Not Just the Nanny
Page 14
It was just that Mick and the kids felt so much like her own!
“I’m leaving them,” she said abruptly. “I’d appreciate it, Gwen, if you’d come up with some ideas for a new nanny for Jane and Lee.”
Betsy stared at her with round eyes. Gwen took the news more calmly. “Is anything wrong? Is there something I should know about?”
“Nothing’s wrong. Oh, I’m having a little trouble with Jane and lip gloss, but nothing unexpected. At heart she’s such a warm and generous girl, and Lee is the same. The hardest thing about caring for him is keeping him in socks that don’t have holes.”
She felt her eyes begin to sting, so she focused her gaze into the distance. “You’ll find someone perfect for them, won’t you?”
“What about Mick?” Gwen asked. “Is he difficult to work for?”
“The opposite.” She waved a hand. “Easygoing. Pitches in wherever he’s needed. Not demanding.”
“But he’s a problem for you,” Gwen said.
Kayla shook her head. “No. No.”
“All right,” Gwen agreed, in her calm voice. “So then we should be looking for a new position for you. You don’t want the Brights. You want to leave Mick and the kids.”
She never wanted to leave Mick and the kids.
“I can’t be a nanny again,” she said, setting down her wine. “I’m no good at it.”
Betsy scooted forward on her chair. “Don’t say that, Kayla. You know you’re fabulous at what you do. Best nanny ever!”
“No.” Kayla was shaking her head again. “Worst nanny ever.”
Gwen cleared her throat. “Kayla—”
“I broke the cardinal rules,” she confessed, closing her eyes. “Betsy, you called it out weeks ago.”
“Kayla—”
“I think of the kids as my own. And I’ve fallen in love with their daddy.” She covered her face with her hands. “It’s a disaster.”
“Umm…”
“A disaster, I tell you,” Kayla said.
Then, big, warm hands pulled hers away. She opened her eyes and there Mick was, his dark hair, his rangy build, the brown eyes that she’d seen grief-stricken, amused, hot with desire. Now there was tenderness in them and…?
She didn’t know. Tugging against his hold, she tried to get away. “I made a mistake—”
“Nope. That would be me,” Mick said, yanking her to her feet. “Now say goodbye to your friends.”
He already had her halfway across Betsy’s tiny patio. Wreathed in big smiles, they were both shooing her along. “He’s a much better choice than Mr. Crabby,” Betsy called out.
A disgruntled voice floated from the yard next door. “I heard that, Boopsie.”
Once in the car, a mosquito whine started in Kayla’s ears. It only got louder when Mick slid behind the steering wheel. “What—”
“Hold the questions until we get home,” he said, shooting her a little smile. “Please?”
“But—”
“I made a promise to the kids that I’d get you back as fast as I can. If we start into this now…I don’t know when we’ll make it.”
“Still—”
“I left them alone, Kayla. I know we’re only five minutes away, but who knows what might happen. Jane could hide Lee’s Pokémon game and he could say she smells like onions—”
“Pickle burps.”
“Huh?”
“It’s pickle burps.” And then she shut her mouth and tried to tamp down her curiosity, her embarrassment and even that little sprout of hope that was struggling to surface inside her. Mick had witnessed her confession—I’m in love with their daddy—and he hadn’t gone running for the hills, but that didn’t mean…
She couldn’t let herself believe it meant anything at all.
Then they were pulling into the driveway and then they were walking into the house. She heard the patter of footsteps on the floor and Mick’s hand was at the small of her back leading her into the dining room. It was just like the day before her birthday: balloons, a cake, confetti strewn across the table.
“Surprise!” Jane and Lee yelled together.
She took in their excited faces. “Something’s going on,” she said. “Did I fall asleep and wake up a whole year later just in time for another birthday party?”
Lee bounced on his toes. “It’s not your birthday, La-La. Dad realized it’s your anniversary.”
“Our anniversary,” Jane corrected, grinning. “It’s the anniversary of the date you first came to be our nanny.”
She shifted her gaze to Mick. He shrugged. “What a coincidence.”
What a crock, but she couldn’t squelch the kids’ excitement and there was something thrumming in the air when she looked at their father. Something newer than the sexual tension that she’d experienced before, but that was there still, too.
He gestured to the stairs with his thumb and nodded at Jane and Lee. “Scram.”
They giggled and ran, then both ran back to Mick. Their hugs brought a new sting of tears to Kayla’s eyes. He rubbed his big palm over both their heads. “My good luck charms,” he said, then pushed them on their way.
