by J. P. Comeau
Single Dad’s New Nanny
A Secret Baby Romance
J. P. Comeau
Copyright © 2020 by J.P. Comeau
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Single Dad’s New Nanny is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, and occurrences are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to a person, living or deceased, events, or locations is purely coincidental.
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Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Epilogue
1
Gavin
Wheeze. “Daddy?” Wheeze, wheeze. “Daddy, help!”
I threw the covers off my body and lunged out of bed, only to find my daughter stumbling through my bedroom door. She had her hand against her throat as she struggled to breathe, and I quickly ripped open my bedside table. I cursed under my breath as I jammed my hand into the back, my fingers rummaging around for her fucking inhaler.
And by the time my fingertips found it, I saw tears in her eyes.
“Daddy, please.”
I pulled it out of the drawer and shook it. “I got it, princess. It’s right here. Stand still for me, okay?”
I cupped the back of her head with only one of my tired eyes open. I felt her struggling as I held the inhaler between her lips, waiting to clock her breathing. I saw tears in her eyes. I saw fear behind her stare. And when I watched her shoulders draw back to inhale another wheezing breath, I sprayed.
And I sprayed.
And I sprayed one more time for good measure.
“Ouch,” she whimpered.
I tossed her inhaler onto my bed. “Listen to me. Breathe. In and out. In and out. Slowly, as slowly as you can and as deeply as you can, okay, princess?”
She nodded with tears rushing down her face. “It’s not—” wheeze!— “working, Daddy.”
I spun her around and held her against my chest. “Like me. Feel my breaths and do like me.”
I sat on the floor, taking my daughter with me as my hand settled against her chest. I felt my chest rise against her back before she started struggling to mimic my movements. Her tiny hands gripped my pajama pants. Her legs wouldn’t stop moving as her body struggled to draw in the air she so desperately needed. And as sweat dripped down the back of my neck, I started the countdown in my head.
One minute. If she can’t breathe in one minute, I need an ambulance.
“Come on, princess. Be strong for me. You can do this,” I whispered.
She shook her head. “I-I-I—” Wheeze”
I pressed my lips to her ear. “You’re the most amazing person I’ve ever known. Now, I know you can do this. I believe in you. So, relax against me, and let the medicine run its course.”
I squeezed my eyes shut and let my lips murmur a prayer to God above who I hoped was watching. I prayed for the medicine to kick in so my daughter wouldn’t have to suffer through another hospital visit. She’d already been twice this year, and I wanted to prove to her that we could do this—that she could do this.
Thirty. Thirty-one. Thirty-two.
“Daddy,” she whimpered.
“That’s it. That was good. You didn’t hiccup my name this time. In through your nose, out through your mouth.”
She sniffled. “My nose is stuffy.”
“Then, in through your mouth slowly and out even slower. With me, ready?”
Forty-four. Forty-five. Forty-six.
I rubbed her chest and felt her melt into me as her breathing finally started to match my own. Relief rushed itself through my veins as her breathing slowly became steady and not so broken. I let a silent tear slip down my cheek. I allowed myself to shed one small tear for the fear I had for my daughter’s life.
Then, she collapsed against me while pulling in air.
“Did you have another nightmare?” I asked softly.
She nodded, but she didn’t say anything.
“You wanna talk about it?”
She yawned as she shook her head. “Can I sleep with you?”
I scooped her into my arms. “Of course, you can, princess. Come on. I’ll tuck you in right beside me.”
My fucking ex-wife was the one who had ruined all of this shit for us. She knew she was supposed to keep me up-to-date with the inner workings of her life for the sake of our daughter. But instead, she had hired a nanny who had been so incompetent when it came to our daughter’s asthma that she quit and dropped the poor girl on my doorstep while I was still at work.
My doorstep.
While no one was home.
And that didn’t strike my ex-wife as odd.
“Daddy?”
I tucked her beneath the covers. “Yes, princess?”
Wheeze. “It’s—it’s happen—ing again.” Wheeze!
I ripped the covers off her body and scooped her into my arms. Fuck the inhaler, she needed a goddamn hospital, and she needed it now. Without a shirt on and only one sock, I snatched up my cell phone, and I raced down the stairs before boogying out my front door. I dug through the glove box of my convertible and found her emergency inhaler and got her to take two deep lungfuls of it, but it didn’t alleviate shit. I tossed it to the floorboard and leaped clear over her, landing directly against the leather seats of my new car.
Then, I cranked up the engine and throttled it straight to the emergency room.
“I need help!” I exclaimed as I got out. I scooped my daughter out without opening the door before rushing into the ER. “Help! My daughter can’t breathe!”
