Читать книгу His E-Mail Order Wife - KRISTI GOLD - Страница 11

Drew Connelly dropped his bags at the bottom of the staircase leading to the second floor—and landed the largest on his foot. He muttered a string of curses directed at his stupidity, the late hour, the sound of the nanny’s grating voice coming from the kitchen while she gabbed on the phone with God only knew who.

When Mrs. Parker had abruptly left his employ to move in with her ailing daughter out of state, Drew had been desperate. The agency had sent him Debbie Randles, a young au pair with minimal experience. One week in her presence and he’d had his doubts about her abilities, but because of urgent business in Europe, he’d had no choice.

At least he’d been assured that his grandmother would stop by to check on Amanda daily. Thankfully nothing out of the ordinary had happened during his absence.

After the weekend, he’d contact the agency again and demand that they find him a suitable replacement, someone a little older with more experience. Someone who liked Amanda, and whom Amanda liked.

God, how he’d missed his daughter. A month was entirely too long to be away from her. The daily phone calls had been sorry replacements for seeing her vibrant smile, hearing her contagious laughter. He recalled their last conversation in which she’d told him she had a surprise for him. At least the nanny had followed one of his mandates—bedtime for Amanda no later than 10:00 p.m. since it was summer—otherwise he would have been greeted by his squealing six-year-old, a bundle of energy and joy wrapped up in one delicate dynamite package. The very light of his life, and the reason why he got up every morning to face his grueling schedule as Vice President of Overseas Operations for Connelly Corporation, his family’s legacy.

Unfortunately, the responsibility was rapidly aging him. Tonight he felt two hundred years old, not twenty-seven.

Trudging up the stairs, Drew planned to go immediately to Mandy’s room and kiss her good-night, take a quick shower, then pass out in bed. But he stopped short when he heard a giggle coming from his second-floor study. Amanda’s giggle.

So much for his daughter being tucked soundly into bed. Yeah, he had to find another nanny, and soon.

Drew dropped his bags once again, this time avoiding his toes, and strode down the hallway and into the office to find Amanda perched on her knees in his chair, her face lit by the glow of the computer screen and sheer amusement.

“Young lady, you’re supposed to be in bed,” he said with all the sternness he could muster.

“Daddy! You’re home!” Amanda climbed out of the chair and rushed him like a tiny tornado. Drew hoisted her up in his arms, relishing the clean scent of her hair, her soft cheek resting against his evening-shadowed jaw, her fragile frame curled against his chest. Little did his baby girl know she had his heart so securely tied around her little finger he could never stay mad at her for any length of time. Then again, she probably did know.

After he hugged her hard and kissed her cheek, she pulled back and studied him with green eyes bright with excitement. “Daddy, I missed you so bad!”

“I missed you too, sweetheart, but we need to talk about the computer.” He attempted to look serious, sound serious, a difficult thing to do with Amanda smiling at him. “Haven’t I told you that you’re not supposed to be on the Internet unless an adult is with you? It’s dangerous, Mandy.”

“I know, Daddy.” She began to play with his tie, avoiding his scrutiny. “But Nana Lilly was with me.” She looked up and nailed him with another luminous grin. “I showed her how to use the computer.”

A miracle in itself. His grandmother normally had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the new world. “But she’s not here now, is she? Which means you’ve disobeyed me.”

Amanda’s lip puckered and Drew’s heart began to hurt. “Debbie was with me until a few minutes ago, Daddy. We were surfing together.”

That provided little relief for Drew. “Visiting your favorite animal site?”

“I helped her pick out a man.”

Obviously he’d underestimated the nanny’s poor judgment. “What do you mean you picked out a man?”

“On Singlemania.”

“Singlemania?”

“The same place we got your surprise.”

The scenario was getting more and more bizarre. “My surprise?”

His daughter’s face once again brightened. “The surprise I told you about on the phone, silly Daddy. It will be here in the morning.”

Drew sensed certain disaster. “Debbie helped you with this surprise?”

“Debbie showed me and Nana the website. Nana helped me get you the surprise.”

Great. Just great. He couldn’t imagine anything of merit to be found on a singles’ site. His grandmother could be way out there at times, but she wouldn’t subject Amanda to anything kinky. Still, Drew didn’t have a clue what Lilly had done. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know, but he had to find out. “What kind of surprise did you and Nana come up with?”

She looked away again. “I’m not supposed to tell you ’cause then it won’t be a surprise.”

“Ah, come on, Mandy,” he cajoled. “Just a little hint. I won’t tell Nana you told me.”

Amanda tipped up her chin with pride, beamed like a billboard and proudly announced, “We got you a wife.”

