“LA,” I said. “She’ll be back in a few weeks and then she’ll take Jack for the weekend. She’s working in London at some point soon too, so that’ll be easier.”
Hannah was Jack’s mum, my ex on-and-off girlfriend-slash-friend with benefits, and the absolute definition of a corporate baddie. She was a high-powered forensic accountant and if you saw her walking into your office, you either started praying or destroying hard drives. While her primary office was in London, she spent a lot of her time working abroad, wherever her firm sent her. It was one of the reasons I had sole physical custody of Jack. We got on well, though, and she tried to take Jack for one weekend a month alongside calling him every single night.
But she was never going to be around enough for day-to-day help, and I’d always known that and never resented her for it. It had been my choice to take custody, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
“That’s still not really a break, though,” Hunter said, picking up his water bottle. “It’s only a couple of nights and we’ll probably be playing.”
“Yeah, well, I’m pretty much solo parenting, so I don’t get a break.”
“Okay, you need help then,” Hunter said. “Don’t try and deny it.”
“Yeah but… nothing ever works out. I don’t know why,” I said, trying to dodge the question. I’d tried hiring nannies beforebut it’d never ended well because apparently I was difficult to work with. Which I thought was ridiculous, but it wasn’t my call.
Hunter and Bailey were both staring at me now with identical expressions ofyeah, sure, arms folded across their chests. “Are you serious?” Bailey asked. “You have no idea why?”
“Fine, I’m just particular,” I said sourly.
“Anal is another way to put it,” Hunter said.
“I wouldn’t say anal.” I sighed and stroked my beard, groaning when I realised there was half a Cheerio stuck to it. “Fine, maybe a bit. But Jack’s my son, and I don’t want him in the care of just anyone!”
“Weren’t you using an agency?” Bailey asked with a frown. “Surely everyone they hire is qualified?”
“Yeah, they are.” Very qualified in fact. Some of the best in the country. But that didn’t stop me from being particular.
And apparently my particularness meant I wasthisclose to being removed from the agency’s books and blacklisted. Which was why I hadn’t gotten back to them recently about finding anyone new. Plus a revolving door of nannies wasn’t good for Jack either.
I’d convinced myself I could do everything and still make things work with training and my role as captain, but this morning was proof that wasn’t the case.
Maybe it was time to give them another call.
And maybe this time, things would finally work out.
If they didn’t… well, I’d cross that bridge when I came to it.
CHAPTER TWO
Harper
I pulledmy car into the driveway of the address in Lincoln I’d been given by Annabelle at the agency, patting the steering wheel to thank it for another job well done. I hadn’t been expecting to have an interview for a job today, but when Annabelle had called, she’d made it sound urgent. There hadn’t been too many details she could give me beyond the job description, but I’d gotten a vague feeling this was a last-chance saloon kind of deal and I wasn’t sure if I should be excited or nervous.
Being a nanny was my dream job and, despite its physical and mental challenges, I loved it. There was something amazing about working with children, watching them grow and experience the world for the first time. As an adult, I might have forgotten the first time I did a cartwheel, or painted a picture, or grazed my knee, but getting to help children through those firsts—big, small, sad, and exciting—was a unique kind of magic that couldn’t be matched.
The only issue I’d ever had was the parents, because they could make or break a job.
And there was a funny feeling in my stomach that told me Matthew Graham might be the latter.
“Right,” I said to myself as I took a deep, centring breath. “Big smiles. It’s all going to be okay. Whatever the problem is, we can fix it.”
Grabbing my bag, I climbed out of the car, shaking out my slightly stiff joints from the drive, and took another look at the house. In the early evening light, it had a cosy feel, with warm brickwork on the ground floor and textured cream masonry paint on the second. The window frames were all painted a soft sage green and as I walked along the wide flagstone path towards the front door, I noticed it was the same colour with a stained glass panel in the top. There were plenty of flowers in the beds on either side of the path, with two lines of little solar-powered mushroom lights illuminating the way, and they were so cute I had to stop for a second to look at them properly.
If the job didn’t work out, I was going to have to ask where the lights were from so I could get some for myself even if I didn’t currently have a garden to put them in.
A security light above the door flicked on as I stepped in front of it and rang the bell, and as I glanced around I realised the line of trees and shrubs on this side of the front fence meant the road was nearly invisible. Clearly, Matthew wanted privacy.
Footsteps sounded on the other side, and I took another deep breath. I’d only had the briefest amount of time to read the details Annabelle had sent me, so I wasn’t completely sure what to expect.
But when the door swung open, all my half-assembled expectations vanished.
