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The Nanny Solution
SUSAN MEIER


Jet-setting playboy Jake Malloy knew he was a fool to hire hometown nice girl Hannah Evans as his baby's nanny. He wasn't used to a beautiful woman sleeping in his house unless she was warming his bed, and he sure as heck hadn't expected Hannah's innocent seduction….Hannah needed Jake…to show her how to be more sophisticated like the throngs of women he undoubtedly dated. But as she traded kisses and caresses for lessons in nap times and bottles, she realized the surprisingly tender, irresistibly handsome man desperately needed her…to show him that the right woman for him was already under his roof….







“Do you know what you did wrong?”

Hannah stared up at Jake, sleepy-eyed with arousal from their kiss. “No.”

“You don’t just let a man do what he wants,” Jake said. “You only let him deepen a kiss and get really intimate if that’s what you want. If not, you have to stop him, shift your mouth or pull away, or he’s going to think you want to get much more intimate, and he’ll take it as permission to kiss you any way he wants.”

“But what if he’s one of the guys I want to kiss that way?”

“Then you kiss back.” Jake stopped when he realized he was teaching her how to kiss. The thought sent a tingle of excitement through him until he reminded himself he was teaching her how to kiss so another man could enjoy her.

He was literally training her for his replacement.


Dear Reader,

We’ve been busy here at Silhouette Romance cooking up the next batch of tender, emotion-filled romances to add extra sizzle to your day.

First on the menu is Laurey Bright’s modern-day Sleeping Beauty story, With His Kiss (#1660). Next, Melissa McClone whips up a sensuous, Survivor-like tale when total opposites must survive two weeks on an island, in The Wedding Adventure (#1661). Then bite into the next juicy SOULMATES series addition, The Knight’s Kiss (#1663) by Nicole Burnham, about a cursed knight and the modern-day princess who has the power to unlock his hardened heart.

We hope you have room for more, because we have three other treats in store for you. First, popular Silhouette Romance author Susan Meier turns on the heat in The Nanny Solution (#1662), the third in her DAYCARE DADS miniseries about single fathers who learn the ABCs of love. Then, in Jill Limber’s Captivating a Cowboy (#1664), are a city girl and a dyed-in-the-wool cowboy a recipe for disaster…or romance? Finally, Lissa Manley dishes out the laughs with The Bachelor Chronicles (#1665), in which a sassy journalist is assigned to get the city’s most eligible—and stubborn—bachelor to go on a blind date!

I guarantee these heartwarming stories will keep you satisfied until next month when we serve up our list of great summer reads.

Happy reading!






Mary-Theresa Hussey

Senior Editor




The Nanny Solution

Susan Meier





www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)


Books by Susan Meier

Silhouette Romance

Stand-in Mom #1022

Temporarily Hers #1109

Wife in Training #1184

Merry Christmas, Daddy #1192

* (#litres_trial_promo)In Care of the Sheriff #1283

* (#litres_trial_promo)Guess What? We’re Married! #1338

Husband from 9 to 5 #1354

* (#litres_trial_promo)The Rancher and the Heiress #1374

† (#litres_trial_promo)The Baby Bequest #1420

† (#litres_trial_promo)Bringing up Babies #1427

† (#litres_trial_promo)Oh, Babies! #1433

His Expectant Neighbor #1468

Hunter’s Vow #1487

Cinderella and the CEO #1498

Marrying Money #1519

The Boss’s Urgent Proposal #1566

Married Right Away #1579

Married in the Morning #1601

** (#litres_trial_promo)Baby on Board #1639

** (#litres_trial_promo)The Tycoon’s Double Trouble #1650

** (#litres_trial_promo)The Nanny Solution #1662

Silhouette Desire

Take the Risk #567


SUSAN MEIER

is one of eleven children, and though she has yet to write a book about a big family, many of her books explore the dynamics of “unusual” family situations such as large work “families,” bosses who behave like overprotective fathers, or “sister” bonds created between friends. Because she has more than twenty nieces and nephews, children also are always popping up in her stories. Many of the funny scenes in her books are based on experiences raising her own children or interacting with her nieces and nephews.

She was born and raised in western Pennsylvania and continues to live in Pennsylvania.










