Baby Before Business (Silhouette Romance)

by Susan Meier

  Sitting, she cursed her thoughts. Really. Because they came out of nowhere and they weren’t welcome. She wasn’t a teenager, envisioning herself with the town hunk. She was living with her boss to help him. And if the constant reminder that she was this man’s employee didn’t stop her fantasies, the man himself should. He had no place in a domestic daydream because he wasn’t domesticated. Plus, men who liked sophisticated women really only wanted no-strings-attached sex. He was not her type. He wasn’t anybody’s type.

  “Are you going to eat that pizza, or are you just going to sit there with your mouth open, staring at me?”

  Great! Now he was noticing her staring at him. Somehow she had to get accustomed to him so she could keep herself in line. No, that wasn’t it. What she had to do was get herself accustomed to the fact that she was living with a man who could be described as one of the sexiest guys on the face of the earth. Then she would be able to keep herself in line.

  She tried to think of other sexy men she had spent time with and four names came to mind. Unfortunately, she’d dated one of them, only worked occasionally with the other two and nursed an awful crush on the fourth. But it had been okay to like those guys because none of them were arrogant. She couldn’t deal with Ty the same way that she’d dealt with the others because Ty Bryant wasn’t like anybody she knew.

  Actually, that was both the truth and the real dilemma. Ty Bryant really was unlike anybody she’d ever met. He was handsome. He was smart. He was clearly clever to have built an empire singlehandedly. And he’d taken in a child. No matter how much Madelyn tried to downplay his caring for Sabrina by reminding herself that he was more or less forced to take the baby, she also knew he could have sent Sabrina to foster care. Of course, that really would make him an ogre—and he wasn’t.

  That was it!

  That was the problem! Ty Bryant really wasn’t an ogre as his employees thought. No matter how much he tormented her or made her mad, brief revelations of his nice side kept causing her to forget his bad side. So all she had to do was remember his bad side and she would be okay.

  Just when she drew the conclusion that she could stop her pounding heart, daydreaming and inappropriate staring simply by reminding herself of all the impolite, self-centered, arrogant things she’d seen and heard Ty Bryant do in the past few hours, he rose from his seat.

  From the way he swiped a napkin across his mouth, it appeared that he was done eating and leaving the kitchen. But when he stopped by her chair, Madelyn got her first tremor of unease. He caught her arm, hauled her up, spun her around and pressed his mouth to hers.

  Madelyn knew that if she were ever going to faint in her life, this would be the minute. His mouth attacked hers, completely disarming her. She couldn’t stop her arms from reaching up to encircle his shoulders. The sexual chemistry between them was so strong it led her, guided her, pulled her to do things without her conscious thought. But she didn’t care. The kiss was so darned good she was more than happy to let it take her anywhere it wanted to go.

  As quickly as he grabbed her, Ty let her loose and stepped back. Madelyn gazed up at him, too startled by the kiss to breathe, let alone speak.

  But Ty didn’t seem to have the same problem. “Watch yourself, Miss Maddy,” he warned. “I’m a man who sees what he wants and takes it. If you’re going to work for me, you either have to be able to accept the consequences of your subtle flirting, or you have to stop flirting.”

  “Flirting,” Madelyn sputtered, confused, aroused, angry and unable to separate her emotions long enough to know which one she should trust.

  “Yeah. Flirting. I kissed you so you would respond and wouldn’t be able to deny you’re attracted to me, so we could get this darned thing out in the open. Deal with it. If you want to play sex games, I’ll be more than happy to oblige. But I met your dad and I don’t think he’d be too happy with that. I also met your mom, and I realized you’re a lot like her. She’s got a home, a family and a very steady man for a husband. Those are probably the things you want, too. And that means I’m not the guy you should be messing with.”

  With that he left the room, and Madelyn fell to her chair again, so embarrassed her face burned.

