The Nanny Who Kissed Her Boss

by McMahon, Barbara

The next morning Savannah headed for Declan’s early. She planned to make omelets for breakfast and had picked up some cinnamon buns for an extra treat. Normally she didn’t like sweets with breakfast, but she had a soft spot for cinnamon buns. She hoped Declan and Jacey did, too.

  Riding the elevator, she tried to quell her anticipation of seeing Declan again. Last night had been low-key, and when she’d left for home Jacey had even asked if she’d be back. When she’d heard Savannah would bring breakfast, she’d seemed delighted. “You can teach me how to make omelets. I’ve always wanted to know.”

  Declan’s daughter was turning out to be a lot of fun. He was right in insisting she stay with him, the change in such a short time was amazing. Savannah even hoped Jacey liked her, as well.

  Knocking on the door, she was impatient for it to open. When Jacey opened it, she smiled.

  “Good morning.”

  “Did you bring the eggs?”

  Savannah held up one bag.

  “Something smells good,” Jacey said, looking at the other one.

  “Cinnamon rolls.”

  Savannah held the bag out of reach and headed for the kitchen, telling Jacey what she’d brought.

  “I want one,” the teen said, following on her crutches.

  “After the omelet. You’ll love my omelets, they are light and full of goodies.”

  “Like what?” Jacey lumbered along on her crutches.

  Savannah smiled at Declan when she entered the kitchen. He was standing by the coffeemaker, waiting for the pot to fill. “Good morning to you.” Seeing him had her catching her breath again. He looked so inviting. If Jacey weren’t around, would he have kissed her? His gaze flicked to her mouth and she felt it almost like a caress.

  If Jacey wasn’t around, however, there’d be no need for Savannah to be there.

  “I heard about the food. Maybe we should eat the buns while you’re cooking the omelets,” he suggested, eyeing the white paper bag.

  “Nice try. I want you both to appreciate my cooking expertise.”

  Jacey stood by the door. “I’m making a notebook for cooking. I’ll be right back. Don’t start without me.”

  She turned and thumped down the hall toward her bedroom.

  Declan grinned and stepped forward, sweeping Savannah into his arms, bending her back theatrically and giving her a big kiss. She clung—to avoid falling she assured herself. But for an instant, all thought fled and only the feelings his kiss engendered roiled through her. All too soon he brought her back upright and released her.

  “Wow,” Savannah said, staring at him in surprise.

  “I didn’t get a good-night kiss last night,” he said, turning and taking cups from the cupboard.

  Jacey could be heard returning.

  Savannah turned and began blindly searching for a bowl, her mind roiling. The kiss had been over too soon. Her heart pounded. She desperately hoped he couldn’t tell. It was one thing to play along, something else again to hide her true feelings.

  Breakfast was accompanied by laughter and jokes and plans for the rest of the summer. Savannah listened and joined in where she thought appropriate. She felt a hint of sadness that she wouldn’t be participating in all the activities Declan planned, like trips to the beach when the ankle was healed, a weekend in the Adirondacks. She remembered one weekend they’d spent there. Would she ever remember the past without the weight of the end of their relationship?

  While she was washing the dishes, Declan and Jacey still sat at the table, Jacey looked over at her. “Do you know where you’ll be next?”

  “I’m leaving next week for a cruise of the Norwegian fjords,” she said. She’d checked in with Stephanie at the office and been given her next assignment. The days were counting down.

  “For how long?” Declan asked.

  “Two weeks.”

  “You’ll be gone for two weeks?” Jacey repeated. “I thought you’d be around and go with us to the movies or a play or something.”

  “Your father hired me for the trip to California, not the entire summer. This is my busiest time.”

  Savannah felt oddly bereft thinking of leaving at the end of the week and not seeing Declan or Jacey again. But that was the way Vacation Nannies worked. She had a new assignment and would have another after that.

  Jacey looked perplexed. She looked at her dad. “Can’t you hire her for the rest of the summer?”

  He drew his coffee closer and looked at his daughter. “Savannah has a job to do. You and I don’t need her. We’ll manage fine on our own. Establish routines that suit us.”

  “But you could pay her to stay with me,” Jacey said.

  “I could. But she has other obligations. She’s already agreed to go with the other family to Norway. She can’t go back on her word.”

  Jacey studied her father for a moment. Declan nodded slowly, hoping Jacey would understand. He was having a hard time himself, but dared not show it.

  Jacey was quiet for a long moment, then said, “Like Mom does?”

  He didn’t know how to answer that. The truth was hard to take. “It’s different with your mother. She and I had a relationship. We were married. But we changed. The marriage didn’t last. I’m sorry that it didn’t. It wasn’t your fault.”

  “It was Mom’s fault,” Jacey said slowly. “I think she just wants your money.”

