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“Right.” Ryan nodded, though he looked a little hesitant. “Have a nice evening.”
Liam waited for Ryan to disappear down the hall before entering his office and firing up his computer. The next few hours passed in a blur of contracts to sign and crises to handle. Liam ordered dinner to the office and ate while working, barely aware of time passing. All thoughts of his wife and child were banished from his mind, leaving him with the kind of clarity he was used to.
When Liam finally left the office and returned home late that night, all the lights were off. Both Amelia’s and Grace’s doors were closed. Liam popped into the kitchen for a glass of water and noticed that the fridge had been stocked with neatly labeled plastic containers of halved grapes, carrot sticks, and cheese blocks. Again, a strange feeling struck Liam as he looked at the toddler snacks in the fridge. Whether he liked it or not, his life had already begun to change. The only thing he could do now was wait to see how much would be the same when the storm passed.
CHAPTER 9
AMELIA
“Meel! Meel!” Grace’s delighted shrieks reached Amelia from across the playground. Amelia peered around the structure to see Grace seated on a bouncing plastic horse. Her pigtails flew up and down as she bounced, and her expression was one of pure joy.
“Cool!” Amelia enthused. She skirted the playground to Grace. “You’re riding a horse!”
“Horsey!” Grace bounced some more. “Horsey!”
“Aunt Amelia!” Amelia turned to see Jamie bounding across the playground towards them.
“Jamie!” Amelia gave the little boy a quick hug. Grace slid off the plastic horse and came to stand behind Amelia’s legs with a shy expression.
“There you are!” Amelia glanced up to see Katie crossing the playground, Jade in her arms. Since it was a Saturday, Katie was dressed in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, just like Amelia.
At the sight of her sister, Amelia felt her heart sink. Almost a week had passed since she had moved in with Liam to take care of Grace — and pretend to be his wife. Amelia had told her siblings that she’d taken a new job as a nanny, but hadn’t offered any details about her unusual relationship with Liam. Katie was going to have a lot of questions.
“Hi, Katie.”
“Hi!”
Jamie was trying to push past Amelia’s legs to find Grace. Grace hugged Amelia’s legs and buried her face behind her knee.
“Jamie, this is Grace. Grace, Jamie.” Amelia bent down and smiled at both children. “Jamie, Grace is feeling a little shy. Do you want to show her the sandbox?”
“Come on, Grace.” Jamie took Grace’s hand and led her towards the sandbox. After a moment of hesitation, Grace followed.
“So.” Katie looked from Amelia to Grace and back. “You’re a nanny now?”
“Yep.” Amelia crossed her arms.
“That’s a bit of a career change.”
“Yep.”
“Does it pay well?”
“Actually, yes.”
Katie tilted her head to the side. “Amelia, I’m a little confused. I thought you weren’t ready to get back into work — and that when you did, you were going to look for a job that won’t take up so much of your heart. But now you’re a live-in nanny to a little girl?”
“Yep.” Amelia sighed. “I know it seems a little unusual, but I’m happy.”
“Well.” Katie shrugged. “That’s enough for me. Come on, let’s sit down.” The sisters walked to a bench beside the sandbox, where Grace and Jamie were digging a hole using two sticks. “So, how did you find this job, anyway?”
“Remember that businessman I met, the one Jamie spilled ice cream on?”
“Whoa.” Katie turned to Amelia. “Did you become a nanny to that guy? Is he married?”
“Yes and no. After we met, he asked me to a meeting. It turned out that he’d just gained full custody of his daughter and that he needed help with her.”
“Wow.” Katie pretended to fan herself. “This is seeming more and more like fate brought you two together. Have you spent a lot of time with him? What was his name again? Liam?”
