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With a gentle smile, I fought the urge to take his hands in mine to comfort him. I wasn’t his therapist; I was the woman he was hiring to look after his daughter.
“Well, I think we should play it by ear, since neither of us really know what to expect. Let me start off slowly. For instance, maybe I could come in and take care of Hadley on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Would your parents be able to help you still on Tuesday and Thursday?”
“I take Friday afternoons off.”
“Okay, well, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, I’ll be with Hadley, if your parents can manage Tuesday. You can pick her up from school on Fridays. We could work my presence into both of your worlds slowly. Make sure that Hadley is okay with me being her nanny as well.”
He looked at me thoughtfully for a moment. “That sounds like a good plan, and I’m sure my folks will be on board. Right now, they’re helping me pretty much full time. Hadley knows I’m hiring someone, and that they’ll be living in the guesthouse. I’d like for you to not only be her nanny, but a friend as well. Someone she’ll feel comfortable talking to. And of course, I’m sure she’d love to have you do her hair up pretty, pick out school outfits…girl stuff that I have no idea how to do. I’m not going to lie, she’s already pretty excited about having another girl in the house.”
“I’m excited as well. When can I meet her?”
Annie walked over and set our food down. “What else can I get you both?”
I glanced over to Aiden’s plate—and grinned when I saw he had the patty melt as well.
“I’m good. Emma, do you need anything else?”
My eyes jerked up from his plate to Annie. “I’m good as well, thank you.”
Once Annie walked off, Aiden started speaking again.
“Well, I say there’s no time like the present. You can go with me to meet her when I pick her up from dance class, if you’d like. I normally stay to watch, but I told her I was meeting you.”
Nervous jitters hit me suddenly. I was more worried about meeting Hadley than I’d been about meeting Aiden. “I think that sounds like a great plan,” I managed to say without a hint of nervousness in my voice. At least, I hoped there wasn’t any.
Aiden flashed me a beautiful smile, but I couldn’t help noticing it still didn’t reach his eyes. He truly was sad. Poor man. He clearly loved his wife very much and missed her something awful.
We sat in a comfortable silence while we ate, Aiden chatting just a little about the area. When it was time to leave, he picked up the check and gave me directions to the dance studio.
My hands shook as I typed the address into my phone before heading out to my car.
Everything’s going to be okay, Emma. It’s just a little girl, who lost her mom and is now having some strange woman shoved into her world.
Lord, please be with us all during this meeting.
With a sigh, I slipped into my Honda and dropped my head back against the headrest.
Crap.What if she doesn’t like me?
After getting my nerves in check, I ended up following Aiden the entire way, pulling into the parking lot of Center Stage Dance. Estes Park wasn’t a very big town, and the last several days, I’d spent most of my time driving around to familiarize myself with the important areas. I remember passing this place.
Aiden got out of his truck and was waiting at the entrance. He ran a hand though his dark hair, and I wondered if he was asworried as I was. If Hadley didn’t like me, it wouldn’t work for either of us. I was out of a job, a place to live, and stuck in the cabin. And Aiden would need to look for someone else.
With a deep breath, I pushed open the door of my car and made my way toward him.
“Ready?” he asked, trying to keep a lightness to his voice.
“As I’ll ever be!” I said, adding a bit of pep in my step.
The moment we walked into the large waiting room, six sets of mom eyes looked up and locked on Aiden. It was so obvious they were all gawking at the poor man. One leaned over and whispered something to another, causing them both to turn their focus onme.
Oh great.That wasn’t how I wanted to start things. With gossip.
Aiden motioned for me to step up to the desk with him. “Lori, this is Emma Middleton, Hadley’s new nanny. Will you please add her to the drop-off and pick-up list?”
I glanced at Aiden with what I knew was a surprised look on my face. He’d apparently already decided to hire me. Hopefully Hadley liked me, or I’d be taken off the list before the ink could even dry.
The older woman, maybe in her mid-fifties, flashed me a grin and gave me a wink. “I’ll add the…nanny…to the list.”
