Chapter 3
Elodie
Not the Job or Boss I Had in Mind
Stuttering, I try to string together the words spinning around in my brain. “You want me to be your…nanny?”
Henley clears his throat, as though he needs a second to gather his composure as well.
“Look, you have experience with babies that I don’t.
Like I told you, I just found out about her last night.
I have no clue what I’m doing, and I could use the help.
I’ll pay you way more than what you would make working here.
” His eyes search mine, heavy with hope.
“So, what do you say? Will you be my nanny, Elodie?”
Coming back to Blossom Peak was just supposed to be a pit stop, a way for me to regroup before I either head back home with my tail tucked between my legs or I decide to go back to Los Angeles and give my dream another shot.
Never in a million years did I think applying to work at the ski lodge temporarily would lead to me becoming a nanny for one of the most precious little baby girls I’ve ever seen.
But when I glance back at Henley, the desperation in his eyes nearly undoes me.
God, he’s entirely too good-looking—a problem in itself.
As soon as I saw him walk into the lodge, I was drawn to him.
He’s the definition of tall, dark, and handsome—thick, black hair cropped close on the sides, matching scruff lining his jaw, and a hard body encased in denim and soft cotton that hugs him in all the right places.
My eyes wouldn’t move from where he stood, especially holding that car seat with a diaper bag slung over his shoulder. There’s just something about the sight of a man being a father—it does things to my libido that should be considered illegal.
Maybe it’s because I was raised in a home where my father never helped my mom with us kids or the children at her daycare because that was a “woman’s job.
” Maybe it’s because I rarely saw fathers come to pick up their children from the daycare or make an effort to be involved in their children’s upbringing.
Or maybe it’s because the dream of having my own kids has always been in the back of my mind, especially with a husband who actually gave a damn about being a father—the opposite of the man I grew up with.
So, the way this man makes my body react should be reason enough why being his nanny is a horrible idea.
“I’d prefer if you lived with me as well, that way you’re there when I need you.
” Waving his hands around, he says, “This is my home away from home, and sometimes that means being here at odd hours. I don’t know how to juggle a job and a baby.
” Leaning forward in his seat, he clasps his hands together on the table, staring me down.
The heat of his stare makes me clench my thighs together.
“I’m seriously so out of my element here, Elodie, and I’m not too proud to beg. ”
“You…you want me to live with you?” I dip my eyes down to Remy where she’s sleeping peacefully on my chest now, her eyes completely shut and her little mouth slightly open.
“My friend, Rhonan, has a live-in nanny and I’ve seen how much easier it’s made his life. I just think it would make the most sense with my schedule. Having Remy in one place just seems less complicated, and with your experience with kids through your mom’s daycare, I feel like I can trust you.”
I twist my head from side to side, trying to figure out if this is a joke and I’m being filmed.
“Elodie,” Henley says in a commanding tone that makes my eyes snap back to his. “Please?”
Oh my God. He is going to beg.
“Okay.” The words leave my lips before I can think twice. When I see his shoulders sag and an exhale of relief falls from his lips, the man across from me looks like I just solved all of his problems with one word.
“Thank you. God, thank you, Elodie.”
I hold my hand up to stop him. “Don’t thank me just yet, Henley. I want to be clear about something.”
He leans back in the booth, his brows drawn together. “All right.”
“This is temporary. I only planned on being in Blossom Peak until Christmas.”
One of his brows lifts as irritation begins to paint his features. “Were you planning on telling me this after I hired you for the other job?”
“I would have told you, yes. But being a nanny makes this more complicated.”
“How so?”
Now isn’t the time to divulge what brought me to town in the first place, how my own daddy issues may have influenced this decision, or why there’s a timeline associated with my stay.
“It just does. So, you have my help for the next four months, but after that, you’re going to need to find someone else. ”
He casts his gaze off to the side of the room, his jaw flexing as he thinks for a minute. But when he turns back to me, he nods slowly. “Honestly, I don’t have another option right now, so I’ll take what I can get.”
