Page 78 of Beautiful Desire

“Hey, Elle. Marco said you were here. You guys ready for dinner?” he asks, bending to give me a hug and a quick peck on the head.

Not giving Gia the chance, I reply, “Absolutely. I’m starving.”

Quickly standing, I leave the playroom, making my way to the kitchen before she tries to bring the conversation up again.

Placing Lily into the little bouncer she has here, I give her a pacifier as Fabi and Gia enter, along with Nico. Gia straps him into his highchair while Fabi grabs us some glasses and begins pouring the three of us a drink. I have no doubt Gia gave Fabi a quick rundown after my swift exit from the playroom, and if I know Fabi, he’ll have told her to drop the subject.

Maria sets a plate full of tortellini in front of each of us, and the smell fills my nostrils, causing my stomach to rumble. When I look up around the table, we all begin to laugh.

“Like I said, starving,” I reply before tucking into the delicious pasta dish.

I have to admit, I am going to miss having a home cooked meal served by Maria every night.

* * *

When I got home from Gia’s house, I realized it was Thursday and I still needed Maria to watch Lily until the new nanny could start.

As always, Gia was already one step ahead of me, and without hesitation said, “Nico and I will be there bright and early tomorrow for Lily,” before hanging up.

The past few weeks, I’ve spent all my free time at home looking for an experienced nanny. Besides Peter, no one at work knew I was pregnant, and now that I’m back, no one knows I have a child. I didn’t want anyone knowing and treating me differently. Thankfully, my body went along with my plan, and I was able to cover my bump with oversized shirts.

Some of my coworkers did look at me funny and thought I had just gained some weight, especially since all I ate was tomato and mayonnaise sandwiches. I craved them all day long, but only limited myself to one sandwich at the office so it wouldn’t look suspicious.

Coffee made me super sick during the pregnancy, and that’s all I would typically drink all day long at work. The only thing that eased my morning sickness was herbal tea, which I poured into a Starbucks cup to help keep up appearances.

Gia helped me go through all of the applicants on Friday night when I went to pick up Lily. We came up with eight really good, qualified nannies. I was in a time crunch, so I called them all that evening and set up interviews for Saturday and Sunday.

I didn’t want to let a bunch of strangers in my home if they weren’t going to be working for me, so I asked to meet them at various locations. Some a coffee shop, others a park, and one asked me to meet her at a mall while she was watching someone else’s kids. Clearly, I said no to that candidate.

One candidate I clicked with right away was Melinda. We met at the park and hit it off immediately. She’s fifty-one and widowed with no kids, having married her high school sweetheart. Shortly after they married, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and unfortunately, due to the chemo, they couldn’t have kids.

That was when she decided to become a full-time nanny. That way she was able to get her baby fix in, while also still being able to live her life and travel with her husband when she wanted. She said the kids she cared for becameherkids one way or another, and she still keeps in regular touch with a lot of them to this day.

Melinda reminded me so much of my grandmother, and I knew when we walked around that park for an hour, talking nonstop like we’d known each other forever, she was the one.

I’ve asked her to come over today for a trial and to have a little one-on-one time with Lily. I know she has over thirty years of experience, but she’s never watchedmychild before. This is a big change for both Lily and me. She’s been around Gia and Maria since she was born, so I hope she does okay with someone new.

I’m just putting the finishing touches on one of the nanny cams I installed when my iPad rings on the kitchen counter. Glancing at the screen, I see it’s Gia calling, no doubt checking in on me to make sure I’m okay.

When I click the green button, Gia’s beautiful face fills the screen.

“Hey, G.”

“Hey. How are you doing? How many nanny cams have you installed today?” she asks, laughing at me.

“Go ahead and laugh, but you know as well as I do that if roles were reversed, you would be much worse.”

That sobers her instantly. “Yeah, I would probably dress up as a big stuffed animal and hide in her room while watching a live feed on my phone.”

Now I’m the one who’s laughing, because she totally would do that.

Wait. Is it too late for me to get a giant stuffed bear costume to hide inside?

“You’re thinking you should have gotten a stuffed bear costume, aren’t you?”

I glare at her perfect face, and she starts smiling wider because she knows I am.

Bitch.

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