The Setup and the Substitute by Jiffy Kate

Chapter 9

Owen

Normally,the morning before a road trip, my gut is twisted in knots as I think about leaving the kids and all the things that could go wrong while I’m hundreds of miles away. But this morning, I’m calm, except for the fact I know I’ll see Sophie soon.

That’s the only thing that has me on edge and I’m trying very hard to compartmentalize this relationship and put Sophie in a box. Not the box she mentioned the other day, making assumptions about her based on her last name, but a box that’s labeled “Nanny—do not touch”.

Don’t touch her.

Don’t fantasize about her.

Don’t even think about her.

Except for when I have to, because she’s now officially my employee, who will be living in my house.

“I’m going to miss you,” Molly says, sitting beside me at the counter while she eats her scrambled eggs. It’s a bit early for her to be up and around already, but she was so excited about Sophie coming today she could hardly sleep last night.

Leaning over, I kiss the top of her head. “I’m going to miss you too, Molls. Be good for Sophie and look out for Ryan, okay? You know you’re my eyes and ears when I’m gone.”

“Right,” she says matter-of-factly, swinging her feet and kicking my calf on every pass. I smooth down her hair and give her little shoulder a squeeze. “But you don’t have to worry about it,” she continues, still scooping up eggs on her fork. “Sophie is going to be a great nanny.”

I can’t help but smile at her confidence. Plus, I feel the same. Sophie is exactly what I’ve wanted all along—someone who not only loves kids but is passionate about them. She’s also up to date on her Red Cross certifications, including water safety. There was nothing negative on her background check, and it confirmed what she’d already told me about her education and previous employers, including a brief stint at her family’s law office.

She’s a perfect candidate on paper.

And, quite honestly, I wish she was under contract for longer than six months, but I’m going to be happy about it and hope I can find a comparable replacement when her time is up.

A sleepy Ryan comes shuffling down the hall about that time and Molly immediately starts laughing. His hair is sticking up in every direction and his shirt is on backwards.

“Hey, buddy,” I say gently, hopping off the barstool and going over to him. Kneeling down in front of him, I rub his hair, trying to smooth is down a little. “Good morning.”

“Good morning,” he says with a yawn. “I made you this for your suitcase.”

He pulls out a folded piece of paper and hands it to me. It’s a little wrinkled, like he’s been holding onto it for a while. When I unfold it, I see an adorable purple and green dinosaur—make that three dinosaurs—and my chest fills with warmth.

“Is this you?” I ask, pointing to the smallest dinosaur.

He nods, pointing to the tallest. “That’s you. And that’s Molly.”

“I love it,” I tell him, folding it back up and tucking it safely in my pocket. “Thank you. I’ll put it with Molly’s butterfly.”

He smiles big and I wrap my arms around him, squeezing him so tight he starts to giggle. But I can’t help it. I love him so much I feel like my heart is going to explode out of my chest sometimes.

Leaning back, I hold him at arm’s length as I check out what he’s got going on—a green t-shirt with yellow and blue plaid shorts, which I can let slide, but that hair needs some work.

“How about we go fix this hair,” I tell him, already poking his arms back through the sleeves of his t-shirt as I help him twist it around the right way. “Then we can come back and I’ll make you a pancake while we wait for Sophie.”

At the mention of her name, his smile grows.

On our way back down the hallway to his bathroom, he grabs my hand. “Thanks for getting us Sophie,” he says, like I went to the store and bought her.

Shaking my head, I try not to laugh. “Maybe you should tell her thank you for agreeing to be your nanny.”

“I will.”

“And be good for her while I’m gone,” I reiterate, even though we had a big talk last night about how important it is for them to make Sophie’s job easy. They know I have to be gone for my job so I can make money to pay for the house we live in. And the swimming pool. And dinosaurs. And ice cream. And CoComelon.

It got a little off-track, but I tried to impress on them the importance of making this work, without coming right out and telling them she’s our last hope and if they scare her off, we’re screwed.

After I spray down his hair with a water bottle and style it for him, we brush his teeth and head back to the kitchen for the pancake I promised.

Just as I’m getting the kitchen back in order, the doorbell rings and both kids fly out of their seat at record speed and rush the front door.

I’m not sure what I expect, but Sophie’s fresh face and bright smile is a welcome sight. She kneels down and hugs Molly and Ryan, telling them good morning. “Who’s ready for a great day?” she asks, peeking up at me, like I’m included in their little hug fest.

The kids answer her enthusiastically and I smile back at her, but it feels tight and forced. Not that I don’t want to smile at Sophie. I do. But I’m also trying really damn hard to keep myself in check and finding it tough to balance being nice to her and being more than nice to her.

Checking my watch, I see it’s about fifteen minutes before my driver will be by to pick me up and I almost cringe. I was hoping her arrival and my departure would be in sync, but of course Sophie is early.

“They’ve already had breakfast,” I tell her. “And their backpacks are ready to go.”

