Page 57 of Nanny for the Don

Their faces light up, practically bouncing in their beds as they let out enthusiasticyays.

“Good, but first, nap time,” I say, flicking off the light. They shut their eyes, clearly determined to get to the park as soon as possible.

I close the door quietly, but my thoughts are already somewhere else.

We’re at the park with Kendall, and the girls are on a mission.

Their eyes are glued to the pond, scanning for ducks like their lives depend on it. Meanwhile, Kendall’s next to me, raising an eyebrow. “You know all the ducks fly south for winter, right? They’re probably halfway to Florida by now.”

Lucia turns around, hands on her hips, all serious. “Some ducks stay. Our teacher says so.”

“Yeah!” Giulia chimes in, nodding like she’s backing up a science fact.

Kendall shrugs, clearly amused. “Alright, guess I’ve been schooled.”

The girls proudly hold up their little baggies of rice, ready to feed the ducks. Kendall looks at them, then at me. “Wait, isn’t rice bad for ducks? Doesn’t it, like, make them, uh, explode or something?”

Lucia shakes her head, like she’s heard this a million times. “Nope! That’s not true. Ms. Julia at preschool said so.”

I shrug, laughing a little. “Honestly, I thought the same thing, but apparently, it’s an urban legend. Ducks are totally fine with rice. It’s the bread you have to watch out for.”

Kendall rubs the back of her neck, still not convinced. “Huh. Learn something new every day.”

Just then, the girls start squealing. “Look! Ducks!” Sure enough, a couple of ducks waddle out from the pond, and the girls rush off with their bags of rice, beyond excited.

I watch them go, shaking my head.

“Told ya some ducks stay,” Lucia says over her shoulder as the girls hurry off.

Kendall chuckles. “Yeah, yeah. Guess I need to learn preschool science.”

The girls call out after Kendall, giggling as they trudge through the snow. “Kendall, you wanna help us feed the ducks?”

Kendall waves them off with a grin. “I’ll help in a bit. I’ve got some stuff to talk about with Will.”

The girls, totally unbothered, plod to the edge of the pond, happily tossing their rice to the ducks like it’s the best day ever. Once they’re out of earshot, Kendall turns to me, her eyes wide, practically buzzing with curiosity.

“Alright, spill the tea,” she says, leaning in. “What’s going on with Nico? Does he know about theb-a-b-y?

I let out a long sigh. “No, he doesn’t know. And honestly? I don’t even know how to bring it up.”

Kendall raises an eyebrow. “Girl, you’re gonna have to tell him sooner or later. You can’t just keep that kind of secret.”

I rub my temples, feeling the stress building. “I know, I know. I almost told him today, but... I don’t know. He’s got a lot going on right now, and I don’t want to make things worse.”

Kendall gives me a look that saysI love you but get it together.“Look, I get he’s busy, but this isn’t something you can just put off forever. You’ve got to tell him before it’s too late.”

I nod, knowing she’s right, but I still feel like I’m in way over my head.

I glance at Kendall, biting my lip. “He’s away on business or something right now. And it seemed serious.”

Kendall’s eyebrow shoots up. “Businessas in Mob stuff?”

I tense, the memory of that day in the basement flashing back. “Yeah. I walked in on something I never should’ve seen. It scared the hell out of me.”

Kendall leans in, her eyes widening. “What did you see?”

I take a deep breath. “Nico was... torturing someone. Right there in the basement. And the crazy thing is, even though it freaked me out, I still wanted him. Like, more than ever. The sex that night was on another level.”

---