Page 41 of Bad Nanny

“I had to convince you to talk to me after how I acted last night. I’ll completely understand if you and your sister put me in the worst retirement home when that time comes.” His joking eased my nerves even further.

“We’ll make sure it’s somewhere hot and humid.” I sat down at the island, not trusting myself to help him cut the fruit he was working on. I would probably accidentally cut off a finger.

The corners of his eyes crinkled with his chuckle. “So...”

“You’re seeing someone.” I didn’t want to talk about Gabriel yet, so I brought up his secret relationship first. “How long have you been seeing him?”

“We met back in December at a grief group and started hanging out when I wasn’t busy with hockey. It just kind of blossomed into something.” His shoulders dropped a little as the tension left his body. “He’s been a great support. Lost his husband a few years back. We started as friends, but it turned into something more.”

“Were you ever going to tell us about him?” I tried to hide the hurt in my voice, but it was hard to.

“I was, honey. I wanted to wait to make sure it was going somewhere and for the right moment.”

“The right moment, or as long as possible?” I teased gently, trying to lighten the mood.

“A bit of both, I suppose.” He put the last of the cut-up fruit into a bowl. “I’m thinking about asking him to move in... he’s here enough.”

I gasped. “No wonder you wanted me to get a job and move out. I’m happy for you, Dad. You deserve to find love again.”

“Enough about me.” The happy tilt of his lips fell as quickly as it had appeared. “I don’t even want to tell you what I thought when we walked up and saw two peoplemaking out, looking like they’djust ...” Thank God he didn’t finish that thought.

I cringed and could only imagine what it must have looked like. “Yeah, about that...”

“He’s your boss, Josie. An authority figure who pays you. You understand why I’m concerned, right?” His voice was soft but firm, worry etched in every word.

I bristled at the insinuation. “I can make my own choices, Dad. Gabriel isn’t taking advantage of me. It just kind of happened, and we decided to stop denying it and go on a date.”

“He has a child with another woman.”

“I hadn’t noticed.” It wasn’t my place to tell him about that woman and what she’d done, but even if she was in the picture, it wouldn’t bother me.

“If your relationship progresses, are you ready to be a mom? It’s not the same as being her nanny.”

“I’m well aware of what it could mean. It was one date. You act like he asked me to marry him.” I didn’t even know if I wanted to get married or have kids. I had too many other things to worry about.

Dad’s eyes softened, but his concern remained. “I want you to be safe and happy, Josie. One date can lead to a lifetime together.”

“Mateo has made you a bit of a softy.” I needed to change the subject, because now, my mind went to me marrying Gabriel and helping raise Delaney.

Ignoring my comment about Mateo, he continued. “If it ends badly, you’ll lose your job.”

“Dad.” I rolled my eyes, knowing he hated it. “The jobdoesn’t matter.”

The oven timer went off, and he turned his back to me to pull out the casserole. “Money matters.”

“That’s why there’s a Bank of Dad.” Telling him about my budding career was on the tip of my tongue. He was already disappointed in me for dating my boss—why not throw Sarah Swoon into the mix?

“The Bank of Dad also wants you to be an independent woman who doesn’t rely on anyone. Your mom and I decided you’d be better off not having everything handed to you on a silver platter. That’s not to say that if you were in trouble, I wouldn’t help you, but you are fully capable of earning your own money.” He put the pan on the stove and looked over his shoulder. “Why don’t you grab a few plates? We’ll go eat on the patio.”

I did appreciate being raised to not expect everything handed to me, and he certainly provided me and my sister with a lot, despite his feelings.

After loading up our plates, we went onto the patio and ate in comfortable silence. I needed to tell him about my videos, but I worried he’d get upset that I’d been keeping it from him. I was still on the fence about how many details to give him. With how popular the show was becoming, he’d find out eventually, and I’d rather it come from me first.

When I finished eating, I took a deep breath. “I want to tell you something, but I don’t want you to be disappointed in me or get mad.”

He put his fork down. “What is it, Josie?”

I traced my finger around the lip of my glass, avoiding his gaze. “I’ve started making these comedy puppet videos andposting them online. They’re getting popular, actually. Like hundreds of thousands of views. A few have over a million.”

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