“Get off the phone, Ms. Randles. Now.”

Kicked back in a chair in the kitchen, Debbie stared up at Drew, the cordless phone tucked between her jaw and shoulder while she filed her nails. “I’ll call you back, Henry.”

She dropped the nail file and phone onto the table and her feet from the chair across from her then came to attention. “Uh, Mr. Connelly, I didn’t know you were home.”

“No kidding.”

“Is there something wrong?”

Drew released a humorless bark of a laugh. “You could say that. Amanda tells me she’s been getting quite an education on your singles’ site. Seems she helped you pick out a man.” And in turn helped his grandmother select him a wife.

“I was only checking out some profiles and getting her opinion.”

“And you think this is proper for my daughter?”

“I don’t think she’s been damaged by the experience.”

Drew lost any semblance of calm. “She’s six years old, dammit.”

The nanny had the nerve to look innocent. “It’s never too early to learn good skills in the singles world.”

“You’re fired.”

Her eyes went saucer wide. “What?”

“You heard me. Get your things and get out of here. I’ll send your final check to the agency.”

“It’s after midnight.”

Drew realized that was true, and he couldn’t very well put her out in the streets this time of night. “Then I want you out first thing in the morning. I’ll have my company driver pick you up and take you wherever you want to go.”

“Please, Mr. Connelly,” she pleaded. “I can’t go live with my mother again. She’ll drive me crazy.”

Drew was already halfway there so she might as well join him. “I’m sorry, Ms. Randles, but that’s your problem. You should have thought about that when you turned my daughter loose on the Internet.” And subsequently his grandmother.

He spun around and headed back up the stairs, leaving the nanny alone with her mouth gaping. In the hallway, he headed toward Amanda’s room to make sure she was still in bed where he’d left her a few moments before.

While he’d tucked her in bed, he’d told his daughter that no matter what transpired between him and the mysterious Kristina the following morning, the circumstances behind their meeting—the e-mails and his grandmother’s scheming—shouldn’t be revealed because he didn’t want to hurt the lady’s feelings. And Drew sincerely didn’t want to do that regardless of the fact he knew nothing about her. As far as he was concerned, Kristina Simmons had been an innocent victim in this whole bizarre mess.

Mandy had assured Drew they would keep it “their own little secret” and promised she wouldn’t say anything to “hurt her Kristina’s feelings.” Drew felt somewhat satisfied, yet he couldn’t trust that Mandy wouldn’t innocently spill the beans. All the more reason to find some way to gently tell Kristina the truth, then send her on her way.

Through the partially open door of Mandy’s room, Drew found her asleep, her angelic face turned toward him, her eyes closed against the hall light. She looked like a pint-size princess—like her mother. He certainly didn’t need to think about her now.

In his room, Drew collapsed onto the bed and grabbed the phone, hitting the speed dial. One task down, one to go.

“H’lo.”

“Grandfather, it’s Drew. Is Grandmother there?”

“Good grief, son, do you know what time it is?”

“I know, but this can’t wait.”

“Is something wrong?”

Oh, yeah, thanks to thoroughly meddling Lilly. “I just need to talk to her. Is she asleep?”

“No. She’s in the other room watching late-night talk shows. The ones that turn into a free-for-all.”

Not surprising to Drew. Lilly was into high drama. “Can you get her for me?”

“Certainly, son. Lilly, it’s Drew!”

Drew held the phone away, fearing his grandfather’s booming voice might burst an eardrum. That would be all he needed tonight.

“Hello, Drew,” Lilly said in her sweet-as-sugar voice that indicated she was up to no good. “Did you have a nice trip?”

“Did you have fun playing on my computer?”

“Oh, yes, dear. That Amanda is quite a little whiz—”

“Cut the crap, Grandmother.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“I know what you’ve done.”

“Now, simmer down, young man. I’ve done you a favor.”

“A favor?” Drew’s ears began to burn and ring simultaneously. “Did you really think I’d want you setting me up with some woman I don’t even know? I’m not interested in going on a blind date!”

“It’s not a date, dear.”

“Call it what you will, but I don’t enjoy the thought of some stranger showing up at my doorstep expecting to meet me in the morning after I’ve been up most of the night.”

“She won’t be there to meet you.”

“Stop talking in riddles, Lilly.”

“She’ll be there to move in with you.”

His arrival from Europe into the Twilight Zone was now complete. “You’re kidding, right?”

“No. For your information, you’ve been e-mailing her for the month you were away. So has Amanda. Her name is Kristina Simmons—a nice name, don’t you think?”

