Page 37 of The Surrogate Nanny
I shook my head. “Not really. Anthony is a very involved father, and when it comes to Nori, we do most things together.”
“I see,” he replied, following me into the backyard.
“Jonathan, you made it,” Anthony called from the patio of his magnificent outdoor kitchen.
It has a pizza oven, for goodness’ sake!
“Are those flowers?”
“They are,” Jonathan answered. Anthony raised his brows and looked between us with a tight smile.
“For me? Whatever for?”
“Well, no, they’re...I actually brought them for Simone.”
Anthony fell silent before forcing his smile wider. “Simone?” He echoed my name with a twinge of suspicion.
“I’ll bring you some next time, buddy,” Jonathan said with a playful grin, seemingly unaware of the weird energy between them.
I cleared my throat to cut the tension. “I think Nori should be up from her nap. Is the kiddie pool ready for her, Anthony?”
“Yep,” he replied without breaking eye contact with Jonathan.
“I’ll be back.”
I entered Nori’s whimsical nursery, which reminded me of a fairy wonderland, and found her rolling around in her crib. She latched onto the bars and pulled herself up as soon as she saw me.
“Mama...juice.”
“Um...let’s get you cleaned up first because I can smell you from here.”
She bent down to pick up her sippy cup. “Mama, juice,” she fussed, banging the cup against the crib.
I don’t look forward to her Terrible Twos. Anthony will have to deal with all of that attitude.
“I’ll get you juice in a minute. Let’s get cleaned up, and then you can go swimming,” I explained, lifting her out and keeping her at arm’s length. Nori babbled and made her demands known as I cleaned and dressed her in a blue shark bathing suit with a pink tutu that her father had purchased her. I filled her sippy cut and entered the backyard, finding the men awkwardly standing with beers in their hands as they stared at the grilling meat. “Look who I found.”
Anthony cracked a genuine smile as Nori reached out for him. “I’d love to hold you, sweetheart, but the grill isn’t safe for little sharks.”
“Hey, Nori. How’s it going? Hopefully, that nap put you in a better mood,” Jonathan said.
Nori bashfully placed her head on my shoulder.
“Sorry, she’s still shy,” I apologized.
“Don’t apologize. She’ll warm up to me eventually.”
“The food is ready,” Anthony announced, interrupting our conversation.
“Already? Sorry, Little Shark. You’ll have to wait until after dinner to splash around. Anthony, you’ve been on your feet for a minute; take Nori, and I’ll fix your plate.”
“My leg is fine, Simone,” he clipped. I sucked my cheeks in, not impressed with the tone he was taking with me. I only wanted what was best for him. Lately, his pride had convinced him to ditch his cane. I’d find it in various places: in the back of his SUV, under Nori’s crib, in the umbrella stand near the front door, you name it. By nightfall, Anthony was a groaning mess, keeping me up with his loud curses and complaints about his “got damn leg” that traveled through the walls.
Refusing to react to his tantrum, I grabbed a plate and started loading it with food for Nori and me.
“Aht! Aht! Aht!” I chastised when Nori tried to put her fingers in the potato salad. “No, ma’am.”
She motioned at her mouth repeatedly.