Читать книгу The Nanny Solution - SUSAN MEIER, Susan Meier - Страница 10

He should have told her no. Actually, he could have ignored her. She hadn’t really asked the question with words, only with her eyes, so he could have easily pretended he hadn’t seen. But something wouldn’t let him. Caught in the gaze of those innocent green orbs, Jake found himself saying the word okay….

And then instantly decided he had to be absolutely insane. There was too much of a sexual attraction cracking between him and Hannah for them to be living under the same roof. As the person who cared for Dixon at night, Hannah wouldn’t just be part of his household, she would be sleeping right down the hall from his own damned bedroom. It absolutely, positively, definitely would not work. Yet, once he said okay, his fate seemed sealed. Her sisters began to chatter. Troy started outlining details of her salary and benefits, and that was that.

Because of day-care commitments, Hannah couldn’t start working for him until Monday morning, but Jake suddenly saw he could work that to his advantage. Instead of having his newly married mother help him and Dixon through the weekend, he decided he and his son would rough it and prove to everyone he could handle the baby himself.

Though he’d never had the baby at his house—only visited him at Felicity’s, he and his mother had decorated a nursery and bought the appropriate baby furniture, so he had enough stuff and enough experience that he wasn’t a complete idiot. Once he proved he could care for the baby alone, then even though Hannah would have to care for Dixon during the day when Jake was on trips, she wouldn’t have to stay overnight when he was home. They wouldn’t be sleeping a few doors down the hall from each other.

It seemed like an easy way to get himself out of his dilemma of living with a woman who held an unexpected sexual appeal for him. But when the baby threw up on Jake’s clean shirt after his Saturday morning feeding, and cried nonstop for no apparent reason all Sunday night, Jake knew he couldn’t handle Dixon alone. More than that, though, he suddenly found it easy to remember he was a grown man who had overcome sexual attractions before. This time he had the added incentive of knowing this particular woman was the baby sister—not just a sister but the baby sister—of his best friend. And if that wasn’t enough, at a quarter to four Monday morning, he had to change one of “those” diapers.

When the doorbell rang at seven o’clock, Jake was done cursing his stupidity and was praising the heavens that his best friend had a sister who could help him.

“Hi! Good morning!” he eagerly said as he opened his front door to Hannah, who stood on his porch holding a suitcase and an overnight case. No woman ever looked as good to him as she did at that moment. Not because of her thick blond hair. Not because of the dimple he saw when she smiled at him. Not even because her green eyes were sexy and alluring, but because he never again wanted to change another diaper.

“Hi,” Hannah said, smiling at him as she entered his foyer. She glanced around at the thick cherry-wood trim, the crystal chandelier and the heavy desk that decorated his foyer, looking naive and innocent and so incredibly beautiful that Jake felt his breath catch.

With the memory of his weekend of baby trouble ebbing away, and feeling like his normal self again, Jake couldn’t help but notice how naturally pretty she was. Though the youngest Evans daughter had inherited the light hair, porcelain skin and full pink lips of her mother’s family, she had also inherited the long, dark lashes from her father’s side. She wouldn’t need make up. Her figure was so perfect, she could make a sack look like Vera Wang.

Jake’s breathing sharpened and pinpricks of awareness began to spike on his skin, but he stopped them in their tracks with the reminder of the diaper.

“Where’s the baby?”

“He’s still upstairs. Not awake yet.”

“Good. We can get me settled in my room. Then, if you don’t mind, I’ll wake him, so we can begin to get him on a schedule.”

With the picture of the diaper still vibrating in his memory, Jake smiled gratefully, the same way he would with any assistant who was taking a messy job off his hands. That was when he realized all he had to do was treat Hannah like an assistant, a secretary, or any other subordinate he was accustomed to dealing with and everything would be okay.

“That’s fine,” he said, taking the heavier suitcase from her and leading her up the stairs. “Do whatever you think we need to do to make our lives and Dixon’s easier, because I have a feeling we’re going to have him for a couple of months.”

“Really? You heard from his mother?”

“I have a call in to his mother so we can get the details of the length of her shoot, but she hasn’t called me back. If she doesn’t phone by Wednesday, we’ll know this commitment she forced on us is a lot longer than she wanted to admit.”

Hannah laughed and Jake stiffened. He wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to get too chummy with her. The goal here was to be polite and bosslike, not funny. Though, it was hard not to be at least a little silly about Felicity’s antics. While dancing on Friday night it was clear he and Hannah shared the same sense of humor. Hannah would probably think it odd if they didn’t laugh and tease and joke. Then she would figure out something was wrong, then she might go to her brother…

Yeah. Better let her laugh. No, actually, what he had to do was to continue to make her laugh as he had done on Friday night.

