The Nanny's Plan

by Donna Clayton

  “My life is right for me, Amy. In fact, it’s perfect for me.”

  Oh, Lord, she had made him angry. That hadn’t been her intention at all.

  “Please, Pierce, just listen to me. I’m not suggesting this to annoy you. I only want you to be happy. And I’ve seen you with Benjamin and Jeremiah. You love those kids.”

  Agitation caused a tiny muscle near his temple to twitch. His eyes narrowed.

  “Of course I love those boys. They’re my sister’s children. They’re precious. A blessing in my life. But that doesn’t mean that I should go out and get married and raise children of my own. I’m not cut out to be a father.”

  The words seemed to slice and cut at him as he voiced them. He didn’t like the situation he found himself in, that was clear to Amy, even if he hadn’t recognized it.

  “You have to trust me on this.”

  Those words reminded her of how much she did trust him now, and how that trust had been cultivated. Heat flooded her, filling her with thankfulness. She would make him understand. Even if she had to spend the whole night explaining it to him.

  “And you have to trust me,” she gently insisted.

  At that, the anger seemed to drain from him. He reclined against the cushioned back of the couch and simply waited for her to expound. She had no intention of disappointing him.

  “You told me that your father never spent time with you. That he never gave you the attention he should have. That he never attended a single ball game.” She let her tongue skitter across her lips. “Well, I’ve seen you playing ball with your nephews. Swimming with them. Racing around the yard with them. Making up silly games with them. And you enjoyed it.

  “If you had that much fun with Benjamin and Jeremiah, how much more would you enjoy spending time with your own children?”

  Evidently the question made him uncomfortable, for he trained his eyes on the far side of the room.

  “Pierce.”

  She stopped, determined that he would look at her as she spoke. What she had to tell him was that important, in her opinion. Only when his gaze was once again leveled on hers did she continue.

  “You made time for those boys—and continue to make time. You talk to them. More important, you listen to them. You let them know that they’re loved. That they’re appreciated. And you do all those things not because you have to, but because you want to. It’s what you feel. It’s what you know they need. Just think how magnified all of this would be if you were their dad rather than their uncle.”

  He seemed to be holding his breath.

  “I understand you’re worried about your ability to sustain this kind of behavior,” she quietly told him. “But I think the answer is simple. It’s all about balance. A person balances their work life and their family life. You’re doing a wonderful job of that with Benjamin and Jeremiah. And I think it would be very easy for you to maintain it…were you to have a family of your own.”

  Silence fell between them like a light dusting of fine sand.

  He toyed with his chin between his thumb and index finger. Finally he lowered his hand into his lap.

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  Amy smiled. “Don’t say anything. All I ask is that you think about what I’ve said.” She sighed, feeling suddenly exhausted. “Just…think.”

  And that’s exactly what he was doing. However, that was exactly what she was doing, too.

  Would he even perceive her as someone he wanted to listen to?

  Perception was everything. Hadn’t she learned that lesson all too well?

  He didn’t know who or what she was. He didn’t know the truth. He respected her. He saw her as competent. Knowledgeable. Hadn’t he said as much? She’d fooled him well.

  And because she had done such a thorough job of it, he would take note of all she’d said. He would heed her advice. And who knew? The gift she’d given him tonight might very well change his thinking…his view of himself…his opinion of love and family.

  What she’d said—her gift—might very well change his whole life.

  Chapter Nine

  Pierce studied the final flat of plants, carefully recording in the data book the number of buds on each stem. Just as he’d hypothesized, the quantity of buds had doubled with this group of plantings. The flowers in this flat of plants were within days of blooming. The lab would fill once again with that very special fragrance that couldn’t be duplicated, even by the best perfume experts in Provence.

  His grin went wide at the thought and he reclined in the chair. His experiments were working, and the method he’d developed to get to this point would make him a wealthy man.

  Your father would be proud. Those words scuttled through his thoughts like scampering mice.

  Maybe his father would be proud, Pierce thought. But what mattered to him even more, he realized, was the satisfaction of knowing he was making a name for himself in the world of plant science. Contentment warmed him and he basked in this feeling of accomplishment.

  The news that he’d actually invented a flower with a unique aroma had made him ecstatic. The fact that Amy had been the person to deliver the news via her halting French had made the moment extra special.

  He closed the data book, tucked his pen neatly into his shirt pocket and then returned the plants to the environmentally controlled chamber with the other foliage in varying stages of growth.

  The kiss he and Amy had shared three nights ago had shaken him to the very core. Passion had ensnared them both in its hot grip. He’d surmised that both of them could easily have lost complete control.

  However, his respect for Amy—for the life goals that were all-important to her—had won out in the end, and he’d resisted the spell that had so thoroughly swept them up.

  But, oh, what succulent moments those had been. Holding her, touching her, tasting her. The experience had been one he would never forget.

  Continuing to savor those memories, he spent a few minutes clearing off his desktop. The smile was still on his mouth when he flipped off the lights in the laboratory, locked the door and started across the yard toward the house.

