Military Daddies’ Nanny (Lucky Women’s Daddies Reverse Harem #1)

Chapter 17

Drew

The early morning sunlight slants through the blinds, painting stripes across the bedroom floor as I button up my shirt. In the adjoining bathroom, I can hear Nancy humming softly to herself as she gets ready for the day.

While we don’t have it all figured out in terms of sleeping arrangements, we’ve managed to make it work so far. Nancy is often with one of us, but there are also moments where we are all together. Special moments.

I still don’t know what to tell the kids about our unique arrangement with Nancy. While Jason seems completely oblivious to whatever is going on, I have noticed Bella watching us curiously, the wheels and gears running in her sharp mind.

One thing is certain. We’ve all been touched in some way or the other by Nancy’s presence in our combined lives.

Has it really been four months since she came into our lives? Sometimes it feels like Nancy has always been here, slotting seamlessly into the rhythms of our household. Other times, I'm struck anew by how much has changed in such a short span of time.

I head downstairs to start the coffee, knowing the aroma will soon lure Nathan and Carlos from their rooms. Sure enough, by the time the pot has finished brewing, both men are shuffling into the kitchen, sleep-rumpled but smiling.

"Morning, hermano ," Carlos greets me, reaching for a mug. "You're looking awfully chipper for this ungodly hour."

I shrug, unable to keep the grin off my face. "What can I say? It's a beautiful day."

Nathan raises an eyebrow as he packs his own coffee with an obscene amount of cream and sugar. "Someone got lucky last night, I take it?"

Heat creeps up my neck, but I don't deny it. These days, we're all past the point of coyness when it comes to our intimate moments with Nancy.

Still, I'm not quite ready to voice the deeper sentiment blooming in my chest—the reason behind my good mood that has little to do with physical satisfaction and everything to do with waking up beside the woman I'm pretty sure I'm in love with.

Instead, I counter with, "Like you're one to talk. I seem to recall hearing some interesting noises coming from your room not too long ago."

Carlos sniggers into his mug. "Yeah, well. Our girl does have a lot of love to give."

Our girl. The phrase sends a little thrill through me, even as a niggle of doubt worms its way into my mind. Can she really be ours? All of ours? It seems too good to be true sometimes.

"Speaking of Nancy," Nathan says, as though reading my thoughts, "I wanted to run something by you guys. I was thinking...maybe we should look into getting a bigger place? You know, so we can all live together properly.

“Give Nancy a proper bedroom, not the one she has to make do with right now. Also save Carlos here the hassle of going back and forth to his apartment all the time. I mean, it already feels like he lives here full-time as things stand."

I blink, surprised. It's not that the idea hasn't crossed my mind, of course it has. But hearing Nathan voice it so casually, like it's the most natural thing in the world…

"You don't think that's moving too fast?" I hedge, even as a part of me thrills at the prospect. "I mean, we've only been doing...this...for a few months."

Carlos fixes me with a knowing look. "C'mon, Drew. You telling me you can picture your life without her in it now?"

I don't even have to think about the answer. "No," I admit quietly. "No, I can't."

"None of us can," Nathan agrees. "And it's not just us, either. Have you seen how the kids are with her? Jason's grades have gone up two letter grades since Nancy started tutoring him. And Bella...man, I don't think I've ever seen that girl smile so much."

He's right. The change in my children over the past months has been remarkable. They've blossomed under Nancy's care, coming out of the shells they'd retreated into after their mother left. The thought of Karen sends an old pang through me, but it's dull now. Less raw.

"I know what you're thinking," Carlos says, pulling me from my musings. "You're worrying that this is too good to last. That something's gotta give eventually, right?"

I sigh, scrubbing a hand over my face. "Can you blame me? I mean, what we have here, it's not exactly something you see often. Part of me is still waiting for the other shoe to drop."

"Screw that," Carlos retorts with feeling. "Since when has ‘the usual’ ever worked for us anyway? Look, I get it. You're scared. But Drew, hermano , listen to me. What we've got here? It works. Nancy feels something for all of us, and we all care for her. The kids are happy. Hell, I don't think I've ever been happier."

"He's right," Nathan chimes in softly. "I know it might seem crazy from the outside, but...we're family, Drew. You, me, Carlos. Always have been. And now Nancy's part of that too. Why shouldn't we make it official?"

I swallow past the lump forming in my throat, oddly moved. "You really think we can do this? Make it work long-term?"

Carlos claps a hand on my shoulder, dark eyes serious. "I think we already are, amigo ."

And just like that, something slots into place inside me. The lingering doubts, the nagging fears—they don't vanish completely. But they recede, overpowered by the swell of love and certainty rising in their wake.

I think of Nancy, of her radiant smile, her big heart, and her endless capacity for good, the way she looks at each of us like we hung the moon. I think of my kids, happier and more secure than they've been in years. I think of the four of us, tangled together in a bed that should feel crowded but somehow never does.

