Page 15 of Whisper Sweet Nothings
Fuck.
My alarm hadn’t gone off, and I’d overslept.
I had a full day of meetings, and I couldn’t afford to be late. Not to mention Mrs. Groucher didn’t take kindly to being late, and I didn’t have time for a lecture on my lack of responsible parenting this morning.
I tugged on my sweatpants and heard Melody shouting from her bedroom, asking who was here.
“My alarm didn’t go off. Get up, angel face. We need to get moving.” I jogged to the front door and tugged it open.
Winnie stood on the other side wearing a white sweater, some baggy faded jeans, and cowboy boots. Her eyes scanned my chest, and I remembered I hadn’t pulled on a tee.
“Sorry, I uh—we overslept. Come in.” I stepped back as she walked past me. “I need to grab a shower, and get Melody dressed, and make breakfast. So you can chill on the couch or go bring your stuff into the casita if you want.”
She chuckled. “Relax. I’m the nanny, remember? You don’t need to entertain me. How about you go shower, and I get Melody dressed for school and make breakfast?”
It hit me at that moment that I hadn’t had a nanny who actually helped me with anything before now.
“Really?” I shrugged. “Yeah, that would be great.”
“Winnie? Is that you?” Melody called out from her room.
“It’s me. And I’m coming to get you ready for school, and we’re going to make a delicious breakfast together.”
And just like that, I made my way to my bathroom and shut the door. I took my time in the shower for the first time in a while. I was always hustling and in a hurry, but the fact that I didn’t need to get Melody dressed this morning or make breakfast meant I didn’t need to rush.
I dried off and slipped on some dark jeans and a dress shirt before combing my hair and getting myself ready.
When I stepped out into the hallway, I heard Melody giggling and the sound of pots and pans being moved around. Country music played softly in the background on Alexa, and the smell of bacon flooded my senses as I came around the corner.
“Daddy!” Melody ran over to me. “Good mornin’, handsome.”
I chuckled and scooped her up. “Good morning, angel face. How’d you sleep?”
“I had all the dreams, Daddy.”
I set her back down, noting that her hair was braided in a way I’d never be able to manage. She had a bow at the end of her braid that matched one Winnie was wearing. She had her back to me as she stood at the stove, cooking eggs and bacon. She glanced over her shoulder and smiled. “I hope it’s okay that I grabbed what was in the fridge to make breakfast?”
“Yeah, of course. We don’t usually get this fancy of a breakfast unless it’s the weekend.” I walked over to where she’d made a fresh pot of coffee.
Damn. I could get used to this. I always had to make Mrs. Dowden’s coffee for her and bring it to her.
My family was right. I needed help, and this was much better than the situation I’d been in for the past two years.
Winnie and I had discussed her salary, which she seemed very pleased with. But she’d agreed to be flexible with her hours, and I needed that right now. Room and board was also included, and at the moment I was very grateful that she was going to be living here at the house.
It would make life much more manageable on mornings like this.
I poured myself a cup and held up the coffee pot, offering to top her off, and she nodded. After I filled her coffee mug, I pulled out some plates from the cupboard and asked Melody to set some forks and napkins on the table.
The three of us sat down after Winnie had plated our food, and I groaned when I took the first bite, as did my daughter.
“Daddy, Winnie’s eggs don’t taste like yours. These are so yummy.”
Winnie had just taken a sip of coffee, and she coughed over her laughter before dabbing her mouth with her napkin. The smell of lavender surrounded me as she sat in the chair beside me.
This was also a change for me.
Having a beautiful woman in my home was slightly overwhelming in a way I hadn’t expected.