Nothing about this was nice. “Dammit, Lilly, this is insane!”

“Don’t curse me, young man.”

He cursed the fact that he’d come home to find this mess. “Just what do you really know about her?”

“She seems to be a very cordial—”

“Cordial? What if she’s a criminal, for God’s sake? How could you invite some stranger into my home?”

“Stop interrupting and I will provide all the details necessary for you to give her a proper welcome.” Lilly paused to catch a breath. “I’ve had her checked out thoroughly, and she’s a model citizen, as I suspected from her correspondence. Amanda helped me write all the e-mails. Very harmless, really. And of course, you’ve recently proposed, the only fitting thing to do with a child in the house and your reputation at stake. It will be a trial engagement of a month, and after that time, if all goes well—which it will—you will make the wedding plans. Kristina need never know the truth.”

This was so absurd. So surreal. So Lilly. “Grandmother, I don’t know what century you think this is, but arranged marriages went out with potbellied stoves.”

“This is for your own good, Drew. For Amanda’s own good. I can no longer stand by and watch your child being raised by a succession of hapless nannies while you travel about the world and date floozies who only want to get into your pants as well as your pocketbook.”

Nothing Lilly had done to this point shocked Drew more than her current scheme, and her low opinion of his social life. Didn’t she realize how much he hated leaving Amanda because his job demanded he spend time out of the country? Hated the whole dating scene because not one woman measured up to his ideal, both as a wife for him and mother for his child? Hated that his grandmother saw fit to remedy that situation by finding him a bride? “You can’t play me like this, Grandmother.”

“I already have, my beloved, lonely grandson. And being the gentleman that you are, you will welcome this woman with open arms and give her a chance.”

“And if I don’t?”

“You will have to answer to me, a fate worse than hell.”

With that the line went dead, but Drew’s temper was alive and well, hovering close to the boiling point.

What was he going to do now? Hope that the mysterious Kristina wouldn’t show up? That she’d bow out graciously, maybe even laugh once she learned this was some stunt executed by a matchmaking matriarch? One way or the other, he would let her know point-blank that this whole setup was one huge mistake.

Sitting in her car at the curb in front of Drew Connelly’s impressive Chicago residence, Kristina Simmons was beginning to wonder if she’d made a colossal mistake.

When her friend Tori had proposed putting Kristina’s profile and photo on the singles site, Kristina had balked. Despite her objections, and without her knowledge, Tori had put them up anyway. Then came the e-mails from Drew Connelly that she’d originally intended to ignore. But she hadn’t been able to ignore those sent by his daughter, Amanda.

As it turned out, Drew was a very interesting correspondent, and Kristina found herself being drawn in by his words, by his daughter. Yet never in her wildest imaginings had she believed she would actually meet someone over the Internet, much less agree to a trial engagement to that someone. It still wasn’t too late to change her mind.

Then she glanced at the copy of the e-mail attached to the bottom of the directions lying on the passenger seat.

dear Kristina.

i cant wait to see you in the morning. you are pretty and you look like a mommy. daddy needs a wife bad. if you come i promis i will be good.

love, Amanda.

How could she refuse a child’s heartfelt plea? Okay, so maybe somewhere deep inside she clung to the hope that Amanda’s father might be the man of her dreams. He seemed so nice in the e-mails, so much like her, a lonely person searching for a meaningful relationship. She could relate to that loneliness, the pitfalls of single life. Though she was barely twenty-seven, she had already grown tired of sorting through the dating chaos, encountering those armed with questionable intentions and pretty lies. Now she had agreed to reside with a man she didn’t know beyond e-mail correspondence.

Temporarily reside with him, Kristina corrected. If it didn’t work out, she would simply walk away, though she’d probably not return to her native Wisconsin. As long as she didn’t do something stupid—like fall madly in love with Drew Connelly if there wasn’t any indication he could love her back—this shouldn’t be a problem. But if he was anything at all like the man behind the e-mails, admittedly she was already a little bit in love with him.

Sliding out of the car, Kristina grabbed only her tote bag, opting to leave her suitcases in the trunk, and headed up the sidewalk, fear following close behind. Did she really want to do this?

She hadn’t really done anything yet other than agree to live in Drew’s home on a trial basis. And there was that little matter of conducting a background search on Drew Connelly to see if he was legitimate, including having Tori’s policeman friend make certain he had no criminal history. He was more than legitimate—a wealthy man who’d grown up in a powerful, renowned Chicago family, proverbial pillars of the community. He enjoyed a great deal of success, judging from the size of his house, a beautiful red-brick home with neatly manicured grounds and gardens, situated in a prosperous neighborhood.