Over her shoulder, Jane met Kayla’s gaze. “Welcome home,” she said.
Okay, the hope was really starting to flower now, but Mick was just staring at her, saying nothing. God, she didn’t want to presume and then have this all wrong. Her eyes went back to the cake on the table. It read “Happy Birthday” in loopy letters of red frosting.
Putting her hands in her pockets, she pretended to inspect it carefully. “They didn’t have one that said Happy Anniversary?”
“To be honest, I didn’t ask. This one seemed more appropriate.” He came up behind her. She could feel his body’s warmth just an inch from her back, but she forced herself to stand straight instead of leaning into him.
As if he read her mind, his big hands closed over her shoulders and pulled her into the cradle of his body. His head lowered. “I want this to be a birthday of sorts, Kayla. I want this to be the birthday of the real family I want to make with you.”
Had he really said that? Or was it just her overactive imagination? But she could feel his heart thudding between her shoulder blades. He smelled of that scent she’d bought him for Christmas. The bright colors of the cake and balloons in front of her were impossible to overlook.
Okay, this must be real.
“Mick.” Her voice sounded husky. Too full of emotion. She cleared her throat because she had to be certain about what he was asking of her. “You wouldn’t say that…do this…because the kids, you, me, we have a routine that works—”
“No.” His fingers tightened on her. “I respect you too much for that.”
“Respect?” She closed her eyes. That sounded like what she promised herself she wouldn’t do—settle. “Respect isn’t enough, Mick.”
He spun her around. “Honey. What I’m trying to say is that I’m not asking you to be a chauffeur for the kids or a cook for the family or even the laundry lady. I want a lover. A wife. For me.” Yes. Yes. She flung herself against him and threw her arms around his neck. Their mouths found each other and the kiss was hot and possessive and certain.
Still, she pulled away, just far enough for air. “Are you absolutely certain? Because—”
“I love you, Kayla,” he said, his forehead pressed against hers. “Don’t you feel the wow in the room? You’re The One. My One.”
Kayla felt that silly telltale sting of tears again and she squeezed her eyes tight. He pressed his mouth to her cheek, her chin, her temple. “Am I too late?” he whispered.
She shook her head, and he drew her against him once more, enfolding her in his arms. “I worried I might be too late,” he said.
“What took you so long?” she asked, her voice watery.
“I was all upside down in my thinking,” he admitted. “I thought that if we were together, that it would make me responsible for your happiness—”
“I’m responsible for me, I told
you that.”
“Yeah, well, we first-responder types are notorious for believing the world won’t turn unless we have control of the wheel.” Then he loosened his hold so he could see her face. “But you’ve got a blind spot nearly as big as mine, honey, because we’re better when we’re willing to lean on each other when necessary. We’re better together.”
Together. She loved the sound of that. But…
“I started remembering all that we’ve shared over the years—from worrying about the kids’ colds to panicking over the missing cat. It finally got through my thick head that our love would be a partnership, not a responsibility. That we—all of us—make each other stronger.” He gave her a gentle shake. “So you’re not on your own either, sweetheart.”
“Together,” she said, nodding.
“Right. We’ll work together to make each other happy and our lives good. The kids are part of that, too.” He smiled. “So…please, go ahead and give up being the nanny.”
She swallowed. “And?”
“Take on the job as my wife and Jane and Lee’s mother?”
Before her mouth could open, a train of sound came roaring down the stairs. Clattering footsteps, hoots and hollers, then the exuberant presence of two grinning children. Mick looked at them with a rueful smile. “Didn’t I ask you guys to stay away until I gave the signal?”
Jane ignored her father’s admonition. “Can I go with you to shop for rings?”
Kayla looked at the two children who so long ago had been taken into her heart. But did that go both ways? “You guys understand? You’re on board with this?”
Eyes shining, Jane nodded.
Lee jumped up and down. “Hurry up and say yes, Kayla,” he urged. “Me wants cake.”
Her gaze met Mick’s. “On his wedding day,” they said together.
Then she drew Lee’s dad down to kiss his mouth. “On our wedding day.”
His eyes closed, his arms tightened. “Is that a yes?”
“It’s a yes,” she said, kissing him again, out of the corner of her eye, noting the curious cat was sitting on a chair, batting at a balloon. Then she pulled both kids into their circle of family. “And a yes,” she added, kissing the top of Jane’s head. She squeezed Lee as he wiggled closer. “And a yes.”
Her tribe. Yes, indeed.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-6993-8
NOT JUST THE NANNY
Copyright © 2010 by Christie Ridgway
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