Page 52 of One Night With The Nanny

Thankfully, Reid showed up at exactly 7:00 p.m., arriving on Max’s doorstep at the same time as Sophia. Max was so nervous, he almost reached for Reid first for strength and a last minute pep talk, but he bowed over Sophia’s hand and thanked her for coming.

“You look stunning, Sophia. I love how you’re wearing your hair now,” he told her and Sophia smiled as she gave it a quick sweep over her shoulder.

“Thanks. You look good too, Dad.” She left her tote bag on the table by the door and slid her arm around Reid’s after he’d hung his coat. “Let’s cut to the chase, Mr. Marshall. Are we looking at a spring wedding or summer? How do you feel about roses? Too traditional?”

“Hold on!” Reid spun and looked around him, acting disoriented. “I do believe I’m in the wrong house. If you’ll excuse me,” he said as he went for his coat but Sophia laughed as she stopped him.

“He’s still playing hard to get,” Mia declared with a conspiratorial wink for Max.

Reid shook his head at them. “I’m not playing hard to get. I’m being the adult in the room and I’m telling you, you’ve got the wrong man. You’re all very lovely but I wouldn’t be right for Max. I work too much and I’m way too attached to my family,” he explained but Max could tell from the way Mia’s and Sophia’s eyes softened and their adoring groans that Reid hadn’t made the case he’d intended.

“I told you he was perfect!” Mia said dreamily, earning a sigh from Sophia as she led Reid to the kitchen.

“Let’s get some wine and then I want to know everything about you.”

“We’re off to a strong start!” Mia whispered to Max and held up her hand so he could slap it.

Max held onto her hand and put the other arm around her. “I’m sorry I didn’t try harder to bring Sophia home,” he said as he kissed her hair. He was only just realizing how much Mia must have missed her while Sophia was away at boarding school and university all those years.

She shrugged and put her arm around him. “You probably would have fought the whole time. She really hated you and she couldn’t stand going to high school in the city.”

Mia had meant to comfort Max but it hurt like a blade twisting in his gut, whenever she said she hated him or that Sophia did. “Probably,” he said distantly, giving her bun a shake as they joined Sophia and Reid in the kitchen.

They had found the white bordeaux Max had set out and she was pouring three glasses. “But you only have one brother? Fin? And he has triplets?” she asked, making Reid’s nose scrunch as he took a glass and passed it to Max.

“Fin is my brother in that we share the same parents. He met Riley when they were in elementary school and he has awesome parents, but they were both super busy so I practically raised him and Fin. Penny Lane is completely feral but I couldn’t love her more if we were biologically related. Her older brother, Penn, is one of my best friends and I’ve known him since we were nineteen. But through all of them and my OG best friend, Morris, I have seven nieces and nephews.”

“No wonder you’re so busy,” Sophia said. “It’s a good thing you like kids.”

“I love kids.”

“He just doesn’t want any of his own,” Mia added and Reid shrugged.

“I think that what I do is important and I couldn’t do that and be the kind of parent I’d want to be. I was the product of parents who put their careers first and I turned out…alright,” he said with a sheepish cringe, making the girls snort and giggle. “They happened to be super psychologists so I get triggered if I have to talk about my feelings, but running this agency is a natural extension of who I’ve always been and what I’ve always done. I’ll always be the big brother and the world’s best uncle and I love kids, but having my own…” He shook his head.

Sophia sighed again at Reid. There was an edge to it, though and she cut her eyes at Max. “I wish more people put more thought into it before they had kids. Some people should never be parents.”

“I suppose…” Reid began slowly. “But then, we’d have a lot less people and some of my favorites were raised by monsters. And I’m not including present company,” he said to Mia and Sophia, scolding them gently. “I’d tell you about my best friend’s parents and how his father tried like hell to leave him broke and homeless because he was gay but I wouldn’t want to ruin your night.”

“Wow… That is terrible,” Sophia said sadly, casting a quick look at Max. “I understand why you felt like you needed to hide for so long and I’m glad you finally feel comfortable being yourself,” she said in a quick rush.

Max flinched in shock, but recovered. He had waited years for a chance to plead his case with her. He would have dug himself into a deeper hole before because he was just beginning to understand himself. “Thank you. It was more out of habit, than a conscious decision, and I would have been more open and shared more but I was afraid I’d make you uncomfortable or embarrass you.”

She gasped and shook her head, tears forming on her lashes. “We wouldn’t have been but I can see why you were afraid—now—and I’m sorry I made that about me. Ella was just so awful, it never really dawned on me that you had to marry her and that you were both trapped until Mia explained.”

“I thought it would make you sad if you knew so I tried to create a fairytale for us. I see how foolish that was and how much that hurt you and I’m so sorry,” he said as he held his hand out to her. She took it and Reid let out a soft “Yes!” as he and Mia bumped fists. Everything was going so well so Max decided to push his luck just a tiny bit more. “Do you think…” his voice thinned and crumbled. Max cleared his throat and gave his pulse a moment to settle. Perhaps he wasn’t ready to push yet. “I would very much like to meet Ava and Alexis. If that would be alright,” he said as evenly as he could. Max had to clench his jaw to hold back his ecstatic gasp when she nodded.

“I’ll bring them here for lunch one weekend. Soon,” she added before Max could ask and pointed a finger at him and Reid. “But we won’t come in and we’re leaving the moment I see a video camera or anyone mentions the words: interview, PR, publicity, photo-op, campaign, or image,” she warned. “For the Foundation or the Marshall Agency.”

Max nodded quickly, happy to agree to any conditions but Reid waited until she paused to raise a hand.

“You don’t know me very well but that’s not something I’d ever do,” he said gently. “I have been completely upfront with you and Mia about who I am. I don’t lie to kids—of any age—and I don’t need that kind of PR anymore. Most of my advertising is aimed at recruitment and I spend more on training these days because I only hire the very best and I have high standards.”

Sophia’s nose scrunched as she considered Reid. “I guess that’s fair but I wouldn’t put it past the Foundation to dream up something like this. Why are you here, if you’re not the right man for him? Are you like the Dog Whisperer, but with dads and families?” Sophia asked, but her suspicious pout threatened to curl into a smile.

They could see her fighting it.

Reid wagged a finger at her. “I would have been out of here weeks ago but your sister keeps hustling me,” he reminded them and Mia ducked and smiled sheepishly. Reid winked at her and waved it off. “Earning your trust and helping you trust your dad again is important to me because…your family is important. To more people than you realize.”

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