Page 79 of Single Dad's Hot Nanny

“It’s been great.” She looked around the table. “Thanks for inviting me tonight.”

“Of course.” Charlotte beamed. “Any friend of Michael’s is a friend of ours.”

“Actually, Mia and I are more than friends,” I announced. “We’re… together.”

There were hums of approval. Mia who had tensed—I felt it because she was so close—relaxed as conversation started. It was like she thought they’d disapprove, which was crazy. If only she could see how amazing and absolutely lovable she was.

“I’m going to order another round,” Jamie said, getting up. “Michael, Mia, what are you guys having?”

Mia glanced at the beer bottles sitting on the table. “I’ll have what you guys are having.”

“Nice,” Lincoln said. “She’s a keeper, Mike.”

That made Mia blush profusely.

“And here I thought you were a fruity cocktail kind of girl,” Spencer teased.

Mia snorted. “Go hard or go home, am I right?”

Lincoln and Spencer gazed at her with wide grins.

“You’re going to fit right in,” Jamie said. Before he left for the bar, he added, “And Alex is going to love you.”

The vibrant, funny, confident woman I’d met on a blind date, the one who had captured and held my attention long after we parted ways, was back. Mia spent the next thirty minutes charming the hell out of my friends as she had me. When Mia and Charlotte went to the ladies room, which I was sure was code for let’s get away from the boys for some girl chat, the guys stared at me with silly smirks.

“What?” I growled. “It’s impolite to stare.”

“And the grumpster is back.” Spencer laughed. “It seems only Mia has a gift for calming the beast. You’re all smiles and googly eyes when she’s around.”

Lincoln laughed. “The googly eyes are very accurate.”

I gave him a seething look.

Jamie watched me with a smirk. “You haven’t dated seriously in…ever, Mike. This is a surprise.”

“Yeah… Mia is…” I took a gulp of my beer. “She’s something special.”

The guys exchanged smiles. Me being in a relationship was huge because I’d always been the most skeptical of the group, and I’d fallen pretty hard and fast.

33

MIA

I couldn’t stop smiling, and my heart constantly felt as if it was floating in my chest. How could I not be happy when I was in love and things were going great? Michael and I were still in the honeymoon phase of our romance, but I was confident that things would remain the same. He wasn’t likely to change and start treating me like shit as so many other beaus have. The boyfriend curse had been broken.

Chuckling at the thought, I grabbed the bag I’d packed and aimed for the door. Michael and I were back in LA after our weeks-long travels. We had plans to fly to Minnesota next week to get Poppy together. He made me feel like part of their family. The fantasy I had in my head of being one of them was becoming my reality. Sometimes, I wanted to pinch myself to see if I was dreaming. I was still amazed how my relationship with Michael had blossomed.

He was everything I’d been looking for—strong, steady, reliable, and he treated me like a princess. Maybe he didn’t love me as I loved him yet, but if we continued on the current trajectory, he would soon. In my giddy state, I skipped down the hallway toward the stairs because the elevator was out ofservice. My phone buzzed, and I fetched it from my pocket. It was Michael, who was waiting for me in the car.

“Hey,” I chirped.

“How many things are you packing, woman?” he drawled. “You’ve been up there a while.”

“I just grabbed a few things. I’m on my way down right now, but I’m taking the stairs. The damn elevator is broken again.”

“Okay.”

I ended the call and shoved the phone back into my pocket. Slinging my bag over my shoulder, I started to jog down the stairs. I heard footsteps coming up and thought it was Michael, but there was no way he’d reach the seventh floor already. When I saw who it was, I froze mid-step, and my heart plummeted. I’d been on cloud-nine for weeks and I tumbled right off. The problems I’d pushed aside stared me right in the face.

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