“Sasha, I’m workingfora lawyer…as his nanny.”
“Isn’t that what I said?” She grinned. “I can’t help what conclusions Mike might draw, but he’s been really nice the last couple of days. And he asked how you were doing.”
“You are the worst.” I grinned at her.
“Or—counterpoint—am I the best?”
My first weekworking for Cole was awkward, to say the least, but it felt like I was where I was supposed to be. I let myself in every morning and made coffee while I waited for Cole to come downstairs. We made small talk about CJ while trying to avoid accidentally touching each other. On Tuesday, our fingertips brushed when I was handing him his travel mug, and I almost came apart. The same day, a jogging stroller was delivered, and when I mentioned it to Cole, all he said was, "Oh, good." During the day, I'd send him pictures and videos of CJ, and he'd always reply with a funny gif.
My days with CJ were fun, exhausting, and way too short. We spent most of our time at the park, but we also went to the Central Park Zoo, the Museum of Natural History, and a bunch of other kid-friendly destinations. We danced, sang songs, and took naps.
After a dry spell of a month and a half—I still hadn't heard anything about the last audition I went on—my agency called. They wanted to send me on two auditions, but I turned them down and didn't mention them to Cole.
When he came home at night, my new boss was always exhausted. After looking around for CJ and realizing I'd already put him to bed, he'd thank me. We'd make small talk and avoid touching each other for a few minutes. Then I'd say I had to go and offer to reheat dinner, but he'd refuse. When I came back in the morning, the leftovers were always gone.
I was walking home—tomy apartment at Kimberly's—from running after brunch with Sasha when I saw Cole and CJ leaving the brownstone.
"Hey, still my neighbor." He grinned at me and CJ leaned away from him, stretching his arms towards me and opening and closing his fists.
"Hi, cutie." I tickled CJ's belly as he wriggled in my arms while ignoring Cole's sarcasm. Finally, I looked into the eyes of the bigger version of the person trying to pick my nose. "Kimberly said I had until the end of the month. What's the rush?"
“No rush.” He reached up to rub the back of his neck. He was nervous. “Is something wrong with the apartment? You can change anything you want.”
"Well, since you asked. I'm not sure if I want to live in the apartment."
“Okay, well I can’t really afford to—”
"I mean, I was thinking, if it's okay with you… What if I moved into the room that's connected with CJ's room? It's bigger than my bedroom now, and I don't have a lot of stuff. I'd have my own bathroom. It's closer to this guy." I bounced CJ and kissed his belly.
Cole looked at me with his bottom lip tucked between his teeth and deep in thought. “Yeah.” He gave a little head nod. “I think that would be a great idea. I’d just have to clean all my stuff out.”
“What’s in there?”
“Mostly exercise equipment: weights and a treadmill.” He shrugged.
"So, that's where the magic happens." I laughed. I wondered how Cole was in such great shape. His body was beautiful, and he picked me up like I weighed nothing. I was in the middle of a particularly vivid flashback when I heard Cole say my name.
“You okay?”
“I’m fine.” I kissed the side of CJ’s head.
"You sure? You were saying something about magic, and then you just kind of drifted off." His grin told me he knew exactly where my thoughts had wandered.
"So, where are you two headed without a stroller?" I asked to change the subject.
“Family meeting.” He jerked his head at his parents’ brownstone on the corner. “Time to vote on the family vacation destination.”
“Wow. I haven’t been to a family meeting in years.”
“Your family has meetings too?”
"Well, there are seven of us, so it's a very efficient way of conveying information, but we never got to choose our family vacations. It was either Puerto Rico or Disney World."
"So, where would you go if you could pick anywhere in the world to go on vacation?"
"Puerto Rico," I answered without thinking. He furrowed his brow. "Yes, I've been there dozens of times, but it's the most beautiful place in the world. I haven't been in a few years, and my grandmother is getting older." I had to pause because thinking about Abuelita made me teary. I hadn't been to PR to see her in at least three years. "She makes the best chicken soup you've ever had. The beaches are beautiful, and the water is so blue. The people are amazing. The music is the best." I looked up to see Cole gazing at me with a lazy, half-smile.
“Sounds amazing.”
