Page 3 of Single Dad Dilemma
Bryce shrugged. “Our last nanny quit—”
“She wasawful,” Maggie interjected.
“—and my dad offered Miss Jill extra money to help with us. I don’t think she really wanted to, though.”
“A lot of money,” Maggie said with big, serious eyes. “And she’s not technically a nanny. She’s the housekeeper.”
The housekeeper. It was one of those things kids said, not realizing they were givingwe’re rich and I’m completely unawarevibes.
The houses in this neighborhood were on the big side, but not mansions by any stretch. More like, people with money who kept more of it in the bank than in real estate. The cars were all nice and shiny. The landscaping immaculate. Or it would be, if everything wasn’t frozen to shit. Lots of brick lined the street, as well as big, tall trees that would give plenty of shade if it weren’t an arctic tundra. As it stood, their spindly branches didn’t do much to block out the irrepressible gray.
“I like your sweatshirt,” Bryce said. “But you should probably be wearing a coat. My dad always tells me that sweatshirts don’t count.” He sighed. “I think they do, though.”
I almost laughed. Almost.
Between Larry and the sweatshirt, I should’ve known I would reel someone in. Half the conversations people started with me in this general area of the United States was when I was wearing the damn thing.
“It was my dad’s,” I told him, keeping my voice even. “He, um ... he loved the Celtics.”
It was ancient, fading and falling apart. Older than me by a healthy number of years. There were holes in the sleeves where I shoved my thumbs, and it hung over my thighs, far too big for me. There wasn’t a lot about me that people would callsoftorcozyorwarm, but the sweatshirt sure had people fooled. Maybe it had me fooled, too, and that’s why I wore it.
What itwasn’twas a coat, as Bryce so astutely pointed out, and I couldn’t help but shiver. Maggie was whispering to Larry, speaking so quietly that I couldn’t understand her, but even though he pretended like he couldn’t hear my calling for him half the damn time, that dog stood back up and his stubby tail wagged. Just a little. As my mouth went slack, my jaw made a soft clicking noise.
He took a couple of tentative steps closer and deigned to allow Maggie to scratch his head, which she did with absolutely heartbreakinggentleness. She smiled up at me, and I lost my breath a little at the sight of it.
“He likes you,” I said quietly. “He doesn’t like many people.”
I pulled in a quick breath, fighting another shiver when the wind picked up.
Bryce watched me for a moment. “Can we maybe play with him a little? If you’re cold, you can go inside. I’ll hold his leash really tight.”
Maggie’s face lit up. “Yeah, we’ll bring him inside. We promise.”
“Oh, I can’t leave him out here too much longer, kids. I’m really sorry. He needs some medicine before I feed him dinner.”
Immediately, they deflated. Then Maggie perked up. “Can we play with him inside? We’ll be super good. I promise we won’t break anything inside their house.”
“Do you usually?”
They traded another look. “No?” Bryce said haltingly.
Blowing out a harsh breath, I looked over at their two-story brick home, slightly larger than Scott and Patty’s. “You should tell your housekeeper where you are.”
Bryce whipped out a phone. “I’ll text her.”
Maggie gave him a quick glance, then grinned up at me.
Something about that grin found a foothold in my usual reserve, like she’d pried her cute little fingers into a crack and pulled really fucking hard.
“Do you guys like oatmeal-raisin cookies? I just took some out of the oven.”
The words were out before I could stop them, and a string of expletives spun through my head. Later, I’d blame my offer on the cold. Or I’d blame Larry and his uncharacteristic friendliness.
Their eyes brightened, and they stood to their feet immediately. “Yes,” they said in tandem.
What thehellwas I doing? It was too late to take it back, and the two of them ran onto the deck and let themselves into the house, clearly comfortable with their neighbors.
I gave another quick glance back at the house, then down at Larry.
