Page 66 of Sew Matcha in Love
After delivering all the bags and gear where they needed to go, I joined the girls at the counter that separated the kitchen from the living area while Arwyn unpacked Chef’s lunch. She’d brought her white apron with the ruffles and wore it over a blue cardigan that brought out the lightness in her eyes. A plaid skirt, in colors similar to the flannel I had on, peeked out from under the apron.
“Anything we can do to help?” I asked.
She shook her head but smiled as she placed my plate in front of me.
“Look, girls—just what I wanted! Salmon with a side of salad. Can you say that fast ten times?”
I took a bite and winked at Arwyn as the girls accepted the challenge.
“Salmon with a side of salad. Salmon with a side of salad. Salmon with a slide of salad! Salmon with a slide of slallad! Slammin’ with a slide of slallad!”
“Nice try,” I commended them. “Slammin’ salmon makes it sound so much better.”
Arwyn placed their plates of sandwiches and fruit on their placemats and then came around the counter to sit in the stool next to me to eat her grilled chicken salad. The girls were ignoring us, still trying to outdo each other and beat the tongue twister, so I took the opportunity to check in.
I leaned away from the girls and spoke low. “Are we okay?”
She nodded. Her lips twitched, then spread into a small smile. “I am if you are.”
“I’m better than okay,” I assured her. I took a bite of salmon and chose my words carefully. “There are pictures. From the gala. And a video. If you see them, just scroll past, okay?”
I didn’t think her ivory complexion could get paler, but it did. All color drained from her face as she pulled her phone out of her pocket and pulled up social media. She went directly to Instagram and typed in my handle.
Photo after photo, plus reels of us kissing by the gazebo, some with captions—favorable and unfavorable—but a common theme throughout.
The Nanny That Stole His Heart. Is Marshy Marriage-Minded? Hot for the Help! Puck Bunny or Black Cat for Denver’s Most Eligible Dad?
After a few seconds, all I could see was red.
Before our relationship could even have a chance, it was hit with this test. This was not how it was supposed to go. I desperately wanted a chance for our love to grow privately—not on social media, in front of the world.
“Excuse me, girls. I think I left something in the car.” Arwyn slid off her stool and speed-walked to the front door.
“Daddy, can we help her find it?” Amelie asked.
“Yes, let’s!” Isla agreed, and before I could answer, they were off and running out the door.
I followed them and watched from the window. I needed to call Viki.
“So, you and the nanny, huh?” Viki sounded upbeat and happy.
“Me and the nanny.” I sighed. “If she’ll even have me after this. Sorry I didn’t tell you. I caught big feels, and last night was so fancy—I couldn’t hold back.”
“I’m happy for you. But”—she blew out a breath—“does this mean you’re staying in Colorado?”
“What? No.”
“Her life is there, Zak. If she’s someone you want to be with, does she know that you’ll put the girls first?”
“She knows. And honestly? I’m pretty sure she’ll put them before me.” I opened the door to get a better look, and the dogs almost tripped me trying to get out there. The girls were inside the van. The trunk was open, and Arwyn was pulling out blankets. When the girls emerged from the back, she wrapped them each in a blanket and closed the trunk.
“I’m glad. But Zak, if you want to stay in Colorado?—”
“I don’t. And if that’s a dealbreaker, that’s a dealbreaker. We’ll part as friends at the end of the season.”
“Even if she’s the one that completes you?”
On top of the tree trunk I used to split logs, Arwyn had the girls’ Anna and Elsa dolls and was performing some sort of skit. The girls giggled as they watched. I reached back inside to snag the dogs’ leashes from the hook just inside the door.