Contents


Chapter One (#u7f822c50-30fb-5161-ae9f-f89b133ab37f)

Chapter Two (#u7a784043-6a38-5cba-955b-38752e85a331)

Chapter Three (#u796272f0-24d7-555f-858f-882ede4e4193)

Chapter Four (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)




Chapter One


“Can I have this dance?”

Hannah Evans faced Jake Malloy and his mouth fell open slightly. He had been expecting shyness and freckles from the baby sister of his best friend. Instead he found a woman’s smile and skin as perfect as a sun-washed June morning. With her big green eyes, blond hair and shapely mouth, she was as classically beautiful as Lauren Bacall or Cybill Shepard.

His gaze involuntarily slid from her face, down the long column of her slender neck and to her breasts. The back of her black gown might have been the simple fare he expected from the former tomboy, but the front was not. Black lace cruised an enticing strip of white cleavage.

Something twisted in Jake’s gut. When in the hell had Luke Evans’s little sister grown up?

Jake’s birthday guests mingled around them. The swish and rustle of satins and silks punctuated everyone’s movements. Hannah smiled shakily. “I’m not much of a dancer…”

“Oh, that’s all right.” Jake took her hand, leading her onto the dance floor—which was really the living room of his huge home with all the furniture pushed back against the walls. The slide of her palm against his sent a frisson of awareness through him, and though this was his best friend’s little sister, Jake didn’t stop himself from enjoying it.

Besides, this was business. He hadn’t asked Hannah to dance out of romantic interest, but because she was talking to Jake’s former college roommate and current CIA contact, preventing him from leaving. While Jake and Hannah danced, Edgar Downing would slip out of the party unnoticed.

Just as they found a clear spot on the dance floor, the fast music stopped and the DJ shifted to a slow, romantic tune. Again, Jake ignored the twinge of conscience that this was Luke’s baby sister. He wasn’t interested in Hannah, only doing his job. He took her right hand in his and slid his left hand around her waist, pulling her close enough to make sure he kept her attention off Edgar and on him. The material of her silky slip dress felt soft and feminine against his fingers. He could smell her hair.

“So you’re a teacher?”

She peeked up at him. Her long, straight locks shifted, slipped off her shoulder and cascaded down her back. They grazed the top of his hand. “I was.”

He grimaced. “Sorry. I forgot Luke told me you got laid off. I didn’t mean to bring up something unpleasant.”

“Oh, that’s all right.”

Jake noticed that though she was talking and dancing, her eyes had begun to move again. He didn’t think she was looking for Edgar. He believed it was a coincidence that she’d engaged his CIA boss in conversation the very minute Edgar needed to leave for another appointment. He suspected Hannah’s lack of eye contact was the shyness he had been expecting to find when he’d first tapped her on the shoulder.

Not only had she always been a bit timid, but Jake was also nine years older than Hannah. Plus, he was quarterback of the football team that had won the state championship fifteen years ago. No team had ever come close to their record. Jake himself got a college scholarship out of it. When he graduated, he talked Troy Cramer, owner of one of the biggest software companies in the world, into forming an investment partnership. Troy put up the money and Jake investigated and chose the investments. Now Jake was also rich.

He was older, wiser, sophisticated, and in the small town of Wilburn, Pennsylvania, he was a legend. To a woman like Hannah, who hadn’t even left home for college, dancing with him could be as intimidating as being asked to dance by Brad Pitt. Especially when her own life was in such a downturn.

“There’s little point in trying to run from the truth,” Hannah continued. “I got laid off thanks to some cutbacks. And I’m not the only one to get the ax, so everyone in town knows.” She met his gaze. “Wil-burn is too small of a place to run from things like that.”

He wasn’t prepared for the impact of staring directly into her pretty green eyes and didn’t have time to brace for the bolt of lightning that sizzled through him. He hid his reaction with a grimace. “I’m still sorry for bringing it up.”

As if dismissing the topic, she returned her gaze to Jake’s party guests. Her eyes once again surveyed the crowd. “I suppose I should tell you happy birthday.”

“If you bought me a gift, that’s happy birthday enough.”

