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Chapter 7

Anna entered the front door of the large estate. She had always loved this big house called Downton Abbey. As a child, she had come with her father before he died. He had told her the history of the building and took her out back to see the gardens. It was one of her favorite memories of her father.

But today, she was here to see her best friend. Mary had an office in a small room by the library. She worked here some days and had a different office space in a building nearby. Mr. Carson, the head of the staff, left her inside and asked how she was doing. She could recall when he was younger and would speak to her father about the different histories of the building. Mr. Carson felt like an old friend by now. She gave him a smile, asked him the same, and then made her way to Mary's office.

Knocking on the door, she was asked to come in. When Mary saw it was her, she smiled.

"Anna, what do I owe this pleasure?" Mary asked her friend. Anna closed the door behind her and took a seat across from Mary. She inhaled sharply and then just decided to blurt it all out.

"I slept with John," she told her. Mary rose her brows, confused.

"Who is John?"

"He is the nurse I hired to take care of my mother," Anna reminded Mary. Mary's lips curled up slightly and she left out a laugh.

"And when did this happen?"

"Friday night, after you dropped me back home. Well, I guess Saturday morning," Anna mused, thinking of that night.

"Well, well, good for you," Mary stated, smiling. "I'm guessing it was good?"

Anna blushed slightly and nodded. "It was."

"Good. But why are you telling me? You aren't thinking of firing the poor man, are you?"

"Absolutely not," Anna quickly replied. "It's just…well, he's asked me on a date."

"Ah," Mary chuckled. "What did you say?"
"I said yes," Anna answered, slightly uncomfortable. "I actually want to go out with him. I…I'm excited."

"So what's the problem?"

"I….This is a mistake, isn't it? He's my mother's nurse and I have the girls. I just don't…." Mary stood and bent over to place her hands on Anna's.

"Shh," she stopped her. "It is not a mistake. You deserve a nice night out. Don't get yourself in your head. Jake and your stepfather have done a number on you, but they don't define you. Don't make it a big deal. It's just a date. You aren't marrying the guy."

"Right," Anna answered, chewing on her lower lip. "You're right. Thank you, Mary. I think I just needed to talk it all out."

"No problem. That's what friends are for."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Their date was set for that Saturday night. Anna felt terrible taking John away from his mother that night, since she now knew that he spent all of his free time with her. He said it was fine and that he wanted to be able to give her a nice date.

But for now, Anna was waiting for her children to be returned by Jake. He had been an hour late to pick them up from her car. They always met in the same spot in a parking lot by a large outdoor mall. Sometimes, her children would come back with toys or treats or both. She always had to stay, because she didn't know when he would decide he was done. The one time she left to run errands, he had called her thirty minutes later saying he had an emergency pop up, which was usually code for his new girlfriend wanted him to come by.

She had lost count of his new girlfriends since their divorce. At one point, he was going to marry his son's mother, but then they broke up. Anna knew her girls never got to see their brother. Last she heard, that woman had pretty much terminated his rights because Jake was okay to sign them away. He was such a deadbeat. The only solace she had was that her girls were continually being introduced to new women every other week.

"Mummy!" Gracie's voice pulled her from her thoughts. She glanced up and smiled brightly. Her two girls were running toward her and smiling. But Anna's brows furrowed when she didn't see Jake.

"Where's your dad?" She asked, growing worried.

"Oh," Arya started, as she reached her mother. "He's in that shop," she pointed to a shop a few stores down. "He said he'd watch us as we came to you. His girlfriend was trying on clothes." Anna's blood went cold.

"What? What girlfriend?" She could feel heat rising up her cheeks. Gracie took a hold of Anna's hand and pulled her closer to the car so they could go back home.

"Her name is Hannah. She's nice. She has two girls too!"

"She does, does she?" Anna questioned, her blood now boiling. She had the right mind to go into that store and tell him off. Who was he to bring some new woman around their girls without even telling her? A girl he'd likely break up with before he saw them again?

"Yes!" Arya continued. Anna made herself calm down and began to place them into the car. She knew she just had to accept things they were. If she freaked out in front of her children, it would only hurt them. As usual, she had to take the higher ground.

"Sounds fun," she finally said. "Let's go home."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Baxter had come back to work the day before. Anna tried to tell her to give herself more time and not rush herself, but Baxter said she needed the distraction that the girls could give her. The girls were thrilled to have her back. She took them out for a walk around the neighborhood so that Anna could get some work done before her date that evening. It occurred to her that she had no idea what John had planned for the night. She didn't know how nice she needed to get dressed up. It had been such a long time since she had gone on a date.

She sighed. She hoped she didn't make a fool of herself.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

John showed up at Anna's house, going up to the front door with flowers and chocolates. He thought he remembered her saying she was a big lover of chocolate. He was slightly early and hoped that it wasn't too early. Checking his watch once more, John tentatively knocked on the door. Like the last time when he had knocked, Arya answered the door.