“Here’s your room,” he said as he opened the door. The floral bedspread and curtains seemed perfect for her, not just because the yellow and orange colors suited her but also because giving her this room put her an entire corridor away. He’d had to rearrange the nursery to do this but he knew moving Dixon was much better than sleeping two doors down from Hannah.

“You have your own bathroom.” Which meant no awkward bathroom scene. No stockings over the shower rod. No running into each other naked beneath robes or bath towels.

“And here’s the walk-in closet, with laundry chute and caddy.” Which meant that as long as she put her clean and folded laundry on her shelf in the laundry room, she would only have to press a button to bring them to her room, not run around half naked looking for a blouse…Not that he thought she would. But he wasn’t taking any chances.

“It’s lovely.”

“Thanks. My mother decorated it.” He turned away from her and walked to the door, not about to stand and chat with her while she unpacked because that would definitely not be a bosslike thing. “I’ll be in my office if you need me.”

“Okay.”

Jake closed the door behind him and sighed with relief. That had actually gone very, very well. He had to like her. He had to get along with her. She was his best friend’s little sister, not to mention his boss Troy’s sister-in-law. For the rest of his life, she would be popping up at parties, baptisms and weddings. He couldn’t dislike her, avoid her, or ignore her. So all things considered, the first encounter had gone well. Plus, he was leaving for Paris this morning. She would have three full days to get herself adjusted to his house and he would have three full days to get himself adjusted to knowing she was in his house.

In his office, Jake typed in the short list of commands that activated his brand-new NannyCam and immediately the image of Dixon’s nursery flashed onto his computer screen. He didn’t feel guilty or feel as if he was spying on Hannah. To Jake this was simply a typical precaution any father who had to leave town the very first day of his nanny’s employment would take.

Watching the scene of the white crib and changing table in the large airy room, made sunny and happy with the rainbow curtains that currently billowed in the morning breeze, Jake sat back in his tall-backed black leather office chair. He had only intended to turn on the system, but just then Hannah emerged from the adjoining bathroom, carrying the baby tub, which she set on a counter by the crib. She picked up squirming Dixon and set him in the water.

Jake leaned in to study the screen again. Clearly happy to be in his bath, Dixon gooed, bounced and splashed, but Hannah only laughed. Jake watched her, his head tilting to one side as he observed the way she handled Dixon.

“You better stop wiggling or you’re going to slide right out of my hands.” As she said that, she leaned down to Dixon and rubbed her nose against his. The baby giggled all the more. Enveloped in a warm, fatherly feeling, Jake smiled.

He couldn’t picture Felicity doing this with his adorable little boy. Hell, he didn’t think the L.A. nanny was this warm with Dixon. Yet, it didn’t seem odd to see Hannah play so intimately with the baby she had gotten acquainted with at his party once they realized she would be his nanny. She and Dixon seemed at home with the playing, the tickling, the teasing.

He continued to silently watch Hannah, enjoying her interaction with Dixon, until he realized just how much he was enjoying it. He thought Hannah was pretty and sweet, and he adored his son. The sight of them together made him feel things that went beyond anything he had ever felt before and entered the soft, wonderful place he thought only existed in a man’s imagination: the place where intimacy with a woman mingled with the joy of fatherhood.

He bounced away from the screen.

Whoa, he thought, then turned off his computer screen, though he left the computer itself on, to continue operating the camera and to record everything that took place in the nursery while he was gone.

That was a weird feeling.

A very weird feeling. Especially since he and Hannah had never been intimate.

It was the kind of feeling he had heard other men talk about with reference to their wives. The kind of feeling that scared him silly because listening to his friends talk about turning all mushy inside watching their wives with their babies made him think they were wimps. He could allow for a little wimpiness and sappiness about being a dad. He could let a guy get sloppy as all hell over a woman. But as soon as a man made that baby/mother connection, Jake knew it was all over for the poor sap. The guy was a goner.

And he did not intend for anything to be over for himself. He had a great life. He was rich. He was good-looking. He had any woman he wanted from the large, sophisticated circle of jet-setters in which he traveled. And, if everything went well with this week’s delivery, he would have the kind of risky, adrenaline-producing career that most men only dreamed about.

He had no business thinking about mothers and babies. He loved Dixon. In fact, having Dixon was the blessing of his life because in spite of never marrying, he got to be a dad. He had an heir, money and, even if he only remained a CIA courier, a fabulous secret life of sorts. He didn’t need to be thinking sappy thoughts about a pretty girl.

