Читать книгу The Millionaire's Nanny Arrangement - Линда Гуднайт, Линда Гуднайт - Страница 8

CHAPTER THREE

MARIAH HAD BEEN RIGHT. Planes began to fly again in a matter of hours. Once their seats were secured, the newly formed trio trudged to an eatery for a late-night snack and a round of general conversation. In that hour, Kelsey began to feel far more comfortable with the idea of working for Ryan and tutoring Mariah. The child desperately needed a woman’s influence and nurturing. And if there was one thing Kelsey could do, it was nurture.

The first sign of a snag came when Ryan said, “Before we board, I’ll call ahead to be sure a car is available to take us home from the airport.”

“I can get a cab.” She poked a fork into her fruit cup, spearing a piece of melon. It was the only thing on the menu she could afford.

Ryan, who’d ordered a full country breakfast, paused in mid-bite, frown puzzled. The result of not shaving in a while framed his mouth in such a sexy manner, Kelsey could hardly stop staring.

“Why would you need to do that?”

“It beats walking.”

“You aren’t walking. You’re going home with us.” The words were a statement of fact that brooked no argument.

Kelsey gulped, swallowing a whole grape. “You’re kidding, right?”

“I hired you because I need you now. Tonight. Tomorrow.”

The choice of words, coupled with his manly, scruffy look, brought to mind all kinds of possibilities. Troubling possibilities.

“I wasn’t expecting to begin work quite this soon.”

Nonchalantly, he applied grape jelly to his toast. The sound of knife against toast scraped against her nerves. “That was the deal.”

Not the way Kelsey remembered. She shook her head. “I’d be a lunatic to go home with a strange man in the middle of the night.”

“I’m not a stranger, Kelsey. You know me, and you have my assurance. You are perfectly safe with me and Mariah.” He wiped a bit of ketchup from Mariah’s chin. “Right, peanut?”

Mouth full of hamburger, Mariah batted her long-lashed eyes and bobbed her head at Kelsey in reassurance.

The little girl was such a sweetheart. Kelsey patted her hand and winked.

Though she’d been away from Dallas since her marriage four years ago, she still kept up with the local news. Ryan made the business news quite often and was known as a straight arrow who didn’t party, much to the dismay of Dallas society. And he had a child, for goodness sake.

“But my family is expecting me.” Sort of.

“Call them.”

“At this time of night?”

He gestured with his fork. “Either way, you’ll wake them.”

The man had an answer for every argument. “Now I understand how you became successful at such an early age.”

He grinned. Her stomach dipped so that she almost backed out of the entire deal.

But in the end, her desperate need for a job and a place to live, along with Ryan’s quiet insistence, won out and she agreed to go straight to his home. As a last-ditch effort at common sense, she’d phoned her father to let him know her where-abouts. He’d been none too happy about the late call, so she’d been brief, promising to drop by as soon as she was settled in her new job. Jim Slater had mumbled, “Fine,” and hung up. It was no more than Kelsey had expected. Relations had been strained since her father remarried so soon after her mother’s death.

Still, she felt strange following Ryan Storm around the airport, through the terminal and into the waiting limo.

The sensation didn’t improve upon arriving at his upscale, two-story town house in east Dallas.

Ryan, on the other hand, behaved as though he brought strange women home all the time. The thought gave Kelsey pause. Maybe he did. Maybe he was just ultra sneaky about it.

With Mariah draped across his shoulder asleep, he nudged his chin toward the stairs. “Second door on the right.”

Kelsey went ahead of him, flipped on the light and stripped the covers back on the canopy bed in preparation for the slumbering child. Ryan smiled his thanks and slid his small, limp load between the pink princess sheets.

“Shall I undress her?” Kelsey asked but didn’t wait for an answer. She reached for the child’s shoes while Ryan stripped away her coat.

“Good enough for tonight,” he said quietly. “Let her sleep.”

In the hush, she watched him tuck the cover beneath the sleeping beauty before placing a kiss on her forehead. Mariah squirmed, mumbled and then flopped over, burrowing deeper into the soft, inviting bed.

Tenderness crept into Ryan’s exhausted face. He stood beside the bed, looking down at his child for several long, sweet seconds. Emotion fluttered beneath Kelsey’s ribcage as she wondered about the man who was never home but who appeared to adore his child. Was he simply unaware of how much his child needed him? Or was he, like Mark, more concerned with success than with his family?

