Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
MIA
“Miss Mia!”
A smile pulls across my lips at the sound of Posey’s voice as I step into the family room at the arena. Her step-dad, Lincoln Matthews, plays for the Aston Archers and I see her mom sitting on one of the couches, waving from across the room.
Posey climbs off the couch, leaving Nova there with another one of the wives. “Miss Mia, look!” She runs over to me, almost barreling into me as she holds up a piece of paper for me to look at. I immediately crouch down to her level, taking it from her.
“Oh my goodness, I love it!” My smile spreads across my face as I hand it back to her. “You’re so talented, Poe!”
“Miss Mia,” another voice calls from my other side. I slowly spin on my heels, turning to see Matteo, Carson Ford’s son, holding out a piece of paper. “Look at mine.”
Posey scoffs, but doesn’t say anything as I take the picture from Matteo, inspecting his drawing like I did Posey’s.
“These are both really good, you guys,” I tell them, nodding as I take in the colorful swirls of crayon across the page. “We should have a competition. A draw off.”
Matteo’s face lights up. “I know I’ll win.”
“Will not,” Posey snorts, moving over to Matteo to stand in my line of sight. “My drawings are better than yours.”
“Wrong,” another child’s voice cuts in.
A little girl who could pass as Matteo’s sister walks up behind them. Estella Ford. Caleb Ford’s daughter.
She’s a sassy, fierce little thing. Truly, she’s a force to be reckoned with.
“Hey, Tella,” I say softly, smiling at her as she moves to stand between Posey and Matteo, crossing her arms over her chest. “Did you draw something too?”
She rolls her lips between her teeth, shaking her head. “Not yet.”
“Would you like to enter the drawing competition?”
Tella levels her gaze on mine, lifting a dark brow above her blue grey eyes, as if to challenge me. “What do I win?”
“You’re not gonna win, Tella,” Matteo mumbles, rolling his eyes at his cousin.
Tella doesn’t respond. She doesn’t even bother to look at him.
Instead, she looks at me, waiting for a response.
But my attention is pulled to the opposite side of the room.
Caleb is there talking quietly to Andi, his brother Carson’s fiancée.
He drags a frustrated hand down his tense face, gripping his chin as his gaze collides with mine.
My breath catches in my throat as his stare lingers for a second, before his hand falls away from his face. Andi’s lips move, pulling his attention once more.
“Miss Mia?” Tella questions me, her head tilting to the side. I immediately clear my throat, glancing back at her. What did she ask? Oh right, a prize.
“Well, I don’t know. What do you guys think the winner should get?”
Matteo and Posey immediately start talking over one another as Tella looks past me, her eyes squinting as if she’s trying to come up with an answer.
“Poe, can you come here for a second?” Nova, her mother, calls out to her from where she’s sitting next to Hadley, Rowan Taylor’s fiancé. Rowan’s the star goalie for the Aston Archers and his daughter Lucy is the cutest little baby girl.
Hadley bounces Lucy on her lap as Lucy’s little face crumbles. She’s about to start crying. Posey trots over, immediately going to Lucy to try to make her smile. I watch the two of them for a moment, a smile tugging on my lips as Lucy giggles and reaches for Posey.
Matteo is the next to go and I slowly stand upright as he walks away, heading over to where Riley’s standing, bouncing her baby on her hip. Andi turns away from the door, where Caleb no longer lingers. It’s like a big family tree here.
I look down at Tella for a moment, who lingers by my leg, slowly surveying the room. I know bits of Tella’s story. Her mother passed away just before her first birthday and her father Caleb has been raising her as a single dad since.
My eyes follow after Tella's, my eyebrows pulling together as I realize there isn’t an unfamiliar face here. Caleb’s previous nanny, Gloria, is nowhere to be seen. I overheard Riley and Andi talking recently about how she was retiring, so I’m not surprised she isn’t here.
However, I can’t help but wonder who’s responsible for Tella right now.
The little girl abandons her spot next to me and heads over to the opposite side of the couch, looking up at the TV as the pregame talk show comes on.
I watch her for a moment before walking around the room, saying hi to all the ladies as I find a seat on one of the opposing couches with a view of the big screen TV.
“Hey, Mia,” Andi says as she plops down onto the couch beside me. Matteo slides in next to her and Tella takes the seat at the end of the couch. They settle in, both of them balancing a container of French fries on their laps.
“Hey,” I smile back at her. “How are you?”
“Oh, I’m good,” she says, nodding at me. “Just staying busy with work and Matteo and Carson. And now trying to figure out how I can help Caleb with Tella.”