Just as Jake had hoped, his silly remark brought her attention back to him. “Very funny.”

He smiled, continuing the teasing because he hated that she seemed so dejected. “It wasn’t intended to be. I like presents.”

“Right. I get it now. That’s why you gave yourself a party.”

“It didn’t seem as if anyone else was going to give me one.”

She laughed. “Then everything Luke told me about your vanity must be true.”

“Absolutely,” Jake agreed, tightening his hold on her waist, thrilled he had made her laugh. He knew he couldn’t have her. He absolutely, definitely would not date the little sister of a man who knew the sordid details of Jake’s love life. But that didn’t mean they couldn’t enjoy dancing.

Though the song was slow, he spun them around as if they were waltzing. He felt alive and wonderful and though he knew dancing with Hannah was part of the reason, the other part had more to do with Edgar recruiting him to work full-time for the CIA.

After eight years of being an Agency courier, someone who traveled so much that he could do pickups and deliveries for them, Edgar had approached him about becoming an agent. Not being able to shoot a gun and knowing absolutely nothing about covert operations, Jake had questioned Edgar’s sanity in making the offer, but Edgar reminded him that he traveled so much that he knew certain cities like the back of his hand. He knew currency. He knew languages.

With that explanation, Jake had become unexpectedly interested. Not because he craved adventure—though he did—but because he was bored. So Edgar’s offer appealed to him, and he told Edgar that if the CIA agent could show him he could handle this job, he would take it.

To prove to Jake that he could do this, Edgar had arranged for a more risky courier assignment. On Wednesday, Jake was to deliver a passport that had been sewn into the cover of the Day-Timer that Edgar had brought tonight as a birthday present. Jake would then “forget” the Day-Timer in a Paris café and it would be picked up by a waiter, who would drop it in the trash to be taken to a Dumpster behind the restaurant. An agent would pick it up and deliver it to the wife of an Iranian diplomat who had refused to defect until he had proof his wife was safe.

Though he hadn’t yet fulfilled the assignment, Jake knew he could do it in his sleep and within a few weeks he would be on the CIA payroll. In spite of the fact that becoming an agent would probably mean he could have to quit working for Troy, Jake knew he had found the way to make his life interesting again. And that knowledge filled him with absolute joy.

“I don’t mind being happy and confident. I’m lucky,” he said, teasing Hannah again, making sure she enjoyed this dance as much as he did. “My life panned out beautifully. I have more money than I could ever spend. And I’m not too bad-looking if I do say so myself.”

“You don’t have to say so yourself,” Hannah said, though her eyes were focused anywhere but on him. “Just hang around the bar. Most of the women there are talking about how attractive you are in that tux.”

And she’d noticed. No wonder she wouldn’t look at him. She didn’t want him to see she found him attractive, too. “Well, I think that’s only fair since I am the birthday boy. I should be the center of attention.”

She snorted with disgust. “Right.”

Jake laughed again, spun them around, but the song ended and Hannah quickly stepped away. Jake decided that was good. He liked her and they definitely had some kind of chemistry, but this was his best friend’s little sister. If he as much as kissed her goodnight, Luke would probably punch him.

“Thank you for the dance.”

“You’re welcome,” Hannah said, turning and scampering away from him.

Hannah Evans had no idea why Jake Malloy had asked her to dance, but she did know he wouldn’t ask her again. Why? Because she was a dimwit.

Within two minutes of sliding into his arms, she’d had to admit that she had lost her job, which could only make her seem pathetic. Then to make matters worse, she couldn’t keep eye contact because his eyes were so…well…powerful. Dark and focused, they glowed with the confidence of a man who had been around the world several times for business…and for pleasure. Even if she had dared to dream that he had asked her to dance because he was attracted to her looks—and from the once-over he had given her before he’d led her out to the dance floor, she had actually thought he was—she knew men like him preferred their women on the sophisticated side.

If there was one thing the regular citizens of Wilburn—including herself—were not, it was sophisticated. Wealthy residents like Jake and Troy Cramer, who globe-trotted, had formal parties and mingled with heads of state, were the exceptions, not the rule. If Jake hadn’t known that before, she had succeeded in proving it when they’d danced. She had probably also reminded him of why he didn’t date women from his hometown, even if he was attracted to them. Which was why she had been pacing in the open area of the powder room cursing her stupidity for the past few minutes. She wasn’t the kind of girl who had to be the belle of the ball, but just once in her life she would like to dance with the Prince without making a fool of herself.