"John," she welcomed with a smile. "Mum is in her office on a work call. She said she'll be right out."

"Welcome him in," Baxter called from the kitchen.

"Right! Come on in!" Arya giggled. Gracie walked forward with her Peppa in her arms and nearly tackled him, asking to be picked up.

"John!" She happily cried out, as John lifted her up into his arms.

"Are you going to kiss my mum?" Arya asked. John's brows rose.

"Not appropriate," Anna spoke, walking into the room. "Gracie, let John put you down." John placed Gracie down and then picked up the flowers and chocolate on the small table by the door.

"These are for you," he told Anna. Anna's smile curled up and she took the two gifts from him.

"Thank you," she sincerely answered. She walked them over to the kitchen. Placing the flowers on the large table and then placing the chocolates on a high shelf. She turned toward her girls and gave them a pointed look. "These better not be gone when I get back."

"Don't worry," Arya promised. "We can't reach them."

"I can climb," Gracie outed herself. Anna laughed.

"Well, no climbing. Those are Mummy's. Now, you both be good for Baxter. I'll see you in the morning."

John waited for Anna to tell her girls goodbye and then he followed her outside of the house and then down the stairs toward his car. He quickly opened her door, gaining a side eye from Anna. But she then nodded and sat down, thanking him for his chivalry.

The ride to the restaurant was full of small, short discussions. He pulled into the parking lot and then rushed over to help her out of her door. Anna stepped out and thanked him again.

"I hope you like steak. I didn't even think to make sure…" John started. He had been so glad to get this reservation, but then he worried she was a vegan. What would she eat at this steak house? Anna cut off his worried thoughts.

"I love steak," she assured him. He breathed a sigh of relief.

They went inside and were taken almost immediately to their table. John walked around to pull out the chair for Anna and again, she gave him a side eye.

"I'm sorry," he started. "Do you not…."

"It's just. I've never had anyone do that for me before," Anna answered him with a smile. "But thank you. It's nice."

John smiled. He made his way to his seat and sat down. They ordered their drinks and an appetizer.

"I hate that I took you away from your mum," Anna then began. She had her fingers hooked together, while her hands sat on the table. She appeared slightly anxious; not the confident woman he was always seeing. It was a little nice to see her showing him her vulnerability.

"Oh, she's happy I'm out on a date. She tells me that I am always spending too much of my free time with her," John assured her. "I do have to give her a full update."

Anna giggled.

"Tell me about her."

"She's the strongest person I know. My dad died when I was younger and she raised me on her own. She always made sure I had everything I could need and worked hard so that I could have a better life than she had," John told Anna about his mother. There was a proud glint in his eye.

"She sounds wonderful," Anna replied. "Being a single mother is hard."

"Yes," John agreed. "I see how hard you work for your girls. They are so fortunate to have you."

John watched as Anna's cheeks blushed slightly.

"Did you always want to own your own business?" John then asked her. Anna nodded.

"I did. I was tired of always having other people in life controlling me. I wanted to be the boss. But with being the boss, comes a lot of responsibilities."

"Oh absolutely," John had to agree.

"And did you always want to be a nurse?"

"No," John said with a chuckle. "I went through many ideas, but then I realized that I wanted to help people. And that led me down this path. I enjoy it, a lot."

"Good," Anna smiled. John felt a warmth flow through him. He just felt something with Anna, something he couldn't quite put his finger on. But it made him feel whole.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Dinner had been wonderful. It was so different than she remember when she dated Jake. They had both been poor and young, so their dates were often something cheap they could find to do. But that wasn't what made this date so different. There were plenty of nice free things one could do for a date, but Jake had never really made it about Anna. It was always about scoring points so he could get sex that night. But he still hadn't gone out of his way to make it extra special. How had she been so blind to all the red flags then?

She sighed and then smiled. John and she were walking through the village. It had beautiful lights up and the weather was perfect this evening. John's arm came around her shoulders and he pulled her close. She let out a comfortable sigh. This was nice. This was different.

"I've had fun tonight," Anna told John. He turned to her and smiled.

"Me too."

They went back to his car and he drove her home. Then he walked her up to her front door. Anna unlocked the door and then stood in the doorway. Very carefully, John brought his hands to her cheeks and she bent forward so that he could give her a gentle kiss. Then he stood and gave her a smile.

"You could come in," Anna offered, "We could continue this upstairs." John's cheeks reddened slightly, but he shook his head.

"I think it might be best if we take it slow," he informed her.

"We've already slept together," Anna reminded him.

"I know and I enjoyed it," he assured Anna. "However, if we're going to officially date, I think we should do this right. Good night, Anna. I'll see you tomorrow." He bent over to kiss her cheek and then walked back to his car.

Anna watched as he pulled away and placed her fingers over her lips. Yes, this was very different indeed.

To be continued...

Thanks for reading! :) I hope to get my other stories updated within the next couple of days.