  Fluffy clouds floated in a sky that was an amazing azure-blue, and Pierce slowed his steps in order to appreciate the sight. The water of the bay reflected the sun’s rays, sparkling like a million diamond chips on a backdrop of blue-green velvet.

  He wondered what the boys had been up to today. What stories would they have to share over dinner? Then he thought of Amy’s beautiful face, and his smile hitched a notch.

  Pierce’s steps came to a complete halt as he became cognizant of his behavior. He had ended his workday while the sun was still well above the horizon. He’d unconsciously straightened up his work space and locked up his lab in time to have dinner with his nephews and Amy.

  And he’d been doing it for quite a while now.

  You’re less like your father than you perceive.

  Amy had pulled no punches with him when she’d made the proclamation. She’d made quite an argument to back up the statement, as well. She’d pointed out that he’d enjoyed spending time with Benjamin and Jeremiah.

  The hint of accusation in her tone when she’d spoken those words had him chuckling under his breath, even now.

  She’d been absolutely right, of course. Interacting with the boys continued to be a pure delight for him. In the past, he’d seen Benjamin and Jeremiah when he’d had dinner with his sister and her family about once a month, or on birthdays and holidays. But with the children living under his roof, he had enjoyed a true taste of what it might be like to have a family of his own.

  As Amy had suggested, if he loved his nephews enough to inadvertently change his work schedule in order to be with them, how much more would he be willing to do for children of his own?

  He stood on the grass, staring out at the Delaware Bay, dumbfounded as he realized that his comparison between himself and his father was collapsing like a sand castle at high tide.

  Amy’s calm and compa
ssionate gaze swam in his head. He wanted to see her, couldn’t wait to tell her that he now believed she’d been right. He was less like his father than he’d imagined himself to be.

  Benjamin and Jeremiah’s stay had helped him to understand that. However, he was wise enough to realize that the boys hadn’t been the only reason for his coming to this conclusion.

  Smoothing his hand across the back of his neck, Pierce couldn’t help but admit that Amy, and his desire to be with her, had somehow been an even bigger motivating factor in this surprising revelation.

  His gaze was on her again, Amy didn’t have to look across the dinner table to know it. She felt it. The heat of his stare was as intense as a laser beam.

  For the past few days the air between them had been light and breezy. Fun. They had laughed and talked together, had indulged themselves in this new and easy camaraderie. However, something had happened to him. Something had changed. She’d sensed it the very second he’d walked through the door late this afternoon.

  His handsome face had been taut, his gaze containing something powerful yet inscrutable. At first she’d thought he was having some kind of problem in the lab. But she’d asked him how his day had gone and he’d told her all was fine with his work.

  The manner in which he’d focused that formidable energy on her led her to the quick realization that whatever had happened to him in some way involved her.

  Attempting to act as normally as possible, she’d rummaged around the kitchen, slicing the pork loin, dishing up the vegetables and setting the table. Finally she’d called the boys to eat. But as the meal progressed, she’d caught the distinct impression that the pressure beneath the crust of that all-too-passionate volcano they’d experienced just a few evenings ago was once again building, and that frightened the devil out of her.

  She had barely survived the erotic moments she’d spent in Pierce’s arms the night she had translated the letter for him. His kiss had erased all of her inhibitions, had obliterated every vestige of her self-control. She’d forgotten all about her dreams and desires.

  No, she decided, those sensuous moments had nothing whatsoever to do with her forgetting her desires. Those had been ignited by the mere nearness of him.

  Had Pierce not severed contact between them, had he not saved her by pulling away from her, who knew where they might have ended up. In bed? Or would her need have caused her to surrender herself right there on the plush carpet in his study?

  Heat rushed to her cheeks like tiny twin blazes at the thought.

  “What are you guys doing tonight?”

  She looked over at Jeremiah, puzzled by the wording of his question. “Us guys?”

  The boy nodded, picking up a green bean with his fingers.

  “Use your fork,” she gently scolded him.

  He picked up the utensil and speared the bean. It hovered near his mouth as he said, “I meant you and Uncle Pierce.”

  Amy’s gaze moved to Pierce, and his minute shrug told her he was as bewildered as she.

  “We’re going to spend the evening with you,” Pierce said, looking from one of his nephews to the other. “Isn’t that the normal routine?”

  That’s when Benjamin spoke up. “Me and Jeremiah were talkin’ today. And we have an awesome idea.”

  As jittery as Pierce had made Amy, she was helpless against the grin that crept over her lips. Young Benjamin looked like a tiny version of an experienced attorney who was about to announce some great bombshell that would clinch a hard-fought defense case.

  “We realized,” Benjamin continued, “that we haven’t had a kids’ night since Mommy and Daddy left.”

  “A kids’ night?” Pierce absently wiped the tips of his fingers on his linen napkin.

  Jeremiah nodded, but was too busy chewing to explain. His brother eagerly piped up. “Kids’ night is when the kids get to take over the TV. We bring our sleeping bags down from upstairs. We pick out three or four of our favorite movies—”

  “Three or four movies?” Amy tried to keep the disapproval from her voice, but she was sure she’d failed. “Why, that means you’ll be up—”

  “Really late!” Jeremiah supplied, his round gaze conveying his excitement over the prospect.