“Come on, Hannah. We’re about to sit down for dinner.” Hannah’s older sister, Sadie, had opened the door and peeked inside. Dressed in a sleek pink gown and dangling diamond earrings, Sadie not only glowed, she also canceled Hannah’s belief that all of the residents of this town were unsophisticated. Sadie had recently married Troy Cramer, the software billionaire, and from her chic outfit to her demeanor, Hannah’s sister was the picture of poise.

“Okay.”

Hannah left the powder room and followed her sister down the hall. But the whole time she and Sadie walked toward the party she stared at her sister wondering when this transition had occurred. Sure, Sadie had gone away to college. She had attended the police academy. She had also lived in an apartment in Pittsburgh and worked on the city of Pittsburgh police force for five years. Hannah knew Sadie was a little more worldly than everybody else, but she hadn’t noticed her turning into somebody who could fit in at a presidential reception. Yet, here she was.

“Let’s go find Troy,” Sadie said, gracefully maneuvering through the crowd and heading toward the French doors, directing Hannah to Jake’s patio where a tent protected round tables that had been arranged for dinner. Covered in white linen cloths and decorated with fat bowls of fresh roses, the tables formed a large U around the pool. The June air smelled of blossoms.

The elegance of the house, the beauty of the grounds around it, and the casual romance of the night had Hannah almost sighing with longing, not so much out of desire for Jake’s exquisite home as for the man who owned this wonderful place. Jake was handsome, masculine and vibrantly alive. He had as much charm and charisma as his wonderful estate. When she’d danced with him she would have happily cuddled closer—if only because he was irresistibly sexy. But, stunned by the impact of those dark eyes of his, she’d panicked, acted like a schoolgirl and blown any chance she might have had with him.

Sadie began guiding her to the table where Troy sat with Jake, and Hannah stopped abruptly. There was no way she was eating with him. None. She had already made herself look foolish enough. She wasn’t adding to his already miserable impression by dropping a shrimp in her lap, which she would undoubtedly do if he gave her one of those looks again.

Before Sadie got too close to the table, Hannah indicated with a movement of her hand that she was about to go right. “I think I’ll sit with Mom and Dad.” She pointed to her parents, Lily and Pete Evans, who had an empty seat at their table.

Sadie gasped and scrambled back to Hannah. “Why? For Pete’s sake, Hannah! Jake is single…”

“Which is exactly why I’m…Oh, no!” Hannah said, realizing Jake might have danced with her because her sister had put him up to it! Oh, Lord! If Sadie had told Jake to dance with her and was now forcing them to sit together because she was matchmaking, Hannah would die of embarrassment. “No. Now for sure I’m not sitting with you.”

“Why?”

“Why?” Hannah countered incredulously. “Because you’re matchmaking! And it’s obvious!”

“Don’t you like him?” Sadie asked with a laugh.

“Or maybe she does like him.”

Hannah whipped around to face her oldest sister, Maria. Short and cute, with abundant curves and thick black hair that fell almost to her waist, Maria looked more like a Spanish singer than an all-American mom with three kids and a nearly bald husband. Though the sleek red dress Maria wore contributed to her saucy demeanor, Hannah knew a person had to have a certain “something” to carry off the sexy aura Maria projected; she experienced the same rush of recognition that she had with Sadie. Just like sister number two, sister number one had “it.”

“I do not like him,” Hannah said, if only to save herself from the embarrassment of the matchmaking and years of potential teasing that would follow if she so much as admitted she thought Jake was cute.

“I think you do,” Maria singsonged. She leaned closer and dropped her voice to a whisper. “And why wouldn’t you? The man is gorgeous. All that wonderful black hair and those piercing brown eyes. Yum,” Maria said, leaning even closer to Hannah. “In that tuxedo of his, he’s absolutely perfect.”

