Page 78 of The Nanny Game Plan
I slow my steps, letting her lead the way.
Partly because I’m overcome by that promise.
Partly because I want to appreciate her ass in her jumpsuit as she goes.
Partly because I’m so happy, I want to treasure it. Appreciate it. Bottle it up in my mind to save for later. I honestly can’t remember the last time I was this happy.
So happy not even the messy job of tugging icing globs from my hair with Clover’s wet wipes while we wait for the parade to start can dull the glow.
But then, that’s what happens when a man’s spent a good chunk of the past three days naked with the most beautiful woman in the world…
We’ve done an incredible job of fitting fucking in among all the childcare and parade costume prep. We really have.
“I’m proud of us,” I murmur as we wait for the first floats to reach our spot on the route.
She glances over her shoulder with a smile. “Me, too. We got here right on time, and no one would guess you had half a king cake on your head a few minutes ago.”
I laugh. “No, I meant, I’m proud of us for finding such good…work-life balance the past few days.”
Heat flashes in her eyes as she catches my drift. “Well, it helps that you’re off work and the girls were at school half the day yesterday.” She bites her bottom lip before adding, “But you really need to find those old baby monitors. Then you can come over to my place after the girls are in bed, and we’ll still be able to hear if they wake up, buttheywon’t be able to hearus, so we won’t have to be quiet.”
“What do you take me for, woman?” I scoff. “Ordered new monitors yesterday. Rush delivery. They’ll be here tomorrow.”
She hums low in her throat. “Just when I thought you couldn’t get any sexier.” She tips her lips closer to mine before apparently remembering that we’re keeping the romance on the down-low and glancing back toward the street.
But damn, I really wish she hadn’t.
I want to kiss her so badly, it’s probably ridiculous. At this rate, I’m not sure how much longer we’ll be able to hide how hot we are for each other. How happy we are together. How we bothlight up the second our endless “sleep time” separation is over, and we get to be together again.
Ava already asked if we were “best friends” this morning after she caught us hugging by the coffee maker.
She’s going to figure out it’s something more than “best friends” sooner or later.
My four-year-old is one of the smartest people I know, a fact she proves when she turns to shout, “Daddy, we’re not going to get candy and beads here! I can see them throwing down the street. They’re throwing too hard! It’s going to go over our heads.”
Realizing she’s accurately nailed the trajectory, I wave her closer. “Then get over here, girl. I’ll lift you up.”
“Me, too, Daddy!” my messy little pineapple shouts, tailing her sister through the press of grown-ups behind the kids’ section.
I lift them up, one in each arm, getting them into place just as the treats begin to fly. Clover is right there beside us, helping snatch beads and candy out of the air and shove them into the “taco pocket” she sewed into the front of Ava’s shirt specifically to store the Mardi Gras booty.
Soon, the girls’ arms are full of treasure, and so are mine.
With the sun in their hair and giant smiles on their faces as they cheer for the dancers wiggling down the street between the floats, my daughters are so beautiful.
So precious, so sweet, and so…everything to me.
They are the best part of my life. I can feel that so clearly again now. I feel it all the way down to the core of my being, and it’s all thanks to Clover. She brought the ease back. Then the joy. And now…the love.
I’m in love with her. There’s no doubt in my mind, in my heart. There hasn’t been since Saturday night. I’ve fallenhard and fast, but I can’t bring myself to regret it. Not when everything is so golden.
More beads come. More candy. More laughter, and it’s so perfect it hurts a little. Just like being naked with the woman currently helping my baby unwrap a cherry candy as the parade moves on.
“I loved that so much! I love Mardi Gras!” Bella announces, diving into Clover’s arms, making her laugh as she scrambles to catch her.
“Easy there, pineapple, give me some warning next time,” Clover says, laughing as Bella kisses her cheek. Her expression softens as she returns the kiss, saying, “I love Mardi Gras, too.” She sighs, her love for my baby clear on her face as she adds, “This might just be one of the best days ever.”
“I think so, too,” I agree as Ava shifts in my arms, her fingers digging into my shoulders as she asks, “Did you see how many I caught, Daddy? Did you see? I’m good at catching, after all!”
