Page 6 of Their Stolen Kisses
If yesterday’s work had dragged on interminably, today’s zipped by like a lane-splitting biker. Worry and relief played havoc with my brain in equal measures. I wouldn’t be hiring a stranger, thank God. But I would be hiring my employee, who looked like a goddess and happened to have the name of one too. And I didn’t know if I would actually be hiring her, obviously... We hadn’t talked yet. She could say no. When I told her Noah was shy and could be hard to connect with, she might change her mind even after she said yes. If she said yes. Because she could just as easily say no... Which might be better. Then I wouldn’t have to be on guard against her tempting curves...
An hour after lunch, I lifted my hand to scratch at my forehead and found it beaded with sweat despite the comfortable temperature of the room. That was right after a particularly bad bout of doubt. Shortly after that, I found myself smiling fondly at a report. It was one I was carrying once when I walked by Diana and found her laughing.
This is ridiculous. I’m ridiculous.That realization finally helped calm my thumping heart and nervous anticipation, leaving me feeling a little bit silly. This wasn’t a big deal… I didn’t need to make it one.
By the time my watch showed 4:40, I felt calm, collected and ready for this meeting. Did I need to leave 20 minutes early to get to a shop the next block over by 5? Absolutely, if I wanted to make sure I wouldn’t run into a certain beautiful woman on my way out of the building.
The coffee shop was large, pleasantly-decorated, and very familiar - I’d been here dozens of times over the years because of its proximity to the Pinnacle building. Deliberately, I sat at a table facing away from the door. I wouldnotbe staring when Diana walked in pink-cheeked and ruffled by the winter Chicago winds. The corner of my eye caught movement approaching my table.
Pink-cheeked, certainly. Ruffled, not at all. Diana looked as though she’d just stepped out of a beauty shop; not a hair out of place. “Good afternoon.” Her voice was brisk as the chill outside, and it reminded me why I was here - Noah. I wasn’t here to admire Diana’s… everything. Which was a shame, because every time I looked at her, I found something new about her to admire.
“Hello.” I stood and shook her hand. Her skin was soft and smooth, her fingers cool from the frozen world outside. “Thank you for agreeing to meet with me. I’m Cameron.” For some reason, the words didn’t sound quite as smooth and comfortable as I had expected.
“I’m hoping it’ll be a mutually beneficial meeting. I’m Diana.” She smiled, clearly more at ease with the conversation than I was.
“Me too. As Chloe probably told you, I’m in need of a nanny.” So direct… That wasn’t like me. I enjoyed a good conversation, and I had the feeling I could have a great one with Diana under different circumstances. And if I were different.
“Right. An overnight nanny for your son, right?”
“Exactly.” Chloe must have given her a few details. “The first night is next week, and I’ll need a nanny for three nights. I’m… not entirely sure when or how often I’ll need someone after that, though.”
Slightly confused but clearly not inclined to press, Diana just nodded. “I’ve never stayed the night, but I worked as a nanny in college and I’m good with kids. How old is your son?”
“He’s three. He’s a good kid, but…” How much should I say? “But he’s pretty shy and he doesn’t usually talk to strangers.”
“That’s okay.” Diana’s voice rang with confidence. “I’ve been around shy kids before. I have my ways.”
“Noah’s...” My voice trailed off uncomfortably. Noah wasn’t just a little shy. “Noah’s very shy. We actually go to counseling to help… help him open up.”
“Oh.” There was an uncomfortable short silence, then Diana’s sunny smile returned. “Well, I’m sure we’ll get along fine anyway.”
Fishing around for something to say, I settled on a question. “I was just wondering, why are you looking for extra work… I mean as a nanny?” The instant the words left my mouth Diana’s face fell, I could have kicked myself. Idiot! Hadn’t Chloe just told me she needed money for personal reasons? “I’m sorry, that’s not really relevant,” I tried to amend what I had said.
“No, it’s perfectly relevant. If I was a mother I’d want to know why someone wanted to be around my child too.” Her chest rose and fell as she took a deep breath. Not that I focused on that, of course, because I was looking at her eyes the whole time like I should have been, not at her ample bosom. “My mother needed hip replacement surgery recently, and she’s still recovering from it in a nursing home since she needs care and I have to work. We fell a little behind on the bills and I just need to pick up a little extra work to catch up.”
A little, a little. I doubted the situation was as minor as she wanted me to think, but she clearly didn’t want to talk to me about it...That might not be true.If I didn’t ask her, how could I know? “Overnight nannying is a lot of extra work to catch up on some bills,” I ventured. She could tell me, if she chose to take my comment as a question - and I found as I leaned forward, clasping my hands, that I wanted her to tell me. I wanted her to tell me what was wrong. I wanted her to tell me how I could make it alright.
“It might - it might be the mortgage we’re behind on,” she admitted hesitantly. “I got a letter from the bank about it yesterday. We missed some notices they sent about late payments… It’s the home I grew up in… I’ve been preoccupied and haven’t paid that much attention to the mail… Most of the time it’s just junk mail.”
That shocked me. A notice after some unreceived letters? That could only be a foreclosure notice. And… This was her childhood home? I tried to imagine what it would be like for someone to seize my home and say it was theirs to sell and that I couldn’t live there anymore.
Heartbreaking.
Spurred by the sudden need to do something, anything to make Diana feel better - or even just to make her feel that she was not alone - I found myself sharing my own situation. “The reason I need an overnight nanny so suddenly… well, it’s my ex-wife. Noah’s mother. She filed for full custody of my son… our only child… No, my only child.” I cleared my throat. “I have to fly out to San Francisco for the court dates.”
Luckily, I had to fix the sleeve of my jacket before I could look up. Pity? Judgement? What would I see when I looked at Diana’s face.
A wide, amused, and slightly sardonic smile. “Well, I’m sorry to hear that. I guess neither of us has had a very good week, have we Cameron?”
