My Lucky Groom

over the bathroom escapade, but Ventura had merely turned beet red yet kept her cool. She hadn’t once raised her voice or said a negative word against the children. She’d just accepted that towel from him, wiped her face, and dabbed her hair, saying something about that being quite an introduction to Old Town plumbing. Ventura had a calm way about her and a great sense of humor. She was perfect in every way. The sad thing was, after today, he was sure she wouldn’t stay. Richard pulled up to the curb beside her Capitol Hill townhouse, feeling down. This was it. Another nanny was about to quit.
    “Ventura,” he told her quietly. “I want you to know you’ll still get your full month’s pay.”
    She shot him a pained look. “You’re firing me?”
    “Firing you?” Richard stumbled on the words. “Not at all.” Then the clarity of her words hit him. He turned to her, stunned. “You mean, you don’t quit?”
    “Quit?” Her cheeks colored sweetly. “I was just getting my feet wet.” She smiled wryly and flipped back her hair. “And other things too, apparently.”
    Richard laughed with relief, unable to believe her. How could she be so incredibly good-natured in the face of such calamity? “Ventura,” he said with a sigh. “You don’t know how happy I am to hear you say that.”
    “I’m sure it was a freak thing,” she told him. “Surely, every day won’t be that bad.”
    Richard pursed his lips and tried not to recall the string of disasters that had befallen the other nannies. Clearly, none of that would happen to Ventura. She was better than that. Primed for the challenge. Just look at her sitting there with whipped cream behind her ear, oblivious to how ridiculously cute she looked. Richard swallowed hard, stopping himself. He was not supposed to be thinking about “cute” and “nanny” together. If he wanted Ventura to stay on, theirs would need to be a professional relationship. Richard was sure that wouldn’t be hard at all. There’d never been any lines crossed with any of the other girls. He hadn’t even entertained the thought. Come to think of it, Richard hadn’t really entertained the thought of becoming involved with any woman in quite some time. And that was just how he would keep things. “I’m sure you’re right,” he told her with growing confidence. “Tomorrow’s bound to be better.”

    “What monsters!” Mary proclaimed. People stared in their direction, and she lowered her voice. “I can’t believe they did all that in one day.”
    They stood in line at Zen’s Chinese Take-Out. Ventura had been so unnerved, she hadn’t even wanted to shower first. Nothing could calm her nerves like an order of pork fried rice. “I know,” Ventura answered. “If I’d been watching it instead of living it, it might even have seemed funny.”
    “Ha-ha,” Mary deadpanned. “Bet you’re laughing all the way to the bank.”
    “What do you mean?” Ventura asked as the line inched forward.
    “Come on, Richard’s got ca-ching. Loads of it, from what I hear. So why not crank it up a notch and ask for a raise?”
    “A raise?” Ventura hadn’t even considered it. She was just grateful she still had a job. As bad as it seemed, first days were bound to be rocky. Truth was, things could only go up from there. “I don’t know, Mary. I don’t want to push it.”
    “Push what? The guy’s lucky you’re not pressing charges!”
    “Against two five-year-olds?” Ventura asked in shock.
    “Well, yeah. Okay. I kind of see your point.”
    Ventura felt a tap on her shoulder and turned with a start to see — oh no, not today — Charles! He flashed each of them a pleasant grin. “I thought I saw you girls talking up here.”
    “Hey! No butting in line!” an angry woman called.
    Charles nodded deferentially. “Just passing through,” he told the woman, who watched him with an eagle eye just the same.
    Charles met Ventura’s gaze. “I’ve been thinking about you. Thinking of calling.”
    She self-consciously fingered her hair, her nail catching on a dried piece of toilet paper. “Really?”
    “Our first date ended so badly.”
    “Through no fault of yours,” she added hastily.
    “Accidents happen.” He tilted his head to the side. “Did you change your hair?”
    “Order up!” the cook called from the front.
    The woman behind them loudly cleared her throat.
    “Five more seconds,” Charles told her, before turning his attention back to Ventura. “In any