“Hazel didn’t like her.” Drew leaned toward Hazel, held out a wilted piece of lettuce from his sandwich and shook his head. “We didn’t like her, did we?”
Hazel scrunched up her nose and shook her head back and forth, mimicking Drew.
“She’s making the face at the lettuce.” Molly’s voice was dry like the crumbs from their shared cupcakes.
Drew dropped the lettuce leaf back on his plate and launched more rationale at her. “Hazel refused to go to that woman. That has to count for something.”
Molly wanted Hazel to like the nanny, but not prefer the nanny over her. If Hazel took time to warm up to her nanny, was that so bad? “All babies around nine months like Hazel go through separation anxiety and only want their mom. It’s completely normal.”
Just as Molly’s feelings were normal. She still wanted to be the center of Hazel’s life. Surely, that wasn’t wrong.
Drew held his hands out to Hazel. The sweet girl reached for him, her smile growing. “She likes me.”
Molly liked him too. Too much.
Drew set Hazel on his lap and tucked her into his side. “Who’s up next? Hazel and I are ready to meet her.”
“The next one is fifteen minutes late.” Molly avoided looking at Drew, picked up his pen and made a deep x across the nanny’s résumé.
The bells on the coffee shop chimed. Molly lifted her head to see Evie Davenport and Ella step inside. Evie waved and leaned down to speak to Ella. The young girl’s smile brightened. The pair made their way over to the table.
Evie grinned. “You two look like you need some of my special blend Irish coffee, not the tame version you can get here.”
“The nanny interviews aren’t going as well as expected,” Molly admitted.
“Do you want some help?” Ella asked.
“We’re here on our weekly Friday afternoon coffee and sugar run for The Pampered Pooch staff.” Evie checked her watch. “But we have a few minutes if you’d like another opinion.”
“Please.” Molly pulled out two empty chairs. Perhaps Evie would help convince Drew that some candidates deserved a second interview. Another chance to make a better impression.
Evie guided Ella into the chair beside Hazel’s high chair and walked to the counter to place an order.
Drew deposited Hazel back into the high chair, putting her closer to Ella to the girl’s obvious delight. Ella reached out until her hand touched the high-chair tray and Hazel immediately gripped Ella’s fingers. Ella laughed. Hazel grinned. Then Ella launched into a childhood song about the wheels on a bus. Hazel babbled and hummed. The baby’s gaze never left Ella as if the preteen transfixed her.
Molly set her palm over her chest. The girls’ immediate bond hugged her heart. Had her considering more children once again. That sibling factor. But a family of two was perfect.
Drew leaned closer and bumped her shoulder. “Hazel did not react like that to any of your nanny candidates.”
“Do you want me to invite the nannies back for a second interview and a sing-along?” Molly couldn’t quite stall the frustration from slipping into her voice. Why couldn’t she see Drew as a peer who needed her help?
He pulled back. “I want Hazel to like the nanny the same way she likes Ella.”
“That’s not possible.” Molly crushed an empty cupcake wrapper with her fork. “Ella and Hazel have a special bond.”
One that she feared was unbreakable. Like her inappropriate thoughts about Drew, her client. Unlike the one supposedly around her heart. Brad had accused her of acting from her heart. Now her heart demanded a voice. Considered Drew as more than a friend and whispered about expanding her family. But Molly had promised never to open her heart again.
Evie slipped into a chair and touched Molly’s arm. Evie’s voice was gentle, her smile encouraging. “Don’t worry. We’ll find you a perfect nanny.”
Molly handed over the résumés, including the discarded ones. But she really wanted to hand the kind older woman her heart for safekeeping. Molly wasn’t convinced she could quite protect herself.
Evie glanced through several sheets and shook her head. “Do they all lack experience with children under one?”
“Not all,” Molly hedged. “But how is a nanny supposed to gain experience if someone like me doesn’t hire them?”
“You don’t really want to be the family who the nanny learns from, do you?” Evie peered at Molly over the frames of her cat-eye-shaped glasses.
Drew gave a wry smile. “I told her the same thing an hour ago.”
“This is a reputable company.” Molly tapped on the top of a résumé where the agency’s information was printed. “I’m sure they only accept quality candidates. And they have stellar reviews.”
“Uncle Drew and Dad will tell you the agency bought those reviews to make their company look better,” Ella chimed in before launching into another kid’s song about a spider and a waterspout.
Molly arched her eyebrow at Drew.
Drew shrugged. “We’re not wrong.”
Evie covered her smile with her hand.
“What am I supposed to do?” Molly smashed her napkin on the table. “I have a court appointment Monday.”
“I’ll be there,” Drew promised. “I can help.”
“I can’t ask you.” Talk about those client–attorney boundaries. She’d be relying on Drew as if he were more than a client. She’d never asked a client or a colleague to babysit her own daughter. Molly shook her head. “It’s not right.”
“What time is your court appointment?” Ella asked.
“Eleven fifteen, Monday morning,” Molly replied.
Ella frowned. “Too bad. I’m in English class, otherwise I could’ve helped you too. I could’ve joined Drew and Hazel.”
“That’s very kind.” Molly reached across the table, grabbed Ella’s hand and held on. “But
