“I’m Dr. Hamilton.”
He reached out for her hand and she automatically clasped his. His palm was warm against hers. Secure. Trustworthy. Just like a doctor’s hand should be. Again, he smiled. And again, her insides went utterly haywire. The spontaneous and downright shocking feelings she was experiencing toward this man were so at odds with the opinion she’d formed of him that she felt sure her brain would short-circuit at any moment.
“Jane,” she told him, relieved that she’d even remembered her name. “Jane Dale.”
“Nice to meet you.” Then he said, “Give me a moment to look at your file and then you can tell me what I can do for you today.” He went to the counter and flipped open the manila folder he’d carried in with him.
She was happy to give him as long as he needed. The way things were going, she needed some time herself. Time to bridle these unexpected and totally confusing emotions that were wreaking havoc on her nervous system.
The giddiness was purely a feminine response to a good-looking man. That much, she knew, was completely natural. Completely controllable. But why was she angry that Greg Hamilton was handsome? She had expected him to be, hadn’t she? Pricilla wouldn’t have been caught dead with a man who didn’t have above average looks.
You’re angry because men like the good doctor here, a tiny, hurtful voice silently intoned, would never find you attractive.
That was ludicrous! She didn’t give a hoot if Greg Hamilton, or any other man for that matter, found her attractive or not.
What did anger her were the facts. This man fathered a baby and then refused to have anything to do with the child unless he could have full custody. This man had refused to help Pricilla when he certainly had the means to do so. He’d refused to support his daughter. Those were the facts. Facts that made Jane smolder like a day-old bonfire.
Stay calm, she scolded herself. If she lambasted him like she wanted to—like he deserved—he would surely refuse to help her find Pricilla and Joy.
Why would he help you, anyway? that irritating voice silently taunted. Pricilla had said early on that Dr. Hamilton wanted full custody of his daughter, or he wanted nothing to do with the child. Discovering that Pricilla had suddenly gone off with Joy just might stir in him a renewed interest in his baby girl.
Jane felt the blood drain right out of her face.
What if he decided to take Joy away from Pricilla? What if he hired a lawyer? What if he demanded his rights as the baby’s father be recognized? Her mind whirred faster than the speed of light.
Why hadn’t she thought of all these things before she’d come here? Why hadn’t she realized that she was entering enemy territory? This kind of thoughtless, irresponsible behavior was usually carried out by her sister, not level-headed Jane. But now Jane herself was being swept away by some insane recklessness.
She could be causing Pricilla trouble just by being here. Seeking him out. Jane could lose Joy for good.
That final thought caused her to tremble, literally. Perspiration prickled her forehead and upper lip. She felt light-headed. Dizzy. A frown bit deeply into her brow as she contemplated the magnitude of the mistake she’d made in coming to see Greg Hamilton. But it was too late now. Too late to get out of here without starting some kind of trouble. For Pricilla. For herself.
You can get out of this, a stern, no-nonsense voice echoed in her head. All you have to do is lie. You’ve already set it up perfectly.
In her reluctance to reveal the true purpose of her visit to anyone except Greg Hamilton himself, she had told the receptionist and the nurse she was here for a physical. All she had to do was stick with that story. This would be simple. A piece of cake, really.
She thanked her lucky stars that she and Pricilla had different fathers, hence different last names. The doctor didn’t know her. Had never met her. So there was no reason why he would link the mousy-haired woman sitting in his examining room now with the blond, blue-eyed, gorgeous bombshell that was Pricilla. The logical voice in her head made getting out of this situation unscathed sound so terribly easy.
Nervously running her tongue over her dry lips, Jane tried to make sense of these rash, chaotic thoughts.
Lying is for cheats and swindlers, another part of her brain argued.
Not all liars were bad, the stern voice stressed. Look at poets and song writers, novelists and playwrights. They fabricated stories every single day. They made up people, places, events.
But that was solely for entertainment purposes, her rational side reasoned.
No, the stern voice pointed out, it was for survival. And that’s just what you need to do right now. Survive. So you’d better lie like there’s no tomorrow.
Greg leaned his weight on one elbow, his forehead in his hand, and stared unseeingly at the medical history page in front of him. The woman’s blood pressure was fine. Her weight was perfect for her height. Yet he still continued to stare at the page.
As inconspicuously as possible, he inhaled a huge breath of air, and then expelled it slowly. When he’d entered the room and looked into Jane Dale’s face, it was as if he’d been kicked in the chest by a mule. She seemed so…haunted. He was almost positive her ailment wasn’t physical.
Her gray-blue eyes were clouded. Intense. Desperate.
It didn’t take a medical degree to clearly see that she’d had at least one sleepless night. And from the look of the dark smudges on the porcelain skin under her eyes, she hadn’t slept well for days. Something deep inside him stirred.
Instinct had urged him to reach for her, hug her to him. Give her the comfort she so obviously needed. However, that would have been behavior of the most unprofessional kind. So he’d made an excuse out of studying the few facts he had about her. Height. Weight. Blood pressure. Temperature.
Truth was, he needed to put some space between them. To get a grip on himself. His reaction to Jane Dale had taken him completely by surprise.
