My Lucky Groom

some time away.” Ventura glanced at Ricky, whose face hung long.
    “Away?” she asked, not understanding.
    “I thought it would be good…” He met her gaze. “For the best, I mean, if I took some time to get reacquainted with Gloria.”
    “Gloria,” Ventura said, thinking of the pretty brunette.
    “Daddy always goes away with Gloria,” Ricky said with a pout. “He never takes us.”
    Richard thumbed his nose. “Now you know that’s not true. You’re just not coming this time, all right?”
    “How long will you be gone?” Ventura asked.
    “A week. Maybe two.”
    “I see.”
    “Jason will help keep everything under control.”
    “When are you leaving?”
    He held her gaze a prolonged beat.
    “In the morning.”

    Ventura returned to the picnic blanket, where the other three toasted to the country’s birthday with paper cups. Mary shot her a worried glance. “Are you okay?”
    Ventura sat and put down the ice pack. “I’ll live.”
    Charles warmly patted her shoulder.
    “It’s too bad that happened,” Jason said kindly. “But it will heal up.”
    “I ran into Richard.” Ventura met Jason’s eyes. “He said he’s going away tomorrow.”
    “You mean you didn’t know until now?” Jason asked with alarm. “I thought for sure Richard had…” He twisted his lips in thought. “That’s weird.”
    “Who’ll look after the kids?” Charles asked.
    “I’ll stay with them at night,” Jason said. “And Ventura will still be there in the daytime.”
    Mary shot Ventura a pointed look, and she returned it.
    After a beat, Ventura tilted her champagne toward the others. “To birthdays and new beginnings.”
    Charles’s expression warmed. “I’ll drink to that.”

    “Another one. Come on,” Ricky pleaded.
    “Yeah!” Elisa gazed up at her with big brown eyes. “ Pu-leeze? ”
    Nearly two weeks had gone by and Ventura had run through the kids’ regular stack of storybooks days ago. So, she’d turned to inventing stories for them instead, which they seemed to like even better.
    The kids were dressed in their pajamas and snuggled up beside Ventura on Elisa’s bedroom window seat. “What will it be tonight?” she asked them. “The sequel to the castle saga, or something spooky… Say, Mystery of Magic Mountain ?”
    “The sequel,” Elisa chirped.
    “Ghosts!” Ricky demanded.
    Ventura laughed, hugging them both warmly. “How about one of each, then?”
    The children nodded, appearing cherubic, and Ventura’s heart sank. She’d applied for the job at the Globe yesterday morning. With any luck, she’d get an interview and land the position, which would mean her starting there in a couple of weeks. While Ventura hated leaving the children, she understood that being a nanny wasn’t her chosen career long-term. She’d studied for something specific. She needed to test those wings and see if she could soar.
    “I’ll bet Daddy would like these,” Elisa said, snuggling under her arm.
    “When’s he coming home?” Ricky asked.
    “Soon,” Ventura said with a smile.
    “We like you a whole lot better than those other nannies,” Elisa informed her.
    “Yeah,” Ricky said, grinning sweetly. “We think Daddy does too.”
    Ventura felt her cheeks warm in spite of herself.
    “Somebody having a pajama party in here?”
    Ventura looked up to see Richard standing in the threshold. He appeared more handsome than ever with his skin burnished in a bronze cast that said he’d been spending lots of time outdoors.
    The kids leapt from the window seat and raced to him. “Daddy!” they cried, hugging him soundly as he bent low to scoop them into his arms. “We missed you!”
    “Well, good,” he said, thumbing each of their noses, “because I missed you.” He glanced in Ventura’s direction. “All of you.”
    Ricky gave his dad an earnest gaze. “Ventura tells the best stories.”
    “She does, does she?” Richard asked, standing.
    Ventura hung her head with a blush. “Oh no, they’re not really—”
    “Yes, they are!” Elisa assured her dad, giving his hand a tug. “The very best.”
    “About castles and monsters…”
    “Princesses,” Elisa chimed in.
    “And ghosts ,” Ricky added, lowering his voice in an eerie tone.
    Richard chuckled, then met Ventura’s eyes. “Sounds like I’ll have to hear one of these stories.”
    “We were just about to hear one now,” Ricky said.
    “Two,” Elisa corrected.
    Richard raised his brow at Ventura. “Mind if I stay?”