Page 13 of A Very Daddy Christmas

“We’re forty-eight grand short of the mid-range of the current market price for this property,” I reply with a heavy sigh. “And there’s no way we’re going to be able to get that much money to secure the escrow before December thirty-first.”

I watch as Sebastian takes a long, thoughtful sip of his coffee. He and his friends keep looking at each other with knowing glances. Conversations that have already happened and didn’t include me. Decisions made while I was wringing my hands, tossing and turning, and trying to get some shuteye in the face of unexpected adversity.

My synapses are firing rapidly, yet I can’t figure out what these men are up to. All I know is that their presence alone is enough to soothe my frayed senses.

“There is a way,” Sebastian ultimately says. “Which is why we popped over this morning. Granted, we had no idea about the intricate history behind the Levine Bakery.”

“I don’t understand,” I mumble, briefly holding my breath.

“We came here to offer you a job, so to speak,” he replies.

I motion around me. “Thanks, but I already kind of have one.”

“A side gig, if you will. It comes with some perks and benefits, but it also demands more of your time than other typical side gigs.” He waits for me to say something, but I’m speechless, curious about the details. I’m also way too hot to even focus properly. His piercing gaze is terribly distracting, as are his lips. “We need a live-in nanny to take care of Dario, and you were simply exceptional yesterday. Honestly, we didn’t think you two would click the way you did. Dario is a bright little kid, but ever since he lost his parents, he’s been closed off. Isolated. Keeping mostly to himself. For the first time in months, we saw a side of him yesterday we’d almost forgotten existed.”

“You made him happy,” Waylan adds. “You made him happy, Cora. Nobody else has managed to do that.”

“Wait, hold on. A live-in nanny?”

Sebastian nods. “You’d live with us. We have a big home. It’s cozy and welcoming. Anything you need, we’ll provide. A room of your own, access to every single inch of the place. We’ll cover all your expenses. You’ll never have to worry about groceries or personal effects. We’ll provide you with a car, too, if you need one, and make sure the gas tank is always full.”

“Whoa.”

“And the salary is well above the usual rate for live-in nannies,” he says, then types a figure on his phone and shows it to me. I gasp at the sight of so many zeros. “You’d keep some of your working hours at the bakery, of course.”

I frown slightly. “Some?”

“Well, yeah, at least during the holidays. Regular weekdays are easier to handle. Dario’s in preschool from eight to three. We have a sitter that can cover the occasional weeknight, a weekend here and there. But you’d be with him most of the time. It’s a temporary solution we’ve been considering since the UB client popped up on our radar.”

Riggs finishes his coffee and sets the cup back on its dainty little saucer. By comparison, his hands look so big and strong. “We need to deliver an entire campaign by the end of December, which means the three of us need to be hands-on, working from home, day in, day out. It leaves us with little to no time to spend taking care of Dario. Once UB is out of the way, we’ll revisit the whole arrangement, change the hours, and reach a different solution to benefit all parties involved.”

“But we need you now,” Waylan adds. “Dario is a light sleeper. He wakes up in the middle of the night. He has nightmares, he cries for his parents. We’re doing our best to provide for him, but nailing this UB campaign will boost our company and our revenues to a whole new level. The better we do, the better off Dario will be, as well. And it will give us more free time to dedicate to him when it’s done.”

“That’s a lot of money you’re offering for a live-in nanny,” I mumble, still trying to remember how many zeros I saw. “And why me?”

“I think we can help each other out. Our brush with Orson earlier pretty much proves that,” Sebastian says. “We’ll even throw in a forty-eight thousand dollar sign-on bonus. Payable right away. We need you, Cora, and I think you need us, as well.”

“And the bakery—”

“Can your sister cover more ground here for the next few months?” he asks. “We’ll gladly support you hiring an extra pair of hands. We have more bonuses lined up until you say yes.” He laughs.

I laugh too, but it’s not out of amusement. More like shock. We’ve only just met. We’re complete strangers. Yet here they are, making an offer I honestly cannot refuse. Eva and I will lose the bakery if I say no.

These fine men are presenting me with the kind of solution that may very well solve all of my problems at once. All it will take is my time and my physical presence for a few months.

Oh boy, I’d be living with them.

“Wait, the three of you live together?” I ask.

“We’re best friends, not just business partners,” Riggs explains. “We go way back, Cora. We were in the trenches together. Literally.”

“The trenches?”

“U.S. Marines,” Sebastian replies, a shadow briefly dancing across his face. I recognize that look. I know that darkness. I see it in my own eyes sometimes, as well. I’ve not seen whatever horrors they have to leave such a mark on them, but I am familiar with grief, with loss. “A long time ago. Nowadays, we share a house, a successful business, and unexpectedly a fosterkid—a wonderful boy who needs a woman in his life. Cora, we need you.”

“You three are crazy,” I say after a few moments of heavy silence. “Off your rockers.” Hot and sexy, but crazy. My kind of crazy, however. “As long as your sitter can cover for me when I’m needed at the bakery, I’m inclined to accept your offer.”

I’m desperate. Eva wouldn’t think twice before saying yes to this arrangement. Eva would do everything in her power to save our bakery. And so would I.

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