  Benjamin wasn’t the least put off by her interruption. “Yeah, and we get to have lots of stuff to eat. Chips. Pretzels. Nachos. Soda.”

  “And popcorn,” his brother added.

  Amy didn’t like the sound of this at all. “But you’ve just had dinner.”

  Jeremiah groaned. “Amy, kids’ night just wouldn’t be the same without junk food.”

  She looked across the table at Pierce, hoping for some support with this outrageous suggestion. Her imagination ran rampant with thoughts of bellyaches in the night and grumpy children in the morning. However, Pierce’s attention was firmly on the boys.

  “What are Amy and I supposed to do for the evening?” he queried.

  The twins offered him identical shrugs.

  “You could play cards,” Jeremiah suggested. “Or you could borrow our new jigsaw puzzle.”

  Benjamin reached for his milk. “Mommy and Daddy never had a problem finding some way to keep busy in their room.”

  That’s when Pierce chose to lift his gaze to her face, his eyes sparking with a naughty light. “I’m sure they didn’t,” he said, his voice low, bordering on sultry.

  Giddiness tickled Amy’s stomach.

  Without hesitation Benjamin added, “They were pretty good at keeping out of our way on kids’ night.” He swiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. “I think they played board games up in their bedroom.”

  Impishness shone in Pierce’s green gaze as he stared at her from across the table.

  She slid her chair back and stood up. “Pierce, could I see you in the kitchen a minute? You can help me carry in the apple pie.”

  “But I’m not finished with dinner yet,” Jeremiah said. “This is good, so don’t rush me.”

  She chuckled. “Well, thank you for the nice compliment. We’ll be right back. You just continue enjoying your dinner. You, too, Benjamin, okay?”

  The boys nodded and tucked in. Pierce set his napkin beside his dinner plate and followed her from the room.

  “Can you believe my sister?” he asked as they entered the kitchen. “She wants a little whoopee time with her husband and she cons her children into believing they’re getting some great deal with a night of videos and junk food. She even christens the event with a special name.” He snickered. “Kids’ night, indeed. Just wait until Cynthia gets home. I am going to tease her something fierce.”

  Amy closed the refrigerator door and set the pie on the countertop.

  “Pierce, I’m not so sure the boys should be staying up until all hours of the night.”

  “Oh, what can it hurt?”

  “But they have a bedtime,” she pointed out. “You know that. And we’ve both been very strict with them about following it.”

  He lifted one shoulder. “From what the boys were saying in there, their own parents aren’t all that strict about bedtime. Not on kids’ night, anyway.” Suddenly he couldn’t contain his mirth. “In fact, sounds to me as if my sister lets her children have the run of the house anytime she and John want to—” he waggled his eyebrows “—you know what.”

  Heat tinged her cheeks pink. She turned to the cabinet and took down dessert plates. When she twisted around, Pierce was so close that he startled her. He took the plates from her, his fingers brushing hers.

  “Honestly, Amy,” he said, “I can’t see why the boys shouldn’t have a special night.”

  “But chips and pretzels and nachos? All that junk is enough to choke a horse. They’ll be sick.”

  “Don’t forget the popcorn.”

  “I’m serious here.”

  He smiled as he set the plates on the counter next to the pie. “I’m serious, too. They’ll be just fine.”

  Although he hadn’t moved an inch that she could tell, it felt as if
he’d drawn closer to her. The air between them became dense, sultry.

  “Like you said, they’re used to going to bed early.”

  Although he was sticking to the topic, Amy sensed that his mood was shifting back into the sensual mode she couldn’t help but notice when he’d stared at her across the dinner table just a moment or two ago.

  “They’ll be asleep before the second movie is half over.”

  She sighed in an attempt to hide the jitteriness that had suddenly developed low in her belly. “Okay. I guess it’ll be all right.”

  The smile that raided his sexy lips was languorous, lingering, and the shiver that coursed down her spine at the sight of it made her want to arch her back. Instead she crossed her arms over her chest and grasped her forearms firmly.

  Her body language shouted at him to move away, to give her some space.

  It seemed, however, that he was playing deaf to her silent messages.

  He edged toward her. Not much. Just a fraction of an inch. But it was enough to cause her chest to grow tight. She went all woozy.

  “The real question is,” he whispered, “what are you and I going to do to keep ourselves busy?”

  His mouth looked so inviting. And those green eyes of his had never appeared more enticing than they did right now…darkened by yearning.

  For her.

  He lifted his hand, ran his fingertips down the length of her jaw, his touch as light as a sigh.

  A fit of nervousness had her throat undulating with a swallow.

  “Pierce.”

  She had hoped to put warning in her tone, but all she heard was a single, singsong note that was so muted she worried that he wouldn’t even be aware that she’d spoken.

  “Oh,” he crooned, “I know we’re not supposed to be doing this.” He tugged at her earlobe and murmured, “Why is it that forbidden fruit is always the sweetest?”

  Her fortitude began to dissolve, like chips of ice on a hot summer’s day. And when he traced the outer rim of her ear with the pad of his finger, she closed her eyes and focused every nuance of her attention on keeping her legs from buckling beneath her.