With that, he left his office and headed for the kitchen and a final cup of coffee before he departed for the airport. As he brought the cup to his lips, Hannah entered the kitchen, carrying a very clean, very nicely dressed Dixon. Wearing a pale blue T-shirt, shorts and little tennis shoes, Jake’s six-month-old son already looked like the jock Jake was sure he would someday be.

“Here, give him to me,” Jake said, reaching for his son.

“Be careful. He’s particularly squirmy today.”

“It surprises me that he took to you so well.”

Hannah shrugged and gave him a beautiful smile that he felt the whole way to his toes. “It shouldn’t. He’s not old enough to make strange yet.”

She issued the comment so casually that it struck Jake that part of the reason he was having more trouble controlling his feelings today was that Hannah was acting differently. He could have sworn she was afraid of him when he danced with her Friday night. Or, at the very least, that she was shy. But here she was behaving as if they were lifelong buddies.

He could easily believe she wanted to work for him because she had been laid off and needed the money. But that shouldn’t make her eager to be around him. If anything, she should be shooing him out the door. Yet this morning he could swear she was happy to be with him.

As Hannah watched Jake cuddle Dixon affectionately against his chest, a quick round of realization buffeted her. First, he seemed suspicious of her and that could mean he sensed she was here under false pretenses. But that was only half true. Her main purpose might be to observe how he lived, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t take care of his son. Even analyzing Jake, she could effortlessly fulfill her duties as nanny.

Second, she really liked him. He was funny and, in spite of his wealth, he lived a relatively normal life. His house stood alone on the outskirts of town for privacy, but despite its size and beauty, it was a comfortable house. He was a comfortable guy.

Third, even though he was a jet-setting playboy, Jake made an adorable father. It was a role no one expected to see him play, but just as he did everything else in his life, he made fatherhood look easy.

But that was exactly why Hannah was here. She was sure it was sophistication that helped Jake make everything look simple and she wanted some of that sophistication. She didn’t think just being around him would cause her to absorb the information and experience she needed, and she suspected that once they became better friends she would have to ask him questions. But that only reinforced that she had to be here. Seeing how the other half lived, making friends and asking questions to learn everything she could was Phase One of her new life plan. Phase Two was to get a job in Pittsburgh, once she had sophistication enough that she could ace an interview. And Phase Three was to actually move out of town.

She had to be here. If it killed her, she had to overcome his suspicions of her.

“Well, I’m off,” Jake said. “There’s a maid who comes twice a week, by the way. Don’t even rinse the dishes. Just take care of Dixon.”

“Okay,” Hannah said, smiling at him as he kissed his little boy goodbye.

But when he stepped forward to hand the baby to Hannah, their eyes met and she didn’t know how she knew, but she got the sudden impression he was thinking he should be kissing her goodbye too.

Heat suffused her. So did an awful need. He was absolutely everything any woman would want in a man, and he was within arm’s distance. He also seemed to like her. Was it so hard to believe…

Damn it! She had to stop this wishful thinking! She could not be attracted to him. He was so far out of her league he would hurt her and there was no phase in her new life plan to accommodate getting over a broken heart.

She took Dixon from his hands and stepped back several paces. “Have fun in Paris.”

Jake nodded once quickly, then bolted out the door.

Hannah breathed a sigh of relief. If she didn’t behave herself, he was going to realize that she found him attractive and he would fire her and then she would be sunk.

“So, how did it go?”

Maria asked the question the very second Hannah stepped into the day care with Jake Malloy’s little boy. But Maria wasn’t the only Evans sister at their aunt’s day care that morning, and Hannah knew the crowd hadn’t gathered simply to help Aunt Sadie.

“How did what go?” she asked, being deliberately obtuse because she knew her sisters could be dangerous when they set their minds to something.

Sadie took Dixon, car seat and all, from Hannah’s hands. “The thing with Jake, you idiot.”

“There is no ‘thing’ with me and Jake except an opportunity for me to make money.”

As Hannah said the last, her aunt Sadie came to the doorway where Hannah stood mobbed by her sisters. Tall and slender, dressed in blue jeans and a simple coral-colored blouse, she cut through the half moon made by the three women and effortlessly took Hannah’s hand, turning her away from her sisters and toward herself.

“I’m so sorry that you lost your job.”

Hannah smiled at her aunt. Her dark hair was growing back slowly in curly tufts, and her green eyes had a healthy sparkle that put everybody’s mind at ease. Behind her, the play yards and toy boxes that symbolized Aunt Sadie’s first love rimmed the open area used for games and naps.

