“Good morning, Larky.” I flipped his light switch on. Lark stretched out in the small bed, before crawling out.

“Mornin’.” He smiled at me and came to give me the usual morning hug. “Can I pick my outfit?”

“‘Course, Larky. You can wear whatever you’d like. Just remember we have the pool party later today.”

“Pool party, huh?” I looked back to see Mr. Wolfe in the doorway.

“Yeah. With Ava, the woman I met at the park, and we had the playdate with. As long as the weather permits.”

“I’d love to see you in a bikini.” He smirked.

“Guess you’ll have to come along.”

“I could always leave early.” He tilted his head to the side in thought. “What time are you going?”

“Around one, after lunch, and after we go Halloween costume shopping.”

“I’ll see what I can do then.” Mr. Wolfe nodded.

“You’re getting so big, Larky.” I lifted Lark out of the car seat before setting him down.

“No!” He yelled out. “I wanna be small forever!”

I laughed, ruffling his hair. “Sorry, buddy, you’re just gonna have to keep growing up until you’re as big as your daddy.”

“Lili.” He whined. “I don’t wanna be big. I wanna be carried.”

I smiled, kneeling down to his height. “But getting big had its own benefits.”

“What’s a bene-fit?”

“A good thing. There are good things that come from growing up.”

“But will you still cuddle me if I get bigger?” Lark wrapped his arms around me.

I gently rubbed his back. I wasn’t sure how long I was realistically going to be his nanny, but I didn’t want to think about that right now. “Of course, Larky. I’ll always be willing to cuddle you.”

Lark took a step back and wiped away a few tears.

“It’s okay, Larky.” I placed my hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay to be scared of growing up, but it’s just a part of life. Now, are you ready to go costume shopping? You can pick anything you want!”

A smile grew on Lark’s face. “Yeah!” He nodded. “I wanna be a cowboy!”

“Then let’s find you the best cowboy costume!”

We pulled up in front of Ava’s house. I was honestly surprised Mr. Wolfe had taken the end of the day off just to go to a pool party with us, but I wasn’t about to complain. Mr. Wolfe and I got out of the car, leaving me to get Lark out of his car seat. We made our way to the door, where Ava opened it with a large smile. Her eyes quickly snapped to Mr. Wolfe.

“Oh, so he’s handsome too.” She looked back over at me.

I rolled my eyes with a small smile. “Aren’t you going to invite us in?”

“I suppose.” She giggled, moving out of the doorway to let us in. “You can set your stuff down in the living room.” She guided us into the room, where we put down the duffle bag and my purse.

She moved over to hug me. “You look nice today, Lili.”

“You look nice like always, Ava.” I laughed, moving back.

“Well, get changed, and then we can go swimming~!” She pointed out some bathrooms we could use.

I took Lark with me to get us both changed into swimwear. Once done, we met back with Mr. Wolfe in the living room to put on some sunscreen.

“You do look nice, Lili.” Mr. Wolfe smiled at me softly, his eyes roaming over my body.

I placed my hands on my hip, raising an eyebrow until he looked back at my face. He smirked, tilting his chin up. “Ready?”

“Umhm.” I picked Lark back up and headed into the backyard, where Ava, Dean, and her husband were already.

We did introductions, before getting into the pool. Lark, with his floaties, stayed near Ava and me to make sure the boys were safe, while Mr. Wolfe and Ava’s husband were chatting. After swimming for a while, the boys wanted to move to the kiddie pool, where they could play without their floaties, allowing Ava and I to sit on the edge of the pool and chat.

“So, you weren’t a nanny before working for Marco?” Ava’s husband, Jeff, asked.

“Nope. I was just an art student.”

“How’d you get such a good gig then?” Ava looked over at Mr. Wolfe.

“She was too beautiful not to hire. And I wanted to sleep with her.” He chuckled.

“Woo!” Ava cheered, before shaking me. “The man is honest!”

I rolled my eyes, looking over at Mr. Wolfe, who winked at me. “Seriously? Not on my merits or the fact that I took care of my siblings but because I’m hot?”

“Exactly.” He shrugged.

“Lili,” Ava nudged me, “that’s a good thing! You two are perfect for each other.” She turned to Mr. Wolfe. “Lili would make an amazing mother. You need to knock her up.”

“Ava!” I looked at her with wide eyes.

“I like that idea.” Mr. Wolfe chuckled, causing me to look over at him with the same shocked face.

“What happened to this conversation!?”