Page 45 of Suddenly Entwined

“Ah, perfect. The gang’s all here.”

“She’s our new nanny,” Natalie says proudly.

Tamara plasters a smile on her face. “It’s about time. I’ve been suggesting that to Berg for so long. Wait!” She presses a palm to her forehead. “I know you. I almost didn’t recognize you without all the,” she gestures to her face, “you know. Mud.”

She’s known Berg for years? Again, I wonder if there’s a history there, but it’s totally none of my business. I fish my keys out of my bag, beep the lock, and let the girls run ahead to get in.

“That looks cosy for two kids.”

“It’s the perfect fit,” I say, deciding against flipping her off on school property.

“Since Berg will have more free time now, tell him to call me, would you?”

I grit my teeth, wondering if I could delete her number from his phone without him knowing. I recognise that I have zero claim over this man, but there’s no mistaking the jealousy I’m feeling towards her. She’s everything I’m not. Well off. Poised.

And rude.

I’m not anything like her and I don’t want to be.

“Hey, girls?” I pause, remembering the credit card in my bag. “Who wants to go shopping?”

The decibel level is enough that Tamara hears it loud and clear.

I might not be rich or have a big car that can fit the girls and their friends or have anywhere to wear a skirt suit, but I am fun. And I’m determined to be the best damn nanny I can be.

***

Louisa and Natalie bounce happily through the mall, each of them holding bags with their new spring clothing stuffed inside. Nat is in her denim era, and picked out several pairs of jeans and overalls. Louisa’s bag is a blur of pink and purple dresses, but we got shorts to wear beneath them all. My only worry is that we went overboard, but I couldn’t resist. Shopping with them was a blast. They slow their pace in front of a busy salon, looking longingly at the ladies in the stuffed leather chairs.

“Have you guys had pedicures before?”

They shake their heads and I check the time on my phone to see how close to dinner it is. I’d be lying if Tamara’s manicured look didn’t cross my mind.

Screw it.

“Let’s do it.”

They have space, so I usher the girls toward the chairs, instructing them to take off their shoes. An adorable older womanpresses lightly on my shoulder, directing me into my own leather chair.

“Oh, no.” I hold up my hand in protest. “Only for the little girls. Just two.” I display two fingers and point to the girls.

“Mom too,” she says, using an impressive amount of force as I fall into the smooth padded leather.

She presses a button that sets the chair to vibrate beneath me.

“Oh…oh.”

Tension slips from my shoulders instantaneously.

The same woman is slipping off my shoes, and I don’t have the willpower to resist once my toes dip into the slightly scalding water.

“This is the life,” Natalie says with the inflection of a woman who’s had a rough day.

Lou leans back in her massage chair, head only coming halfway up the backrest as she sighs.

“Don’t get used to it,” I tell them.

But, really, I’m reminding myself.

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