“I’m going to be fine, Aunt Sadie. In fact, I have a plan.”

“You do?” all three of her sisters said at once.

“Yes. I might be the baby of the family, but I’m twenty-four years old. An adult. Who can solve her own problems.”

Hannah’s sister Sadie set Dixon’s travel seat on a changing table and began to unfasten the belts that held him secure. “So, what are you going to do?”

“Well, instead of using the money Jake pays me to make my student loan payments—” Hannah began, but Sadie interrupted her.

“Oh, Hannah, I forgot to tell you. On Friday night when Caro mentioned your student loans, Troy told me to tell you to round up your information and he’ll pay them off for you.”

“He doesn’t have to…”

“He knows that. But he’s got more money than he’ll ever use and considers paying tuition and paying college loans as his part to help educate the country. He’s happy to do it. Besides,” Sadie said, laughing as she lifted Dixon out of the seat and gave him a smacking kiss. “If you don’t give him the information, he has ways of getting it. He intends to pay off your college loans. You’re not going to stop him.”

“You know I’d rather try to pay them off myself, but I really appreciate his offer,” Hannah said, realizing her sister was right. If Troy wanted to do this he would. Just as he had provided Aunt Sadie with financial security by giving her the day-care contract for the Sunbright Solutions employees he’d brought from California when he transferred his company to Wil-burn, and just as he was currently building a new facility to accommodate them, Troy appeared to want to give her a start in life too.

“That actually speeds up my plans.”

Caro took the baby from Sadie and nuzzled his neck. “What plans?”

“Jake’s not going to have Dixon forever. So, being his nanny isn’t a permanent job.”

“You can work here,” Aunt Sadie suggested.

Hannah smiled at her. “I know that, but I…”

“But you what?” Maria asked as she took Dixon from Caro.

“I want to leave town.”

All three of her sisters gaped at her. “What?”

“I need to leave town. Look at you guys,” she said, waving her hand in their direction. As comfortable in jeans and soft cotton blouses as they had been in evening gowns, her three sisters had shifted from being glamour girls to being mothers. Maria had her own children. Caro was helping Max raise his eighteen-month-old daughter Bethany. Sadie was mother to Troy’s twins from his first marriage. Hannah could see Max’s Bethany now, in the far corner of the playroom, being entertained by Troy’s two eight-year-old daughters. “I’m not anywhere near like you.”

Sadie gasped. “Of course, you are.”

“No. I’m not. I’ve never been away from home. I want to be away from home.”

Caro stared at her. “Really?”

“Yes.”

“And I agree with her,” Aunt Sadie said, taking Dixon from Maria who had just finished tickling his tummy. “I think if Hannah feels she needs to leave home, then now is the time.”

“Well, now isn’t exactly the time. I still need to get some money together. If Troy’s going to pay off my loans, I’ll save the money Jake pays me and in a few months I’ll have enough to move to whatever town I can find a job in.”

Aunt Sadie smiled. “I think that’s a great idea.”

Marie gave Hannah a concerned look.

Caro bestowed a confused expression.

Sadie Jr. crossed her arms on her chest and studied her.

“Forget about matchmaking me and Jake,” Hannah said, putting an end to this once and for all. “I wasn’t kidding when I said I thought he was too old for me.” Hannah lied because she knew darned well he was perfect for her, she just wasn’t perfect for him. If she admitted either of those things, her sisters wouldn’t stop with their matchmaking efforts. “And I really feel strongly about leaving town so I can get some life experience.”

Aunt Sadie said, “Good for you.” Then, after nuzzling Dixon’s cheek, she handed him to Caro again and left to check on the other children.

The second she was out of earshot, Maria grabbed Hannah’s forearm to get her attention. “I don’t mean to be the party pooper here, but I think your plan is all wrong.”

“Why?”

“Hannah,” Caro said, picking up where Maria left off. “You were the girl who didn’t even leave town to go to college.”

“That’s my point…”

Sadie spun Hannah away from Caro. “But you love it here! And Jake is obviously attracted to you. You can’t say you didn’t notice the way he was looking at you at his birthday party.”

“I didn’t notice.”

“Well, I did!” Maria said.

“So did I,” Caro seconded.

“And I already said I saw it,” Sadie said. “I think the guy is ready to settle down and I think that’s why he kept looking at you Friday night. You’re the kind of woman he could marry.”

“You’re thinking about leaving town because you want another teaching job,” Maria said, taking Dixon from Caro. “But next year when the new budget is passed or when a few of the older teachers retire, you could get your job back. Until then,” she said, placing a soft kiss on Dixon’s cheek, “what if your job is here? What if Dixon is the reason Jake is ready to settle down? What if he’s looking for someone to help him raise his son?”