“Lunches?” she asks, slipping the strap of her bag over her head and placing it on the hook by the front door.

Molly takes Sophie’s hand and starts pulling her into the kitchen. “Daddy made them last night, but you can pack them tomorrow.”

Sophie laughs, glancing over her shoulder at me. “I can’t wait.”

Standing there like an idiot, I shake myself out of the stupor she always seems to put me in and motion to the stairs. “I need to make sure I have everything together.” After climbing them two at a time, escaping to my bedroom, I take a cleansing breath and run a hand through my hair.

Her intoxicating scent—flowery and sweet—is back in full force and chipping away at my restraint.

How am I going to employ and cohabitate with this woman and keep things professional?

It would be easier if I thought this attraction was one-sided, but I see the way she looks at me. Those translucent blue eyes are like windows to her soul and I can see it—the spark.

It’s why she flew out of my house like a bat out of hell the other day.

She’s fighting it too.

Standing in my bedroom, I feel like an idiot for hiding out, but I just need the next ten minutes to go by and then I’ll be out of here for the next five days. While I’m gone, I’ll fortify the walls I built when Lisa left and by the time I get back, everything will be back to normal.

Well, normal may be taking it a step too far. I’m not sure anything has been normal in my life for a long damn time, but I’ll be back in control of myself and not reacting to every move Sophie Callahan makes.

Once five minutes have passed, I head back downstairs and give Molly and Ryan the rundown one last time—reminding them of their manners, to be good for Sophie, and for their teachers at school. I promise them an ice cream date when I get back if they’re good.

There’s zero shame in my bribing game.

“If you need anything—” I start as I grab my bag, but Sophie cuts me off.

“The Thatcher Bible is in the drawer and I saved all the emergency numbers to my phone.” She holds it up, waving it in the air before slipping it back into her pocket.

“And if you need someone to watch Molly and Ryan for you while I’m gone, there’s also an emergency list of babysitters and people who can fill in.”

Sophie cocks an eyebrow. “So, if I need someone to do my job, you have people for that as well?”

“I like to be prepared,” I tell her, hoisting my bag a little higher on my shoulder. “We’ve had nannies dropping like flies for the past few months. You just never know what’s going to happen.”

She smiles, nodding her head. “Well, I’m not sure what number I am, but whatever it is… this time’s the charm. We got this, right guys?” she asks, holding a hand out for a high five. Molly and Ryan both jump up to give her one and if I didn’t know better, I’d think they’d rehearsed it.

“I love you guys,” I tell my kids, getting hugs for the road. “I’ll call tonight before bed.”

Sophie gives me one last reassuring smile and then I head for the door.

Ever since Marie left, it’s been like a constant game of Tetris—this person filling in here, that person filling in there. So-and-so picks the kids up from school while so-and-so drops them off.

It’s been a lot.

So, when the car drives away from the house and I don’t get an immediate knot of worry in the pit of my stomach, I almost don’t know what to do with myself.

When I board the plane an hour later and take my seat next to Ross, I actually feel relaxed.

It’s almost disarming.

“Hey, man. How’s it going?” he asks.

“Fine,” I say, a little gruffer than I mean to.

“You sure about that?” He laughs, giving me the side eye. “Everything okay with the kids?”

I lean back in my seat and nod. “Yeah, they’re good… great, actually.”

“And you found a new nanny?”

I nod again.

“Are you worried about leaving? She just started, right?”

“Yes, I mean, no. I’m not worried about leaving, but yes, she just started this morning, actually.”

He exhales. “I guess I’ll tell you like my mom tells me all the time, this too shall pass. One of these days, your kids will be grown and you’ll wish you were still worried about nannies and shit.”

Running a hand through my scruff, I shake my head. “That’s just it, I’m not worried and it’s kind of freaking me out. Everything has been so crazy since we moved to New Orleans, but for the first time, I feel like I’ve found someone who’s going to take better care of them than I can and the kids love her.”

Ross’s hand lands on my shoulder and he squeezes. “We need a drink.”

I laugh. “That doesn’t sound half bad.”

Once we’ve ordered drinks and some breakfast, Ross starts back up our conversation. “So tell me more about the new nanny. Did you get her as a referral?”

“I’d rather talk about baseball,” I mutter, needing to get my mind off Sophie and back on the game. Besides that, I’m afraid of what might come out of my mouth. I need more time and distance, because even as I sit in this seat, thirty thousand feet in the air and already hundreds of miles away, I can still smell her sweet scent.

“We’ve got some tough games ahead,” Ross says absentmindedly as we both settle back into our seats.

I grunt my agreement. “We need a sweep.”

“Shit, if we can just win three of the four, I’ll be happy,” Ross adds.

“Maybe we need to bring the beignets and beers on the road,” I say with a chuckle. “Seems to work for us when we’re at home.”

“Not a bad idea,” Ross agrees. “I wonder if we can get a same-day delivery from Cafe du Monde?”