Yeah, that’s exactly what the women at the bar were saying and exactly why Hannah should have been suspicious of him asking her to dance. Never in a million years would someone as sophisticated as Jake be interested in her.

But, again, there was no reason for Hannah’s sisters to know that she agreed he was gorgeous and, just like every other woman on the face of the earth, found him attractive.

“He’s isn’t perfect. He’s old.”

Maria gasped as if Hannah had struck her. “He’s thirty-three. A year younger than I am!”

“And I’m twenty-four,” Hannah said, pleased with the airtight excuse that would keep anyone from realizing she found Jake Malloy attractive and might even stop her sisters’s matchmaking. “He’s in another generation. He probably still listens to Hootie and the Blowfish.”

This time Sadie gasped. “I listen to Hootie and the Blowfish!”

Hannah smiled smugly. “I rest my case,” she began, but she didn’t finish her thought because she noticed her third sister, Caro, and Caro’s fiancé, Max Riley, taking two of the four remaining seats at Troy and Jake’s table. Dark-haired Max wore a black tux and Caro a strapless blue gown. Caro was so lovely and had such perfect carriage and comportment, she could have posed on the cover of Vogue. Though she wasn’t marrying a billionaire, she was marrying a former FBI agent, who was about to start his new job as Assistant D.A. and who had aspirations of becoming Pennsylvania’s attorney general. In the not too distant future, Caro would be a political wife, dining in the governor’s mansion.

How, in one short year, had all of her sisters changed so drastically?

Sadie’s sandy-haired husband Troy restlessly rose from his seat. His black tux seemed to bring out the best of his blue eyes. To Hannah he looked the part of the successful, savvy businessman that he was.

“Are you guys going to stand there and whisper all night or are you going to sit down?”

“We’re on our way to sit down,” Hannah said to get everybody moving without informing Troy that she had no intention of sitting at his table. Especially now that she realized how far out of step she was with everybody else in her family. Sophisticated Sadie had billionaire Troy. Next month clever Caro would marry worldly Max. Even Maria, who had married young, had managed to become savvy and chic. They were perfect, beautiful, sophisticated women.

And somehow Hannah had missed the boat.

Jake began to chuckle over Troy’s misery at being forced to endure two minutes away from his glowing bride until he noticed a whisper pass between Sadie and Maria. Suddenly he had the feeling Hannah’s sisters didn’t agree with his—and what he was sure would be vacationing Luke’s—opinion of Jake steering clear of Hannah. From the continuing whispers, he was just about certain that Sadie and Maria were trying to match him off with their little sister!

“We’re coming, darling.” Sadie said to Troy with a sweet smile. Jake glanced at Hannah and their gazes met. Her big green eyes held his captive and he felt the same zap of electricity he had the first time she’d looked into his eyes tonight. All his man-attracted-to-a-woman instincts flared. He couldn’t help it. There was something very sexy and very sensual about her tonight. Her eyes seemed to darken when she looked at him and he definitely knew she was attracted to him. Yet, she wasn’t chasing him—wouldn’t chase him. Actually, she kept running away from him.

Which was good because they were absolutely wrong for each other. Even if her sisters and his traitorous body would take issue with that right now.

“Is there room for Hannah to join us?” Sadie asked as she approached the table.

Troy pulled out the chair for his wife, and Jake rose, too. Just to keep things pleasant and to not arouse suspicion, he said, “Of course there is room for Hannah to join us.”

“My parents are right over there,” Hannah said. She met Jake’s gaze again and enough sexual electricity to power New York City passed between them. “Thank you for the offer. But I would rather sit with them.”

Jake almost breathed a sigh of relief because this situation was bad. Being attracted to somebody almost ten years younger was awkward enough, but knowing she was the baby sister of a guy who usually got details of his sexual…escapades…that was bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. She needed to sit at another table.

“Don’t be silly,” Sadie insisted, pulling out a chair for Hannah. Then she all but blocked her younger sister’s path, preventing her from leaving.

“Just sit,” Troy told Hannah, indicating the open seat with a nod of his head. “Sadie’s not going to let you get away, anyway. No sense fighting about this.”

