by Susan Meier
But with Danny all her rules were going out the window. Trust had been swift, easy.
Did she have any idea what she was doing with him?
What she might be doing to herself?
He left without taking Wiggles for a walk, which was fine. Maybe even good. Fresh air and sunshine might clear her head.
Dressing Rex in denim shorts, a T-shirt and his fancy tennis shoes, she told Wiggles not to panic. They would be going out soon.
With Rex ready and in the small umbrella stroller, easier for her when she was alone with the puppy and the baby, she fastened Wiggles’s leash, then they piled into the elevator.
In the lobby, the doorman said, “Good morning.”
She returned his greeting and soon they were out on the sidewalk.
The second she stepped into the sun, she felt better. With Wiggles’s leash attached to the arm of the stroller, she put on her big sunglasses—a gift she’d bought herself while shopping for her art gala dress—and headed toward the nearest park.
Rex grinned happily. Wiggles trotted along. And all things returned to normal. Her nerves stabilized. What she felt for Danny wasn’t pressing or confusing. It sat above her brain like a happy little rainbow.
She found a bench in the park, turned Rex’s stroller to face her so they could chitchat and loosened Wiggles’s leash to let him roam a bit.
“This is nice.”
Rex said, “Nice.”
“Oh, I see you’re catching on to some new words.”
“Words.”
She laughed. “You’re adorable.”
He grinned.
She took a breath and leaned back. The warm sun beat down on her, soothing her soul. The night before, Danny had said they both needed time to think this through. Not while in crazy panic mode, but the way Danny seemed to analyze things. Slowly. Deliberately.
She went back to the beginning. From the way she’d thought he was gorgeous when she’d met him to the way she’d gone to the game room the night before. Nervous, tense, he’d needed to relax. She knew she could help him.
She wanted to help him.
There were genuine feelings there. Not just attraction, but emotion. She couldn’t deny it.
Danny was obviously wealthier than her typical employers, who were usually two-income executive parents, working to get rich, not already rich. Yet, he was a normal guy. Probably because he’d been raised middle-class.
Score one for him.
But score one for her too. She’d adjusted to his lifestyle rather easily. She’d slid into his world as if she was made to be there.
And maybe she was?
They were a normal girl and guy finding love on Park Avenue.
Her fears melting like butter in the morning sun and the wonder of actually being able to have these kinds of emotions, she giggled. Rex grinned at her.
And that was another thing. She and Rex had become fast friends. He snuggled her and took to her as if he’d liked her immediately.
Second score for her. If she and Danny started something, there’d be no worry about Rex liking her.
Of course, if their romance failed, Rex would lose her.
Drat. That took away one of their points.
Wiggles pulled on the leash, yanking the stroller and Marnie bounced up. If the direction of the leash was correct, the crazy dog had gotten himself caught in a bush. She grabbed the stroller handles and headed toward the bush. Pushing the stroller around it, she said, “Hey, you crazy dog—”
She stopped dead. On the bench across the walking path was her dad. He looked older than he had the day she’d gotten the glimpse of him as he walked by her and Danny. Older and thin. As if he’d been ill. He also wore a sweater on a hot end-of-July morning.
Wiggles barked and he glanced up, over the rim of reading glasses. He set his newspaper on the bench beside him and speared her with a look. “Oh, for heaven’s sake.”
Marnie’s lungs froze. Her tongue numbed. She could only stare as he glared at her.
From out of nowhere, a young guy in a T-shirt and jeans reached into the bush, untangled the leash, then pulled Wiggles out and handed him to her.
“Here you go, ma’am.”
She might have stumbled over the word ma’am, but her frozen tongue wouldn’t work. The guy walked away, and she stared at her father.
With a heavy sigh, he folded his newspaper and rose from the bench. “If you can’t manage both a kid and a dog, you shouldn’t come to the park.”
Memories from when she’d lived with him cascaded in her brain. Being yelled at. Being criticized. Both reasons her mom drank. Every time her parents went out, somehow her mom had screwed things up. Said the wrong thing to someone important. Danced too much or not enough. Her dad would return home disappointed. Her mother had walked to the bar. Her mom might have been an alcoholic, but her dad had driven her over the edge. Even at twelve Marnie had known that.
Staring at his grouchy face, it seemed he hadn’t changed. If he had even an ounce of compassion, she’d never seen it.
Newspaper under his arm, he stormed off.
She licked her suddenly dry lips. The second time in fourteen years that he’d seen her, and he’d scolded her.
Why was she surprised?
Why did she care!
CHAPTER NINE
DANNY CAME HOME to an energetic puppy, a happy little boy and an extremely quiet nanny.
Damn. The kiss that morning might have been over-the-top. But he hadn’t been able to help himself. He was the kind of guy who went after what he wanted, and he wanted her.
He’d thought his plan to casually introduce romance was a good one. Clearly, though, he’d pushed a bit too hard. He would draw back. Give her space. After all, he wasn’t in any position to rush things. The slower they took this, the more chance she’d learn to trust him.