Looking at adorable Dixon, something soft and warm floated through Hannah’s heart. Just thinking about helping to raise the little boy gave her a fluttery feeling in the pit of her stomach.

“Yeah, and what if Jake’s tired of slick women and is looking for a small-town girl?” Caro asked.

“I doubt that someone like Jake is interested in me…”

Caro chuckled. “I would have never dreamed I would end up marrying Max Riley…Yet here we are.”

“Yeah, and me with Troy Cramer!” Sadie said then laughed. “The last I had heard he was a computer nerd. He surprised the hell out of me, and Jake might just surprise the hell out of you.”

Hannah licked her suddenly dry lips.

Sadie caught her forearm and squeezed lightly. “Hannah, if you’re attracted to him, you can’t leave town without trying.”

All right. So Hannah agreed with them. Sort of. Somewhat. It did seem possible that after fifteen years of running around, and also because he now had a baby, Jake might be ready to settle down. She could buy that.

Over the course of the three days Jake was away, Hannah also admitted to herself that she really didn’t want to leave Wilburn. She never had. She liked it here. She liked the simple, quiet life. She liked kids. And, yes, damn it, she also liked Jake. If her sisters saw a spark of interest in his eyes then Hannah would be a fool to leave town without at least attempting a relationship with him.

After the cleaning lady had gone Thursday afternoon, Hannah popped a casserole into the oven, set Jake’s dining room table with good china and waited for his return. The itinerary his secretary had given Hannah said that he would arrive in Pittsburgh at four and take Troy’s private plane to the airstrip behind Troy’s estate. Adding a twenty-minute drive from the airstrip, Jake would arrive a little before six.

But he wasn’t home by a quarter to six as she believed. He didn’t even make it home by six. Unfortunately, six turned into seven, which turned into eight, and Hannah had no choice but to put Dixon to bed. She lowered the temperature of the oven for her casserole and then began to pace the foyer. She considered calling the Sunbright offices to see if he had stopped there before coming home, but didn’t feel right about that.

When another half hour ticked off the clock without Jake, Hannah began to worry in earnest. Troy had built the Sunbright Solutions complex in a wooded area. He’d wanted space to expand and plenty of land for employees to walk the grounds as they thought through complicated problems. But that also meant the road that led to the offices was twisty and windy. Jake could have been in an accident. He could have driven off the side of the road, rolled down a hill, landed in the thick forest and not be discovered for days!

She was just about to panic when the front door opened. Jake stepped inside as if nothing had happened and Hannah threw herself into his arms. “Oh, my gosh! I was so worried about you!”

For the briefest of seconds Hannah thought she felt his arms tighten around her, and she realized she was pressed against his chest. The stretch of her arms around his neck proved he was a good six inches taller than she was. She could smell the faint scent of the aftershave he had put on that morning.

Her breathing stopped. Every cell in her body sprang to life with awareness of him. And all she wanted at that moment was to snuggle against him and to bury her face in his neck.

But just as quickly as she had gotten the impression that his arms were around her, the feeling was gone. She realized that holding a briefcase and a suitcase made it impossible for him to hold her, yet she was clinging to his neck like an idiot.

She jumped away. Though her face flamed with embarrassment, she decided to use her brother’s friendship with Jake to make hugging him seem reasonable. “Sorry. It’s just that we never know about Luke. We’re always pacing the floor, thinking the worst. I expected you at six and started to worry at eight. For the past half hour I’ve been pacing.”

“I stopped at the office.” Jake dropped his suitcase and pocketed his keys and, as if nothing had happened, turned toward the hallway that led to his office. “I work late a lot.”

The completely neutral tone of his voice made Hannah swallow. Good Lord, she’d really made a fool of herself this time. She was such an idiot! Sadie would have never lost control and shown her emotions that way. Caro would have died first. Even Maria would have been cooler, calmer.

Hannah swallowed hard. “I made a casserole, if you’re hungry.”

He shrugged. “No. Not really.” He began to walk down the corridor, paused, and faced her again. “You do know you’re only here to care for the baby.”

She swallowed, then nodded.

“You don’t need to make me supper, wait for me, or anything like a regular housekeeper would do.” He held her gaze. “You just take care of Dixon.”

She nodded again. Jake smiled and resumed his trip to his office.

But tears stung Hannah’s eyes. She was an idiot. A big, fat, stupid idiot! And if she didn’t learn some sophistication soon and get the hell out of this town, she was going to die of embarrassment.