My eyebrows pull together. “What do you mean?”
Andi lets out a sigh. “Well, Gloria retired and she’s leaving for Florida in two days. Caleb has had plenty of time to find a nanny but hasn't yet.”
“Are you watching her for him?”
Andi nods again. “He failed to mention it to anyone and showed up tonight with her and no plan.”
A frown tugs at my lips and her words tug at my heart.
“He stopped by the family room with her, half panicked, but I assured him she’s fine with me.
” She pauses, her throat bobbing as she swallows.
“She’s always fine with me and never a bother, I just think he needs a better solution for the whole season, you know?
” She lets out another sigh. “Matteo has an early appointment in the morning so I didn’t plan on staying here late tonight, but I don’t know what Caleb’s plans are, so I don’t want to just assume and take Tella with me. ”
I get distracted for a moment by Matteo and Tella behind her in some kind of a discussion. Then I shift my attention back to Andi, my mind already made up. “I can watch her.”
Andi’s eyebrows lift. “Wait, really?”
“Of course,” I say, smiling brightly. “Tella's great. It’s really no problem at all.”
“Oh, you are an absolute lifesaver,” Andi laughs, pulling me in for a side hug. “I swear I owe you for everything. Whenever we need someone to watch the kids, you’re always there to help.”
“I like hanging out with all the kids,” I laugh, hugging her back before we separate. “They’re all very well behaved and it gives me something to do with my time right now.”
Andi settles back in her seat, her eyes meeting mine as she tilts her head to the side. “Still haven’t found a job?”
I shake my head at her. “No. I’m not really sure a marketing career is for me . . . which is unfortunate, considering the fact that I have a bachelor's degree in it.”
“Hmm,” Andi muses, lifting her drink to take a sip. “I’m sure there’s something out there for you. Maybe something unconventional. Something you could use your degree for, but not fully in the corporate marketing world, you know?”
I stare at her for a moment before my face cracks and laughter spills from my lips. “That sounds made up.”
Andi chuckles, shrugging her shoulders. “I mean, maybe.” Her shoulders shake with laughter. “Although, it might be a real thing, you just haven’t found it yet.” She pauses, a smile breaking out across her face. “And you don’t know what it is exactly yet.”
“I don’t even know where I would start searching for a job with that criteria.”
“You still have plenty of time to figure it out,” she offers, her smile like a warm embrace.
She’s not wrong. I am fortunate enough that living with my father allows me the freedom and time to figure out what I want to do with my life. Although, at twenty-three, I thought I would have had things more figured out by now. I thought I would have been starting my career and living on my own.
Andi grabs one of Matteo’s fries, popping it into her mouth before turning back to look at me. “Have you ever considered being a nanny? You’re such a natural with kids and they love being around you.”
My lips purse, eyebrows pulling together as I mull over her words. “No, I’ve honestly never even thought about it.”
“That’s definitely an option for you.” She pauses, chasing her French fry with a sip of her drink.
“If you would decide to, I’m sure Caleb would be interested.
He’s going to need someone to help him when he’s on the road.
Someone who can provide some stability for Tella, instead of her going back and forth between our house and his, you know? ”
My heart ticks a little harder inside my chest. “I didn’t even think about that,” I admit, my voice soft as I tuck my hair behind my ears. “I don’t know if he would want to hire me, though. He knows who I am, but our interactions have been fairly limited.”
Andi nods in understanding. “That makes sense,” she agrees, glancing out at the ice and back at me. “It’s worth a shot, though, if it’s something you’d want to do. He has some trust issues, but I will totally vouch for you, and so will everyone else he knows.”
Screwing my lips to the left, I chew on the inside of my cheek for a moment, my gaze drifting past Andi to study Tella.
Her lips move as she says something to Matteo, a mischievous look in her eye, almost like she’s plotting something.
I release my cheek, biting back a grin. “You know, that might not be such a bad idea for right now,” I tell Andi as my eyes find hers once more.
“I’ll mention something to him when I see him later. ”
“If he’s smart, he’ll take you up on the offer,” she says, rolling her eyes. “Caleb Ford is not the type of man to ever ask for help and Lord knows he needs it.”
“We’ll see what he says,” I tell her, both of our gazes traveling back up to the TV lights as they begin to change colors, the announcer's voice bouncing through the speakers.
I don’t know if Caleb will want my help, but it’s worth a shot. Best case, he takes me up on the offer and it buys me some more time from having to find a job. Worst case, he says no and then I have no choice but to finally decide what I’m going to do with my life.
Even if it means completely changing my career and potentially disappointing my father.