She also wondered about Mariah’s mother. What kind of tragedy had taken her at such a young age? What kind of woman was she that a man like Ryan Storm had married her? Did he still love her? How well had Mariah dealt with her mother’s loss?

Straightening, Ryan snapped off the bedside lamp, plunging the room into semidarkness. The resulting atmosphere was softly intimate, too much so. With a tilt of his head Ryan motioned toward the door. They brushed arms in the doorway and Ryan stepped back, letting her pass first. The air between them trembled with the same something she’d felt in the airport when their hands had touched.

“This way,” he murmured, gesturing to the left. “Your room will be this one next to Mariah’s if it suits.”

“I’m sure it will.” Right now, she just wanted someplace to lie down and put her feet up. And a shower. Oh, a shower would be heaven.

“I’ll bring your bags up in a minute.”

“I can get them.”

As if she’d threatened to burn the house down, Ryan spun around, jaw tight, eyes blazing. His mood had gone from tender to angry.

“You will not carry bags upstairs. You will not even carry grocery bags from the car to the house. Nor will you lift anything heavy while in my employ. Ever. Understand?”

Kelsey took one step back, surprised at the intensity of the remark. Was this guy moody or what?

“I’d be pretty stupid not to,” she snapped. “Although I see no need for you to be cranky about it.”

Ryan said nothing else, but his odd mood quivered in the air. Pushing a door open, he motioned her inside. Still miffed by his sharp comments, she brushed past him, but the move was too close for comfort. As in the airport, she caught the scent of expensive male cologne, glanced the surprisingly muscled arm stretched flat across the raise-paneled door. He still hadn’t shaved and his shirt—unbuttoned at the collar, his tie long ago stuffed into a pocket—was coming untucked. The result was bedroom sexy and deliciously rumpled.

Darn. There she went again.

Living under the same roof with a man who caused her mind to think such things might not be such a smart move. But it was done. At least for thirty days.

“It’s lovely,” she said when they entered the bedroom. A small sitting area, complete with desk, chair and television opened into a bed and bath. Sleek, elegant and modern with mint-green walls and cream trim, it was generically right for a guest or an employee of status.

The room was as beautiful as any she’d ever seen, but Kelsey felt oddly disappointed. A lump of loneliness rose in her throat. She and her baby had no home to call their own. All her dreams of decorating a nursery, buying the perfect furniture and giving her baby everything tormented her. The only thing she could give her baby now was love.

She must have looked as lost as she felt because Ryan touched her shoulder. She glanced up, saw the mood had changed again. “You’re dead on your feet. Go to bed.”

At the unexpected kindness, tears burned the back of her eyes. “I have to take a shower first.”

He remained there, staring at her for several seconds. “You’ll be okay here?”

She swallowed back the troublesome emotions and forced a cheeky grin. “Sure I will. You promised not to murder me.”

The corner of Ryan’s mouth quirked. “If you need anything tonight—”

“I won’t. Go to bed, Ryan. You’re as tired as I am.” And if he stood around any longer, she might cry and embarrass them both.

“But I’m not pregnant.” The comment was an accusation, as though he resented the fact that he’d hired a pregnant nanny.

“It isn’t a terminal disease,” she said.

As though she’d slapped him, Ryan recoiled. Behind the outline of dark beard, his natural tan drained away. For a moment he wrestled with something. His mouth opened and closed. His chest rose and fell. And then without another word, he whipped around and left the room.

But not before Kelsey saw the misery in his eyes.

“Kelsey, wake up.”

Kelsey awakened in a strange room, disoriented. She lay very still, moving only her eyes until they focused on Mariah perched cross-legged next to her, books spread about her in a circle. The cobwebs cleared. She’d thought it was a dream, but she was really here, in the home of Ryan Storm. Memory came flooding in. In some moment of insanity she’d agreed to work for a man she barely knew.

Okay, so she’d been attracted to him. What woman on planet Earth, pregnant or not, wouldn’t be? And she’d been flattered at the instant trust he’d placed in her. After all, he was Ryan Storm, king of Dallas. Able to buy tall buildings with a single check.

