Maggie slid down and Lily caught her. She lifted her up in the air and carried her to the opposite side of the playground. She pushed her on the swings, listening as Maggie counted each push. She could already count all the way to fifty, which Lily thought was pretty darn good for a four-year-old. She only got to thirty-four, though, before Wyatt stepped out of the back doors of the house.
His black suit had caught Lily's eye and she glanced over toward him. He smiled at her and she waved quickly.
My God, why does he have to be so damn good looking? She thought to herself, then immediately shook the thought from her mind. I can't let myself think things like that. It's not right.
“Hey, Lily,” Wyatt said, as he approached her. “I'm so glad you were able to make it.”
She smiled and turned toward him. “Oh, it's no problem at all. You know I love coming to see Maggie whenever I have the chance. The timing worked out pretty well, too. I had just gotten off work when you sent me that text.”
“Daddy, look how high I'm swinging!” Maggie called out.
Wyatt chuckled. “You're flying, Mags! You're like a super hero with pigtails.”
Maggie laughed loudly and began kicking her feet in an attempt to gain even more height.
“Be careful, okay?” Wyatt said. “Don't go too high. I don't want you to fly away.”
“I won't, Dad,” Maggie said.
Wyatt turned back to Lily. “So I wanted to ask you something.”
Lily raised her eyebrows. “Yeah, of course. What is it?”
“I was just inside chatting with Mildred,” he said. “I'm not sure if she mentioned it to you, but she's going out of town for ten days. I guess she's going to visit her sister in Wisconsin.”
“Good for her. She deserves a little vacation,” Lily said. “She works so hard.”
“She does,” Wyatt admitted. “Sometimes too hard.”
“When is she leaving?” she asked.
“The day after tomorrow, which is Friday,” Wyatt said. “I wanted to see if you'd have any interest in subbing in for her while she's gone.”
Lily cocked her head to the side. “For Mildred? What do you mean?”
“Basically I'd want you to live here while she's gone and take on all of her roles. You can stay in the guest bedroom. I'll make sure it's all ready to go for you. I just really need someone to take care of Maggie while Mildred is out of town. I looked around for other babysitters, but most of them only wanted part-time work. In addition to that, though, I don't have the time to interview every potential candidate. I need someone I can trust and who's good with Maggie. You fit both of those things perfectly.”
Lily stood silently for a moment, soaking it in. Wyatt was basically asking if she could play Mom for a week or two. This would mean she'd get to take Maggie to her half-day preschool and swim lessons and play dates. She'd get to spend tons of time with her and just the idea of that alone made her happy.
“You don't have to if you don't feel up to it,” Wyatt said. “I wouldn't have asked, but I feel like I'm up against the wall. Plus, I know how happy Maggie is when you're around. I can't think of a better person to do this.”
“It actually sounds really nice,” Lily said. “I really want to do it. There's one issue that's coming to mind, though.”
“What's that?” Wyatt's eyes widened a bit and his green irises seemed to ignite in the late afternoon sun. Lily gazed at him for a moment, almost forgetting what she was trying to say. He was so handsome that it made it hard to think.
“I'm scheduled to work all weekend and nearly every day next week,” she said, with a sigh. “I can try to get the shifts covered, but it might be tough because it's so short notice.”
“Tell you what,” Wyatt said. “I'll pay you three times what you'd make at your job. In addition to that, tell all of your friends at work that I'll give them an extra hundred dollars per shift of yours that they cover. Who's going to turn that down?”
“Wow, Wyatt, that's a really generous offer,” Lily said. “I don't know if I can even accept that.”
“Sure you can,” he said. “You should, too. You'll make more money in a week than you would at the coffee shop in an entire month. Not to mention I'm paying you to hang out with Maggie. It'll be like a paid vacation. Think about it. No angry customers to deal wi
th, no accidentally getting people's orders wrong, no boss yelling at you. The only boss you'll have is Maggie.”
He flashed a wink, causing Lily to smile coyly.
“This sounds like a pretty fun opportunity,” she said. “So I'd start on Friday then?”