Not that I wanted her to be hurt. I definitely didn’t want that.
But hearing that she wasn’t suddenly swept up in some whirlwind romance with him…
Yeah, I probably shouldn’t unpack that thought too closely.
She sighed and twirled her fork through her pasta. “But it’s only a few hours. And I’ve never been in a hot air balloon before, so that part should be fun, at least.”
“That part should definitely be fun.”
She took a bite, chewing thoughtfully for a moment before looking back at me. “So has anything been happening with you and Amanda? Have you two been texting since our dinner last week?”
“Just a little.”
“And?” Nora prompted.
I sighed and set my fork down. “And… she’s nice.”
“Nice?” Nora repeated, clearly expecting more.
I opened my mouth, trying to decide how honest I wanted to be about that answer, when the doorbell rang.
I glanced toward the front hallway, then at the time on my watch. 5:30.
Were the Vanderbilts already back with Charlotte?
I pushed back from the island and stood. “To be continued,” I said, heading toward the door.
Then, since it might look a little strange if Charlotte’s grandparents walked in and found me sitting down to dinner alone with the same woman I’d just assured them two days ago wassimplyCharlotte’s nanny, I quickly added, “Uh… just stay here. I’ll be right back.”
The words came out a little more abruptly than I’d intended, and when I saw the faint flicker of confusion cross Nora’s face, my stomachtwisted.
Great.
Now she probably thought I was hiding her or something.
Which wasn’t what I meant at all. Not really, anyway.
I just… didn’t feel like explaining things to Charlotte’s grandparents tonight.
“Daddy!” Charlotte launched herself at me when I opened the front door.
“Hey, bug.” I laughed and scooped her up as she wrapped her arms around my neck.
She squeezed me tight, and I hugged her back just as tightly.
Then looking up at my mother-in-law next, I smiled and said, “Thanks for taking her this weekend.”
“Anytime,” Candice said warmly, glancing down at Charlotte. “We had so much fun.” But then she leaned closer and lowered her voice. “But wow, does that little girl have endless amounts of energy. I might need a full week to recover.”
“That sounds about right.” I chuckled.
Out in the driveway, my father-in-law was already pulling Charlotte’s car seat out of the back of the car.
“Go ahead and make yourself comfortable in the living room,” I told Alisha’s mom—hoping it wasn’t too obvious that I really didn’t want her wandering into the kitchen and discovering I’d invited my nanny to move in over the weekend. “I’ll help bring the rest in.”
I headed down the walkway toward the Vanderbilts’ car, and that was when I saw that Charlotte’s “weekend bag” had somehow multiplied. Not only had her little zoo of stuffed animals gained a few new friends, but there was also a brand-new suitcase sitting beside them, which I could only assume was full of new mini designer outfits.
I sighed as I hefted the bags out of the back.Looks like I might need to start decluttering Charlotte’s closet and toy room next.