Once on the porch, Kristina pressed the bell before she could change her mind. She waited an excruciating amount of time for someone to answer her summons. Her heart pounded in her chest and her palms began to perspire.

If only she’d seen a picture of him, not that his physical appearance would sway her one way or the other. Lord knew men had judged her on that issue one too many times. Though she’d learned to deal with her above-average height, her practically non-existent waist-line, her more-than-ample hips and breasts, at times throughout her life she’d longed for a different body type. But she’d stopped wishing for something that could never be and found comfort in knowing that maybe someone might accept her for who she was inside instead of what she wasn’t outside. Maybe that someone was Drew Connelly. Regardless of what he looked like, Kristina refused to be anything but pleasant. After all, the man beneath the facade was all that counted. Looks didn’t matter.

The door opened to a stout man dressed in a flannel shirt and khaki slacks, slightly balding, not very tall, and if he was twenty-seven years old, then she was a size six.

At least his smile was warm, cheerful. “Good morning, missy. Can I help you?”

Kristina sent him an answering smile, a shaky one. “Is this the Connelly residence?”

“Yes, ma’am. Are you from the agency?”

“The agency?”

“The nanny service.”

Nanny service? “Uh, well, no. I’m supposed to be meeting with Drew Connelly. Is that you?”

His laugh was loud, buoyant. “I wish, but I’m afraid I’m a little longer in the tooth than Drew.” He stuck out his hand. “I’m Tobias Connelly, Drew’s grandfather.”

Kristina took his hand for a quick, robust shake, admittedly relieved. “I’m Kristina Simmons.”

“Nice to meet you, Miss— Is it Miss?”

Obviously the man knew nothing about the engagement, and Kristina thought it best not to make him any the wiser. “Yes, it’s Miss.”

“Well, Miss Simmons, is Drew expecting you?”

“I think so.” She hoped so.

He opened the door wide and gestured her inside. “Come on in then.”

What Kristina encountered in the foyer took her breath away. A staircase with a highly polished banister climbed upward toward the second floor. To her right, a formal living room displayed exquisite furniture, priceless antiques, she would guess. To her left, a library housed shelves full of books and comfortable leather sofas. Before her, a long entry hall with gleaming slate-colored ceramic tile seemed to stretch for miles.

The place was all opulent elegance, polished to perfection. The home most dreams were made of.

So what in the heck was she doing here, plain Kristina Simmons from Oshkosh?

Tobias yelled, “Drew, you have company!” startling Kristina.

“I’ll be there in a minute!” an irritable masculine voice called back.

The elder Connelly chuckled. “He’s having his coffee. You don’t want to deal with him until he does. He can be a real bear in the morning.”

Oh, wonderful. A man who didn’t do mornings, Kristina’s favorite time of day. “I see.”

“Do you want me to show you to the kitchen?”

“No!” She hadn’t meant to sound so panicked, but she felt it best to stay near the exit in case she needed a quick escape. “I mean, I’ll just wait for him here.”

“Would you like to have a seat?” He indicated the formal furniture in the adjacent living room. It looked nice, but not all that comfortable.

“I’m fine, really.”

“Okay. I’m sure he’ll be here in a minute.”

Another minute might not be enough time for Kristina to prepare, especially for a bear.

Tobias sent her a questioning look as if trying to read her thoughts, uncover her secrets. “I should’ve known you weren’t from the agency,” he said. “You’re not at all what they sent the last time, some skinny young thing with barely a brain in her head.”

Kristina was definitely not skinny, and not brainless under normal circumstances, though at the moment she questioned her wisdom. Obviously Drew Connelly was without a nanny. Could this be the reason behind his request for her to move in? “Then I assume he’s looking for someone to take care of Amanda.”

“As of early this morning. He had to fire the latest one because she wasn’t doing her job. Another reason why he’s in such a foul mood.”

That relieved Kristina somewhat. At least it appeared he hadn’t brought her here solely to replace his nanny.

Tobias grinned. “I’m sure he’ll be much better now that you’re here. Nothing like a pretty girl to brighten a young man’s morning.”

A pretty girl? “Thanks,” she muttered, realizing he was probably only being polite, a good trait, one she hoped he’d instilled in his grandson.

Tobias glanced at his watch then regarded her with kind eyes. “I hate to have to part good company, but I was just on my way out. Every now and then I need to check on the boy, make sure he’s staying in line.” He opened the front door and sent her another cheery smile. “Take care, Miss Simmons. I hope we see each other again soon. Have Drew bring you around some time. I know his grandmother would love to meet you.”

