Page 5 of Six of Hearts
"The Kid Cruiser," I repeated, imagining the twins cracking up as I said it.
"When we first decided to combine our nannies into one position, we bought a van for the nanny to use. I handed the keys to the nanny and made a Freudian slip, calling it a 'Kid Cruiser' not a 'Van.' The kids thought it was hysterical, and so it became the 'Kid Cruiser.'"
Aria giggled, and the sound did something to me. "That's so cute."
"You'll have the van at your disposal. Feel free to use it for whatever needs you have so long as you're getting the kids wherethey need to go, and we'll make sure it gets a full tank of gas over the weekend so you're good to go on Monday," I told her.
She nodded, still smiling. "Wonderful. It sounds like you guys really have done everything to make things go smoothly."
"Well, we've done what we can, but we're glad we have you to come in and do what we can't for them," I responded, and I meant it. Our kids deserved someone who cared. Someone who saw them as more than a paycheck or a responsibility.
I stood up and held out a hand for her to shake. "Welcome to the family."
Aria stood up, clutching the folder close to her chest. She took my hand, and her skin was soft and warm against mine. "Thank you. I'm happy to help."
I held her hand perhaps a moment longer than was strictly professional, then released it and led her out of my office and down to her car. We made small talk about the neighbourhood, about parking, about when she should call if she had questions.
All the while, I was thinking about the phone call I needed to make.
As soon as her car pulled away from the curb, I was pulling out my phone.
"Ronan," I said when he picked up. "Get Gabriel and Liam and head over. We need to talk."
"You found someone?" His voice was cautious, hopeful.
"Yeah," I said, watching Aria's car disappear around the corner. "I think I did. And guys... I think she might be the one."
I could hear the smile in Ronan's voice. "We'll be there in twenty."
I hung up and headed back inside, already thinking about how to explain Aria to the others. How to convey that she wasn't just qualified, wasn't just good with kids.
She was special.
And if we were very, very lucky, she might be exactly what we'd all been looking for.
Three
Ronan
The call from Noah came while I was reviewing blueprints for a client's renovation—something about reinforced load-bearing walls that required my full attention. But the moment I heard his voice, tight with barely contained excitement, I knew the blueprints could wait.
"We need to meet tonight. Tonight. I think we've found her."
Twenty minutes later, I was pulling up to Gabriel's place, watching him stride out in jeans and a dark henley, his usual intensity dialed up a notch. He slid into the passenger seat while Liam climbed in back, and I could feel the anticipation radiating off both of them.
“Noah, say anything else?" Gabriel asked, buckling in.
"Just that we needed to get there. He interviewed someone today."
"Please let this one work out," Liam muttered from the back seat. "Mila asks about the last nanny constantly. She doesn't understand why people keep leaving."
I glanced at him in the rearview mirror. Liam was the youngest of our group, still finding his footing in this unconventional arrangement we'd built. The last nanny situation had shaken him—had shaken all of us, really. When personal feelings got tangled up with professional responsibilities, everything fell apart.
"The kids deserve stability," Gabriel said, his jaw tight. "Caleb's been acting out at school again. His teacher thinks it's because of all the changes."
I heard what he wasn't saying: that Gabriel blamed himself, that the revolving door of caregivers was wearing on all of them. For all his intensity, Gabriel was a devoted father. That's what had brought us together in the first place—six single dads trying to figure out how to give our kids the stability we couldn't provide alone.
"We'll be more careful this time," I said, keeping my eyes on the road. "No rushing into anything."
