“I didn’t like her, Daddy,” Ashley said, scowling at the now closed front door that the woman had just exited. “She looked mean.”
“Agreed,” Tara added. “And that pink suit was horrible.”
They all chuckled and Clint flipped open the next folder, excitement filling him at last. Not for the candidate inside, though that was part of it. He’d actually already met this woman and hired her, but was going through the motions of interviewing her again today because he had a surprise planned.
A very special surprise for Tara.
Ashley knew about it, and kept shooting her father looks. He’d been surprised she’d kept the secret this long, considering how thrilled she’d been when Clint had sat her down a few nights before and asked her what she’d think of him marrying Tara.
Ashley had been all for it. She loved Tara as much as Clint did and the three of them had bonded into a complete family unit already, even though it had only been a few weeks. Still, he wanted to make it permanent, so he’d bought a ring and planned to get down on one knee to propose. But first, they had this fake interview to get through to lead into it.
“How many more do we have?” Tara asked, checking her watch. “I’ve got some work to finish up for the new social media campaign.”
“Just this last one,” Clint said, pretending to study the application in front of him. “And she looks pretty great.”
The new nanny was great. An older woman named Margaret, she’d lost her husband a few years back and was looking for something to keep her busy and get her out of the house. She’d raised three kids of her own and now had seven grandchildren she doted on as well. She even lived close to Clint and Tara, so it felt like a match made in heaven.
Now, all he needed to complete the fairy tale was his happily ever after.
Clint snorted and shook his head. God. Listen to him talking about fairy tales and shit. If the guys could hear him now, they’d never let him live it down. Then again, Levon and Noah had their own wives and kids to deal with and had traversed their own rocky roads to love, so maybe they’d get it.
If someone had asked him even three months ago if he thought he’d be here today, ready to marry the woman of his dreams, he’d have laughed in their face. But now, here he was, antsy with anticipation and heart racing.
A knock sounded on the door and Ashley jumped up to answer it before he could stop her. “It’s her, Daddy!”
He gave his daughter a look, hopefully conveying “don’t blow it, kid”, then plastered on a smile for Mrs. Carter.
“Hi, I’m Clint Buckman,” he said, pushing to his feet to shake the woman’s hand. “And this is Tara Crumb. You just met my daughter, Ashley.”
“Yes, yes,” Margaret Carter said, taking the seat on the sofa he offered her. She was dressed in a flowy skirt and twinset, her smile kind and warm. “Nice to meet you all.”
Clint caught the twinkle in her eye behind her glasses and silently thanked her for playing along with all this. “Right.” He sat down beside Tara on the loveseat again and picked up the file, clearing his throat. “Why don’t we start with you telling us a bit about yourself, Mrs. Carter?”
“Happy to,” she said. “And please call me Margaret.”
While she went through her bio, Clint was far too aware of Tara beside him and the ring box in his pocket, seeming to nudge him to hurry up and do it already. Ashley was sitting on Tara’s lap and kept kicking him in the leg with her foot.
“How do you feel about working on Friday evenings?” Tara asked. “Clint and I want to schedule some date nights into our roster and we’d need someone who’d be available to cover those evenings with Ashley.”
“I’d be fine with Friday evenings when you need me,” Margaret assured them.
“What about rainbows?” Ashley narrowed her gaze on the woman. “Do you like them?”
“I love them. One of my favorite things, actually.” Margaret grinned. “I have a rice crispy treat recipe my grandkids love that uses rainbow marshmallows, too.”
“I like her, Daddy!” the little girl pronounced, making them all laugh.
“What about longer stints?” Clint asked. “Like, say, a couple of weeks at a time. Would you be able to stay with Ashley then?”
This time, it was Tara snorting. “You planning a vacation I don’t know about?”
Margaret’s gaze darted from Clint to Tara. “I’d be fine with a few weeks, as long as I knew ahead of time so I could make some arrangements.”
“And infants? Are you good with those too?” he asked, adding quickly. “I mean, I know that you have grandchildren, but—”
“Why are you asking her that now?” Tara interrupted. “We’re not there yet at all. Let’s take it one step at a time, right?”
Silence fell and Clint set the folder aside before standing and turning to kneel in front of Tara. “Well, actually…”