With that he was out the door, leaving Kristina alone to wait for the mysterious Drew Connelly.

On wobbly knees, she turned to one of the windows framing the front door and surveyed the surroundings outside. Drenched in the mid-August sun, a beautiful parkway sporting benches and lush lawns split the street, a lovely place for kids to play under the watchful eyes of their parents. Kristina wished she could abandon her shoes and play at the moment, but no matter how tempting that thought, she couldn’t run away now.

She kneaded her clammy hands, wondering what Drew Connelly was really like. A younger version of his grandfather, maybe. Kind and considerate, once he had his caffeine. But what would he think of her? Drew had said in his e-mails that appearance didn’t matter. Still, after he saw all of her, not just a head-shot photo, he could very well change his mind.

The sound of footsteps on tiled floor echoed behind her, signaling that the moment of truth had arrived.

Straightening her shoulders, Kristina turned and stifled a gasp at the man coming toward her—a gorgeous man wearing a gaping navy robe that revealed a spattering of dark hair on a well-defined chest and a pair of low-riding pajama bottoms that showcased his board-flat belly. He stopped for a minute then continued on more slowly before halting a scant few feet away.

Kristina actually had to look up at him, an uncommon occurrence considering her height. His narrowed eyes were shockingly blue, his mussed wavy hair raven black. He looked entirely too sexy, as if he’d just crawled out of bed.

Just crawled out of bed?

Heavens, had he forgotten she was coming? Had she got the time wrong? Was this really him?

“Drew?”

His gaze roamed lazily over her, from forehead to feet, then settled on her eyes. “You must be Kristina,” he said in a low, husky voice.

At the moment she wasn’t sure who she was, or if she could clear away the shock, both from his appearance and his steady perusal, in order to speak. “Yes, I’m Kristina. Am I early?” Am I crazy?

“It’s barely 8:00 a.m. I think that would qualify as early, especially on a Saturday.”

“That’s what time you told me to be here.”

He frowned. “I did?”

“Yes. I have it right here.” She rummaged through the nylon tote thrown over her shoulder to retrieve the final e-mail. “It says, ‘Come at 8:00 a.m. We can talk before Amanda wakes up.”’ She shoved the paper back into her bag and when he didn’t respond, she added, “Do you want me to come back later?” Or maybe never?

“Kristina! You came!”

Kristina turned to find a flaxen-haired little girl wearing a pink satin nightgown, bounding down the stairs as fast as her tiny feet would allow. Once she reached the bottom, she kept going and hurled herself at Kristina’s legs, nearly knocking Kristina backward in the process.

She knelt and smiled, her hands braced on the little girl’s thin shoulders. “Let me guess. You must be the maid.”

She giggled and squirmed. “I’m Amanda. You can call me Mandy like my daddy if you want.”

One innocent smile from this beautiful child, and Kristina was already in love. “I’d like to call you Mandy, if it’s okay with your daddy.”

Kristina glanced up to find Drew hovering over them, looking less than pleased. “Mandy, why don’t you go upstairs so I can talk to Kristina alone?”

Amanda stuck out her lip in a practiced pout. “I wanna talk to her, too.”

“Later, Amanda Elizabeth.”

When Amanda hung her head and looked as though she might cry, Kristina gave her a quick hug. “Tell you what, sweetie. Why don’t you go up and get dressed, then find me some of your favorite toys? I can come up and see you in a little while.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

“You’re not going to go away?”

Kristina’s heart squeezed tightly in her chest. Obviously Amanda had been left before, maybe often. Maybe her father was one to bring women into their life then push them away as soon as Amanda got close to them. Maybe this was a bad idea.

She straightened and said, “I won’t go away right now.” It was all that Kristina could promise at the moment, since the decision now rested on Drew. “I’ll come up as soon as your dad and I are finished talking.”

Amanda looked wary, disappointed. “Okay.” She trudged back up the stairs, looking over her shoulder now and then, probably to see if Kristina would keep her promise.

Once the little girl was out of sight, Kristina turned back to Drew. He’d cinched his robe, covering his chest completely, but he looked no less attractive and no less uncomfortable.

He studied the ceiling for a moment before bringing his gaze back to her. “Look, Kristina, there’s something I need to say to you.”

Considering his serious tone, Kristina had no doubt what he was going to say. After taking one look at her, he’d probably changed his mind. So much for appearance not counting.

She glanced at the staircase and found it empty. Still, she didn’t want Amanda to overhear the dismissal. “Is there some place more private where we can talk?”

“Sure. Right this way.”

Kristina followed Drew Connelly down the lengthy corridor, preparing for the moment when he told her this was one huge mistake.