Page 30 of The Nanny

“Yeah. She’s great with her. Half raised her, really.”

“She wasn’t entirely happy that Sophie came straight to me after Rebecca died. She seems to think she was the better choice, since, in her words, I was never there for Sophie like she was. It made for a lot of arguments in the beginning.”

“But you’re her dad,” I argue. “Of course she should be with you.”

“The courts agreed, but Iris...” He shakes his head. “Part of me thinks she’s just waiting for me to fuck all this up somehow.”

Oh. I know I’m sleepy, but something about Aiden’s deep voice uttering such a dirty word makes my stomach flutter. Definitely not the time, I think.

“It doesn’t help that I’m in the busiest time of my life, career-wise,” he goes on, sighing. “It keeps me away from home more than I’d like.”

I won’t pretend this doesn’t plunge my thoughts into my own childhood, thoughts rushing back of my parents and their jobs and the financial burden that I was constantly being remindedthat I was. I am almost one hundred percent certain that Aiden is nothing like my parents, since he actually seems to enjoy spending time with Sophie and tries to do so every chance he’s able; I pack away my own bias to try to see his side.

“I get it. You have to work. Plus, it’s not like you’re just leaving her here by herself. And you spend all your extra time with her when you aren’t working, right?”

“As much as I can,” he says with a nod. “I just...” He makes a frustrated sound. “I’m doing my best, but sometimes it feels like it’s not enough.”

“I’m sorry,” I say again. “I’m sure this isn’t what you wanted to come home to. I didn’t mean to hit a nerve.”

“No, no. I’m sorry for dumping this on you. It just weighs on me.”

“Don’t be,” I assure him, finally moving to the fridge to grab a water bottle. I pull it open. “We’ll just say that mild therapy is part of my duties. I’ll send my bill in the mail.”

His mouth quirks. “Obviously.”

“Anyway... I’m sure you’re tired. I’d better get back to not sleeping.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t want to keep you,” he chuckles.

“It’s thankless work, but someone has to do it.”

I close the fridge door with the intention of leaving him to himself, but he surprises me when he reaches out to grab my wrist loosely. I stare down at his thick fingers that are warm against my skin, looking back up to meet his concerned expression.

“Sorry,” he says quietly. “It’s just... You’re okay, right?”

I blink with confusion. “What?”

“I mean... she didn’t say anything to upset you, did she?”

“Me?”

Aiden nods. “It’s just... I hope she didn’t scare you off.”

“Oh.”

The thought hadn’t even crossed my mind. I mean, yeah, she was icy toward me, but I’m a big girl, and it’ll take more than Iris to rattle me.

“I’m fine,” I assure him. “Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere.”

He visibly relaxes. “Good.” I think he realizes it then, that he’s still holding my wrist, his face turning down to take it in before he quickly drops it. “Sorry. I’m tired. I wasn’t thinking.”

“It’s fine,” I answer quietly, that fluttering in my stomach now a rampant flapping of wings. “We should go to bed.”

His eyes widen a fraction, and then it dawns on me what I’ve said.

“I mean—” I feel my face heat. “I meant separately. Like, you go to bed, and I go to bed, and—”

“Right,” he says, saving me. Is it just me or is his voice lower than it was a second ago? “I know what you meant.”

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