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Annoyed, I said, “Twenty-five, Flo? She’s only gotten out of diapers.”

“Dean… you’re insufferable, and only six years older than her. We are interviewing her. You were twenty-six when you became a dad. This girl could be great and exactly what Ada needs.”

“See, even you called her a girl.”

I was working Flora’s nerves. “Dean…I’m not doing this with you. Eliana Collins will be here soon. Get your shit together.”

“Fine. I need a break. I’ll be back in a minute.” Leaving Flora sitting in the living room, I made my way to my bedroom to take breather. I felt like the whole thing was turning into a nightmare, and it was overwhelming. There would never be anyone good enough for my daughter. Her own mother dumped her on my doorstep.

Thinking back to that night, I was oblivious to life as a father and Ada changed everything. Now I can’t imagine my life without her, and I want her to have everything, including the perfect nanny, who I didn’t think existed.

The doorbell rang, snapping me out of my thoughts. I waited to go to the dining room, not interested in another flop, but tuned in from the hallway. Flora introduced herself. “Hi, Eliana, I’m Ada’s aunt Flora, and I’ve been taking care of her. Dean, her father, is down the hall. He’ll be here in just a minute. It’s nice to meet you.”

I kept listening for a minute before I made my way down the hall. Eliana’s voice sounded angelic, soft, and cheerful. “It’s nice to meet you, Flora. Thanks for the opportunity to interview.” It stopped me in my tracks. I was intrigued. Flora talked about Ada and what we were looking for in a nanny. Eliana chimed in about the different activities she knew would help socialize Ada, and well, I was impressed.

Flora continued, “I’m sorry, Eliana. I don’t know what’s taking Dean so long. I promise we aren’t wasting your time here today.”

Eliana laughed, “It’s okay. It must be nerve-wrecking for him.”

That was my cue. "Ladies, my apologies. Please continue.” Flora introduced Eliana to me, so I reached to shake her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Eliana. That’s a beautiful name.” I felt like an idiot commenting on her name. Her hand was so soft, too.

“Oh, thank you. I was named after my aunt.”

Flora perked up at that. “Oh my god! So, Ada’s middle name is Flora, after me. How special.”

I listened as Flora and Eliana talked the entire time. I tried to soak up everything Eliana was saying. The thing that shocked me the most was her hair. It was red, like Flora’s and Ada’s. How was it possible to be surrounded, not by one or two, but three red heads? It may seem strange, but it seemed like the universe was screaming, this is the one. I couldn’t get enough of her soft voice and wanted her to keep talking. It was ridiculous. She was there to be a nanny to my kid, I scolded myself.

“Dean…? Dean…?” Blinking out of my trance, I turned to Flora. She asked, “Are you alright? Do you have any questions for Eliana?”

“Oh, no…I don’t think so. Eliana, it was great of you to consider us. Actually, I do have one final question. When would you be available to start?”

She smiled at me. “I can start right away, Sir.”

The Sir made my dick twitch, and I wasn’t expecting that. As we stood up from the table, I could see that Eliana was quite a bit shorter than me. Staring down at her, I admired her curvy figure. She was even more beautiful than when she was sitting.

It was quiet for a moment before I gave a tense smile and said, “Alright, we’ll be in touch. Flora will walk you to the door.” Gesturing for the two of them to lead the way. Once they passed me, I turned and walked to the bathroom at a brisk pace. Putting my hands on the sink, I inhaled a deep breath to calm myself.

Staring in the mirror, I saw a face that looked weathered, but somehow still young at the same time. A few stray gray hairs streaked through my brown hair. Unexpectedly becoming a father had aged me beyond my years. Still, Ada was worth it, and I would die to protect her. Eliana was the perfect nanny. No question. It was a long interview, but I could tell from the conversation we had, she was smart, caring, and was genuinely happy about working with kids.

When I went back downstairs, Flora was standing in the kitchen. “Well, what do you think? I think she’s great!”

“She’s perfect. Call her this afternoon and give her the job. She can start tomorrow.”

Flora gasped and flashed me a big grin. It was time to get on with it. I just hoped it would work out.

Chapter 4

Eliana

Mr. Thorne… he’s hot. My god. I’m not sure who I was expecting to meet, but it wasn’t him. When he walked down the hall to meet us, I had to remember to breathe. I wanted him. He’s young. Well, he’s older than me, six years older than me, but that’s not bad. Six years isn’t a bad age gap for a man I can’t have.

Never mind the lovely fact that I was in a relationship already. After the interview, I met TJ at the Maple Lane Café where I found him sitting outside at a table. He asked, “Hey babe, how’d it go?” He got up and kissed my cheek. We had been dating for about six months, but I’ll be honest, I was a bit bored. I’m not the trophy-wife type and all TJ seemed to want to do was play golf and have me along as a show piece. He never once offered to teach me how to play, not that I wanted to learn. I hate golf.

Smiling, I said, “It was great. I’ve got good vibes about this one.”

TJ looked skeptical. “That’s what you said about the other one and the one before that and neither one has called.” He was a bit of a pessimist, and an asshole, and it was irritating. He had short, blonde, wavy hair and looked like he belonged on a beach somewhere. He was athletic, but not like Dean, that’s for sure. Dean had real muscles. TJ still looked like a boy that went to the gym once in a while.

I shrugged. “So what? I know a good feeling when I feel it, and this one is going to be the one. It was Mr. Thorne and his sister, Flora, who interviewed me. Flora helps care for his daughter when he’s working but it’s getting harder for her to help him.”