Taking the position was a good thing, she’d told herself last night as she’d stood beneath the rain showerhead, washing hours of stomach-churning airport smells down the drain. She had a paying job, and both she and the baby had a place to live. At least temporarily.

She just wished she didn’t feel so weird about it.

Small fingers patted her knee. “Good morning. Are you awake yet?”

Then there was the other reason she’d agreed to come here. Mariah. The brilliant child who had touched her heart in Denver.

“Good morning,” she muttered after clearing the gravel from her throat. She stretched and looked around for a clock. An Asian-influenced wall hanging, more art than clock, read seven o’clock. Kelsey stifled a groan. Five hours of sleep to a pregnant woman was next to none.

“I hear Daddy downstairs,” Mariah said, raising up on her knees. “If we want to see him, we’ll have to hurry. He’s a very busy man.”

Kelsey’s heart squeezed. The little girl must have gotten up some time ago to bathe and dress herself in anticipation of spending time with her dad. Except for the mismatched colors, she appeared to have done a good job, fully dressed in a purple hoodie and green sweat pants. Her natural curls, still damp from a shampoo, had been ruthlessly stripped back from her face with a red headband.

Kelsey patted the child’s knee. “I doubt he’ll leave until we’ve had an opportunity to work out the conditions of my nannyship.”

Mariah giggled, putting both hands over her mouth in that adorable manner. “That’s a good one. Nannyship. Is it a real word I should add to my lexicon?”

A six year old with a lexicon? Good heavens. Kelsey shook her head and sat up. Sumptuous ivory sheets slid over her shoulders and pooled in her lap. “Not real, but real fun.”

“Should I leave so you can get dressed? Or would you like to begin my classes now? I brought in some of my books.”

“I thought you wanted to see your father.”

“I do, but he always says we must prioritize. Important things like work and education come first.”

“Seeing your dad is important, too.” Kelsey threw the covers back and swung her feet over the side of the bed. She dug her toes into the soft rug. “You go on and say good morning. I’ll be down shortly.”

The child scrambled off the bed and rushed to the door before turning back.

“I think your nannyship is going to work out perfectly,” Mariah said, grinning, and then she bounced through the door and disappeared.

Kelsey hoped the little optimist was right.

By the time she dressed and descended the stairs, Ryan and Mariah sat at a small table in the breakfast room pouring over a computer-generated document. They were so engrossed that neither heard her soft footsteps on the stone-tiled kitchen floor.

A weak winter sun spilled through French doors and gleamed on the two dark heads bent close together. Mariah’s face was a study in attentiveness, soaking up the attention from her daddy. Ryan was in profile, his angled jaw free from the stubble of last night, his firm, sensual lips in motion. His mouth fascinated her and she tried hard not to imagine that he was probably a dynamite kisser. When the corners tipped up to smile at his daughter, she nearly swooned. Gone was any hint of the despair she’d imagined last night. Exhaustion and imagination could be the only sensible explanation for Ryan’s odd reaction to her silly comment about pregnancy.

Gone, too, was last night’s deliciously rumpled traveler. This morning he looked polished and professional. Unfortunately, he also looked every bit as yummy.

She felt like the governess mooning over the lord of the manor in one of those gothic novels. A most disconcerting flutter of awareness invaded Kelsey’s being. That would not do. It would not do at all. Wasn’t she supposed to be immune to good-looking, successful men after what happened with Mark?

As if he felt her stares, Ryan glanced up. The remnant of his smile was still in place. She smiled back, fighting a blush because of her wayward thoughts.

“Good morning. I see you survived the night.” Amusement danced in his eyes. She wrinkled her nose at him and he laughed. “There’s fresh coffee in the carafe if you’d like some.”

With a shake of her head, Kelsey touched her tummy. “No thank you.”

Though she was long past morning sickness, her stomach had tangled into a thousands knots. Might as well face it. She’d have to be very careful around Ryan Storm. Something about him disturbed her in a dangerously elemental way. To make matters worse, she felt obligated to him. Neither feeling sat well. But she also firmly believed Mariah needed her, and right now, Kelsey needed to be needed. She and her baby also needed this job.

“Join us then,” Ryan said, pulling out a chair next to his. “I’d like to get things settled quickly and get to the office.”

“You’re going in to your office this morning?” She’d expected him to stick around and observe her with Mariah today.

