THEO
“What a day,” I muttered as I pulled into the garage Monday evening. It was pushing six-thirty, and all I could think about was getting out of my suit and into something that didn’t feel like a starched cage.
I grabbed my bag from the passenger seat, hit the button to close the garage, and stepped through the door that led into the mudroom by the kitchen.
And immediately stopped because something smelled incredible.
Warm. Savory. Comforting in a way that wrapped right around the edges of my exhaustion.
I followed the scent into the kitchen where I found Nora pulling a casserole dish out of the oven, her face focused, cheeks flushed from the heat.
“You made dinner?” I asked, surprised.
“Technically, Jessie made it.” She looked up, grinning a little sheepishly. “I just followed the instructions she left.”
“Oh.” I stepped farther into the room, relief and gratitude loosening something in my chest. “Thank you. That’s really awesome. You didn’t have to do that.”
“It wasn’t hard. You know—” She nodded toward the commercial double oven range. “—once I figured out how to work your fancy spaceship oven.”
“Yeah,” I said, huffing out a laugh as I glanced at it. “It’s a bit overboard, isn’t it?”
Alisha had insisted on the best of the best back when we’d built the house—top-of-the-line appliances, all the bells and whistles.
Growing up as an heir to the Vanderbilt Hotel empire, my late wife had taken cooking lessons from the gourmet chef her parents had employed and had been an excellent cook.
I, on the other hand, mostly used the oven for reheating things.
“What did Jessie whip up for us today?” I asked, nodding toward the casserole dish.
“Whatever this is.” Nora peeled back the foil, and steam curled up, carrying the smell of melted cheese and herbs. A bubbling baked pasta stared back at me, golden on top.
“That looks amazing.” My mouth actually watered. “Thanks for heating it up.”
“Of course. I knew you’d probably had a long day in court.” She shrugged lightly. “So I wanted to make sure your meal was ready when you got home. Plus,” a teasing smile tugged at her lips, “Charlotte may have been talking about how starving she was.”
“Speaking of Charlotte…” I chuckled under my breath and glanced around the kitchen. “Where’s my little Tasmanian devil?”
“She just ran to wash her hands,” Nora said, a smile on her pink lips. “She wanted to be extra ready for dinner.”
“Perfect.”
I took another look around and noticed the table. It was set neatly with plates, napkins, even silverware lined up straight. “Looks like you set the table, too. Thank you.”
“Of course.” She shrugged, like it was nothing.
But I couldn’t help thinking she must’ve found one of those nanny handbooks online and memorized it cover to cover. Because she was doing literally everything I’d put in the job description back in April when I was first hiring for the job.
Which was honestly above and beyond anything I’d expected her to do, since just having someone I trusted step in at the last minute already felt like a gift.
“Have you eaten yet?” I asked.
“I was just going to grab something at home,” she said.
“You’re welcome to eat with us,” I said, not feeling right about her heating my dinner only to have to go home and cook something else for herself. “There’s plenty.”
She looked at the food, hesitated, then shook her head. “That’s okay. You and Charlotte deserve some daddy-daughter time. But thank you.”
Before I could reply, Charlotte came barreling into the room and launched herself at me. “Daddy!”
“Hey, bug.” I chuckled, catching her and lifting her onto my hip. And when she instantly snuggled her face into my shoulder, all the arguments in court and pressure of the day instantly fell away.
I kissed the top of her head. “How was your day?”
“So fun,” she said, beaming. “Nora is the best nanny ever.”
“Thank you for everything you did today,” I said, looking over at Nora, a warmth coiling in my chest. “I owe you big time.”
“I was happy to help,” she said. “Charlotte was great. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
“We’re going to the park!” Charlotte exclaimed loudly beside my ear.
“That’s right,” Nora told her, smiling. “And you said you were going to show me your favorite slide.”
“Uh huh.” Charlotte nodded hard enough to make her pigtails bounce.
And just like that, every leftover bit of worry I’d had about leaving my daughter with someone new melted away.
Of course she’d been fine. She adored Nora. Always had.
“Anyway, I’ll let you two enjoy your dinner,” Nora said, reaching for her bag on the counter and slipping it over her shoulder. “Have a good night. I’ll be here first thing in the morning.”
“Drive safe,” I said, walking her to the front door.
“Will do.” She smiled, her brown eyes meeting mine briefly. “I’ll see you two tomorrow.”
“See you then.” I lifted a hand in return.
When the door clicked shut, I looked at Charlotte, who was already wriggling to get down.
“Ready to eat?”
“Yes!”
After dinner, I washed the dishes while Charlotte stood on her little stool beside me with her apron on, “helping” by pouring water from one plastic cup into another.