“Right,” Hannah said. Her gaze flitted to Jake’s again and the electricity sizzled between them. He tried to blink away the connection, but it was useless. He was suffused with heat. He didn’t have a clue why, but the way this woman looked at him seemed to turn him inside out.

“Excuse me, Mr. Malloy?”

Grateful for the interruption, Jake turned when the butler he had hired to supervise his party beckoned. From the corner of his eye, he watched Hannah succumb to the pressure of her sister and brother-in-law and take the seat across from his.

“Yes, Roger?”

“You have a guest.”

Jake laughed. “It is a party.”

Roger’s eyebrows rose. “Well, that’s true. But this one has a…package for you.”

“Everybody here brought a package for me. We call them birthday gifts.”

“Yes, sir. Very funny, sir. But if you would come out to the foyer, this could be explained much, much better.”

Jake decided that was a great idea. He was sure that these few minutes away from Hannah would get rid of whatever kept causing him to feel all the wrong reactions to a woman he wasn’t allowed to want. If that didn’t work, he could simply stay away, pretend to be busy, until his head cleared and he could behave normally around her again.

“All right.”

Jake turned to walk to the French doors but before he stepped away from the table, Felicity Lockhart, his red-haired, sex-goddess ex-girlfriend, flew onto the patio. Her eyes blazed and she carried a tightly wrapped bundle—his six-month-old son.

“Jake Malloy, we had a deal!”

Just like in the movies, the entire patio became quiet. Though Jake’s first instinct was stunned surprise, he knew he could handle her. He always did.

“Felicity, it’s very nice to see you.”

She stomped her foot. “Don’t you say it’s nice to see me! You made a promise. Now you have to keep it.”

“Okay,” Jake said soothingly. “Honey,” he added, slathering more balm on her bad mood. “Why don’t you let poor Dixon out of the blanket so he can breathe? Better yet, give Dixon to me.”

Felicity shoved Jake’s son at him. Jake sighed with relief when he realized the baby was in a deep sleep. He cuddled Dixon against his chest before he faced his former girlfriend. “Where’s Amanda?” he asked, referring to the nanny for which he paid through the nose.

“She’s in L.A.,” Felicity said quietly, as if she were calming down.

“And why would she be in L.A. when Dixon is in P.A.?”

“Because you promised me that if and when this day ever came we would not desert the baby to a nanny!”

Jake’s eyes narrowed. “What day?”

She flailed her arms as if exasperated. “I am on my way to do the biggest movie of my life!”

“You got a job?” he asked incredulously, and realized too late that was the absolute wrong thing to do. Her blazing eyes heated two notches and her chin raised defiantly. It was the same expression she’d worn the whole time they’d argued about getting married. He didn’t love her and she didn’t love him, but he had been raised without his father and he wanted his son to know both parents.

“It isn’t that I don’t think you have talent,” he quickly said. “Since Dixon was born, you just haven’t really seemed all that focused on your career.”

Luckily, his mother scampered over. Tall and regal in her gray-sequined gown, with dark hair and dark eyes, Georgiann Malloy reached for the baby. “Hi, Felicity!” she greeted in an overly cherry voice. Like Jake, his mother was a student of human nature and she knew how to handle people. “Why don’t you give me the baby, and you two can go inside and talk about this privately.”

“There is nothing to talk about!” Felicity shouted. “He promised and I am going.” With that she turned and stomped her way off the patio and through the French doors into the house.

Jake’s mother made a move to run after her, but Jake put his hand out to stop her. “Let her go.”

“But…”

“Mom, I did tell her that I would take care of Dixon if she got a movie role and had to go on location.”

“Yeah, but none of us ever thought she would actually get a movie.”

“Well, she did and now I have a baby.”

Hannah rocked back on her chair, her eyes wide with surprise, her brain shocked into numbness. Jake Malloy was a daddy?

“He’s so cute,” Sadie cooed, rising from her seat to rush over and fuss over the baby. “Jake, I’m so glad we finally get to see your son!”

“So am I!” Troy said. He also rose to look at the little boy Jake held.

Jake smiled sheepishly. “Yeah, well, even I hardly get to see him since he lives in L.A.”