“Daddy’s time is very valuable,” Mariah said gravely.

Well, so was everyone’s. Wasn’t time with his child valuable, too? His attitude wiped away any thoughts of how hot he was.

“I’ve already checked your references, which are excellent by the way.”

“I knew that,” she groused. The fact that he was up early after minimal sleep, checking references and looking so good added to her irritation. She still felt like roadkill and probably looked worse.

Ryan didn’t seem to notice. He pushed the computer printout toward her. “Mariah and I were going over the list of duties and responsibilities. I’ll leave those for you to look over. If you have any questions, my office number is there as well as my private cell. Do not give that to anyone.”

As if she would.

“Here’s Mariah’s schedule.”

“Schedule?”

“Janine worked out a schedule of study so Mariah could make the most of her time.”

Kelsey had a feeling she and Janine would not have gotten along. “But she’s only six. Why don’t you let us play it by ear for a few days and then decide exactly what course of action we want to take?”

“I want her educated, Kelsey. That’s why I hired a teacher. Just stick to the schedule and we’ll get along fine.” The words were mild, but the meaning was tempered with steel. She was not to question his authority. And she shouldn’t, of course. Mariah was his child.

“Okay. I can do that.” She hoped.

“I’ve also left full instructions about the alarm system and other household concerns. A housekeeper comes in daily. She’ll prepare lunch, take care of the house and prepare dinner before leaving. Her name is Abilena Rueda. How’s your Spanish?”

“Poor to nonexistent.”

“Abilena understands a bit of English, but if you need her to do something, tell Mariah. Her Spanish is coming along fairly well.”

“Daddy bought me some CDs,” Mariah said proudly. “Acquiring a foreign language has become a necessity in today’s global market. Isn’t that right, Daddy?”

Ryan got that helpless look on his face again. The one that said Mariah’s intellect both pleased and frightened him. “That’s right, peanut. Knowledge is power.”

Returning his attention to Kelsey, he pointed to a number on one of the sheets of paper. “Is the salary sufficient?”

Kelsey squinted, her contacts still a little watery. When the numbers focused in, she gasped. “Sufficient? Ryan, with this amount I can begin to pay off some of my—” She caught herself in time to keep from blurting out the painful truth of her finances.

But Ryan was every bit as bright as his child. His gaze narrowed as he studied her face. “If you need money just say so. Finances are not a problem here.”

Heat rushed up the back of her neck. Money didn’t used to be a problem with her either, but times change. “I can take care of it.”

“I want your focus on teaching Mariah, not on worrying about finances. If you need money, tell me.”

Humiliated but also grateful, she said, “That’s kind of you, Ryan. Really. But I can handle it.”

“Sure?” He seemed sincerely concerned.

“I have some old debts from the move. No big deal. Don’t worry. I have everything under control.” Right, and she could run the Boston marathon in five minutes in high heels.

“All right. If you need anything, all you have to do is ask.” He took another sip of his coffee and pushed away from the table to slip into his jacket. “I’ll see you lovely ladies later.” He glanced at his daughter. “That’s called alliteration—lovely ladies later.”

“Alliteration.” Mariah savored the word on her tongue as if it was good chocolate.

“Kelsey can teach you more about that.”

“Cool.” Mariah hopped down from her chair and followed him through the kitchen, through the foyer to the front door where he crouched down for a hug.

Kelsey had followed the pair, though she didn’t know why, and the sweet moment between father and daughter squeezed her heart. He might be clueless, but Ryan appeared to be a caring daddy.

Three days later, as she checked Mariah’s schedule, Kelsey was having second thoughts about Ryan Storm’s parenting skills. It was six o’clock and the man had not yet appeared. Again. And the child was still studying as if she were taking the bar exam in the morning.

By now, their schedule was practically memorized and Mariah knew it better than Kelsey did. After all, Miss Janine, who Kelsey did not like at all, had manufactured this form of child torture some time ago. Mariah seldom complained, but an occasional sigh told the tale. Janine’s regimented, unimaginative idea of educating a small child took a toll, both on the teacher and the student. Kelsey, who loved teaching, had never been so bored in her life.

“I think this is about it for the evening, don’t you, sweetie?” she asked, gently closing the ancient-history book. “How about a game before bedtime?”

“Chess?” Mariah asked.

