Page 14 of Shot to the Hart

“She didn’t want to go back down for the rest of her nap. When you arrived she had only been out for twenty-five minutes, but she typically naps for one to one-and-a-half hours. If she doesn’t, well, trust me, you don’t want to find out what happens.” He grimaces.

“Noted. Although, I’m sure if you hire me, I will find out at some point. I’m glad she went back to sleep for you.”

“Now where did we leave off? I guess I should tell you a little more about Bella’s schedule and what I would be expecting during your time with us. I have cleaners come once a week, so if hired, you wouldn’t be required to clean except for tidying up and helping with dishes and laundry. I’d have her full schedule written up when you start, but I would just expect you to make sure she is safe, fed, bathed, and when needed, put to bed. I say ‘when needed’ because if I’m home, I like to do her bedtime routine.” This makes my heart flutter a little bit, I can tell he really loves his daughter. “We are still working on potty-training, she’s in pull-ups but doesn’t always tell us when she needs to use the toilet, so ideas on that would be great. I don’t really monitor her screen time. She can have sweets, but not after nap time, or she will be a literal demon when bedtime rolls around. She goes to a tumble class for toddlers twice a week in the mornings so she can get some of her energy out. You would be more than welcome to drive her in your car or my spare, and you could take her to do any activities on my dime, I’d be giving you a card. I just ask that you keep Tate and I updated on where you will be going and when. Does all of that sound okay?” I nod, encouraging him to continue. I have ideas on potty-training but I will mention those and help implement them if I’m hired.

“You’d have your own bedroom and bathroom and free usage of anything in the house. If you ever found yourself or Bella needing anything, I will keep a list on the fridge or you can let me know. I would like you both to travel with me on occasion;I prefer for Bella to maintain a routine, but I also don’t enjoy being away from her for too long. Does that all sound okay as well?”

He’s asked me that question twice in the last three minutes, is he worried I can’t handle the job, or is there a candidate that he would prefer over me? I have a few questions I would like to ask, some of them inappropriate like where Bella’s mom is and why he is hiring an au pair. Instead, I take the safer route. “Sounds pretty simple. Does she have any allergies or medical issues I should know about? Any quirks?”

He smiles, but it’s a specific smile. I have noticed in my few interactions with him that spreads across his face when thinking or speaking about Arabella. “No medical issues or allergies but she does have a stuffed stingray she got from the arena named Floppy,or as she says ‘fwoppy’, that has to travel with us and go to sleep with her always. It’s a little stuffed version of our mascot.”

I smile back at him, “That’s good to know, I can’t wait to meet Floppy.”

“Well, I think that about sums it up. While I think you’re a great candidate, I’d like to see you interact with Bella before extending an offer and moving forward. Would you be willing to meet somewhere, like a park or a museum, sometime next week?”

My heart skyrockets with excitement, “I absolutely understand wanting to see how we do together. I work the rest of this week, but I’m free Sunday morning.”

“Sunday morning works. How about we meet at the Children's Science Museum downtown around ten-thirty?”

“That's the one downtown right? I used to take the littles there all the time, they loved it. Honestly, so did I.”

“It is a pretty neat place, they just recently added a bubble exhibit and I think Bella will have a blast with that. Do you have any other questions for me?” he asks.

“Not that I can think of. If anything comes up, I’ll reach out to Tatum. Otherwise, I will see you and Bella on Sunday.”

“Let me walk you out.” He stands and leads me to the front door, opening it up.

“Thank you again for the opportunity, Mr. Hart.” I stick a hand out to him and he shakes it.

“Maverick is fine. Mr. Hart is my father.” He smiles at me and I return it before turning and going to my car. I notice that he waits until I’m in my car before waving and closing the door behind him.

“Are you ready for today?” Darcy asks as I scurry around the apartment trying to get my things ready to head over to the children's museum to meet Maverick and Bella.

“I think so. Have you seen my gold studs?” I throw in her direction as I pull on and tie my black low tops embroidered with flowers tucking my dark wash jeans into them. I need to be out of the apartment in the next ten minutes and my earrings are missing.

“Right here babe. Take a breath. You look great, you’re fucking awesome, and you know that museum and how to play and interact with kids.” I turn to Darcy as I pull a matching shirt over my head and she’s holding my studs in the palm of her hands.“You are a blessing, I could kiss you but I have to go.” Looking at my watch, I begin panicking, “Like, right fucking now. Bye, love you!”

Then I'm running down the stairs, hopping in the car, and taking off towards the museum.

9

MAVERICK

SCETTI TIME

“Bella, sweetie, we need to go.” I glance at my watch noticing we should have left ten minutes ago, but Arabella has decided to give me a run for my money this morning. Her yogurt bowl ended up all over her head and the floor because it wasn’t what she wanted after she asked for it, resulting in an unplanned bath. We’ve been working on potty-training, but instead of telling me she needed to go potty, she pooped in the bathtub, leading to a bath in my bathroom and me spending twenty minutes cleaning her tub. Now she’s running circles around the house in nothing but her pull-up, Floppy in hand, as I sit in the middle of the living room feeling defeated.

I pull out my phone to call Tate because he never gave me Kodi’s contact information, and I need to call her and let her know we are going to be late. I finally stand and chase after Bella, swiftly placing her on my hip so I can finish getting her ready, and she begins screeching like those monkeys at the zoo do when it’s feeding time.

“What the fuck was that shriek?” Tatum asks upon picking up my call.

“Your niece is acting like a gremlin this morning and we are running late to meet Kodi. I need her number because you never sent it, please.” I place Bella on the floor, and she attempts to run again, but I gently hold her still pulling her shirt that says “daddy’s main squeeze” with a juice box on it. I lift her quickly onto the couch to get her legs in her black cotton shorts before sliding her bright pink sneakers on because those are the shoes she picked out. They don’t match her outfit, but I don’t have the energy to fight with her today.

“Alright, sent it over, sorry about that man. Let me know if I need to get with legal about the paperwork afterwards.”

“Thanks dude. Will do. Talk later. Bella, say bye to Uncle Tate,” I directed at my daughter holding the phone to her face.

“Uncle Tate bye bye bye bye bye bye,” she sing-songs, her mood suddenly rainbows and sunshine.

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