“Yeah,” Hannah said, more to herself than to anyone else. Jake hadn’t really kept his son a secret. Troy knew about him. Sadie obviously knew about him. Yet, Jake hadn’t exactly made a public announcement, either. Could it be that perfect Jake Malloy wasn’t so perfect, after all?

She smiled stupidly, feeling a relief of sorts that he was human. “This certainly puts Jake in a whole different light.”

Hannah’s sister Caro laughed. “Stop that,” she said, patting Hannah’s hand in reprimand. Not quite as tall as Hannah, but sharing her blond hair, Caro was the sibling Hannah most resembled.

“I didn’t mean that to be rude,” Hannah said. “It just came out wrong.”

“I hope so,” Max Riley, Caro’s fiancé, agreed, catching Hannah’s gaze with his striking blue eyes. “I would hate to have to break the news to people that you aren’t the ‘nice’ Evans sister everyone believes you to be.”

“The ‘nice’ Evans sister?” Caro and Hannah asked simultaneously.

“Yeah,” Max said with a chuckle, as if it were common knowledge. “Maria is the mom. Sadie is the hottie. Caro’s the smart…yet, gorgeous one,” he said, sliding a meaningful glance in his fiancée’s direction. “And Hannah’s the nice one.”

Hannah gaped at him. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Max said.

Hannah had a little trouble digesting the fact that she had been so neatly compartmentalized by her community, until she thought about her life. She was an elementary schoolteacher who had never left home. Not even for college. Her oldest brother, Dakota, had packed up for Massachusetts Institute of Technology and never returned, and she didn’t want to risk hurting her parents like that. So even though her other brother, Luke, and her three sisters had at least left Wilburn to go to college, she had commuted so she could continue to help her aunt Sadie with her day care, so she could go to every family gathering, so she could attend Wil-burn High football games.

Maybe she was “nice”? Maybe she was too nice? Maybe she was so stupidly nice and naive that she would trip over her tongue every time she danced with a handsome, sophisticated man like Jake Malloy!

“Maybe that’s my problem. Maybe I’ve been nice too long.”

Caro said only “Hmm” as she glanced over her shoulder.

Following the direction of Caro’s gaze, Hannah saw that the baby had awakened and had nestled his face into Jake’s neck.

Max said, “Looks like that little boy is very happy to be with his daddy.”

“Yes, it does,” Caro agreed. “And it looks like his daddy is also very happy to be with him.”

Hannah frowned, wondering if the universe hadn’t hiccuped or something. First, she realized the “niceness” she thought her best trait had probably been what was keeping her from becoming more sophisticated, then playboy Jake Malloy actually looked as though he loved being a father. From the way he walked around the patio showing off his baby to his guests, it was clear he loved the little boy and was proud of him.

Troy returned to the table and said, “That’s one cute little boy.”

“He is beautiful,” Sadie said, joining her husband. “And he loves his daddy. The only problem is that Jake travels a lot for Troy.”

Max shrugged. “So?”

“So, he’s got a trip planned this week.” Sadie leaned forward. “He’s going to Paris, then Belgium.”

“Oh!” Caro gasped. “He’s so lucky.”

“He won’t be so lucky if he doesn’t find a nanny,” Jake’s mother said as she and Jake’s new stepfather, broad-shouldered investment counselor, Larry Simmons, walked to the table.

“Maybe we can help at the day care,” Caro said at the same time that Jake, holding his adorable little boy, approached the gathering group.

Hannah had to admit the infant was sweet. Chubby-cheeked, with red hair, he didn’t look a thing like his father, but apparently Jake didn’t care. He held him as if he were his most prized possession.

“Jake,” Caro continued, “I’m glad you’re here. Your mother mentioned that you have to go out of town, and I suggested that maybe the day care could help out with Dixon. Aunt Sadie is back now. Her chemotherapy is over and she’s nearly healthy as a horse. I’m working with her for backup.”

“Thank you,” Jake said, “but I think I need a nanny. My mother could easily watch the baby during the day like the day care, but won’t be able to stay overnight,” he added, casting a meaningful glance at his mother and her new husband. “So, it’s overnight care I need. Somebody who can get up in the middle of the night with him, that kind of thing.”

Caro said, “Why not hire Hannah?”

Hannah gaped at her older sister. “What?”