Swallowing down the lump in my throat, I stare down at Remy. “If you just got her last night, I assume you don’t have much for her? Clothes? Toys?”
“That would be correct.”
“Okay. Then we need to go shopping.”
“I already planned on it after these interviews.” He gestures toward the waiting area. “Now that we agree on your position, do you mind sliding out of the booth so I can finish what I came here to do?”
I maneuver my body across the booth and stand slowly so as not to stir the sleeping baby on my chest. “No need to be so testy.”
Henley lets out a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“I didn’t mean for that to come out like that.
Again, I didn’t get much sleep last night and my mind is just spinning with everything I need to get done.
” He lifts his gaze to mine. “I promise, once I get some rest, you’ll see that I’m not a complete asshole. ”
“Just do what you need to do. I’m going to walk around and check out the place while I wait, and then later we can go into more detail about pay and time off.” I take two steps before a warm hand comes down on my forearm, barely grazing Remy, but singeing my skin and stopping me cold.
“Thank you again, Elodie.”
Our eyes catch and hold for a beat, the silence stretching between us. His touch is electric, sending shockwaves up and down my arm and making my toes curl in my sneakers.
“You’re welcome, Henley.”
He releases me, pushes a hand through his hair, and reaches for the clipboard on the table behind him. “I’ll finish up as soon as I can.”
While I wait, I hold Remy in my arms and wander over to the picture windows that overlook the surrounding mountains. My stomach twists at the reminder of why I came here, why this place felt like the perfect spot to lick my wounds and regroup.
Blossom Peak was a place of peace, fond memories, and somewhere that made me feel like I belonged as a kid.
When I was here, I always felt calm, solid, and inspired, which is exactly what I need right now—reassurance that what I’ve worked for since childhood isn’t just a pipe dream that won’t ever happen for me.
***
“This one has some great safety features.” Henley and I are standing next to each other in the crib section of the department store in Asheville, scouring the options. “Although none of them will prevent her from ripping her diaper off and playing in her poop.”
Henley looks at me, horrified. “She’ll do that?”
I shrug as I walk over to the next option. “Some kids do, some don’t. We had one kid at the daycare we had to duct tape into his diaper during nap time. Because that’s the kind of painting nobody wants hanging on the walls.”
“Is that…legal?”
Glancing over my shoulder at him, I say, “It was his mom’s idea. Apparently, he’d made many masterpieces at home.”
Henley pushes the cart behind me, barely able to see me over the pile of stuff he’s buying for his daughter.
It’s been a long time since I’ve cared for an infant, and there are so many new gadgets in the stores now that are purely genius—like a single-serve, no-mess formula dispenser.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve knocked over an entire can of formula just trying to get one scoop into the top of a bottle.
I told Henley he might be going overboard on some stuff, but turns out, the baby’s mom didn’t leave him with much.
I still can’t wrap my head around how a mother can leave her child, but then again, I don’t want to assume or judge. I’m sure there has to be a logical explanation, but Henley was quite the closed book on the drive here. I got one-word answers and plenty bouts of silence.
All I kept thinking about is how am I supposed to live with this man? I’m a talker. I’m an over-thinker. But those two qualities make me good at writing songs and telling stories.
Not good enough though, huh, Elodie?
Shaking off my internal self-doubt, I point between two of the cribs we’ve looked at. “I would go with either of these because they also convert into a toddler bed, so you’ll get more use out of it as she grows. More bang for your buck.”
Henley’s eyes bounce back and forth between the options. “I honestly don’t care. You pick.”
“Well, what color is her room going to be?”
His brow furrows. “Her room? She’s a baby.
Last night she just slept in my bed with me…
” I can practically see the wheels turning in his head.
“Well, for the short amount of time that she did sleep. But I didn’t even think about a room for her.
I mean, I have a guest room, and one I can clean out and make baby-friendly, but—”
Sensing the overwhelm and irritation building in his voice, I interject. “Let’s go with the dark brown wood. It’s neutral enough that you can decide on a theme later and it will hide the wear and tear that comes with having kids.”
Henley’s shoulders fall as he nods. “Okay.”