AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Have you met your daughter? She is already interesting. We didn’t have to add glitter to the mix.”
“If I have to deal with it, you have to deal with it.”
“Uh-huh.” Lauren sounded nowhere near convinced. “And what are you going to do with your night so I can feel less shitty about glitter invading my—hey, there she is!”
The pockets of Collins’ dress were suspiciously bulky. That’s it. That was my plan for tonight. I was going to find that glitter stash once and for all so I could clean my balls without coming away sparkly. Seriously. That shit got everywhere.
“I am going to be doing very boring things,” I said, winking at Collins. “Things like naps. And baths. And clipping toenails.”
“Yuck!” Collins exclaimed.
“Hey, what do you think a pedicure is?” I asked her.
“Shush, you!” Lauren exclaimed. “Don’t ruin the surprise, Graham! Let’s get out of here, oh niece of mine, before your daddy poops on our princess plans.”
“I only poop in the toilet,” I said with as much dignity as I could muster. “Have fun, baby.”
“Oh, we will,” Lauren assured me.
“I was talking to Collins.”
“Yep.” My sister and I watched as my driver quickly helped Collins into the back of the car. “Here’s what you should do tonight—Heather.”
“Lauren, for fuck’s sake.”
“I’m serious,” she insisted. “Treat yourself, at least. I could see your hand under the table at Mom and Dad’s. I know the two of you are a thing.”
“You don’t know anything.”
“I know enough,” she said, waving at me over her shoulder as she waltzed out the door. “Don’t blame me if you’re still sexually frustrated after tonight. I basically put out the good sheets on the bed for you to make it happen with her.”
“Goodbye!” I roared, more relieved than I should’ve been to see the car vanish up the drive.
I knew what I needed to be doing today—interviewing nannies. Heather had compiled a list of potential replacements for me, and they were people she had vetted and touched base with over the last few days since that night after dinner at my parents’ house.
I knew it was important to find the right person for my daughter, which was part of the reason my sister came over to get Collins for the night—to give me a chance away from work to decide what the next steps would be.
The next steps after I lost Heather forever.
Everything I had tried to do—the gifts, the complications, and the tangles I tried to weave, even the sex we had —hadn’t been enough to convince Heather there was something here worth sticking around for.
People who needed her and wanted her here.
I heaved a sigh and called the first number on the list—Samantha Newman. It was what I was supposed to be doing, and yet I didn’t want to do it at all.
“Hello, this is Samantha.”
“Samantha, hello. This is Graham Hilborne, calling about the nanny position that is opening up. Heather Rainey referred you to me.”
“Yes, of course. Thank you for calling,” Samantha said, launching into an oral resume of all of her various experiences. I tried to listen and tried to picture her in Collins’ life, but there was just one problem. Collins’ life didn’t have any extra room in it for someone like Samantha. Not when Heather was still here.
I couldn’t let her leave.
“Do you have any questions for me?” Samantha asked.
“No,” I said shortly. “I don’t.”
She laughed nervously. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing? If it’s a good thing, I’ll need to give two weeks’ notice at my present job. If it’s a bad thing…could you share with me what I can do to improve?”