“Hi.” He headed back to his bedroom. “Give me two minutes to change and I’ll call to have dinner delivered.”
“I actually made something for dinner.”
He stopped halfway to the master. “You did?”
She shrugged. “Just veal cutlets.”
He ventured a few steps back. “Just veal cutlets.”
“Yeah.”
“Okay.”
Her usually bright green eyes were dull. Her voice one shade above somber.
Something was really bothering her, and the only new thing in their world was him kissing her. Still, he wasn’t sorry. If she was, all she had to do was say so. She hadn’t ever been shy about telling him anything.
But dinner was quiet. She picked at her food.
And damn it, he wanted her to like him.
He thought about it as he loaded the dishwasher. Maybe ten hours away from him had her thinking too much? Yes, he’d told her they needed to think this through, but he felt like defense counsel when they didn’t get an opportunity for rebuttal.
They needed to talk. He might not have been able to get her to open up yet, but he could, if they spent a little time together.
“Hey, how about a movie tonight?”
“A movie?”
“I’m subscribed to enough services that we’re sure to find something you’ll like.”
Her face perked up. “That would be nice.”
Okay. Good. She wasn’t averse to spending time with him. But something was wrong.
“And I swear. No kissing this time.”
She laughed, then met his gaze. “I liked the kiss.”
“I loved the kiss. But if you want to go with like, that’s fine. I’ll wear you down.”
She laughed again.
That was more like it.
They watched the movie as two friends, no kiss this time, and the next morning, she was herself again. The only thing that had changed between them was th
at they’d spent two hours together watching a movie and he hadn’t kissed her.
He all but decided to totally back off, but by Friday morning her good humor had completely returned.
Saturday morning, she suggested a couple of hours in the park and another stop at the bakery.
“Sounds great!”
Thrilled that she was happy again, he helped her pack up Wiggles and Rex. But when she turned right out of their building rather than left, he put a hand on her arm.
“Park’s that way.”
She nodded. “I know. There’s another park just up the street, though.”
“It’s not just up the street. It’s blocks up the street. By the time we stroll Rex that far, Wiggles’s bladder will have exploded.” He shifted his voice from shocked to cajoling. “Come on. I worked all week. I need bench time in the sun.”
He turned the stroller to go in their usual direction and though she sort of smiled in agreement, he noticed her stiffen. When they got to the bench, she sat cautiously.
After setting the brake on Rex’s stroller, he lowered himself beside her with a satisfied, “Ah... What a week.”
She tucked a strand of her long hair behind her ear. “Yeah.”
He might have spent three days in court, but he’d also kissed her. They’d played pool, watched a movie. Yet her, “Yeah,” was cautious.
“I mean, I love being a lawyer, helping other people unravel problems, but fighting families get to me.”
She shifted on the bench. He knew her parents were divorced and almost cursed himself for the dumb remark.
“Though, I’m beginning to think all families are crazy.”
She sniffed. He felt a little better and decided maybe he shouldn’t talk. Up until kissing her, their relationship had developed naturally. Then he’d kissed her and become an idiot.
So, no. No more forced discussions. From here on out conversations would develop naturally.
An older gentleman in a sweater walked by. He didn’t say anything, but Danny could swear he heard the man growl.
Marnie froze for a few seconds before she caught Wiggles’s leash and rose. “You know what? I’m tired. Could we go back?” Her gaze moved toward the guy, then jerked back again.
Danny glanced from her to the old man, who had taken a seat on the bench behind the bush, and this time he froze. He recognized him. At least, he thought he did.
He whispered, “Is that your dad?”
She wouldn’t look at him. “He saw Wiggles get caught in the bush the other day.” She paused, sucked in a breath. “He didn’t know who I was.”
“Is that why he growled as he walked by?”
She shrugged. “He told me if I couldn’t handle both a kid and a dog, I shouldn’t come to the park.”
Danny’s eyes widened in disbelief at the man’s rudeness. “He said that?”
“Let’s just go.”
“No. Even if he wasn’t your dad, this is a public park.” Without a thought, he charged across the path. “Did you yell at my nanny the last time she was here?”
He didn’t look up from his newspaper.
“Hey, I’m talking to you.” He shoved the paper down a bit so he could see the old man’s face. “This is a public park and my nanny is one of the best. She put herself through university and plans to start her own agency. She didn’t deserve your criticism. I’m not exactly sure why you thought you had the right to yell at her, but you didn’t.”
He turned and stormed back to the stroller, the dog and wide-eyed Marnie. He caught her arm with one hand and the stroller with the other, glad Wiggles’s leash was tied to the handle and pushed them out of the park.
When they reached the sidewalk, he let go of her, and they headed up the street as if nothing had happened.
“I’m sorry if I overstepped.”
She didn’t say anything, just looked at him, absolute shock written all over her face.
“I don’t usually have a temper.”
“That was hardly a temper. It was...a rebuttal.”
