Page 169 of The Nanny and the Hothead
For what must be the millionth time in the last five minutes, Charlotte’s gobsmacked mouth hung open. “You had lunch with Penny, Harper, and Libby?”
Madelyn folded her hands in her lap. “I did. They’re such lovely young women. I understand you’ve been friends for quite a while. You met in kindergarten?”
Charlotte sat back as the muscles in her neck relaxed. Maybe it hadn’t been a Charlotte Ames gab-fest. “Yes, I owe a debt of gratitude to our kindergarten teacher. She assigned the four of us to the same table, and here we are twenty years later, still the best of friends.”
“Ms. Miliken, correct?” the woman replied.
“Yes, that was her. She was a truly kind and generous woman. Sometimes, I wonder where she is and what she’s doing.”
“Funny how people can come into your life and change it forever,” Madelyn mused, her rich vibrato voice taking on a faraway quality.
Charlotte nodded. “It is.”
“Like Mitch and Oscar?” the woman shot back as her gaze slid to the key.
She still had it on. She couldn’t bring herself to take it off—couldn’t bring herself to believe that she’d never know if it unlocked Mitch’s heart. “Have you spoken to Mitch?” she asked, glancing out the window at the sea of cars.
“Yes, I’ve spoken with Mitch quite extensively over the last couple of days. I take it, you haven’t?” Madelyn answered with a distinct lilt to her voice.
This was it—the moment she’d learn if her nannying days were over.
“No…um…well…I…” she began when Madelyn cut off her hemming and hawing.
“You fell in love with him,” the woman stated.
Charlotte stared into the nanny match maven’s dark eyes. “Yes.”
“And?” Madelyn prodded.
“And we had a fight. I didn’t tell him about the photography opportunity in London, and he said that I’d betrayed him for keeping the workshop a secret. He said I’d be leaving him when he needed me the most. His book is due to Gwen. He didn’t have an ending for it. I know that it was weighing heavy on his heart. If you’ve spoken to Mitch, I assume you know the rest,” she added, recalling his fierce expression and his blue eyes awash with pain and anger.
“Yes, I do,” the woman agreed.
Charlotte steadied herself. “Is that why you’re here—because it’s the final day of the nanny match trial period?”
Madelyn weighed the question. “I guess I am.”
What?
“You guess?” she blurted. “I figured you were here to tell me that it’s over—that Mitch wants you to find him a new nanny for Oscar.”
“What do you want?” the woman countered.
Charlotte shook her head. “I don’t understand. I thought if one party wanted to end the nanny match contract, that meant it was over.”
“Would you say Mitch and Oscar are your perfect match?” the woman pressed.
Charlotte stared out the window, twisting the key between her fingers. “I couldn’t stand Mitch when I worked for him at the Crystal Cricket. I never meant to fall in love with him…with them…with Mitch and Oscar.”
“Love is a funny thing. It can find you when you least expect it, but often when you need it the most,” Madelyn answered, her words floating in the air like fairy dust.
“Mitch called me a liar. He thinks I betrayed him,” she said, her voice barely a whisper. But that was the truth. He’d chosen not to accept her apology. And that’s where they’d left it.
“Those are some serious allegations,” Madelyn replied, her expression giving nothing away.
Charlotte’s mouth grew dry. “I know. Has Mitch told you what he wants?”
Madelyn adjusted her scarf. “He has.”