Caro smiled. “Well, the baby can’t stay overnight at the day care and you’re not working. It’s not like you don’t need the money. I seem to recall some school loans that aren’t yet paid off.”

Ready to make an apology and an excuse for not being able to be his nanny, Hannah looked at Jake. But the oddest notion hit her. He needed a nanny, but she also needed something he had in abundance. Sophistication. If she were to live with him, even just to see how he lived, maybe she could change. She didn’t exactly think sophistication would magically rub off on her, but she did have to start somewhere and seeing how the other half lived was definitely a good way.

“That might work,” she said cautiously, and caught Jake’s gaze. Again she felt the sizzle that always seemed to happen when their eyes locked. But, damn it, she didn’t care. They might be attracted to each other, but he would never date her. One look at the woman he chose to be the mother of his son proved Hannah was not his type. And she would never date him. She knew when she was out of her league.

And she needed this. Tonight, she’d realized that her sisters had become a hundred times more sophisticated than she was. If she didn’t catch up, she wouldn’t fit into her own family.

Please, she tried to say with her eyes, since that seemed to be her best form of communication with Jake. Please, hire me.




Chapter Two


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.




Chapter Three


Absolutely positive he was going to be punched out by his best friend in the very near future, Jake arrived at the Sunbright Solutions complex early the next morning. He had ducked out of his kitchen before Hannah had awakened and stopped at a convenience store for his morning coffee rather than drink it at home while he waited to say hello to Dixon. He was, admittedly, avoiding his new nanny until he figured out how to handle this mess.

He couldn’t believe that Hannah had thrown herself into his arms the night before and all but wept with relief. Worse, he couldn’t believe how elated he was to see her and how his arms had instinctively wrapped around her, even though he was holding a briefcase and a suitcase…. But she had leaped into his arms and he had wrapped his arms around her, and both had shocked him.

No. They had scared him. Sexually, he and Hannah were on the same page. He had many times seen the glint of attraction in her eyes that mirrored the intense gut-level reaction he kept having with her. That wasn’t the problem.

The problem was that emotionally and experience-wise, he had her by almost ten years. There was no way in hell he could get involved with her. She was too young for him and, he reminded himself, she was the little sister of his best friend.

Unfortunately, neither of those points stopped the tingles, the urges, the unmitigated sexual response he had every time he got within ten feet of her.

Jake took the right, then the left that would get him in the corridor that led to the wing that housed the offices for his portion of the staff. Troy had been moving his company, Sunbright Solutions, from California to Wilburn for the past year. The first few months, employees who transferred worked in the office wing of Troy’s mansion. Now that most of the Sunbright Solutions complex was complete, everyone had his or her own space. To Jake’s great relief, there was little chance he would run into Sunbright’s vice president of operations, Luke Evans, the big brother of the naive woman who seemed to have the hots for him.

Jake and Luke might have been on the same high school football team, but Jake was a quarterback and Luke was a fullback. At least fifty pounds—and the ability to bench-press large chunks of iron—separated them.

“Jake! Jake! Wait up!”

Jake squeezed his eyes shut as Luke’s voice echoed through the sun-drenched glass corridor. So much for thinking twenty thousand square feet could save him.

He took a quick breath and turned to face Hannah’s big brother. He didn’t like the urgency of his best friend’s tone. Jake liked even less that while he had been globe-trotting, still had jet lag and had spent his first night home worrying about his attraction to this man’s sister, Luke had been sleeping in his own bed, and visiting his gym. His green eyes were clear and rested. His broad shoulders filled out his navy-blue suit coat in the way that spoke of commitment to regular strength training. If Luke asked about Hannah and Jake said the wrong thing, one jab would send Jake sprawling.

“I have a few questions to ask you about the California complex.”

Jake almost choked on a sigh of relief. “Okay, shoot. Talk to me while we walk.”

“I’d rather we kept this just between us. Let’s make small talk until we get behind a closed door.”

“Problem?”

“Let’s wait for the door.”

“Okay,” Jake said, getting the message. “So got any plans for the weekend?” Though the question was trite and even somewhat stupid, he tossed it out quickly to prevent Luke from asking about Hannah.




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