Page 49 of Christmas Nanny

The kids sprinted to the next house, their giggles carrying through the air. We followed, keeping a safe distance. Leaves crunched underfoot, and a motion-sensor ghost moaned from a front porch.

“You realize,” Adrian said, “wearing that costume when there’s nothing we can do about it is borderline cruel.”

“Cruel?” I repeated, feigning innocence.

“Mm-hmm.” He tilted his head, voice low enough to be lost under the rustling trees. “You walk around all night pretending you don’t know the effect you have. That’s villainous behavior.”

Miles snorted. “Darth Teaser.”

“Thank you,” Adrian said solemnly. “Finally, someone gets it.”

“You two are ridiculous.”

Ethan’s voice came from just behind my shoulder. “They’re not wrong.”

I turned, startled, and he looked down at me, expression calm but eyes sharp. “You’ve got every dad on this block re-evaluating his marriage,” he said.

“That’s your fault,” I shot back. “You’re the one who suggested Leia.”

His mouth curved into a sly smile. “I saidclassic movie character. You volunteered for the rebellion.”

The porch light ahead flicked on, and the kids shrieked. Sadie was shouting something about full-size candy bars. They bolted forward again, leaving us momentarily alone in the stretch between houses.

Miles slowed his steps, brushing my arm lightly. “So, be honest. You doing this to torture us?”

“Depends.”

“On what?”

I flashed him a cheeky wink. “If it’s working.”

He laughed, but there was a glint in his eyes that didn’t match the sound. “Let’s just say your Jedi mind tricks are working.”

Before I could answer, Emma ran back, pink wings bouncing. “Maren, can I go with Rosa’s mom? A whole bunch of kids from school are walking together.”

Behind her, a woman in a witch hat waved. She looked familiar from drop-off, and I waved back. The rest of the kids wereclustering around her in the kind of organized chaos that meant safety in numbers.

Emma’s small hand tugged at mine. “Please? Will’s going too.”

“He is?”

It took a butt ton of convincing to get him to agree to this in the first place, so the fact that he wanted to hang out with other kids was a real shocker. He looked sheepish, eyes on his shoes.

“Milla and some other kids from class are there,” he mumbled.

“Ah, okay.” He hadn’t mentioned a name the last time we spoke, but just the way he said it made me realize this mysterious Milla must be the crush.

I glanced at Ethan. He hesitated, then nodded.

“Go on,” I said. “You’ll have more fun with your friends.”

Emma’s face lit up. She darted off to join the others, calling a goodbye over her shoulder as Sadie and Will sprinted after her.

The street quieted again as the crowd moved on, laughter fading. The four of us stood there under a canopy of branches, porch lights winking down the block.

Miles stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Well. Guess the grown-ups are off duty.”

Adrian grinned. “Correction: the grown-ups are unsupervised.”