“Well,” I said, softly brushing my thumb over her cheek. “Then I guess you probably figured out that Ilike Nora a lot.”
“I like her, too,” she said immediately. Then she leaned closer and added very seriously, “Iloooooveher.”
Which, of course she did.
Charlotte loved with her whole soul.
But I really couldn’t blame her for loving this particular nanny, since we really hit the jackpot with Nora.
She’d saved us in our time of need. Brought so much happiness into mine and Charlotte’s life. Given us love and laughter and hope.
And so, needing to let Charlotte know that we were on the same page, I swallowed and said, “I think I might love her, too.”
Charlotte’s whole expression softened like she’d just heard the best news. Then smiling big and bright, she asked, “Can she be my new mommy?”
My heart squeezed so hard it almost hurt.
Because part of me wanted to say yes so fast—wanted to scoop Nora up, keep her, and make her ours forever.
But one magical month of dating was probably a bit quick to get down on one knee, so I kissed Charlotte’s forehead and said, “Maybe someday. But first, I was thinking it would be fun to ask Nora to be my girlfriend.”
Charlotte’s eyes widened again. “Yourgirlfwend?”
“Yes,” I said. “You know how Aunt Lucy and Owen are boyfriend and girlfriend? I think it would be nice for Nora and me to be boyfriend and girlfriend, too.”
“Ohhh, yes!” Charlotte clapped her hands together. “And I can be your princess.”
“Of course.” I smiled. “You’ll always be my little princess.”
She beamed so hard I thought her cheeks might actually explode. Then she launched herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck, and I hugged her back, breathing her in for a second.
When I pulled away, I held her shoulders gently. “But,” I said, lowering my voice even more, “I need you to help me.”
Charlotte’s face went serious again. “Otay.”
“I want it to be a surprise. Do you know what a surprise is?”
She gasped. “Like your birthday party?”
“Yeah.” I huffed a quiet laugh. “Kind of like that.”
Then glancing toward the bedroom doorway to make sure Nora was still busy, I said, “I want to do something special for Nora when I ask her. And I’ll need your help. Do you think you can do that?”
“Yes, Daddy.” Charlotte nodded. Then she squealed quietly and hugged me again, squeezing like she was trying to keep the secret inside her body.
Right on cue, I heard a door open in the bedroom next to us. Nora’s footsteps. The soft click of a drawer.
I lifted a finger to my lips.
Charlotte copied me instantly, lips pressed together like she was holding in a whole firework show.
“Just remember,” I whispered, “you can’t tell Nora anything until we do the surprise tonight, okay?”
“Otay.” Charlotte nodded solemnly.
And then she grinned at me like we were the sneakiest team in the world.
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