My Lucky Groom (Summer Grooms Series) (11 page)

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?” he
asked, taking a chair.

Ventura saw there was no way out of this now. “Of course
not,” she said, smiling tightly.

Twenty-five minutes later, Richard leaned forward, resting
his elbows on his knees and just as engaged as his children.

“And with that,” Ventura finished, “Andorra the warrior
knight knew she held the silver key. The key to the kingdom she’d only
known—up until then—in her dreams. Now, all she had to do”
—s
he shot Ricky and
Elisa a wink
—
“was
open the door.”

“Yeah!” the kids shouted with glee.

Richard clapped his hands in applause. “Wonderful, Ventura.
I don’t know how you did that.”

She felt her cheeks warm. “It was only a story.”

“No,” he told her. “It was more than that. You managed to
capture us all and completely carry us away.”

Ventura beamed. “Thanks.”

“How many do you have?” Richard asked her.

“Stories? Oh I don’t know.” She gave a light laugh. “I can’t
really put numbers on my imagination.”

“Fascinating,” he said. “Have you thought of writing any of
them down?”

Ventura stared at him. “Like, for…?”

“Publication.” He looked at Ricky and Elisa. “What do you
think, kids? Don’t you believe Ventura could make her own storybooks?”

“Yeah,” Ricky said.

“And better than the ones over there,” Elisa agreed,
pointing across the room.

Richard turned his expectant gaze back on Ventura.

“I don’t know,” she said. “I’ve never really thought about
it.”

“Well, I know good storytelling when I hear it. I’m an
editor, aren’t I?” He rubbed his palms together and stood from his chair. “But
for now, I see two little munchkins who’ve stayed up past their bedtimes.” He
glanced at Ventura. “You’re here a bit late yourself.”

“I’ve been staying on to help Jason,” she told him. “The
kids asked for me to be here at bedtime.” She shrugged. “I hated to
disappoint.”

“No. I’m sure you wouldn’t do that.” He eyed her
thoughtfully. “You could never disappoint any of us.”

A little while later, Ventura was about to sneak out the
front door when Richard stopped her. He’d apparently relieved Jason the moment
he got home. And Jason, being eager to finally spend an evening with Mary, had
quickly taken off.

“I want to thank you for all you did to help with the kids
while I was gone,” he said as they stood in the foyer.

“I was happy to do it,” she answered honestly. “Elisa and
Ricky are very special.”

“I agree.”

“I’m glad you had a good vacation.”

He met her eyes with a soulful gaze. “I needed some time to
think.”

“I’m sure Gloria helped.”

“Absolutely. Nothing clears my head like spending time on
the water.”

“Water?”

Richard stared at her dumbfounded. “Gloria’s my boat.”

“
Boat?
”

“Didn’t anyone…? Why, of course, why would they
have…
What I mean is…” He blinked hard. “You didn’t know?”

Ventura shook her head. “I thought Gloria was the woman you
were with on the Fourth?”

“You mean Jenny?” Richard slapped his forehead. “I’m so
sorry, Ventura. I haven’t been very clear about any of this. Gloria’s the
sailboat I keep on the Chesapeake Bay. I’ve referred to her as a
she
for years. It never even occurred to
me. Oh gosh. You thought that Jenny was Gloria and that she and I…?” He sputtered
a laugh. “Ventura, Jenny’s my
sister
.”

Ventura’s mouth hung open. “Sister?”

“The kids’ aunt. She’s in law school in New York but was
visiting for the holiday.”

“Oh,” Ventura said, feeling the blood drain from her face.
She felt suddenly weakened, as if she might faint at any moment from sheer
information overload. “Then, you and she…?”

He vehemently shook his head. “I’m sorry about Gloria. I
should have explained.”

“You don’t really need to explain your personal life to me.”

He stepped toward her. “Don’t I?”

“Richard, I have something to tell you.” She felt she should
let him know she’d applied for another job and that he might soon need to shop
for a new nanny. But could she really do that tonight? His first night home,
when he looked like sin in a suntan and was close enough to kiss her once
again? She involuntarily licked her lips, aching to taste his. He wasn’t taken
after all. Had no other woman on the horizon, just some silly old boat. She
imagined him helping her aboard and sailing her away to some faraway place that
was made for just the two of them.
Four of them, counting the
kids.

“What is it?” he asked, his voice husky.

Ventura felt herself losing her nerve.

“Maybe we should talk about it tomorrow.”

“If that’s what you want.”

Ventura’s cell buzzed, and she checked it, seeing it was
Charles. He was letting her know he’d arrived to pick her up and was parked by
the curb outside.

“I’ve got to go.” She broke away from Richard’s gaze, hoping
she was doing the right thing. Leaving the life she’d built here and embarking
on another one. But inwardly, Ventura knew she couldn’t stay at the Blakes’
forever. The more she was around Richard, the harder it was to resist him.
Instinct told her that he was growing attracted to her too. But what did that
mean in their current state, especially when she was still seeing Charles?

