Page 18 of The Single Dad Dilemma

Don’t worry, it’s chocolate milk!

I breathe a sigh of relief. I can’t imagine what coffee would do to a five-year-old, especially one as wild as Lou. See, it’s moments like this when I’m convinced she’s the perfect fit. As a nanny, I mean. She assuages my worries before I even have to say anything.

I place my phone in my back pocket and step into the front room before pulling up a chair to the circle that’s formed. Sometime between stepping into the hallway and reading my texts, Avery came in and sat down. These meetings are far from formal. If anything, they usually spiral into talking about our personal lives, like some sort of men’s group therapy session.

“I’ll get the business end of this out of the way,” Avery says. “We’re on the docket for three conventions in the next month. Is everyone ready for that?”

We all nod, having known the dates for a while now. On convention weekends, the shop has no appointments and isn’t open. We’ve already briefed all our clients who are in the middle of large pieces and have moved their appointments around to make sure everyone is taken care of.

“I’ve secured hotel reservations for all of us,” I say. “Four singles.” Since Avery needs to be with Helena, he’s not coming.

“We’re not sharing hotel rooms?” Waylon asks.

“Fuck no, dude,” Killian says. “This isn’t summer camp.”

“Yeah, there’s convention babes,” Banks says. “I need privacy.”

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that,” I say. “And to sum up, no, we aren’t sharing rooms. We’re grown men. I don’t want to stare at any of you while I go to sleep.”

“Do you have arrangements for Lou?” Avery asks.

“Yeah, her grandparents are covering the weekends,” I say.

“And how’s the new nanny?” Banks asks, raising an eyebrow.

“She’s good. It’s working out.” The guys all give one another a look, like they have a secret I’m not privy to. “What?”

“We’ve just noticed you seem to be in a pretty good mood lately,” Waylon says. “It just had us wondering if it had something to do with her?”

I roll my eyes, cursing myself for not anticipating this. All these guys are younger than me and can’t fathom having a relationship with a woman that doesn’t end in sex.

“Nothing is going on between me and Darcy,” I say. “She’s good with Lou. That’s it.”

“Is she hot?” Banks asks.

“I’m not answering that.”

“So she is hot!” he says.

“She’s ten years younger than me, for Christ’s sake.”

“Oh, so maybe I should take a crack at her,” he says.

“Banks, if you try to fuck my daughter’s nanny, I will kill you.”

I don’t really relish the thought of anyone trying to fuck Darcy, actually. But he doesn’t need to know that. I don’t think she has a boyfriend. At least, she hasn’t mentioned one. I feel like that would’ve come up in conversation by now, but who knows. It’s none of my business anyway.

Great, now I’m sitting here thinking about what kind of men she dates. Are they her age? Are they decent guys? Is she on dating apps? Maybe she likes them older. And tattooed. Not that it would matter. Much.

“Avery, how’s Helena doing?” Waylon asks.

Grateful for the subject change, I turn my attention to Avery. He looks a bit more tired than normal. I know he said it’s been difficult. The dark circles under his eyes certainly tell a tale.

“She’s okay, but she’s on bed rest and it’s driving her batshit crazy. She can’t move, can’t get up without help, and has to be escorted everywhere. Which is my job, unless there’s stuff I absolutely have to do. Her sister, Blythe, has been helping a lot.” He wipes a hand down his face, looking positively ready for the pregnancy to be over.

“Let us know if you need anything, man,” Killian says.

“Thanks,” Avery says. “I appreciate it. She’s just restless but also insanely uncomfortable. Oh, we’re having a boy, by the way.”

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