Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 88060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Aurora covered her mouth and tried not to laugh.
“I don’t care if it was the queen herself, she was too old. And what about the woman before her? Did she scare you guys like she did me?”
Harper nodded. “What about when she said she believed in spanking. I thought you would come out of your chair, Liam.”
“I nearly did!”
Aurora sat back down and said, “Okay, we haven’t had a great selection yet, but let’s not let that get us down. Liam, what did you tell the agency?”
“I wanted someone with experience in nannying young kids.”
“And you told them how old Winnie was, right?” Harper asked.
Liam shot Harper a look of disdain. “Of course I did. I told them she was two-and-a-half.”
Aurora shuffled through the paperwork and found what she was looking for. “I see the problem.”
“What? What’s the problem?” I asked, leaning forward to see what she was reading.
“They have Winnie being twelve, not two.”
Stunned, I asked, “How in the hell did that happen?”
“We’re back!” Cadie called out as Winnie entered the room with a pink stain around her mouth. I laughed as she crawled up onto my lap.
“What in the world is on your mouth?” I asked before giving her a kiss on the forehead.
Laughing, Cadie replied, “That would be the evidence of a pink donut from the bakery.”
“Getting my daughter high on sugar, I see,” I laughed.
“Just be glad I stopped at the one donut,” Cadie warned me. “You should have seen what your child was picking out to eat.”
I laughed. “I bet. She has a sweet tooth, just like her mommy did.”
“How is the search for a nanny going?” Cadie asked as she sat down on the sofa next to Harper.
“Not good. So far, the agency has sent over an elderly English woman who was unhappy we didn’t have tea for her. A middle-aged grumpy woman who believes in spanking, and a grandmother who informed us she would have to bring her six grandkids over to watch them while she watched Winnie.”
Cadie’s eyes went wide. “What?”
I sighed again. “Yeah, that one really threw me for a loop.”
“That one did?” Aurora asked. “The English royal nanny was the one who did it for me. She could hardly walk, Cadie. Had a cane and I was waiting for her to tap it on the floor and grow a mole.”
“A mole?” I asked.
All three women looked at me. “You’ve never seen that movie? Nanny McPhee?” Aurora asked.
“Nope, never heard of it.”
Harper and Aurora both gasped.
“I haven’t seen it either,” Cadie added.
Aurora blinked at us, then turned to Harper. “Winnie is way too young to watch it, don’t you agree?”
She nodded. “Agreed.”
Aurora said, facing me, “We should do a movie night! Maybe one night you’re not at The Muddled Moose. A friend movie night!”
“And watch a kids’ movie?” Cadie asked. “Hard pass.”
“Oh, come on,” Aurora stated as she stood back up. “It’s such a cute movie. I think it would be fun. I can plan everything, Liam, so you don’t have to worry about it. Once Winnie goes to bed, we can all watch it. I’ll make sure there is booze there for the guys.”
“I’m down for a movie night,” I said, liking the idea of having people back in the house and not for mourning, but for something fun. Like movie night.
“What would be a good night for you?” Aurora asked, the excitement filling her voice.
“We could do it Sunday night if it works for everyone.”
“I can order some pizzas from Slice, Slice, Baby,” Harper said.
“I’ll bring dessert,” Cadie added.
Aurora looked at her. “I thought you said hard pass on a kids’ movie.”
“I don’t want to miss out on movie night!” Cadie stated. “Besides, Kian would love to hang out with Liam.”
The doorbell rang and I looked at Aurora. “The last interview of the day. I’m still confused why there isn’t a name.”
“Last-minute work in, maybe?” Harper said.
“Winnie, how would you like to go take a bath?” Cadie asked, scooping Winnie up and off my lap.
“Pwease!” Winnie replied. If there was one thing my daughter loved, it was bath time.
I watched as Cadie headed out of the room and upstairs while Harper went to get the door.
“I honestly don’t know what I would do without you all,” I said, turning to look at Aurora.
She winked, then said, “That’s what friends are for.”
I nodded, suddenly overwhelmed with emotions I wasn’t familiar with. Gratitude for the friends I had and something more substantial for the woman sitting across from me. For the briefest moment, I almost wanted to tell Aurora what being near her did to me, but I stopped myself.
Friends only, Liam. Friends only.
I heard Haper’s voice as she made her way to my office with the next person to interview.
“I’m not holding out much hope,” I whispered as Aurora tossed a balled-up piece of paper at me.