Walking on Sunshine: A Sweet Love Story (Seasons of Love Book 1) (3 page)

“Wonderful. I’ll need some more information about you so that Stacey will have it for tomorrow. Normally we have our clients fill out official applications, but we can just do this over the phone for you today and fill in the blanks later,” the voice on the other end said.

“Sure, sure.” I continued to spin in my chair as I let her know about Ben, the hours I would need Stacey for, and my address.

“Okay, thank you, Jessica. That's all I need from you.” I could hear her clicking keys on the computer through the phone. “Let me tell you a little bit more about Stacey.”

My ears perked up, eager to know how wonderful my magical nanny was and what her specialties were. I felt my feet drag across the short carpet and gave a push with my foot to keep my momentum going. With the final push my knee collided with the desk and knocked everything over. Coffee spilled everywhere.

“Oops! I'm so sorry to interrupt, I just spilled coffee all over my keyboard. I'll have to let you go.” I scrambled to find a napkin or something to stop the flow of black liquid into the keys. “Have her come over at about eight AM. It will give me some time to chat with them.”

“Sure, no problem, I'll send over Stacey’s file tonight so you can have more details.” The girl on the other line paused as she pulled up a file on her computer; oblivious to the coffee disaster I was experiencing. “I just wanted to let you know that Stacey is...”

I was sure that I saw smoke coming out of my computer, so I hastily hung up my phone before I heard anything else. This was a brand new work computer and it was still my first week. I coated the keyboard in tissues in hopes of absorbing the liquid.

Ugh, this day can’t end soon enough,
I thought to myself. As soon as I finished mopping up the mess my phone started to ring. I froze at the sound. Did they already find out about the mess I had made of my computer and were letting me go?

My office phone made me nervous every time it rang. With a big breath I picked up my phone and tried to answer it as calmly as possible.

“Hello?” I answered. My heart was hammering in my chest.
Please, don't let it be Ben's school. Please.

“Hi, it's Steve. I just wanted to let you know that we found you a client to work with for next week.”

I sighed with relief, plopping back into my chair. Not my boss firing me and not Ben's school expelling him. My world wasn't about to end.

“Thanks, Steve. Have a great weekend.” I wondered if he could hear the relief in my voice or if he just thought I sounded chipper. I hoped it was chipper.

“You, too,” Steve said and then disconnected the call

With the safety of knowing that I wasn't fired yet, I got back to work. The hours seemed to fly by as I allowed myself to daydream. I was excited to finally have a set of hands to help me out with everything and I imagined all the free time I would have. Maybe I would even be able to start dating...

No, not dating. I had swore off men. Just the thought of having to go through those awkward beginning moments put a pit in my stomach.

Hi, my name is Jes. I have a six-year-old son and am divorced. Have you seen my crazy life?
Yes, that sounded so attractive to men.

The gym. That's what I would have time for. Then, I could actually fit in these pants again.

T
he next morning started out in a rush. I had forgotten to wash Ben’s jersey from the week before and was trying to get it dry in time for his match. Standing in my yoga pants and an oversized green-and-brown jersey with BEARS written across it, I fumed at the dryer. I was seriously considering just letting Ben wear my jersey, but he would have been swimming in it.

I pouted as I realized that I was swimming in it as well. My son’s team had apparel that you could buy to support the team, and I didn’t read the fine print and see that everything was in men’s sizes. I had assumed it would all be women’s because it was mostly moms taking their kids to the game.

I glared at the dryer one last time before heading to the kitchen to throw some orange slices in a bag to bring as a snack for Ben. The doorbell rang, and I grinned. It had to be the nanny. My week, and Ben's summer, was about to get better. I wiped the sticky juice on my pants as I headed to the door.

“Hello,” I said, opening up the door. I found myself facing a tall man with lean muscles. He looked to be in his early twenties and was wearing a tight white shirt that showed off his muscular chest. There was something about him that immediately made my heart flutter and my palms sweat.

He flashed a charming grin at me, which squinted the corners of his eyes. I realized they were a breathtaking violet. For a moment, I saw those eyes drift downward to my yoga pants.
He couldn't possibly be checking me out
, I thought. But just as quickly as I thought I saw it, his eyes snapped back to meet mine.