Kelsey thought if she lost another game of chess this week she’d die of humiliation. “How about something else? I think my brain needs a rest. How about—” She looked around for ideas.

“Monopoly? I’m really good at that.”

Kelsey laughed. “I’ll bet you are. Another tycoon in the making.”

But she got the game out anyway, as eager for some fun as the child.

They were in Mariah’s muted blue playroom which was more of an office than a fun place to hang out. The chest full of toys and games wasn’t opened until recess which occurred three times a day—fifteen minutes in the morning, immediately following lunch and mid-afternoon. The rest of the time was spent in study. After dinner each evening, Mariah could read or play educational games before an early bedtime. From morning until night, every minute of Mariah’s day was regimented as strictly as the military, which meant Kelsey’s day was, as well. No shopping excursions. No visits with neighbors. No opportunity to get reacquainted with her beloved native city.

Frankly, she was suffocating.

To make matters worse, she’d seen Ryan only once, for less than an hour, and Mariah hadn’t seen her father at all. The man was a workaholic to the extreme. He rose before either she or Mariah and returned long after Mariah, and sometimes she, had retired for the night. When he was at home, he disappeared into his office with a plate of food left by Abilena, not to be seen again that evening.

Several times each day, he phoned to check on Mariah, but the calls were brief and to the point. “How are things going? Good. Need anything? No? Bye.”

Mariah, bless her little heart, was a trooper about her father’s apparent indifference. Kelsey’s thoughts were not so generous.

During the Monopoly game, Mariah paused time and again to listen for the garage door opening, the hope in her expression apparent.

“Do you think Daddy will be here to tuck me in tonight?” she said, adding a hotel to Boardwalk.

“He’ll have to hurry. It’s time for your bath now.”

“What about our game?”

“Let’s leave it to finish another time.”

Mariah looked doubtful. “Janine never let me leave things out. She said I had to learn the importance of taking care of my possessions and not to take things for granted even if my daddy is rich.”

Though the statement carried some truth, the manner in which it was said rankled. Had Janine been jealous of this child?

“Tell you what. You get your bath. I’ll put the game in a safe place and then we’ll snuggle up and read in bed for a while. Deal?”

Snuggle time was fast becoming a part of their routine that both of them enjoyed.

“Deal!” Mariah’s brown eyes danced as she skipped off to the bathroom.

After straightening the play room, Kelsey slipped into her robe and rejoined the sweet-smelling, freshly bathed child. Mariah was already in bed, her dark hair curled into squiggles across the pale pink pillowcase.

Intentionally choosing a simple, silly, rhyming Dr. Seuss book, Kelsey joined her. Together they giggled and snuggled, talked and made up stories.

When Mariah began to yawn and her eyelashes drooped for the third time, Kelsey pulled her close for a hug. She smelled of soap and shampoo and the cool essence of childhood.

“Time for lights out, precious.”

Mariah cast a longing look toward the doorway. “I guess Daddy got stuck at the office,” she said trying to rationalize why her father had not arrived. “He’s a very busy man.”

“Would you like to give him a call? Tell him goodnight? I’m sure he’d like that.” She wasn’t sure of any such thing, but she could hardly bear the disappointment wafting in waves from Mariah.

At the eagerness in the child’s face, Kelsey reached for the telephone.

Ryan answered the cell phone on the third ring. “Is something wrong?”

“Mariah wants to say goodnight.”

“Oh. Sure. Put her on.” He sounded distracted. Not that she cared. Mariah was more important than whatever he found to do at this time of night.

The father and daughter spoke for a couple of minutes. All the while, Kelsey watched Mariah’s face, listening to her sweet chatter, her delighted giggle at something Ryan said, and finally the wistful “I love you, Daddy” before returning the phone to Kelsey and snuggling down onto the pillow.

“He’s nice,” she said with a smile before letting her eyes flutter closed against soft, round cheeks.

Kelsey thought her heart would crack right in half.

Mariah had no mother and an absent father. She had no friends or doting relatives that Kelsey had seen. Mariah Storm was truly a poor little rich girl. And her father didn’t have sense enough to see a problem. Either that or Mariah was an afterthought, a responsibility and nothing more.

It was time to have a little heart-to-heart with the man of the year. And he probably wasn’t going to like it one bit.