Page 51 of Worst Nanny Ever
Definitely worse.
So instead, I do something that’s rare for me. I grab a pencil and a pad and sit down and write a song. I consider sending it to Rob when I’m finished, but I hold back. I knew Rob was crazy about Sophie because of the music he was writing. Each song was like falling in love.
If he knew I was writing again, something I haven’t done for years, he’d know I’m having feelings about Hannah that no man should have for his nanny. That’s not something I’m ready to admit. For one thing, Ollie needs her. If I mess things up andshe decides she can’t be around me—or Ollie—anymore, he’d never forgive me, and I’d never forgive myself. For another, I’m in no place to start something with a woman. I’m still trying to find a balance with Ollie, and for all I know, I might end up in an ugly court battle with Lilah.
I don’t sleep much. In the morning, I get up early and spend at least an hour vacuuming the house to try to suck up all the glitter.
“There’s still a lot of glitter around,” Ollie observes as he eats his whole wheat toast at the breakfast table.
“It’ll probably be around rest of our lives,” I say with a sigh.
“That’s okay,” he says, munching on his toast. “I like glitter.”
His innocence makes me smile. Then it hits me that I should probably tell him something about Lilah, and the smile drops like a stone. “Your mom called last night.”
“After I was in bed?” he asks through a mouthful of toast.
“Yeah. She was sorry to miss you. Sounds like she’s heading to a part of the country that doesn’t get much cell service. So she’s not sure when she’ll be able to call again.”
He sets the toast down. “Oh.”
“She sent some photos of koalas,” I say with forced cheer. “Do you want to see them?”
“No, I don’t think so. I’m not really hungry anymore. Do I have to finish this?”
“No,” I say, feeling another wave of fury on his behalf. “Maybe we can go to the zoo or something this weekend. See some real koalas.”
“I don’t really care about koalas,” he says seriously. “Hey, Hannah said if it’s okay with you, Sophie and Briar might come over during your concert on Saturday so we can have a spa day party. She got a box of animal face masks and everything. Can we do it?”
“Yeah, buddy,” I say, still feeling heated. “Save me a face mask, will you?”
“Do you want a koala mask? You seem to really like them.”
I can’t decide whether he’s messing with me, but given how much time he’s been spending with Hannah, all signs point to yes.
The day passes in an exhausted blur, and by the time our last kid gets picked up from The Missing Beat, Rob has asked me at least three times what’s wrong with me. Probably because I snapped at two of our students, a pair of twins, when they swapped places to trick us—a game they still think is hilarious after doing it a hundred times.
I get him off my back by telling him that I had a video chat with Lilah last night and she accused me of some crazy shit.
Rob lifts his hands. “Say no more.”
Which is a convenient invitation because I have no interest in telling him why I’m really on edge. The truth is, my mood has very little to do with Lilah. It’s the natural consequence of knowing Hannah wants me to touch her but not being able to do anything about it.
When I get back home from The Missing Beat, Hannah and Ollie are playing a complicated tag game where they spray water at each other. I’m obviously not a player, but that doesn’t prevent them from joining forces and spraying me with their water bottles at the same time, forming two enormous wet spots on my shirt.
“I look like I’m lactating,” I say with a sigh.
Hannah laughs so hard her nose wrinkles.
“Are you going to stay for dinner, Hannah?” Ollie asks, jumping up and down with his spray bottle still in his hand. “Thursday is Chinese takeout.”
She gives a surprised laugh, seeking out my gaze with thosedancing eyes of hers, and I know it’s at my expense. “Each day of the week has an assigned meal?”
“There’s nothing weird about meal planning. Lots of people meal-plan.”
“I’ll stay if we don’t have Chinese,” she says, waggling her brows. “What do you say, Travis? Want to live dangerously?”
Not really. I was looking forward to Kung Pao chicken, but I want her to stay, God help me, even if it would be smarter to avoid her. “What’ll we have instead?”
