Read My Lucky Groom (Summer Grooms Series) for Free Online

lost in privacy, she’d gained in a special new friend. It seemed she and
Mary became closer every day. If only Ventura were gainfully employed, she’d
feel better about things. As it was, she was having to
be extra careful about finances.
    She’d tried to gloss over it, but Mary appeared to have
picked up on it just the same. Just last night she’d offered to pay their tab
for Zen’s Chinese Take-Out, supposedly in celebration of receiving her first
big paycheck. Inwardly, Ventura knew Mary was being kind. Ventura was getting
to the point where she could no longer afford take-out food. Things were
getting desperate. If there were another way, she’d seize it. But the only
other way Ventura could see at the moment involved giving up on her dreams entirely
and moving back home. And home wasn’t a place where Ventura was necessarily
welcome. Her mom had sold the big house and moved into a condo, which basically
accommodated her and her half-time , live-in boyfriend,
along with his gigantic, drool-happy dog.
    Ventura took a long sip of water, then set down the bottle, preparing to dial. She hoped to find a way to sound casual
about it and not present herself as being quite as desperate as she was. She
couldn’t chance giving Richard the idea that there was something wrong with
her. She’d at least need to secure an interview to have a shot at the job. She
punched in Richard’s number and fidgeted nervously with her scrawled-on legal
pad as the phone rang two, then three times… In case he didn’t answer, she’d
written down precisely what she would say to his voice-mail box.
    “Richard Blake,” he answered in an even clip that sounded
ultraprofessional.
    Ventura stared hard at her legal pad, and all sense of
reason flew out the window. “Um…”
    “Is someone there?” he asked seriously.
    “Yes! Hello. This is Ventura Hart.”
    He paused a beat, then answered, “Ventura, hi. How nice to
hear from you. How’s the job hunt going?”
    “Not so well,” she answered honestly.
    “I’m” — he
hesitated a moment before finishing — “sorry.”
    “Yes, well. You know how it is.”
    “Very competitive market.”
    “Exactly.”
    “Not that you’re not extremely qualified.”
    “Thanks.”
    “I’ve been asking around.”
    “You have?”
    “The only problem is , I didn’t have
a way to contact you.”
    Ventura drew a hopeful breath. “You mean, you’ve heard of
something? In journalism?”
    “No,” he said quickly. “Not exactly. But I’ve been keeping
my ears open.”
    “That’s good of you.”
    “Yes.”
    “Well, you have my number now.”
    “It’s on my caller ID,” he agreed.
    “Which may come in handy.”
    “How so?”
    “Should” — Ventura
gathered her nerve and squeezed shut her eyes — “you need to call me for interview?”
    “Interview?”
    Ventura drew a breath and let it out, counting to twenty-five.
    “Ventura? Are you still there?”
    “I’d like to apply for the position,” she told him firmly.
    “The nanny job?” he asked with surprise.
    “If you’ll still have me.”
    “It’s yours!” he proclaimed with delight.
    “Whhh…what did you say?”
    “I said, you’re hired, Ventura. When can you start?”
    “But don’t I need to interview? Meet the kids?”
    “Formalities. We’ll arrange all that. Doesn’t have to be in
any certain order.”
    “I see.” Ventura swallowed hard, wondering what she was
getting herself into. How bad were those children if he hadn’t found help for
them already? Ventura tried to reassure herself, thinking Richard was probably
just picky as any good daddy would be. That made him admirable, didn’t it?
    “It would super if you could swing by on Monday. You can
meet the kids and Jason, and we’ll get everything set up.”
    “Jason?”
    “He’s my personal assistant and a really great guy. You’ll
have no worries. Jason will teach you everything you need to learn in getting
started. Now, all I need is your address.