  “I’m not obligated to support her once the legal tie was severed,” Declan said slowly.

  “That doesn’t mean your dad doesn’t want to help you,” Savannah said when Jacey looked as if she were contemplating what Declan had said. “He sends money for you. If you lived with him instead of your mother, he’d still spend money on you. You’re his daughter—he’ll support you until you’re grown.”

  “And then I have to stand on my own two feet?” Jacey asked, looking at Savannah and then her father.

  He nodded. “For the most part.”

  “Even though you have oodles of money?”

  “It’s your dad who has oodles of money, not you,” Savannah said softly.

  “That’s not fair,” Jacey said.

  “How is it not fair? If you earned a lot of money, wouldn’t you want the right to choose how you spent it? Would you want to feel obligated to give it to someone else—even a close family member?” Savannah asked.

  The teen considered the situation for a few moments, then reluctantly shrugged. “I guess I’d want to have the final say in how my money was spent. But I’d want my family to be happy, too.”

  “Money doesn’t buy happiness,” Declan said, with a look at Savannah.

  “It buys a lot of stuff,” Jacey retorted.

  “More to clean, store, worry about breaking or being taken,” Savannah suggested, wiping the last of the counter and rinsing the cloth.

  “I like a lot of things,” Jacey said.

  “All the more reason to do well in school, go to college and get a good-paying job,” Declan said.

  Jacey rolled her eyes and shook her head. “You’re always saying that.”

  Declan laughed. “Is it sinking in?”

  Jacey wrinkled her nose and shrugged. “I guess.”

  There was a knock on the
door.

  “Who even knows we’re home?” he asked, rising.

  Jacey watched him walk to the door. “My mom knows,” she said slowly as her father left the kitchen.

  Savannah heard the voices and suspected Jacey was right, Margo had arrived.

  Jacey got up and clumped to the living room. Savannah followed.

  Margo Murdock was tall and thin with brown hair and a frown on her face. She had been talking with Declan, but now looked at her daughter, who was struggling to get to her mother on her crutches.

  “Oh, my poor baby. Look at you. Does it hurt?” She walked swiftly across the room and gave Jacey a hug, almost knocking her over as one of the crutches was dislodged.

  “Let her get to the sofa first, Margo,” Declan said, moving to intercept.

  “I’m going to be okay, Mom. My ankle throbs a little, but it’s not too bad.” She lumbered to the sofa and then sank down, placing the crutches on the floor.

  Margo followed and sat beside her. She brushed back her daughter’s hair. “I see you’ve changed your hair again.”

  “Yeah. I went to a spa and a complete makeover was included. It was really cool. They had massages, and did my toenails.” Jacey wiggled her toes and looked hopefully at her mother, but Margo turned away and glared at Declan.

  “She needs to come home. You need to provide a nurse so she’ll be taken care of.”

  “Mom, I’m okay.”

  “I thought you wanted her to spend the summer with me. What happened to your plans that made it impossible for Jacey to stay home with you?” Declan asked.

  Savannah stood by the table, watching the scenario unfold. She’d have been a lot more frustrated than Declan appeared to be. From all Jacey had said since she’d met her, Savannah felt Margo would propose anything if she thought she’d get more money.

  How had Declan fallen for her? Granted she was a beautiful woman, but some of that was due to cosmetics and clothes. Too bad her personality didn’t match.

  Meow, she thought. For a moment she considered leaving. But something kept her in place. Jacey was scowling. Margo looked peeved and Declan had lost that easygoing air and now looked decidedly angry.

  “Coffee anyone? I can make some,” she said, to break the tension.

  “I’ll take a cup,” Declan said.

  “I’d like a cup, as well. You remember how I like it, Declan,” Margo said, still sitting beside her daughter.

  “Black?” he asked.

  She pouted for a second and shook her head. “Cream and just a small teaspoon of sugar.”

  Declan reached Savannah and put his arm across her shoulders, urging her into the kitchen. “The more I’m around that woman, the more I want to pull my hair out. She drives me up the wall,” he said, dropping his arm when they were out of view.

  Savannah pulled down three mugs and put them on the counter, then waited for the coffee to drip into the pot.

  “You hide that so well,” she murmured.

  He gave a short laugh. “I made a mistake even talking to her last night. I wish she hadn’t come today. I can’t believe her nerve, wanting me to pay her to watch our daughter if she took a leave of absence from work. She just wants a summer off.”

  Savannah didn’t know how to respond. She was totally unimpressed with Margo Murdock. How had Declan ever thought the two of them were suited?

  Declan leaned against the counter, watching Savannah prepare the coffee mugs. “Actually I think Jacey wants to stay here this summer.”

  “Good for her. I think the two of you have recaptured some of the relationship you had before,” Savannah said, taking the full pot and pouring coffee into three mugs.

