Nikki Moore - Picnics in Hyde Park

‘Right. And what are you going to be doing in the meantime?’

‘I’ll be trying to work out what’s gone on, and see if the situation can be retrieved.’ She had to talk in the language that Ruth understood.

‘You do that. Keep me updated, will you? If you need me to speak with either of the swines let me know. I don’t know enough about Stephen to comment, however it’s odd about Matthew, I didn’t think he was like that. He always seemed so nice. I met him a few times when I came into London for lunch with your sister.’

‘That’s what Melody thought too,’ Zoe replied. ‘I’ll be in touch. Bye.’ She hung up, sitting back in her chair. Formidable was not the word for her aunt. She almost felt like setting her on Matt because it was what he deserved, but that wouldn’t get them anywhere. She was convinced that direct confrontation wasn’t the route to take. Staring down at the greasy table top, she frowned, anxiety coiling in her stomach. Was it always going to be this way between her and Ruth? Was there ever going to be a time that they could come to some understanding? Or when Ruth would tell her why she’d always been the odd one out in their little patched together family?

When Melody returned a minute later, Zoe forced a smile. ‘Good news,’ she said. ‘You can go to Ruth’s as soon as this afternoon if you want. We can grab your things from Jemima’s and get you on the train in no time.’ She thought longingly of the coarse sandy beaches of Southend-on-Sea. Pictured the world’s longest pleasure pier, the row of multi-painted beach huts, the rides and roller coaster of Adventure Island on the Western Esplanade. Could almost taste the salt that carried on the sea breeze and always tangled her hair. While Ruth’s house with its dark shadows, locked rooms and no-nonsense air had never felt like home, she loved the seaside town she’d spent most of her teens in.

‘That would be good,’ Melody murmured. ‘I do think I need to get away and the sooner the better.’ She closed her eyes then opened them again, looking horrified. ‘I haven’t even asked about you, Sis. Are you doing okay? Funny that we’re both going through break-ups at the same time.’

‘I’ll be fine.’ Zoe grabbed her bag from under the table and started rooting through her purse. ‘At least I know what happened,’ she muttered, head down. The memory of that last night with Greg flashed in front of her eyes. ‘Besides, I’ve got other things to concentrate on. I’ll be checking out of the bed and breakfast in a couple of days’ time and moving in with Matt.’

Melody shook her head. ‘That’s the part of the plan that makes me nervous.’

‘Why?’ Zoe frowned at her sister as she threw a ten pound note down on the table. At least that was one thing; she was returning to the UK with money in the bank, courtesy of her ex-fiancé and their cancelled plans. ‘You think he might rumble me straight away?’

‘No. It’s more that while he has a tendency to be closed off from the children, and really distracted, he’s a nice guy. Kind of charming actually. I never saw him that way but lots of women—’

‘Not such a nice guy that it stopped him from doing what he did to you,’ she interrupted, ‘and that’s all I’m interested in. Don’t worry, I won’t fall for the act.’ Thinking of Greg, something in her chest twisted. ‘There’s no chance.’

Later on, when they said goodbye as Melody boarded the train, her shoulders slumped like a puppy that had been kicked one too many times, a new determination burned through Zoe. The sooner this was done, the sooner Melody might be able to move on with her life, and come back to London, where the two of them belonged side by side together again. Sisters.

Huffing out a breath, Zoe slung another huge canvas bag on the bed, a trickle of sweat snaking down her back. She bit her lower lip, pulling out her phone to re-read her sister’s text from that morning.

All settled and Ruth is

looking after me. I’m still

not sure about this Sis.

But if you’re going to do

it, please be careful. M xx

Melody was obviously worried so Zoe had done her best to reassure her.

I’ll be fine.

Can’t wait to see the

look on Matt’s face when

it all comes together.

Then on to Stephen! ☺ xx

It probably was a kind of madness, moving in with a guy she detested. But it was part of the plan. Besides, if she wasn’t meant to do this, why would the universe have co-operated quite so nicely? When the agency had called the day following the interview to tell her Matt wanted her to go back and meet the kids, it’d felt like cosmic rebalancing, like it was meant to be. Not that she was superstitious. But the agency—Exclusive London Nannies—had been happy to re-register her, delighted to make money from the placement. Once Liberty had supplied a glowing reference and Zoe had registered with the online DBS service, her enhanced disclosure and barring clearance available within days, with her certificate of good conduct on its way from America, it had been too easy to meet Aimee and Jasper. To convince Matt of her suitability to be his nanny. Of course it had helped that Melody had been able to give her some inside tips about the family.

Surprisingly, the children weren’t the spoilt brats she’d expected. Maybe that was down to her sister’s influence over the last few years. They did however have a few issues that Melody hadn’t articulated.

Number one was that they were crying out for their dad’s love, the net result being that Aimee was so incredibly shy she was virtually mute, finding it hard to hold eye contact and hesitant about speaking, while Jasper’s behaviour was so demanding and energy levels so high he was on the verge of hyperactivity. Zoe couldn’t help feeling Jasper was attention seeking, trying to establish communication with his only parent.

Number two was they were bored out of their skulls and weren’t engaging with the activities Matt had chosen for them.

She’d seen it all within an hour; interacting with the three of them, noticing Matt’s distracted and distant manner, the way the light went out of his kids’ eyes whenever he glanced at his phone, or gazed off into space with a faraway look, or scribbled something on a notepad he kept in his back pocket. They weren’t a happy, cohesive family unit. Not at all.

She could do a lot of good for these kids. It was a shame she was only here for a few weeks to get revenge , which she’d started referring to as Plan Nannygate in her head. Nothing over the past week had made her feel like Matt didn’t deserve it. What she hadn’t mentioned to her sister in the cafe was what had happened during her brief third visit, just after accepting the job.

Finally allowed to see her living quarters, she had been horrified to find Melody’s things shoved into black bin liners and left carelessly in a pile in one of the upstairs hallways, the contents overflowing and getting trodden on every time Jasper ran past. Which he invariably did, as his default speed setting appeared to be supersonic. The lack of respect for her sister’s stuff had her fuming, never mind the health and safety hazard to the kids if they tripped over the bags.

‘This is really dangerous,’ she’d raised an eyebrow at Matt. ‘You must have storage space. It needs to be put away.’

‘Dangerous?’ he’d answered her without lifting his head, typing something into his iPad.

‘For your children. They could fall over the bags and down the stairs?’ She pointed out exasperated, before realising she had to watch her tone. She couldn’t be bolshy. He was about to become her boss and she wanted to earn his trust, so she had to play nice. ‘I’m just concerned. I have a duty of care towards them, remember?’ Like he did as their parent.