He was sure his new attitude about women was to blame. He’d really been shaken when Pricilla had shown up with Joy. The past week with his daughter had been hard. Oh, boy, had it ever been! But being a father had also been like having a small piece of heaven dropped right into his lap.
Yet, it was the situation—his having made Pricilla pregnant over a year and a half ago and him without a clue that it had happened—that had totally altered his thinking where women were concerned. Had he really been so callous, so careless, that he could have made a woman pregnant and not known about it? His whole outlook on life had been shattered.
He gave the woman a surreptitious glance, wondering what on earth was troubling her. Only one way to find out. Straightening his spine, he turned to face her. “So what can I do for you today?”
“A physical.”
Her answer was rushed, her tone curt, and that made Greg all the more intrigued by this delicate-looking woman.
He automatically reached for his stethoscope. “Have you been feeling okay lately?”
“Oh, yes,” she assured him. “I’m not sick or anything. But I need a physical.” Almost as an afterthought, she quickly added, “For a job.”
“Ah, so you’re starting a new job.” A little doctor-patient dialogue might help him find out something about her, something about her life-style…her troubles.
“Well…” She hesitated. “I don’t have a job yet. I’m new in town. But I plan to be working soon. I’ve got to be. To pay for a place to live. The hotel where I’m staying isn’t cheap.”
He smiled. “Welcome to Philadelphia. What type of job are you looking for?”
As he spoke, he moved toward her with the metallic diaphragm of the stethoscope outstretched. And he was taken aback when she leaned away from him.
“I just need to take a quick listen to your heart and lungs,” he explained, hoping to put her at ease.
Those huge cloud-gray eyes of hers slid away from his gaze, but she remained still while he slipped the diaphragm between the facings of her blouse and pressed it t
o her chest.
Her skin was like warm satin against his fingertips, and the lacy edge of her bra had him averting his own gaze toward the far corner of the small cubicle.
What was the matter with him? He caught glimpses of people’s underclothing all day long. Seeing a bit of lace during an examination had never flustered him before. But he was sure flustered now. In fact, he was so disconcerted by his reaction to this woman that he hoped his hands didn’t begin to shake. This was crazy!
Occupy your mind. Let routine take over.
Conversation. That’s what he needed. Get lost in some small talk.
He realized then that she hadn’t answered his question regarding what kind of job she was seeking.
“I see you as…maybe…an elementary schoolteacher?”
Jane Dale actually smiled at his out-of-the-blue guess, and her whole face was transformed by the expression. The edges of her mouth softened. Even the anxiety in her gaze seemed to relent just a little.
She was pretty. In a natural kind of way. A natural beauty. That’s how Greg would describe her.
However, rather than taking note of her looks, he knew he should be focusing on her physical health. Period.
“I do love kids,” she said wistfully. “But I’m not a teacher.”
“A photographer, then,” he suggested. “Or a bank manager. A nurse. A cement truck driver?”
“A what?” There was laughter in her voice, despite whatever turmoil was plaguing her.
Greg thought he’d never heard a more beautiful sound. “Hey, this is a new millennium. Women can do and be whatever they want.”
Her smile faltered. “Well…if you say so.”
There it was again. That haunted expression shadowing those unusual gray-blue eyes.
Pressing his fingers to either side of her long, slender throat, he felt the left and right lobes of her thyroid gland, and at the same time he wondered what it would be like to press his lips against the silky length of her neck. The thought made his heart trip in his chest.
“So what do you want to be when you grow up,” he asked, his tone unwittingly dropping to a soft murmur as he forced the sexy image of him kissing her from his mind’s eye.
“Does that really matter? What I am is a plain old waitress.”
There’s nothing plain or old about you, Jane Dale. I just wish I could get into your head. Find out what it is that’s troubling you so.
The thoughts came out of nowhere and nearly made him step back away from her. But he quelled the reaction and made yet another silent vow to keep these very inappropriate thoughts at bay.
Being a doctor often meant more than simply finding a cure for his patient’s physical ills. Often, he had to delve into a person’s psyche. Get into the mind to try to discover what worries might be harrying a person and adding to their suffering.
What was so confusing about what he was experiencing at this moment was the strange mixture of intrigue, curiosity and…attraction. Yes, attraction.
He knew very well that his confusion was caused by the change in his attitude. Ever since Pricilla showed up on his doorstep with Joy, he’d been beating himself up for taking women for granted. It was this transformation in his thinking that had him so…mesmerized. So intrigued by Jane Dale and whatever was so obviously bothering her. That’s what was behind this discombobulated reaction he was experiencing.
“I’d like to be able to say that I have a teaching certificate,” she told him. “Or that I’m certified as a nurse. Or trained as a photographer.” She sighed. “But my only claim to fame is that I’m pretty good at slinging hash.”
Jane Dale had a sense of humor. Greg grinned. He liked the woman.
He found himself murmuring, “It’s too bad you’re not a Mary Poppins type.”
She went utterly still. “I beg your pardon?”
“Oh, you know, a governess. An au pair. A nanny.” Absently, Greg reached up and rubbed his fingers over his day’s growth of beard and thought about just how badly he needed help at home with Joy. “If you had experience with children, I just might have a job for you.”