  He reached over and cupped Savannah’s chin, turning her face toward him. “I have you to thank for the change.”

  The touch of his fingers tingled through her as she watched him. His frustration rolled off him. Then he seemed to really see her and his touch softened. His thumb caressed her jaw gently.

  “I know it’s above and beyond what you usually get when hired. But I needed your help.”

  “I owe you for all the information you so freely shared in class. Vacation Nannies wouldn’t be the success we are if you hadn’t.”

  For a second Savannah thought she glimpsed disappointment.

  He dropped his hand and nodded. “Gratitude? Was that—never mind. Not that I need it. I was paid for my lectures.”

  She picked up his cup and the one prepared for Margo and handed them both to him.

  “Ready for round two?”

  She nodded. “Wait a minute.”

  Both his hands were full, but she didn’t pick up her own cup. Instead, she reached up to cradle his face in her palms and pulled his head down to kiss him on the mouth. She could feel his startled surprise. A moment later she pulled back, studying him for a moment.

  “For luck,” she said.

  “Next time give a bit of warning. I almost dropped the cups.”

  If there ever will be a next time, she thought sadly.

  Margo looked suspiciously at them both when they returned. Taking her cup, she glared at Savannah.

  “This is a family matter,” she said.

  “Savannah stays,” Declan said.

  Margo changed her gaze. “Honestly, Declan,” she said, ignoring Savannah, “how could you put Jacey at risk like that? She could have been more seriously injured.”

  “Chill, Mom, it was my own fault. And it wasn’t as if I fell off the horse. I was already on the ground, scrambling around some rocks.”

  Margo glanced at her daughter then back at Declan. “She needs someone with her.”

  He shrugged. “I’ll take more time off. Mrs. Harris will be back next week. Jacey will get a walking cast soon and be good to go—right, sweetheart?”

  “Yep,” Jacey said, grinning at her father.

  Margo fumed.

  Jacey looked at her. “Maybe Mom could see me on a weekend,” she suggested.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Declan said.

  “I don’t see why you two can’t get married again and we’d all live together!”

  Savannah saw the work of the past two weeks unraveling with the presence of Jacey’s mother. She looked at Declan and her heart went out to him. He’d tried too hard to let this happen now. Desperate for something that would help, she racked her brains. Then an idea hit.

  “I know someone who lives in the Hamptons,” she said. Looking directly at Margo, she continued, “How about if I ask if you can use their guest cottage for a week or two this summer? You’d have to work around any guests they’ve already invited, but I bet there would be a couple of weeks still available. Free, of course.”

  Margo narrowed her eyes. “Why would you do such a thing?”

  “To get you to leave,” she said frankly.

  Declan swung his gaze to Savannah in astonishment. Jacey looked at her mother and back at Savannah.

  “I can get two weeks off in August,” Margo said slowly. “That would give me time to get some new clothes, too.”

  “Mom, what about me?” Jacey asked.

  “Honey, you’re going to be incapacitated for weeks with that cas
t, most of your summer actually. You don’t want to get a tan line from midcalf up. We’ll talk on the phone. It’s obvious your father doesn’t want me around.”

  Jacey frowned. “But I do.”

  “Honey, this is your time with your father. Once fall gets here, we’ll be like we were.”

  Jacey didn’t looked convinced.

  Declan wanted to hug Savannah right then and there. Was this going to work? Would Margo just up and leave now that she had something she wanted? And how did Savannah know anyone in the Hamptons? He wouldn’t have thought Vacation Nannies moved in those circles. Unless—it had to be a former client. Someone she’d worked for before. Did she have such a good relationship that they’d do her such a huge favor? He felt a ping of jealousy. He wished he knew more about her life, more about her friends.

  Margo glanced at her watch. “Oh, dear, I need to get going. I’m only going in a bit late, not taking the day off.” When she rose, she looked at Savannah. “Jacey has my phone number. Call and let me know so I can get the time off.”

  Savannah nodded.

  Once Declan shut the door behind Margo he turned back to the room. “A stroke of genius,” he said. “Do you really have friends there who might let her use their guest cottage for two weeks?”

  She nodded. “The Hendersons. I’ll call this morning.”

  “Are they old?” Jacey asked.

  Savannah looked at her in surprise. “What does that matter?”

  “’Cause I think Mom only wants to go there so she can meet a rich husband. She’s said so the last two times she’s gone. But those have only been weekend parties and no available men were there.”

  “The Hendersons are probably a few years older than your mother. I watched their kids a couple of times. Your mother would not be part of their social network, just have use of the cottage. But she could go into town, find friends there.”

  Declan couldn’t believe Margo would be so forthright with their daughter about her desire to marry money. He didn’t want to marry again without love and the happy union his parents had had. He didn’t want Jacey to think of marriage as a way to get money or an extravagant lifestyle.