Loving the Nurse (A Single Dad Romance)

“It ain’t funny, girl.”

His insistence only made me laugh harder until I was doubled over in the kitchen, tears running down my cheeks.

“Damn stubborn girl,” he growled. “Lucky I love you.”

In that moment, I felt incredibly lucky.

Antonio

As much as I loved having a job that allowed me to spend as much time with Rosie as possible, I also appreciated that the community center offered dozens of classes and activities for kids under the age of ten. This allowed me to finish my production schedule for the next month. Planning wasn’t just a necessity for my business, but also my life as a single dad. Planning allowed me to order hard to find ingredients and sign Rosie up for ballet when I had a shoot schedule that might trigger her asthma.

With just two more days to schedule out, I felt great about the progress I’d made this morning. There never seemed to be enough hours in the day, but I enjoyed the independence that being my own boss gave me. I didn’t have to answer to anyone, which I loved, and my schedule was always my own. Some days I still longed for the chaos of a professional kitchen, but those days happened less and less often.

The phone buzzed on the kitchen table just as I slotted in the last shoot for the next thirty days and I sat back with a sigh. It was probably Travis or Cenzo, calling to see if I had any leftovers they could poach. “Antonio Ricci,” I practically barked into the phone, because, as Teddy loved to tell me, my phone manners were atrocious.

“Antonio, it’s Magda with some very good news for you. Are you sitting down?” My manager was a drama queen for sure, but she listened when I told her what I wanted and she only brought up shit I didn’t want to do when the money was too good to pass up.

“Yeah, I’m sitting.”

“Great. I’ve booked you an appearance on a cooking competition show, and the best part? You’ll be there as a judge and not a lowly competitor, thanks to your bestselling cookbook and that award last month for being a top rated YT’er.” Magda was giddier than I was over the accolades. As long as it meant I could keep supporting my family, I didn’t give a damn.

“Sounds good, but when and how long?” I learned early on to get all the details before showing my cards.

“It’s just one full day of shooting, the day after tomorrow, but it’s in New York. Flight and hotel are paid for though.” Magda’s tone was hesitant, as if she thought I might reject the offer to appear on a national television show.

New York for twenty four hours. It wasn’t ideal, but it was manageable. “All right Magda, I’m in.”

“Excellent! Great! I’ll let the producer know, and Antonio be sure to play up your bad boy image. Show off those gorgeous tattoos and maybe throw a leather jacket into the luggage. You know the drill.”

I nodded because I did know the drill. The press, my manger and publicist all thought it was an image, but the truth was it was just me. The tattoos were another way to express my art, and the dark wardrobe was because I hated shopping and one of my girlfriends once told me that dark colors complimented my olive skin. It was an easy ask to fulfill, so I didn’t bitch about it.

“I need to make arrangements for Rosie,so just send the travel details to my personal email.”

“Done. I’ll meet you in the hotel lobby at eight and take you to the studio. Laters.”

“Perfect.” As soon as the call ended, I dialed my sister first. “Can you watch Rosie for me? I need to go to New York for a day.”

She sighed and my heart sank. “I wish I could say yeah, but we just started a renovation on a three-story Victorian that will appear in a national magazine which means all hands on deck to make the deadline.”

“Damn, that’s incredible. Good luck.”

“Thanks,” she laughed. “Travis is out too, so you might as well skip straight to Cenzo.”

That’s exactly what I did. “Vincenzo, my favorite brother. How’s life treating you?”

He chuckled in amusement. “What do you need Antonio?”

“It’s not me, it’s for Rosie. She needs a babysitter while I head to the east coast for a shoot. Can you do it?”

“Only if you’re all right with the princess spending the day at the office with me. That Victorian job means I’ll be manning phones all day.”

That was out of the question. “With all the debris and dust in the air, that’s just asking for trouble.”

“Sorry.”

“No problem. Talk later, I gotta find someone else.” Too bad Dad had retired and left for the greener and warmer pastures of Florida, because I could really use a yes right now.