Her lips were turning blue as a nurse came and took her out of my arms. Panic ensued around us as the nurse whistled for a doctor and located a gurney. I felt my heart leap into my chest. My sweet, precious little girl couldn’t stop crying or catch her breath. It didn’t take long for the hospital to admit her, and soon we were whisked away to a private hospital room far away from the prying eyes of the public.
“Mr. Lincoln?”
I spun around and found a woman in a white coat behind me. “Yes, Doctor?”
She handed me a sweater. “I found this in the lost-and-found. I think it’s around your size.”
I took it from her. “Thank you.”
“Mr. Lincoln?”
I whipped back around and found a nurse tending to my daughter. Asia was reaching for me. I excused myself and rushed to her side, taking her hand within my own and kissing her cute little knuckles.
Bulging horror radiated across her face, and
it nailed me straight in my gut.
“It’s okay. You’re safe here, I swear,” I whispered.
The nurse was talking at me, but I didn’t hear much. I listened to the doctor rattling off what they’d do to my daughter, but I was only half paying attention. I had so many things I needed to fix. I needed to call Jorge and let him know that I wouldn’t be there in the morning to start the shooting of the commercial he had hired me to do. I had to get on the phone with my ex-wife and tell her where we were.
I also needed to talk with her about taking the reins with finding a nanny—a competent nanny who could handle the issues that came with our beautiful little girl.
Who’s going to watch her while I’m in Hollywood, meeting with that producer?
“Daddy?” Her voice sounded clearer, and it pulled me from the depths of my mind.
“Hey there, princess. How’re you feeling?”
She nodded softly, her voice hoarse. “Better. Tired.”
I stood and kissed her forehead. “Then, why don’t you get some rest for me.”
“You’re not leaving, right?”
I shook my head. “Not after I call Jorge. His jewelry store commercial can wait.”
She smiled. “That makes me happy.”
I smiled. “You make me happy.”
And as my daughter fell asleep, gripping my pointer and ring finger together, I wondered what the hell I was going to do.
Who the hell was capable enough to take care of my daughter while I was away? Because it was evident that my ex-wife didn’t possess that capability, not even during the designated weeks as per our custody agreement.
2
Eva
“Shit, shit, shit. What am I going to do?”
I paced around my apartment at one in the morning with my hands clasped behind my back. I chewed on the inside of my cheek, wishing that my shift at the restaurant tonight had been nothing but a dream. No, it wasn’t possible. I had worked for this restaurant for almost five years. I was slated for a promotion. They couldn’t fire me!
And yet, they had.
“Fuck!” I exclaimed.
I kicked the wall and groaned at the pain that shot up the back of my calf. I hopped around before I landed on the couch, prying off my shoe to massage my toes. I sighed as I stared up at the ceiling, my mind turning itself inside out as I tried to figure out what the hell I was going to do.
I had been let go from the only job that kept me afloat, and they didn’t even give me a severance package like they usually did.
“Who did I piss off?” I whined.
I sighed as my foot fell to the couch. My arms flopped out, lying against cushions and hovering in midair over the floor as I closed my eyes. I needed to sleep. I wouldn’t be able to solve any of my issues tonight. And yet, I had so much nervous energy coursing through my veins that I couldn’t sleep no matter how hard I tried.
I couldn’t sleep, my foot hurt, and I had no idea what my financial future looked like.
“Great,” I murmured.
I mean, sure, waiting tables at that restaurant had only been a part-time gig. But, now I needed something full-time. I needed something to pick up the slack for the job I had just lost, and I needed it to be something other than waiting tables. I’d been a waitress ever since college, and I didn’t want that life anymore. I obtained my degree three years ago, so it was time for me to start establishing myself as an adult.
And yet, come next month, I wouldn’t even be able to make ends meet.
“Why don’t you have a savings account?” I groaned.
Oh, that’s right. You can’t find a part-time job. Your degree requires higher education first, which requires more money that you don’t have.
I grabbed a pillow and put it over my face before I started screaming into it. I screamed, and I screamed until I lost my voice, then I screamed some more for good measure. I’d never felt this helpless in all my life. I’d never felt so lost and so alone, despite the connections I had made for myself mostly, at the spa where I worked part-time, too.
At least I still have them.
I drew in a deep breath and let the pillow flop onto the floor. I turned onto my side toward the television. I grabbed the remote, turning on the first slab of trashy television I could find. Trashy reality TV was the secret love of my life. I loved watching it, if only because it always served as a reminder that no matter how bad my life got, it would never be quite that bad.
And before I knew it, my cell phone alarm went off in my bedroom and jolted me upright.
“Ugh, I would’ve been better off not sleeping,” I hissed.
