Page 31 of Curvy Nanny for the Grumpy Single Dad

“Daddy you’re smiling!” Lena’s sing-song tone yanked me from yet another daydream of last night and the backyard. And the nanny.

“I am. Should I frown?” I asked and twisted my face into a scowl that made my daughter laugh loudly. She was right, I was smiling, and I couldn’t stop myself either. I’d gotten an excellent night’s sleep, restful and deep. I woke up feeling refreshed and focused. I put in an hour at my home gym and two hours in the office returning emails and going over contracts and designs. It was a godsend to be so well rested since it was Saturday, and that meant it was just Lena and I at home. Lucy and Dotty both had the day off, which was fine with me. “You look very pretty today Lena.”

She beamed up at me with a wide smile, her cheeks blushed beautifully. “Thank you, Daddy. You look very pretty too.” Lena had picked out a white sundress with yellow polka dots on it and matching yellow sneakers. Her hair was a bit of a mess because I was just shit at doing little girl hairstyles, but she was the cutest thing I’d ever seen. I felt my heart swelling with my undying love for her. She was the sweetest and best thing to come out of my marriage, and I guess I would always be grateful to her mother for that.

I laughed. “Thank you, sweetheart. How are you this morning?”

“Good!” She shouted the words louder than necessary. “What’re we doing today?”

I smiled at my daughter’s eager face, her eyes lit with curiosity. “It’s a surprise,” I told her and braced myself for Lena’s reaction.

She bounced up and down. “I love surprises, Daddy!” She really did, and no matter what it was, except for trips to the doctor, Lena was on board with it.

“I know you do, and guess what? I love surprising you.” Lena was always so grateful, and I hoped that as she grew older, she never lost that sense of wonder and excitement, always up for an adventure.

“What’s the surprise?”

I pushed my office chair away from the desk and wriggled my brows as I closed in on Lena, who was so excited she practically vibrated with it. “It’s a surprise, that’s why it’s called a surprise.”

“Oh.” She smacked both hands over her mouth and her blue eyes widened to saucers. “Right. Sorry Daddy.”

“It’s okay. There’s nothing wrong with being excited. You can ask all you want, but I won’t tell you until the time is right.”

“Fine,” she sighed and reached for my hand. “Are we going now?”

I nodded and kept a smile fixed on my face while Lena chatted nonstop all the way to the park which was twenty minutes away. How a little person with no job and who didn’t go to school could find so much to talk about was beyond me, but most of it was—surprise, surprise—about Lucy. The one woman I was trying like hell not to think about after last night, but she was all my little girl could talk about.

Last night had been damn near magical. I’d never had sex with anyone outdoors, never mind under the moon and the stars. Lucy was even more sensual than she looked, the way she arched into me and licked her lips, the way she rolled her hips against me when my tongue dipped inside her honey. And fuck me, the sounds she made. I won’t forget those any time soon.

“Daddy are you listening?”

I sighed. “Sorry. I was just thinking about your surprise and how much I hope you like it.”

“I will,” she said with absolute confidence. “The park!” She vibrated in her car seat as we pulled into the parking lot of the city park, so excited she managed to free herself from the harness strap before I could do it. “I love the park Daddy, don’t you?”

I scooped her out of the car and set her on her feet. “Not as much as you do, but yes I do love it here. It’s so beautiful.” I pressed the button to open the trunk and give Lena her first surprise. “Ready?”

With wide blue eyes she nodded quickly as if a delayed answer might make the surprise disappear completely.

“Okay. This is part one,” I told her and set a box on the ground that was nearly as big as she was.

The loudest squeal I heard ever heard escaped from my daughter’s mouth when she opened the box. “A princess dress!” The words came out on another squeal and she jumped up and down as she held the dress and screamed, oblivious to the looks she drew from parents and kids alike. “And a tiara!” She gasped and the final piece. “A sparkly wand!”

“I guess you like it?”

“I love it, Daddy! You’re the best.” She flung herself at my legs and squeezed tight. “My daddy is the best daddy ever!”

“Thanks,” I told her with a laugh as I helped her with the dress and tiara. “I’m glad you like it. This will be perfect for the next part of the surprise.” I took her hand in one of mine, a blanket and picnic basket in the other as we crossed the park until we came upon the stage.

“A show?”

I nodded and found an empty patch of grass to set us up for the next few hours. Lucy had told me all about the Princess in the Park series, well the truth was she’d left me a flyer with a note on the back that said Lena would love it if I could bring myself to suffer through hours of princess storytelling for the sake of my little girl.

I knew it was a challenge, and though I wouldn’t say so to her, I knew Lena and I would end up here because it would make my little girl happy, and because I’d throw it in Lucy’s face later. It was a win, really. If the interactive re-telling of Snow White was any good, it would be a win all the way around.

I looked around the park at all the exhausted parents who gave half-hearted smiles as they relaxed on blankets and towels, enjoying everything from fresh fruit to sandwiches and even fast food as we all waited for the production to begin. My gaze landed on a familiar curtain of blond hair that hung in loose waves around shoulders I’d kissed every inch of last night.

Lucy.

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