He laughed, and they walked the rest of the way to his building in complete silence. He might have laughed, but after a few seconds, he realized her voice had been somber, nowhere near happy. He expected her resignation when they stepped off the elevator. Instead, she took Rex back to the nursery. When she came out, she walked to him, slid her hand around his neck, brought his face to hers and kissed him.
Her mouth met his chastely but she’d surprised him so much that instinct took over, and he opened his lips, letting the two of them fall naturally into the emotion that both pleased and bedeviled him. Sensations washed over him. Need. Hunger.
And a link that reached into his soul and filled it with something indescribable. He didn’t have an idea in hell what was happening to him. He just knew he liked it.
She pulled away from the long, slow, erotic kiss. “Do you know how long I’ve wanted to say something like that to him?”
“Why haven’t you?”
“In my head, I’m still twelve.”
“Well, now he knows you’re not twelve anymore. That you’ve gotten a degree and intend to start a company.”
She laughed, ran her hand through her hair. “That was surreal.”
It was for him too. Not standing up for her to her dad. But feeling things so intensely they caused him to act before he thought. “Want to go back and yell at him again?”
Her laugh deepened, filled with relief and joy. “No. I’m good.” She took a quick breath. “I’m really good.” She looked around as if seeing his condo for the first time.
“You’re sure you’re okay?”
“I think I need to go see my mom.”
His breath puffed out on a sigh, but he caught it. She didn’t want to talk to him about what had happened that morning. She wanted to talk to her mom. “What?”
“I haven’t taken any time off in a while. At least no time out of the house.” She shrugged. “I think she needs to know I’ve seen my dad.”
He ran his hand along the back of his neck. “Yeah. Okay. I get that.”
She nodded and ran back to her room. In seconds, she reappeared. Still in the yoga pants and T-shirt, what he considered her nanny attire, but holding her purse with one hand as she slid her big sunglasses on with the other.
“See you.”
He said, “Yeah. See you,” and watched her leave. But the strangest feeling passed through him. All the wicked suspicions that had overwhelmed him the first time she’d seen her dad in the park and told him—even though they didn’t know each other.
Part of him understood that Marnie would want to talk to her mom about seeing her dad. But once again, it suddenly all seemed incredibly coincidental.
Could she have really “accidentally” gotten a job close to where her dad lived?
And was it really an accident that she kept running into him?
He shook his head. Was he crazy? He and Marnie were like two peas in a pod—
They meshed. Like she was made for him—
Why did that suddenly strike him as odd, too?
Why did it sound an alarm bell?
The memory of Marnie telling him she’d seen her dad the first time came back like a scene from a movie.
She’d been so open about it. Up-front. But had she needed to tell him? At that point they’d only known each other a day—
Then she’d seen her dad again that week and today on their walk. Rather coincidental.
Sure, weeks had gone by. And, yes, her wealthy father could live on Park Avenue. But what if she’d known? What if she’d wanted to edge her way into her dad’s life? What better way than to work near where he lived?
And what better thing than to have a smitten employer approach him, tell him things, pave the way, so she didn’t have to?
Then s
he thanks him with a kiss and races off to report to her mom? Maybe to make plans of some sort to extort money—
He dropped his head to his hands.
Damn.
Had he just been conned?
Or had being Mark Hinton’s son officially made him crazy?
As crazy as his father, who always said money ruined trust?
Always.
CHAPTER TEN
“OF COURSE, YOU’RE SUSPICIOUS.” Danny’s sister Leni sat on the paisley chair across from the sofa where Danny sat. “You’re a newly rich guy who didn’t merely discover he was adopted. Your biological dad also may or may not have faked his death after poking into your life enough to discover you had a son, who you are now raising alone. In a few months, you went from a middle-class single guy to a wealthy dad. And a very eligible bachelor.”
Danny sat back. Leni had called him right after Marnie left, said she had cookies for Rex and was in the lobby.
Befuddled, he’d let her up. Still, he’d forced himself to behave normally through making coffee, happily taking one of the cookies she’d brought for him and Rex and even making initial chitchat.
But when she’d asked about Marnie, he couldn’t quite fake it. He’d shaken his head, as his fears had spilled out of his mouth. “I’d been suspicious that first walk in the park when she casually told me—a virtual stranger—that she’d seen her dad—the dad who abandoned her and her mom. So why the hell hadn’t I listened to myself?” He squeezed his eyes shut, then popped them open again. “I think I’ve snapped.”
“Or...” Petite Leni with her long brown hair and big eyes filled with wisdom, leaned forward on the paisley chair. “You could give yourself the benefit of the doubt. A lot of things that happened with Marnie do seem coincidental.”
“I thought we were soul mates or something because we’d been able to talk so easily, when the whole time she might have been setting me up.”
“So what if she’d found her dad before she’d gotten the job with you? So what if she’s taking this opportunity to meet him or get to know him? Does that really impact how she cares for Rex?”