Ventura hurried toward Charles’s car, her head swirling and
her heart pounding. She’d once believed twenty-five was the age at which one
knew everything. Now she saw it was a time when she knew nothing at all. Except
for how to make a great big mess of everything. She had a chance for happiness
with Charles, and he clearly wanted to spend time with her. She didn’t need to
go chasing some silly dream about the one man who’d already told her he
couldn’t become involved.

“Are you all right?” Charles asked as she fastened her seat belt.

Ventura glanced back toward the house, her eyes moist. “Yeah,
thanks,” she said, stealthily wiping back a tear. “I’m fine.”

Chapter Ten

“Ventura,” Richard told her the next morning in his home
office. “I’ve been thinking about last night.”

“You have?”

“About your stories.”

“Oh.”

“I was serious when I urged you to write them down. I have a
nose for these things. I think you have potential.”

“But I was trained in news writing. I wouldn’t have a clue
how to go about—”

“Come on, if you can speak it, you can write it. You’re a
good writer to boot. Professionally trained. All you’ll be doing here is
employing a little creative license.”

“And then what?” she asked him. “I don’t even know what the
next step would be. Submitting to publishers? From what I hear, the hurdles are
enormous.”

“I have some agent friends in New York.” He sincerely met
her gaze. “If you’d be willing to write a few of your stories down and polish
them, I might see if I can open some doors.”

Her face warmed with gratitude. “That’s so nice. But why
would you do that for me?”

“Because I can.” He shuffled through some papers on his desk,
then
set them aside. “Now, wasn’t there something you
wanted to tell me?”

She felt awful dropping the bomb on him at this moment,
particularly with him being so kind about her children’s stories. But she needed
to go through with it. She’d had a message on her voice mail this morning
saying she was wanted for an interview. Things had started moving and might
move along even more quickly from here on out.

“I feel terrible about telling you this after you’ve been so
nice.”

His face fell. “What is it? What’s happened?”

She gathered her courage and pressed ahead. “I applied for a
job at the
Daily Globe
.”

“And?”

“I’ve been called in for an interview.”

To her surprise, his expression brightened. “That’s
fantastic. What great news!”

“Huh?”

“This is what you wanted, isn’t it? The whole reason you
came to Washington?”

“Um, yeah. But I thought… Wait a minute. You’re not upset
that I’m leaving?”

He sat back with a sigh. “You’re not leaving yet, are you?
You said you’d just been called for an interview.”

“Yeah, but I kind of have some contacts on the inside.”

He laid his palms on his desk. “Even better.”

Ventura flinched, feeling oddly stung by his enthusiasm. “Is
it…? I mean
,
do you want me to go?”

He met her gaze and held it. “Honey, I’ve never wanted a
nanny to stay so much in my life.”

Ventura’s cheeks flamed.

“But I’ve also never wanted any of them to succeed more than
I do you. Ventura, this is your life. You have to go for it. I want what you
want. Can’t you see?”

She looked deep in his eyes and wished he knew that part of
what she wanted was
him
. And it was too. Her heart
skipped a beat as she acknowledged the truth. She couldn’t keep seeing Charles
when she was desperately in love with someone else.

Jason bustled into the room, carrying some papers. “Here’s
the copy you asked for this morning.”

“Thanks, Jason,” Richard said without taking his eyes off
Ventura’s.

Jason looked from one of them to the other,
then
backed out the door.

“O-kay…” he said, pulling it shut. “I’ll just close this.”

“It’s almost time for me to pick up the kids,” Ventura said.

Richard’s gaze still lingered on hers. “I don’t want you to
ever be afraid,” he told her. “Afraid to go after your dreams. You have to
stand up for your life. Everyone does.”

“Do you?” she asked with a challenge. “Go for what you
want?”

“I’m not sure I understand what you mean.”

She pursed her lips, feeling foolish. What did she expect
him to say?
I wish you’d stop seeing
Charles and go out with me.
She hadn’t even begun the story writing in
earnest and already her thoughts were spinning off into fantasy. “I apologize,”
she said, standing to take her leave. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

The following Saturday, Ventura sat sharing a picnic with
Charles at Hanes Point. Airliners glided overhead, taking off from and landing
at Reagan International Airport as the waters of the Potomac stretched out
ahead.

“This is awesome,” Charles said, studying the view. “Another
brilliant idea.”

He took her hand, and Ventura’s heart ached for him, because
she knew what was coming. “I feel so awful about having to say this.” She hung
her head, and he leaned toward her.

“What’s up?”

“It’s us, Charles,” she said, meeting his eyes. “I just
can’t do this.”

“Did I…?” His face was etched with pain. “Was it something I
said?”