He had a green folder tucked under one of his delectable arms, which made me think he was trying to sell something. “Hi, my name is-” the man started.

“Mom, I need your help. I'm stuck!” Ben yelled. He barreled around the corner with his head stuck in the arm of his jersey.

“One sec, honey, there is a man at the door,” I replied, trying not to laugh at his predicament.

“Mom, please! I can’t breathe!” He sounded legitimately panicked.

“I'm so sorry, sir. I'm really busy right now, and I have to go help my son. Whatever you’re selling or needing, I'm not interested. Have a good day.”

I abruptly closed the door with my foot and turned to help my son try to get his head out of his armhole. It took a moment, but we got it. As soon as I finished getting his head out, he gave me a giant toothy grin.

He had chunks of cereal left in his teeth. I felt my gag reflex go a bit. “Go brush your teeth!” I scolded playfully.

Knock knock knock.
I turned back to the door and opened it back up, getting frustrated with these constant interruptions when I was already running late.

“Hi. Ms. Hochs?” the man in the white shirt asked. This time, his eyes remained on my face, but I could swear that his eyes dilated a little.

“Hi, do I know you?” I asked, a little taken aback that such an attractive man would know my name.

“My name is Stacey. I'm the nanny from the service.” He held up the green file, which had my name on it. His grin got even bigger.

“Oh.
OH.
My goodness. Stacey, I'm so sorry, I was expecting...” I stammered. I was embarrassed that I had assumed that it would be a woman nanny. My face flushed slightly.

“A woman?” He chuckled making his eyes crinkle. “This isn’t the first time someone thought that, and please call me Cee.” He extended his hand out for a handshake. I mirrored his motion, embarrassed, and was greeted by a calloused hand and a firm grip. His eyes were still on me, still fixated in a way that made me hot under the jersey.

I suddenly became very conscious of the fact that my hair was still dripping cold water down my back and that the last time I put on makeup was over a day ago.

“Well, come in, come in. I'm so sorry, we're running a little behind for his game.” I opened the door wider so that he could enter into my house.

I watched as he strolled in. He was tall, probably a good head and a half taller than me. I had to tilt my head up slightly to look into his eyes. He had a head of shaggy blond hair with hints of red in it that caught the morning sunlight and held the warmth. He moved confidently through the door, as if nothing could ever bother him.

As he walked in front of me I smeared morning junk out of my eye and gave myself a pinch to add at least a touch of color to my pale complexion. My eyes drifted down even further. His cargo shorts fit snugly around his waist and showed off his spectacular rear end. How the heck was this guy a nanny?

I quickly put my tongue back into my mouth and tried to busy myself with Ben’s lacrosse equipment.

“Can I get you anything to drink?” I asked, trying to keep myself from staring for too long. I walked over to the sink to try and hide the array of dishes stacked on the counter. I thought my kitchen was spacious, but he seemed to fill the room. His eyes looked around, taking in the house in all of its messy glory. I grabbed a clean glass and walked toward him.

“No, I'm okay. I’ve got some water with me in the car. Is there anything that I can help you with?” I shrugged and went to put the glass back in the cupboard. When I turned around, I definitely saw his eyes on my ass this time. I felt my heart skip a beat and I busied myself with my hair to make it look better then the damp rag hanging from my head.

“No, Ben should be down in a second, he's just brushing his teeth.” As if on cue, we heard the thud of him coming down the stairs.

“Hey, Ben, I want you to meet Stacey. He might be your new nanny,” I said gesturing to Cee.

Ben looked confused. “But he's a boy,” he whined.

“Ben, please introduce yourself and don’t be rude. Nannies can be boys or girls, just like firefighters or nurses,” I scolded.

He pouted his lower lip, but walked over to Stacey and extended his hand.

“Hi, my name is Ben.”

Cee smiled, and crouched down to be at Ben’s eye level, took his hand and shook it.

“Hi, Ben, my name is Stacey, but you can call me Cee,” he said warmly.

“Hi, Cee.” Ben responded quietly.