I pushed my tired ass off the couch and limped on my bruised foot into the kitchen. I pulled the pot of coffee out of my fridge and poured a tall glass before chugging it back. Dousing myself in coffee always worked wonders, but today I was more sluggish than usual.
But, I knew going in for my morning shift at the spa would take my mind off things.
I sloshed around and got ready, trying to make do with what I had. My hair went up into a messy bun, and I counteracted the shaggy look with a nice pair of earrings and some muted makeup. I put on a lovely, sleek outfit that was fitting for a daytime manager, even if the part-time position didn’t even provide me with enough to pay my bills, much less pay my student loans off.
“Jesus Christ, help me,” I whispered.
I picked up the bill from the table next to the front door, and it made my stomach turn. That monthly amount was almost ungodly, and I wanted to tear it to shreds. It made me so angry that education in this country cost so damn much and that a degree still didn’t get me anywhere.
“Nothing but a money pit, if you ask me,” I murmured.
I stopped on my way to work and picked up a large iced coffee with two shots of espresso and sweet cream galore. I sucked it down to the halfway point before I even walked through the back entrance. By the time I got to my office, I had tossed the empty plastic container into the trash can.
I wasn’t alone for long, though. Because the second my ass hit my office chair, I heard Ginger’s voice pipe up behind me.
“Please tell me you heard about the weekend getaway Yuslan took Guadalupe on this past weekend.”
I sighed. “No, Ginger. I didn’t hear.”
She stepped into my office and closed the door. “Well, I heard that he whisked her away to this cute little indoor water world hotel thing. Did you know Guadalupe loves to swim? Yeah, I heard that he took her to one of those places and bought them weekend passes so they could go do whatever they wanted on the resort grounds.”
I nodded mindlessly. “Sounds nice.”
“Oh! Get this. I also saw Margo with her handsome boo-thang at Renoir’s, of all places. You know, that French bistro across town? I think something big’s going down with them. You don’t ever go to a place like Renoir’s without something big going down.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Ginger, I just need some time t—”
“Oh, oh, oh! I’m not even done just yet. I’m saving the best for last. My friend Gavin? You know, Gavin Lincoln? The handsome A-list Hollywood actor? Yeah, he was in the hospital with his daughter last night because she’s got asthma. And I heard from Jorge that he couldn’t make it to his commercial shoot this morning.”
I slowly spun around. “The Gavin Lincoln?”
She nodded slowly. “Uh, huh! The one and only.”
“Is his daughter all right?”
“I mean, I think so? I wish there were a way I could help, though. Poor guy needs some serious help, and he’s got a selfish, lazy-ass ex-wife who doesn’t give a shit about anyone other than herself. I swear, he and that cute little girl of his deserve better. You know Jorge told me she didn’t even show up to the hospital last night?”
I blinked. “Wait. Did you say he needed help?”
She shrugged. “I mean, yeah. All Hollywood actors nowadays have nannies and such.”
I crossed my leg over my knee. “How bad is h
is daughter’s asthma? You think that’s why they can’t find good help or something?”
She blinked. “It’s bad, and that’s not even gossip. Everyone who’s anyone who’s a fan of that man knows that his daughter’s asthma is damn-near debilitating,” she said as she lowered her voice to a whisper. “And Jorge tells me it’s only getting worse.”
“Poor guy.”
“Right? Poor guy, indeed.”
Ginger stood in my office, obviously waiting for me to respond. But, I was too deep in thought. I mean, the Gavin Lincoln? Needing a nanny? Was I crazy to even consider it? The man was drop-dead gorgeous. The epitome of strong and sexy. And dammit, the dad thing looked absolutely incredible on him. Not that I was some super-fan. But, he had been taking over Hollywood recently, and I’d seen nothing short of four separate movies in the past year where he took the leading role and completely ran away with it.
But, the idea of nannying for someone like him intimidated me beyond words.
Ginger’s voice hit my ears again. “You know, I should give Gavin a call. I know he hasn’t been out and about lately. Maybe he needs to get out and socialize for a little bit.”
I blinked. “You know him well enough that you can just call him?”
She shrugged. “I mean, Jorge does. They’re best friends. Didn’t you know that?”
I shook my head as Guadalupe peeked around the corner. “We talking about her alto, oscuro, y guapo man?”
Ginger wiggled her eyebrows. “We’re talking about an alto, oscuro, y guapo. But, according to what I last heard, the man hasn’t even dated since he and his ex-wife split, the bitch. You know she hired a nanny that had absolutely no idea how to deal with her daughter’s asthma, and the woman quit by dumping the poor kid on Gavin’s porch while he was at work. At work!”
