Falling for the Nanny Read Free Page B

examining the English muffins. Beyond them, in a cart, a small girl sat swinging her legs and complaining, “Daddy! I need to go potty!”
    â€œThat makes two of us,” Patty muttered as she angled past. She didn’t realize she’d spoken aloud until a man, apparently the kid’s father, turned from the shelves with a loaf of bread in hand and said, “Fiona, can’t you wait a—?” And broke off abruptly.
    Time stopped. The rattle of carts, the buzz of voices and the canned music faded. Patty was seventeen again, one big raw throbbing wound, gazing into the milk-chocolate eyes of Alec Denny as he told her that, after three and a half years together, he was breaking up with her. It had been right afterthe homecoming dance, and she hadn’t believed him at first. She’d thought it must be a joke.
    Now here he stood a dozen years later, the intense boy having matured into a heart-stopping sculpture of a man— stop exaggerating, Patty —okay, a well-built guy with thick hair that barely stopped short of his eyes, and an expression that could melt and scald her at the same time.
    â€œOh, hey, Alec. Long time no see,” she said. “Sorry, gotta run.”
    â€œPatty! Thank goodness. I could really use your help.”
    That stopped her. She hated letting anyone down. Even Alec.
    â€œI can’t take my little girl in the men’s room. I mean, I could, but it doesn’t seem right.” He lifted the kid out of the cart. A cute child with brown hair and an elfin face, she looked as if she could stir up her share of mischief. “Would you mind? I know it’s a lot to ask, but I’d really appreciate it.”
    The tot in question hopped up and down on the linoleum, squealing, “I gotta go now! ”
    â€œFiona, this is Daddy’s old friend Patty.” He gazed at her appealingly. “Please?”
    Patty had never spent much time around kids, and she never knew what to say to them. But it was faster to yield than to argue. “Sure.” She grabbed the child’s hand. “Come on.”
    They made a break for it, dodging carts and skimming around displays. By some miracle, the ladies’ room had a pair of stalls available. Patty figured Fiona was too old for diapers, but beyond that she had no idea what to do. It was true she had a sister six years younger, named Rainbow courtesy of their ditzy parents, but she and her brother, Drew, had grown up with their ex-military grandfather, a mechanic nicknamed the Sergeant after his former rank. To earn pocketmoney, she’d mowed lawns and cleaned out garages rather than babysitting.
    â€œYou need any help?” she asked.
    Fiona’s face scrunched in disgust. “I’m nearly five!”
    â€œGreat,” said Patty, and dodged into one of the stalls.
    She emerged to find the little girl scrubbing her hands at a sink. Patty gave her own a quick once-over.
    â€œYou didn’t do it long enough.”
    â€œExcuse me?” She paused, wrists in the air, dripping water.
    â€œTo kill the germs,” the child declared. “You have to sing ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ all the way through.”
    â€œEvery time you wash?” Again, figuring it was easier to comply than complain, Patty stuck her hands under the faucet. “What’s your mom, some kind of clean freak?”
    â€œMy dad’s a ’bryologist,” Fiona announced proudly. “That’s a scientist.”
    â€œWhat’s your mom do?”
    The child’s forehead puckered. “I don’t know.”
    â€œDoes she stay home with you?” While being a full-time mom was Patty’s idea of extreme boredom, she respected individuals who made that choice. If the world were full of women like me, the human race would be in big trouble.
    â€œNo. She doesn’t live with us.”
    â€œYour folks are divorced?”
    â€œYeah.”
    Now, there was a