The Nanny

Aiden Reid is Cassie’s love interest, employer, and the other narrator of the novel. Aiden was in a casual relationship with a woman named Rebecca in their senior year of college, resulting in their daughter, Sophie. Though Aiden and Rebecca were never in a serious relationship, they co-parented Sophie through the first eight years of her life. Aiden is a successful executive chef at a popular restaurant, and his schedule is always busy, leading Sophie to spend most of her time with Rebecca and Rebecca’s sister, Iris. Aiden’s busy schedule at the restaurant leads him to feel lonely, and because of this, a co-worker suggests he should check out OnlyFans.

On OnlyFans, Aiden is quickly attracted to a performer named Cici, and he begins to feel as if he is addicted to her when he watches her videos. He starts to pay for private shows from her and buys her gifts, which leads to more conversation between the two of them. Aiden feels he is forming a bond with Cici, who he senses is lonely as well. When he arranges to meet with her in real life, he is excited to meet her until he receives a last-minute call from Iris, informing him that Rebecca had a stroke.

After Rebecca’s sudden death a year before the novel begins, Aiden is left with full custody of Sophie and is unsure how to take care of her full-time. Though he hires a few nannies, Sophie tends to scare them off, leaving Aiden in desperate need of help by the time he posts the job advertisement that Cassie answers. Not only does Aiden doubt his ability to be a good parent to Sophie due to his schedule and Sophie’s strong connection with Rebecca, but he also fears that Sophie does not care about spending time with him. As Cassie tells him about Sophie’s feelings and her own relationship with her parents, Aiden starts to make more of an effort to be around Sophie as he simultaneously falls for Cassie.

During his relationship with Cassie—especially once he discovers she is Cici—Aiden gains more confidence, becoming a dynamic character as he becomes more of a present parent. Yet when he and Cassie do not answer Sophie’s calls when she has an emergency, he feels guiltier than ever about his inability to be there for his daughter. However, Cassie has instilled in him more confidence, so when Iris questions his ability to care for his daughter, Aiden can prove her wrong. By the end of the novel, Aiden has struck a balance between his professional, familial, and romantic lives and starts planning for a future with Cassie by his side.

Sophie’s aunt, Iris, is the older sister of Sophie’s mother, Rebecca. The sisters own and run a flower shop together, but after Rebecca’s death, Iris struggles to maintain it on her own. Iris and Rebecca’s parents died when they were relatively young, so Iris always felt especially close to Rebecca as she was her only family. When Sophie came along, Iris treated her as if she were her own daughter and wanted to spend all the time she could with her. Aiden mentions that Iris never liked him, even when he and Rebecca were casually dating, and her dislike of him only grows after Rebecca’s death. After her sister dies, Sophie is the only family Iris has, and she feels a right to have custody of her as Aiden is always busy and, she thinks, doesn’t care as much about Sophie.

Iris visits Sophie frequently despite her bad relationship with Aiden. When she meets Cassie, her view that Aiden can’t take care of his daughter is further confirmed. However, Iris is surprised when Cassie shows her kindness and wants her to be a part of Sophie’s life. Before Cassie, Iris never tried to reach a balance with Aiden, who in turn wanted her to see less of Sophie. Cassie’s attempt to build a support system for Sophie softens Iris to the whole household for a time. However, when Sophie is unable to reach Aiden or Cassie in an emergency and calls Iris instead, Iris’s former preconceived notions about the pair come rushing back, and she threatens to sue for custody of Sophie. Toward the end of the novel, Cassie learns more about Iris’s backstory and reasons for wanting custody of Sophie, which Cassie somewhat sympathizes with. Ultimately, Iris reaches out to Aiden to discuss having Sophie come over more often; at the end of the novel, it is revealed that this plan works well for everyone.

Sophie, the daughter of Aiden and Rebecca, begins the novel as a rambunctious nine-year-old. When Cassie first meets her, she learns that Sophie has scared away several other nannies. Sophie is initially cold toward Cassie, thinking she will be like the others. As she and Cassie bond, Sophie admits that she feels lonely since the death of her mother and misses her even more when she can’t be around Aiden. However, Sophie shares some of Cassie’s self-doubt and the feeling that she is a burden, and she makes a point of not telling Aiden how she feels so as not to upset him. Sophie becomes close with Cassie quickly, and she reveals more about her strong relationship with her mother and her grief since her passing. Both Cassie and Aiden notice that Sophie has a hard time making friends, and they scheme different ways to get Sophie out of her shell and meet new people.

In spite of Sophie’s age, she is often a beacon of wisdom and truth in The Nanny. Her feelings bring out Cassie’s and Aiden’s insecurities in their narrations and expose Iris’s loneliness. She unintentionally brings all the characters of the novel together through their support of her, and she reflects different parts of them all. Sophie’s choice to seek out Cassie in the final chapter of the novel is not only what brings Cassie and Aiden back together but also what makes Cassie realize her insecurities are unfounded. Afterward, Sophie says what Cassie and Aiden are both unwilling to when she confesses their love for one another and leads them to get back together. Sophie not only brings the characters together literally through her role in the plot but also figuratively through making them recognize what is most important in their lives.