The Nanny

Chapter 29

"Grace, darling, this is Natalie."

After shaking my hand, she gently hugged me. "It's great to finally meet the girl I have been hearing a lot about. Carla can't stop talking about you."

I hadn't even noticed the impression I made on Carla when we first met, but I was glad it was a good one. "Well, you all are really sweet for letting me be a part of your lives." I pulled Andrew away from the floorboard he was inspecting and introduced him to Grace. Carla was standing close behind her, hiding her face as soon as Andrew smiled.

Mark began showing Andrew around the kitchen, explaining the previous owner's story behind the hideous yellow walls; however, I stuck close to Grace as we walked through the three bedrooms on the floor above.

"I'd like to thank you," she said out of the blue, avoiding my eyes.

"Thank me? For what?"

She took a deep breath. "It's taken Mark a long time to get up the courage to meet you. I remember on our first date—he was so nervous—he told me the entire story and hoped it wouldn't ruin my image of him. Even if it's confusing, I admired his honesty. When he found out about your mother's passing, he saw it as an opportunity to meet you. I will be forever thankful that he has found you. I think there was a small hole in his heart that was specifically saved in the hopes of meeting you someday." Smiling, she finally looked at me. "I'm so glad he found you."

The only part of my father I remembered was what Mom had told me: I had his eyes, which was sometimes why it was painful for her to look at them. Any other physical description or mannerisms were unknown to me. Mark was not the only one who had a hole in his heart—for the longest time I did, too.

For a moment I was speechless, but eventually I found the right words. "My mom was the only parent I never knew and when she died...it was hard. But then Mark revealed everything and I will be forever grateful for him. I didn't know how much I needed a father until I met him. And how perfect is it that he's a realtor?"

Grace laughed. "Well, Mark goes on and on about your fiancé's daughter, Haley. She's a funny girl."

I caught her walking through the back door, holding a spot on her arm. "Natalie, do you have a Band-Aid? I scraped my arm."

Searching through my purse and pulling out a SpongeBob one, I carefully taped it to her arm. Her eyes widened. "It's a SpongeBob one! Just like the one you put on my knee!"

I giggled. "Yep. Be careful, okay, Haley? Don't run around too much if it means you getting hurt."

Andrew and Mark joined Grace and I in the bedrooms. "Nat, guess what this house has? A built-in stereo system! We can listen to music all over the house and the speakers are brand new, too."

I grabbed his wrist. "That's cool, but remember what you told me about us just looking?"

"That's total bullshit, Nat, we're not just looking anymore," he snorted, looking at Mark. "We're the only offer so far that is anywhere near the asking price."

My eyes to moved to Mark's for further assurance. "Is that really true?"

He was the first person to suggest us not to get our hopes up, but he had changed his mind. "Yes, Natalie, that is true. There is now only one other party looking to buy this place, but the owners are more attracted to the fact that your offer is closer to the asking price."

I wrapped myself around Andrew in my excitement. "Oh my God, Andrew, we're really buying a house?"

"It sure seems like it," he responded to my hair.

Next, even if he didn't want it, I hugged Mark. Getting us even remotely close to buying this house was entirely his doing. "Thank you...Dad."

When he pulled back I thought I saw tears in his eyes. But his delightful smile somehow pushed them away. "You're welcome, Natalie. Anything for you and your family."

We were only allowed to be at the house for a few hours and we spent that time having a picnic in the backyard. Sandwiches were simple and easy to make, but Haley complained that she wanted fries from McDonalds. Andrew shot that down quickly. She had no idea how unhealthy she would be eating the week after the wedding. Since Brittany will be babysitting her, Haley will use her cuteness to her advantage.

The closer to the wedding we got, the more nervous I became. I knew nothing about marriage. Not that it would be a frequent issue, but what would happen when Andrew and I had our first fight as a married couple? This was where he was more experienced than I. Being a good wife was a worry of mine. What if I couldn't give him everything I promised?

He grabbed my hand, pulling me from my frightening thoughts. One gesture as simple as that spoke volumes.

There was nothing to worry about. I was marrying Andrew. What on earth was better than that?