Page 38 of Worth the Vow

Stone: I agree with Hannah. The Santo family text conversations are probably pretty low on their priority list. Unless one of you are on their watch lists? Who would it be?

Arianna: Luca.

Gianna: Luca.

Alex: Luca.

Luca: That’s fair. Can we get back to talking about Dom tongue fucking the nanny wife?

Dominic has left the group.

Kate

If I thought married life would be different from my normal life, I was weirdly incorrect. Granted, I now have access to medical care and prescriptions I didn’t have before, which is nice. My lovely husband had the sheer audacity to make me a medical appointment with a doctor he had vetted, then seemed surprised when I was totally pissed about it. After refusing to go, Dominic threw his hands up in frustration and stalked out. Needless to say, I contacted Hannah, and she gave me the name of her OBGYN, Dr. Skinner. I really liked her, because she actually listened to me. I hate going to physicians who mansplain things, or, even worse, automatically assume everything happening in a woman’s body is associated with weight or depression. Endometriosis can’t be created out of thin air. It’s fucking chronic, debilitating, and it goddamn sucks.

But life with Dominic and the kids?

Absolutely no different.

Well, it’s a little different. There’s an underlying current of sexual tension that was never present before. And now I know how my boss tastes, which is definitely not something I had on my bingo card for the year. But other than those things, not much different.

I still have all of my part-time jobs, and I have the kids more as they head into summer break. I’m still sleeping in my room in the basement, although I’m not quite sure why I thought that would be different. Dominic still aggravates me every day, and I’m not surprised about that. A fake ring won’t change either of our personalities, and I’m too different from him for us to ever get along well.

Take today, for example.

We’ve been fake married for almost a month, and I have the kids at a free concert in town. Every Friday night in the summer, Eternity Springs brings in local artists to play music for residents in one of the largest city parks. There are typically food trucks, bounce houses, and other fun activities for families. The kids and I have enjoyed every concert so far this summer, but Dominic has had one reason or another why he can’t attend with us.

Tonight, I brought a large blanket to spread out close to the playground equipment so I can relax while simultaneously enjoying the music and watching the kids. As I take a bite of my sandwich, I notice Aspen studying me.

“What?” I ask, my voice muffled by a full mouth. “Do I have something on my face?”

“Why did you bring a sandwich from home?” she asks.

“Oh,” I say nervously, a blush rising on my cheeks. “Food trucks are expensive. I don’t have the money.”

“But Daddy gave you money for our dinner,” she says, her brow furrowed in confusion. This look, complete with the deep groove between her eyebrows, is so quintessentially Dominic that I almost laugh.

“Yes, sweet pea. He gave me money for your dinner. Not mine,” I correct her.

“Would Daddy not want you to eat the same food as us?” she asks.

“I’m not sure. I knew how much he gave me wasn’t going to be enough for all four of us. I’m perfectly happy with a sandwich from home, Aspen.”

Aspen doesn’t look relieved. In fact, she looks even more aggravated … and now her expression is the spitting image of Dominic’s. “If you knew it wouldn’t be enough for all of us, why didn’t you say something to him?”

I shrug. “It’s not a big deal. Like I said, I’m fine with sandwiches.”

Her face screws up in disgust. “That’s because you didn’t have the grilled cheese from that one truck. It was way better than a turkey sandwich.”

She’s not wrong. Arianna bought me one last summer, and I’ve dreamed about it since. “It’s fine. I’m glad you liked yours, though.”

Aspen cocks her head to the side as she stares at my legs. I probably don’t look like a normal nanny for a CEO. Today I’m wearing boyfriend-cut jeans with a handful of large holes cut out, and lavender fishnets underneath. A purple striped tank top is covered by a large boho style kimono, featuring a paisley design. It’s one of my favorite outfits. The fishnets are the only thing I bought new. Everything else is secondhand.

“You’re so different from Daddy,” Aspen says quietly.

I chuckle awkwardly. “I’m well aware of that.”

“What does it mean when someone says you need to loosen up?” she asks suddenly. Wow. Either we’re having conversation whiplash, or she’s overheard someone talking about Dominic’s uptight personality.

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