Page 55 of If This Was a Movie

“If your dad’s cool with it, of course,” I say, and her smile gets even wider before she wiggles for me to set her down. Then she turns to her dad, who has closed the gap between us, his sisters and his parents a few feet behind him.

“Can Jules teach me to dance?” she yells at her father, who uses his free hand to tug her in close. He only has one, because the other has a gigantic bouquet of peonies in it.

He smiles, then holds the flowers out to me. “You did great, Jules,” he says, then leans in and presses a chaste kiss to my cheek.

The tiny contact sends shivers down my spine, and I hate my treacherous body for it.

I take the flowers he’s handing me even though I’m not sure why he’s giving them to me. “What are you doing here?” I ask, looking over his shoulder at Sutton and Sloane, who give me small waves.

Nate’s brow furrows in clear confusion. “What do you mean?”

I look at the watch on my wrist. “Sophie has school tomorrow.”

“It’s your big night,” Nate says simply.

“No, it’s not, it’s the kids’ big night.”

Nate tips his head in confusion mixed with a hint of frustration before shaking his head a bit like he can’t believe me. “It’s yours too, baby,” he whispers before grabbing my hand, tugging me close, and turning to face his family.

“Mom, Dad, this is Jules. Jules, these are my parents. You already know my sisters,” he says, tipping his chin to them.

I give them small smiles and fight the urge to step out of his grip and run away. “Hi, it’s so great to meet you guys. I, uh, I’m sorry it’s like this, at work.” I glare at Nate, who just smiles.

“Are you kidding me? That was amazing! You did a phenomenal job with those kids,” Mrs. Donovan says before stepping forward with a hand out. “Shauna,” she says, introducing herself.

I grab her hand, which is soft and warm, and she puts her other hand on top, holding mine between hers. “I am so, so glad to finally meet you.”

“Finally?” I wonder if she knew about me before the water break.

“Oh, yeah, my little love bug Sophie won’t stop bragging about her new nanny,” Mr. Donovan says. “Her real-life Ashlyn come to life. Can’t say you’re not a spitting image of her doll, though. It’s kind of wild to see.”

“I told you, Grandpa! She’s my Christmas wish come true!” Sophie says, sticking her tongue out at her grandfather, who returns the gesture, making her giggle.

“I see that. Well, we couldn’t resist the opportunity to support you and your students,” Mr. Donovan says, then sticks his hand out, swatting his wife’s away with a playful smile. “Tom.”

“Hi, I’m Jules. It’s, uh, great to meet you.” Tom Donovan looks exactly like his son, but with graying dark blond hair and a red flannel shirt stuck into a pair of jeans that just fits the whole image of a wholesome grandpa.

“Do you have much more to do here?” Nate asks me, and I look around the room. I see the final kid waving as she steps out of the room with her parents, and I shake my head.

“No, I’ll be back tomorrow to clean things up, but it’s all good for tonight. We try to tidy as we go, so when everyone is done and exhausted, we can just leave.”

Nate nods.

“Well, then it sounds like it’s time for a celebration with ice cream and pie,” Mrs. Donovan says with a clap of her hands.

“Please tell me you made pumpkin,” Sutton says with a look to the ceiling like she’s throwing up one last prayer.

“And chocolate cream,” Mrs. Donovan says. “And an apple one.”

“Three?” Sloane asks, and Mrs. Donovan blushes.

“I wasn’t sure what Jules liked, and it’s her big day.” My heart warms at the most precious, sweet family, and I fight the urge to compare Shauna to my own mother, who has never once been to one of the performances my kids put on.

“Chocolate,” Nate says before I can say anything. “For desserts, anything chocolate.” I look at him with a face, but there’s no time to argue before he turns to me.

“Anything you need me to grab? I can drive us to my parents, and we’ll drop you off at your car on the way home.”

“I—” I start.

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