“That's a good job, Ben. Thank you,” I praised as Ben let go of Cee's hand. I looked at Cee and it dawned on me that I had scheduled the meeting at the same time as Ben’s game.

“Would you be able to come with us to his game? I completely forgot that I scheduled the interview at the same time as the game.” I hoped my blush looked pretty.

“Not a problem,” Cee replied, adding a smile onto the end of his words.
Good lord, the man had dimples. Sexy, sexy dimples.

“Oh, thank you.” I turned back to Ben. “Now, let's get in the car and head to your game. We don’t want to be late again, like last week.” I grabbed Ben’s bag, and he snatched up his sticks and helmet. Cee opened the door so that we could both get through.

“Would you like to ride with us?” I asked tuning to Cee as he made sure the door shut behind us.

“Sure,” he said with a grin. The man's smile was positively electric.

He opened the back door of the silver minivan so Ben could hop in, and then walked around to the front of the car while I dropped the rest of the bags in the trunk. I turned to walk to the front of the car, and saw Cee standing at the driver’s door. He already had it propped open and waiting for me.

“Oh, thanks,” I said, slightly taken aback. I couldn't remember the last time someone opened a door for me, let alone the driver's side door. I could count the number of times on one hand Richard had been a gentleman and opened any door for me.

Cee waited for me to move to the door, and then used his hand to guide the small of my back into the car. Goosebumps trickled down my arm at his touch.

He's just being chivalrous,
I told myself.
Nothing to get excited about.
Yet the goosebumps from his touch remained.

I got in and he carefully shut the door behind me. He walked around the front of the car and I tried not to check out his ass as he walked, but it wasn't easy. I kept missing the ignition and couldn’t get it in until he was at his door.

He slid easily into the passenger seat and put on his seat belt. “You all buckled up?” he asked, turning to the back of the car and checking in with Ben.

“Yup,” Ben responded, playing with a lacrosse ball in his hands.

I put the car in reverse, and started the drive toward the field.

“S
o, Cee, tell me about yourself. I really haven’t had any time to look at your profile,” I admitted.

“I’ve been a nanny for a few years. I'm originally from Arizona and moved out here for college. I'll give you my resume once we get back to the house. My last job was the Jones family. Do you know them?”

I shook my head. “No.”

“Well, they lived about two miles away from here, not too far. Same school district. I watched their kids Dana and Michael. Michael is about Ben’s age now. Anyway, the family moved to Chicago for work.”

“That’s too bad,” I said, glancing over at him. I could tell from the look on his face that he had really cared about them.

“Yeah, they offered to have me come with them, but I love California too much to ever leave the beach. I have their number included on my resume if you need to check references.”

“Okay. Thanks.” I knew I would never call them, but I liked that he offered up the information. Cee intrigued me. “Where did you go to school?”

“I went to California State University,” he answered proudly.

“And you're from Arizona? Out-of-state tuition must have been expensive!” I wasn’t sure why, maybe it was because I’d just started tracking my own finances, but it popped out of my mouth. I bit down on my tongue. So much for making a good impression.

“Not really,” he replied with a casual shrug that made me feel less awkward. “I got through it on an athletic scholarship. Lacrosse, actually.”

“What position did you play?” Ben chirped in at hearing the word lacrosse.

“Ben, you know what I said about interrupting when people are talking,” I scolded, staring back at him in the rear view mirror.

“Sorry, Mom,” Ben apologized, but his face said he was more excited about what Cee had to say than manners.

“Well, Ben, I played midfielder. What position do you play?” Cee asked as he turned in his chair to get a look at Ben.

“I'm goalie right now,” Ben said as he beamed with pride.

“That’s a hard position. I used to play that when I started high school. How long have you been playing that position?

“This is my first season playing on a team. Before that, it was just me and Jake throwing the ball around with his dad. He knows a lot about this stuff.”

“Well, I am excited to see you play today. Maybe afterward, I can give you some pointers.” His voice sounded genuine with the proposition.

I smiled as I watched Ben in the rear view mirror. For the first time in weeks, his eyes lit up and I knew that Ben had already decided that he wanted Cee to stick around. Anyone who would talk to him about lacrosse was golden in his book.