ingredients on hand to make pad Thai.”