Hell, he couldn’t say why he’d make such an offer. He didn’t even know this woman. But thoughts of Joy, of the sleepless nights he’d had, of the seemingly endless piles of baby clothes waiting at home to be laundered, added with Rachel’s complaint just a few minutes ago that she was an office manager and not a baby-sitter…all these things had him speaking before he really had time to think about what he was saying. Jane was a nice woman. A healthy woman. He’d just checked that out, hadn’t he? He smiled to himself. And he liked her. Besides that, she needed a job.
“Oh? You need someone…”
He chuckled. “But, of course, being a waitress, you’re not going to be interested in changing diapers and finding ways to make a baby girl eat strained peas.”
“A-a b-baby girl?”
Greg nodded. “I have a brand-new baby.” Then he said, “Well, not brand-new. Joy is ten months old. She’s cute as a button. And best of all, she’s got my dimples.” He smiled big and pointed to his cheeks.
Okay, so he was a proud daddy. Jane Dale would just have to understand.
“Y-you need a sitter?”
“Actually, I was thinking of live-in help. Like a—” he shrugged “—a nanny. But you probably wouldn’t be interested, seeing as how your experience is in food services.”
“Wait.” Her voice sounded small, almost uncertain. “I do have experience with children. I, um, I just came from living with my sister. She’s got a baby. And I handled, well, I handled most all of the child care. When I wasn’t working at my job at the restaurant, that is.”
Greg was amazed that she would even consider his suggestion. He hadn’t really expected anything to come of the offer.
“Wow. This is great.” He moistened his lips, reality sinking in. “Could I meet her? Your sister, I mean? Or could you at least supply some kind of…” He felt like a heel for asking, but couldn’t help himself. This was his daughter they were talking about. “Um, letter of recommendation?”
“Sure.”
He watched her throat convulse with what looked like a nervous swallow. Apprehension fairly pulsed from her. A blaring hint of just how badly she must need a job.
“I’ll get my sister to write a glowing recommendation. And—and I’ll even get her to stop in the next time she’s down this way.”
She frowned and nibbled on her bottom lip, and Greg had to drag his gaze from her mouth.
“Would that be sufficient?” she asked.
Something made him pause. He was rushing into this. And maybe he shouldn’t be. But for the first time since he’d come into the room and made this woman’s acquaintance, the shadows cleared from her gaze.
He’d lifted the worry from her shoulders. That made him feel pretty darned good, even if he did say so himself.
His head bobbed and he grinned at her. “That will be great.” He shook her hand, then caught her attention with raised brows. “Do you have any qualms about starting immediately? As in, this very second?”
Chapter Two
“You did what?”
Radcliff, the older of Greg’s two partners, stared at Greg, disbelief and disapproval darkening his countenance like a storm cloud.
Greg leaned his elbows on the counter of the office’s waiting room. All the patients were gone, the staff, too, and the partners had just happened to meet up at the end of this long day.
“I hired a nanny for Joy. What’s so bad about that?”
With his brows raised high, Sloan continued to censure Greg’s actions with a small shake of his head.
Travis Westcott, Greg’s other partner, stood just behind Sloan and obviously couldn’t find the words to even respond to this surprising turn of events.
“This woman might have made a good impression on you this morning, Greg,” Sloan said. “But she’s still a stranger. You know nothing about her. And you’re trusting her to care for your baby girl.�
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Greg couldn’t tell if this last sentence was a statement or a question. And the doubt his friend tossed out affected him mightily. Maybe he had jumped into this too quickly.
The manner in which he’d become a father—so out of the blue—had Greg leaning on his buddies a great deal this past week. And Sloan and Travis had come through for him with plenty of advice and support. He respected their opinions. And it was clear that Sloan didn’t think very highly of his decision to hire Jane on the spot this morning.
“Well, I was pretty desperate for some help,” Greg said, knowing his words made him sound defensive. Why shouldn’t they? He was on the defensive. “You should have seen Joy’s eyes light up at the sight of Jane. It was like they were old friends or something. Joy took to Jane like a duck to water. It was amazing, I tell you.”
He shifted his weight onto the other foot. “I stopped in at the house unannounced today at lunch. And Jane was doing great with Joy. They were playing with blocks. Making little stacks and knocking them down in the middle of the living room floor. And Jane had already dived into that mountain of laundry. And the kitchen sink was free of dirty dishes for the first time all week. The beds were made. The toys picked up. And she’d done all this in just a couple of hours. When I get home, I just may discover that she’s given the whole apartment complex an overhaul.” His hollow laughter died quickly when his friends didn’t join in. His brow wrinkled in a pitiful frown. “Look, guys, I need the woman. I need her help. Try to understand.”
Travis and Sloan just looked at him, and Greg surrendered to the welling urge to try again to convince his friends that what he was doing was the right thing for him and his daughter.
“Look,” he said passionately, “you guys know that I was happy to take Joy from Pricilla. I want to be responsible for my actions. And I have every intention of being a good father to my daughter for the rest of my life.”
The Nanny Proposal Page 2