Most of the water landed in the sink. Some splashed on her.
And a decent amount hit the floor. I’d call that a win for a three-year-old.
“Your hair looks pretty today,” I told her as she leaned forward to fill her cups again.
She had pigtails, which was normal for her since that was one of the only styles I’d mastered.
But they were fancier today. The hair above each ponytail was sectioned and flipped somehow, like Nora had worked some kind of magic that required actual skill.
And amazingly enough, even after a full day of play, the style was still intact, too.
No rubber bands slipping out. No flyaways trying to escape.
“Nora did it.” Charlotte beamed, touching her hair with wet fingers.
“She did?” I smiled at how pleased she seemed. “Did you like having her do your hair?”
“Yes!” She nodded emphatically. “It didn’t even hurt.”
I winced. Yeah, so far, getting the tangles out of my rambunctious daughter’s hair was not something I’d been able to accomplish without a few tears shed.
I might need to ask Nora for some tips. Her hair was a pretty similar texture to Charlotte’s, so she’d probably learned a thing or two about detangling curly hair through the years.
“What else did you do with Nora today?” I asked, curious how they’d spent their time.
“We did playdough,” she said as she poured water from the green cup to the pink cup. “And we went to the libawy. We watched a movie. We saw the ducks. We colored.”
“That sounds like the best day,” I said, loving how animated she got when she talked about it. Leaving her with someone new always came with a little worry. Was she happy? Comfortable? Counting down the minutes until I got home?
But she was practically buzzing as she listed everything they’d done. That told me everything I needed to know.
I made a mental note to thank Nora again later. I already knew she’d been a lifesaver this week, but hearing Charlotte talk like this drove it home all over again that she was in good hands until I found a full-time nanny.
Speaking of that…
I wiped my hands on a dish towel and reached for my phone so I could text my secretary.
Me: Did you get the nanny listing reopened?
A moment later, Linda texted back.
Linda: Yes. You had two new applications by the end of the day.
Me: Perfect. Let’s leave it open a couple of days and check back Thursday morning.
I didn’t have a ton of time to choose someone, but I didn’t necessarily want to hire the first person who walked through the door, either. The stakes were too high. Charlotte needed someone who was the right fit for her.
Someone she clicked with. Someone stable.
Someone who wouldn’t quit after only a few weeks.
If it took me a little longer to find the right person, would Nora mind watching Charlotte again next week? Because based on the enthusiastic review of today, Charlotte definitely wouldn’t mind.
Though Nora had mentioned she’d be applying for some new jobs today…
I briefly wondered what type of job she was looking for. I was pretty sure her degree had something to do with exercise science or something like that.
But she was also in the princess-party world, so would it really be that far-fetched to think she might consider something like this? Maybe if I accidentally texted her the link to the job application…
Or even better, have Lucy text it to her.
I shook my head. That was wishful thinking. Just because Charlotte had one of her happiest days in a long time didn’t mean Nora found it equally rewarding. Babysitting for a week was one thing. Signing up for the full routine was something else entirely.
Still… I hoped the right applicant came along soon. Otherwise, I’d be begging friends and family to step in again next week.
I glanced at the microwave clock. Seven fifteen.
“Looks like it’s time to go see Bria and Camilla,” I said.
“Yay!” Charlotte dropped her cups immediately and scrambled off her stool.
I dried my hands and leaned back against the counter for a moment, trying to gather a bit of energy before the evening ahead.
Tonight was supposed to be a casual hangout with the guys from my monthly book club, plus their wives and girlfriends.
We’d just formed a book club in April and normally met on the fourth Thursday of every month to discuss a personal development book we’d all agreed to read.
But everyone had enjoyed last month’s discussion so much that Romeo and his wife offered to host an extra get-together at their place so all our families could enjoy the fun and camaraderie that our new brotherhood was providing us.
I’d been excited to attend, even though I didn’t have a significant other of my own to go with these days, because I knew Charlotte would love seeing Romeo’s twin daughters who were close to her age.
But then, I’d gotten a text this afternoon from Romeo, saying that his wife, Lia, had decided to play matchmaker and invited a woman from the girls’ playgroup to come. She was a single mom of two, and apparently, they thought we’d be perfect for each other.
I wasn’t getting my hopes up too high, though.
While I’d tried dipping my toe back into the dating game this past year, it had not exactly gone well.
Dating as a widower turned out to be more complicated than I’d thought.
Some days I felt ready to move forward and find someone to share my life with. Other days I wasn’t even close.
But regardless, Charlotte would have fun with her friends tonight, and I’d get a chance to unwind with mine. And maybe this Amanda woman would be nice enough that we could at least survive a conversation without me crashing and burning.