Page 9 of Chase Our Forever

DEAN

My eyes travelover the women huddled around the table, wondering what I’m missing. By Liv’s wide eyes and her mouth slightly hanging open, I’m guessing she wasn’t prepared for Lexi and Pippa to meddle.

“Oh, I’ve never nannied before,” Liv hurriedly gets out, her words jumbling together. “I’ve worked retail and restaurants. Not kids. Not looking to be a nanny at all.”

Lexi narrows her eyes slightly while Pippa takes a deep breath.

Pippa is the one to speak up. “Well, it’s clear that where you’re lacking in the experience of being a nanny, you make up for with your natural instincts. For the last couple of hours, both Lexi and I saw how great you were with Clara.”

Liv shakes her head, her eyes finding mine. Her cheeks get more flushed by the second. “I’m sorry. I promise I didn’t put them up to this. I’m not staying in Sutten, and I don’t need a job. I’msosorry.”

I’m quiet for a moment, trying to figure out why I feel a little let down that she isn’t staying in Sutten. I’d have to look over her resume and do a background check before I’d ever considerhiring her as a nanny, but the natural way Clara was drawn to her isn’t lost on me.

“No need to apologize. Pippa and Lexi just know how hard it’s been for me to find reliable help with Clara.”

Liv nods, her shoulders loosening just slightly with a breath of relief.

“You know, you could stay,” Pippa pushes, her focus on Liv. “You might find out you really love Sutten, and you did say you didn’t know where you’d end up.”

Clara wiggles her legs, her way of telling me she wants out of my arms. I set her softly on the ground, wondering how quickly I can get out of here so I can stop being the reason for Pippa and Lexi clearly making Liv uncomfortable.

Liv adjusts the baseball hat on her head, staring at Pippa for a few moments as she thinks over her words. “Even if I became Clara’s nanny, and it’s abigif, considering I don’t have the experience I’m sure he’s wanting for the care of his child, I don’t have a place to live here while working. And I don’t really have enough saved up to stay in a hotel.”

I can’t help but wonder why she’s in Sutten and what conversations she had with Pippa and Lexi to make them think she’d stay and take a nannying job. I don’t waste time asking. Clara’s had to deal with being juggled between one nanny and the next while I tried to find a perfect fit for our family. The last thing I want is to waste time discussing the position with someone who isn’t interested in it.

Pippa smiles wide, looking right at me with a twinkle in her eye. “That’s okay. Dean has a spare room in that big house of his for his nannies. The position is a live-in one.”

A low growl of annoyance comes from my chest in response to Pippa’s meddling.

Liv’s mouth snaps shut. She’s quiet for a moment, her eyes fixed on Pippa, and I wish Pippa hadn’t decided to get involved.It’s a very Pippa thing to do, so I can’t be surprised, but it seems this stranger has no desire to become a nanny.

“Liv, you be my nanny?” Clara pipes up, walking over to Liv and climbing into her lap as if she’s known her for months and didn’t just meet her earlier today.

Liv uneasily looks from Clara to me. She loosely puts her arms around Clara, who doesn’t seem to notice Liv’s stiffness whatsoever. “I’m not sure I’m staying here in Sutten, Clara. I don’t know if I can.”

I shift on my feet, unsure how to stop this conversation. I don’t want Clara to get her hopes up when Liv is making becoming her nanny seem like the last thing she wants to do. I wish Lexi and Pippa hadn’t gotten involved. Now I’m going to have to be the bad guy and break it to my daughter that having Liv isn’t an option.

“Would you want to?” Lexi speaks up, her tone soft as she focuses on Liv. “If you could get a job and a place to stay, would you want to stay here?”

“I don’t know,” Liv answers honestly.

Her answer is respectable. I’ve found that most people lie when under pressure. Yet, she didn’t do that, and for some reason, it makes me wish for my daughter’s sake that she had plans to stay here longer.

I can’t explain it, but I always felt like each of Clara’s previous nannies had something about them that seemed off to me. Since I could never put my finger on it, I gave them a shot, only to be proven right later on.

But I’m not getting that from Liv, at least not yet.

“How about this…” I sigh as I reach into the pocket inside my suit jacket. “Clara’s with my mother tomorrow morning, and I don’t have any meetings set up. I’ll be here at Wake and Bake around nine if you want to meet me to talk more about potentially being a nanny.” I pull a business card from my walletand set it down in front of her. “Here’s my card if you want to email any references and your resume my way.”

Liv hesitates for a moment, but she does end up taking the card from me. She sets it on the table in front of her, her eyes trained on it.

Clara climbs off Liv’s lap and runs over to me. “Did she say yes, Daddy?” she asks, pulling on my pant leg. Her attempt to whisper is terrible. There’s not a doubt in my mind that everyone heard her.

“Thank you for hanging out with us today, Clara,” Pippa interjects, changing the subject.

I give her a curt nod, silently thanking her for doing so before I had to let Clara down, since Liv hasn’t said anything.

Clara bounces on her feet, reaching for Pippa and hopping into her lap. “Thank you for the cupcakes. I play again tomorrow?”

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