Page 61 of The Accidental Nanny

I drop them off at school and go back, trying to tackle Ace's room first. I check Eden's room and it's just as messy. I groan and tidy her room as well, throwing the toys in the closet and under the bed.

After school, I collect Eden first. I will need more timewith Ace and his pick up. When I get there, he looks so depressed. I motion to him, and Ace comes over to me.

“Come on, let’s sort this mess out.” I take his hand, spotting Penny in the mums group. I hate these women.

“Penny, a word,” I spit my words out at her.

“How can I help?” she asks, looking surprised at my tone.

“George is bullying Ace and making Ace's life miserable."

“No, he’s not. They are best friends.” She looks at George, who has conveniently become shy.

“Really? I’ve got an eight-year-old who’s telling me George is being mean to him, and the reason he has no friends is because he doesn’t have a mum.” I let go of Ace's hand, crossing my arms.

“Prove it,” one of Penny’s minions says. “You’re taking one child’s word for it.”

“What has this got to do with you? I’m talking to Penny,” I snap at her.

“He pushed my Teddy over,” she snarls at me.

I glare at her, ready to put up a fight. “I’m glad.”

Oh, God!Why would I say that?

“I think Alex should be dealing with this, and not hisnanny,” Penny sneers.

Eden pulls her hand away from mine, crossing her arms in front of her.

“He pushed him over first. I saw it. Ace pushed him back. They were calling him names.” She points to Teddy.

“Of course she’s going to say that.” Teddy's mum shakes her head.

“It’s true. I saw it too,” another little boy speaks up.

“Arty? Is that true?” When he nods, she says, “I think we should go to the teacher about this.”

“I do as well,” I agree. I like this Arty kid.

“Teddy, we’re going.” Penny’s minion walks off with her son.

Eden pokes her tongue out at George. I don’t even tell her off.

“Fine, let’s go see the teacher,” Penny agrees.

We go to the boys’ teacher, and Arty explains what has been going on. George leaves school crying, with Penny telling him off. I fight a smug smile to see how sheepish she’s gone.

“Thank you...” I say to Arty's mum as we walk out of the school gate, realising I don’t know her name.

“Lorna. Alex has my number if the kids ever want a playdate.” She walks off with Arty, and I’m left thinking I might have found my first mum friend.

“Milkshake?” I ask the children.

When we get home, I make sure we all wash our hands and get started on the kids’ homework. Alex is coming home late, so I order us a pizza to share. We cuddle on the sofa while we eat it watching a film.

Alex

I’m meant to be working, but I want to find something out. It has taken a lot of digging, but I have found what I am looking for, even if it did take a few weeks. I now have contact details for Ben, Julia's first husband—the one she divorced after irreconcilable differences. This in turn, leads me into finding out about Jason, her current boyfriend.