This is it, I realize. This is everything I never knew I needed.

"Okay," I say finally, a grin spreading across my face. "Let's do it. Let's find a place big enough for all of us."

Nathan and Carlos whoop, pulling me into a group hug that quickly devolves into good-natured shoving. We're still laughing when Nancy appears in the doorway, Bella and Jason trailing behind her.

"What's got you boys so rowdy this early?" she asks, eyes twinkling as she takes in our antics.

I cross to her and sneak a peek at the kids who are distracted by their uncles. Unable to resist pressing a swift kiss to her upturned lips. "Just making plans for the future. Nothing to worry about."

She arches an eyebrow, clearly intrigued, but doesn't press. Instead, she herds the kids toward the table, reminding Jason not to forget his science project. I watch her, marveling at how effortlessly she's stepped into this role. Honestly, how did we ever manage without her?

In that moment, I make a decision. Tonight, I'm going to take Nancy out—somewhere nice, with candlelight and good wine. And I'm going to tell her exactly how I feel. How much she means to me, to all of us. How I want to build a life with her, unconventional as it may be.

The rest of the morning passes in a flurry of activity, making lunches, double-checking backpacks, and ushering everyone out the door.

Nancy is the last to leave, off to get groceries for meal prep. I pull her close before she goes, savoring the warmth of her in my arms.

"Have dinner with me tonight?" I murmur against her hair. "Just the two of us?"

She pulls back, surprised but pleased. "Why, Drew Johnson? Are you asking me on a date?"

I chuckle. "I believe I am. So, what do you say? Seven o'clock, that little Italian place you like?"

"It's a date," Nancy agrees, stretching up on tiptoe to brush a kiss across my cheek. Then she's gone in a swish of floral-scented air, leaving me grinning like an idiot in her wake.

A few minutes go by before I change my mind and decide to head to work instead. Maybe tomorrow I can spend a lazy day with Nancy while the children are in school instead of staying home bored out of my mind today.

The day seems to crawl by after that, my thoughts constantly drifting to the evening ahead. I'm...nervous, I realize. It's been so long since I put myself out there like this, made myself vulnerable. But Nancy is worth it. What we have is worth it.

Finally, blessedly, five o'clock rolls around. I catch sight of my reflection in the car window and have to laugh at myself. I look like a teenager getting ready for prom, for Christ's sake.

Get it together, Drew , I tell myself sternly. It's just Nancy. Nancy, who's seen you at your best and your worst. Nancy, who already shares your bed, your home, your heart…

I'm so caught up in my internal pep talk that I almost miss the buzzing of my phone on the table. Distracted, I reach for it without checking the caller ID.

"Hello?"

There's a beat of silence on the other end. Then, a voice I haven't heard in six years: "Drew? It's...it's me. It's Karen."

The bottom drops out of my stomach. I grip the edge of the table, knuckles white, as the world tilts on its axis.

"Karen," I manage, my own voice sounding strange and far away. I choose not to believe it. Everything within me rejects the information as false, even though I would have known that voice if I heard it in a crowd. This is happening . "What...why are you calling?"

She clears her throat, an achingly familiar sound that transports me back in time. To shouted arguments and slammed doors, to a hastily scrawled note on the kitchen table that read the simple words, I'm sorry. I can't do this anymore.

"I know it's been a long time," Karen is saying now, hesitant. "And I know I have no right to...but Drew, I've been doing a lot of thinking. About my life, about the kids. About us."

My pulse pounds in my ears, drowning out whatever she says next. This can't be happening. Not now, not when everything is finally falling into place…

"Drew?" Karen prompts, and I realize I've been silent too long. "Are you still there?"

I squeeze my eyes shut, willing myself to wake up from whatever surreal nightmare this is. This can’t be happening to me. Not right now.

But when I open my eyes again, nothing has changed. I'm still standing in front of the car, phone clutched to my ear. And my ex-wife—the woman who walked out on our family without a backward glance—is still on the other end of the line.

"Yeah," I reply hoarsely, clearing my throat. "Yeah, I'm here."

My voice sounds small in my ears and I hate it. I hate that even after so much time has passed, and despite all the changes that have come into my life in the past four months, just the sound of her voice alone is enough to get under my skin and make me revert to the man she left years ago.

Her voice sounds distant, like I’m listening in on someone else’s conversation instead of participating in my own.

Stay calm, man.

I close my eyes and try to calm myself, but the loud and painful throbbing of the blood in my veins is making it difficult to focus.

This is all just a figment of my imagination, and by the time I open my eyes, I’ll laugh at how absurd I am. I’ll laugh at how that small part of me that’s uncertain about how a household like the one I’m about to share is making me paranoid.

I open my eyes slowly.

“Hello? Drew? Are you there?”

Fuck.