Page 8 of Architect's Christmas Nanny

“Of course,” he said, the frown disappearing instantly along with the eye contact.

“Can we stop for dinner?” Josie piped up from the back seat.

“Are you hungry, Jillian?” Brad asked politely.

“I’m okay,” she lied. She’d been too nervous to eat breakfast before the flight. And with all of Brad’s messages and calls, she hadn’t wanted to stop long enough to grab a snack on the way out of the airport, like she’d planned on doing.

“No, you’re not,” he said. “We’ll stop at Brannigan’s.”

“Yes,” Josie said from the backseat.

Jillian glanced over and saw that Brad was smiling now. And she couldn’t help smiling back. They all loved the cozy restaurant. Brad traveled a lot for his work, and before Josie was school age, Jillian and Josie would oftengo with him. In a lot of places, it could be tough to find a good local spot to eat, especially late in the evening, so they often found themselves at the chain-style family eatery after an evening flight since there was always one close to the airport.

They pulled out of the airport lot with Josie happily listing off menu items she might decide to try. Ten minutes later, a hostess was opening the doors to welcome them in.

“Welcome to Brannigan’s,” the girl said, openly ogling Brad.

Instantly, Jillian felt a twinge of unwanted jealousy. But Brad didn’t even seem to notice the girl’s interest.

“Thanks,” he said crisply. “Table for three, please.”

The hostess looked a little disappointed, and Jillian could hardly blame her. Even now, when he was home for the holidays and wearing a flannel and jeans instead of one of his bespoke suits, Brad was incredibly handsome. And he somehow carried an air of authority with him, no matter where he went.

It made sense. At his firm in the city, he had half a dozen junior architects working under him, and a bunch of assistants scurrying around, all there to support the man the magazines called avisionary young architect.

And he had given it all up to hang a shingle in small town Pennsylvania so that his daughter could have a fuller childhood near their extended family. In Jillian’s eyes, that was much more impressive than any of his designs.

The hostess led them to a nice booth by the windows.Brad sat on one side and Josie slid in next to Jillian on the other, like always.

She’ll have this side to herself next time,Jillian thought to herself.

Josie must have thought it too, because she snuggled close, prompting Jillian to wrap an arm around her as they studied a single menu together, as they liked to do.

Unlike Josie, Jillian had a go-to order, and so did Brad. She could practically taste her French onion soup now. But Josie liked to ponder her choices.

“Hey, that’s new,” Josie said, pointing to an appetizer on special. “What’scal-ah-mar-ih?”

“Calamari is squid,” Brad said, the corners of his mouth tugging up slightly.

“That’s gross,” Josie decided, moving on to inspect the next special.

“So, we have options for you at the house, Jillian,” Brad said, looking down at his menu, even though she was sure that he knew his order by heart.

“Okay,” Jillian said, wondering what the options could be. Brad and Josie were moving into a cottage on the family homestead.

“We’re going to be roommates,” Josie said, popping up from her study of the menu.

“There was a problem with the guest room,” Brad said at the same time.

“Squirrels,” Josie said, looking delighted.

“Oh,” Jillian replied. She was trying and probably failing to show her horror. Maybe it was only because she was a city girl, born and raised, but the idea of rodents that livedin treeswas a little alarming.

“They get into attics out here from time to time,” Brad said lightly. “One got into the second-floor room of the cottage, which is a finished attic space, and made a real mess of it. We’re having it redone. But for now, you can stay in Josie’s room with her, if you want.”

“It has two beds,” Josie said, practically delirious with joy. “We’ll be like Bert and Ernie.”

“Jillian might want her own space though,” Brad said to his daughter. “My mom has also fixed up the guest room in the big house for you.”

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