AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Izzy, I just need you to pick Lily up from school,” I said with exasperation. “I don’t need a lecture on love and dating. Thank you, but no thanks. I can’t get a fucking nanny to stay longer than a few months. I don’t think I have the energy to deal with the dating thing. I just need a nanny. Period. I’m not worried about the rest. It happens or it doesn’t. Contrary to your opinion, I’m happy. Lily is happy. I like my life. I like my career. I don’t need to add any more drama to the mix.”
“Fine,” she said. “But just know I’m going to be looking for a woman for you. You have no excuse not to date. I’m here. I can babysit and you can start dating again.”
“Go away, Izzy.”
I knew it was only a matter of time before I got the lecture. Izzy had found the love of her life and now she thought I needed to do the same. I didn’t have the energy to date. I didn’t mind going out with Cam on occasion and picking up a woman for the night, but never anything serious. Now that Cam was off the market, I doubted there would be a lot of random hookups happening at all. I didn’t need to be reminded about how fast time was moving. I got it. My little girl was growing up quickly.
I grabbed the résumé from my desk with the intention of making the calls to her references on my way to the coffee shop. I glanced down at the number and quickly dialed while I sat in traffic.
“Hello?” a woman answered.
I thought I heard the sound of clanking dishes in the background. It almost sounded like a restaurant with the occasional beep and the murmur of voices.
“Hello, I’m looking for Kira,” I said. “Kira Doherty.”
“Ah, yes, you’ve found her,” the woman replied.
I sensed her moving. The noise in the background faded. “My name is Ramsey Young. Your previous nanny, Deanna Rich, has applied to be the nanny for my family. I was wondering if you could tell me anything about her.”
“Oh, Deanna! What a wonderful lass. She was such a joy to have in the house. We loved her. My daughters were so sad when she had to leave.”
“Why did she leave?” I asked. I supposed I was waiting for a big gotcha moment. Something that would make me not want the woman in my employ.
“Her work visa was only good for a year,” the woman said with sadness in her voice. “We tried to get her to stay, but it was too difficult. My girls loved her. They still talk about her today. She was patient and kind and took such great care of our girls.”
“How old are your children if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Nine and uh, seven,” the woman blurted out like she couldn’t remember how old they were. “She was only with us for a year, but she made such a positive impact on our girls. We all miss her. You would be very lucky to have her as your nanny. She’s a good cook, too.”
The last bit seemed a little weird, but I took it in stride. “Thank you. I appreciate your time.”
I called the next reference, and once again, the woman who answered gave Deanna glowing reviews. I was feeling more confident about my decision. This could really be a good thing for Lily. I arrived at the coffee shop and quickly found a table. I scanned her résumé once again while I waited. Judging by her work history, I guessed she was probably around twenty-seven or so. She was a good twenty years younger than the previous nannies we used. I hoped I had finally found one who would stick around and be a positive influence on Lily.
I glanced up when I heard the door open. It was our future nanny. I almost laughed when I saw her. She looked nothing like any of the nannies I interviewed in the past. She didn’t look like the nannies who hung out at the park together. Deanna was edgy.
She was wearing black tights, black shorts, and a Metallica T-shirt. Her shoes were chunky black combat boots with silver buckles. Definitely not like the buttoned-up blouse-wearing women I hired to take care of my daughter in the past. While I didn’t necessarily approve of the woman’s style, I liked that she expressed herself without caring what others thought. That was the type of strong, female influence I wanted in Lily’s life. Back in my early twenties, I was a bit of a rebel myself. I wore suits and ties now, but I had never quite been able to cut my hair to the acceptable businessman style. I still like to wear some of my old band T-shirts on the weekends and I liked to blast old school rock music when I was grilling in the backyard. The man I presented to our investors and clients was cultivated from watching and observing other business-types. That wasn’t who I was on the inside.
I waved my hand in the air to get her attention. She smiled at me with those beautiful full lips painted crimson red. My first thought was this was not how a man should think about his nanny. My next thought wasfuck it.
ChapterFour
Deanna
Damn. I was hot for the teacher. Or boss. Whatever. How in the hell was he such a contradiction? He wore what I suspected was an expensive, tailored suit but his look, his actual look, said he was the kind of guy who’d jumped in mosh pits when he was younger. I would bet money he played the drums or maybe a guitar when he was in school.
He was hotter than when I first saw him in the diner. Hotter than when I met him to hand over the résumé Colleen doctored up. I didn’t know what the rules were about nannies crushing on their charge’s father, but damn, I was going to break all those rules. Obviously, I would never act on it because I wanted the gig, but a girl could look.
“Hello.” I smiled.
“Hello,” he said and got to his feet. All six-foot-something of him stood to shake my hand. He wasn’t one of those guys who spent hours in the gym. He wasn’t thin, but he wasn’t thick. He legit looked like he could have been a rockstar in his heyday. Hell, he was still in his heyday.
I hoped my palms weren’t sweaty. The guy made me a little anxious and a lot hot. I sat down and had to remind myself not to stare at him with my mouth hanging open. It wasn’t a good look.
“Can I get you something to drink?” he asked.
“Um, an iced coffee would be nice,” I answered.
“I’ll be right back,” he said. “Whip?”