  Chapter Three

  The next morning, Madelyn wanted to punch something. Awake most of the night with a confused baby who sobbed nonstop because she missed her parents and didn’t understand what was happening to her, Ty’s temporary nanny wasn’t in the mood to have to dress Sabrina and leave the house for bread, milk, eggs and coffee to make breakfast. She also needed to buy formula because Sabrina had only one bottle left of the batch Pete Hauser had provided. But Madelyn had to consult her mother before she made the formula purchase. Still her “boss” wasn’t answering any of her knocks on his bedroom door and, as she had discovered the night before, his kitchen was bare.

  Knowing her only recourse was to go in and physically wake him, she put her hand on the knob and almost twisted, but she suddenly realized it was very possible that he was as bare as his cupboards, sprawled across his bed like a naked Greek god.

  Her chest tightened at the thought, and memories of the way he had kissed her the night before caused heat to flood through her. But so did her acute humiliation afterward. His kiss might have been so seductive it made her forget her own name, but he hadn’t kissed her because he was attracted to her. He’d kissed her to make a point.

  There was no way in hell she was going into his room to wake him. If he as much as insinuated she’d approached him for anything other than his help with the baby, she knew she couldn’t be responsible for her actions. She’d absolutely deck him.

  Sabrina squealed.

  “Yeah, honey, we have to go out,” she told the little girl who should have been as tired as Madelyn, but seemed to have the stamina of a navy SEAL. The baby gurgled a response and Madelyn turned away from Ty’s bedroom door, determined she would never again let her attraction for that man show.

  He was soooo safe with her, Madelyn thought, dressing the baby for the trip outside. After his arrogance the night before, she doubted she was even attracted to him anymore. She didn’t like arrogant men. No smart woman did. She would happily stay so far away from him he wouldn’t even have to worry about talking to her.

  Madelyn found a spare set of keys for the SUV hanging on a bulletin board in the mudroom and twenty-three dollars casually strewn on a coffee table, probably money he’d taken from his pocket the night before. She didn’t feel she was stealing. She was stocking his damned cupboards. She certainly wasn’t using her own money. In fact, if she ever did have to spend her own money on things for the house or the baby, she was expensing it!

  After buckling Sabrina in the car seat, Madelyn drove to a nearby convenience store. She purchased the items she needed, holding Sabrina on her hip because if there was a stroller in the stack of baby items that still littered the foyer, Ty hadn’t yet put it together. She juggled the milk, eggs, bread, coffee and baby on the way to the checkout counter and had only a little more success carrying everything after the clerk put her purchases into bags. Maneuvering the baby and the bags on her left hand and arm, she opened the SUV door, then dumped the groceries on the passenger-side seat and fastened Sabrina in again.

  By the time she returned to Ty Bryant’s kitchen, she was exhausted, frazzled and not a woman to be trifled with. So, when she found Ty sitting at the kitchen table as if life were good and easy, and he said, “There you are,” as if she’d stolen his SUV, it took every ounce of her control not to throttle him.

  She sucked in a slow breath, ignoring the sizzle of attraction that zipped through her simply at the sight of him. Dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, with his hair sexily tousled and his eyes bright from sufficient sleep, he was about as good looking as a man could be. But making that observation also made her angry with herself for being attracted to a jerk who not only humiliated her the night before, but also considered that she might have stolen his car.

  “I went to the store.
” Balancing Sabrina on her hip, Madelyn set the groceries on the table.

  “Great, I’m starving.”

  “Me, too,” she said casually, making good on her promise to herself that he would never have to worry about her attraction again, though she couldn’t deny that he looked darned good. Maybe too good. His jeans and T-shirt hugged muscles his suit hid. But more than that, he didn’t have the appearance or demeanor of a man who had just awakened. His movements weren’t slow or sluggish. His eyes were sharp and focused.

  The thought that he might have been awake, in his room, ignoring her knocks, caused anger to careen through Madelyn like a runaway eighteen-wheeler. Still, she wasn’t about to do anything foolish, and yelling at him for something that couldn’t be changed would be. But she could most certainly guide his future behavior and how this household would operate from now on.

  “After you make a pot of coffee, why don’t you scramble some eggs for both of us and make toast while I feed Sabrina.”

  He peered at her as if she’d suggested he put on a dress and stand in Porter’s town square and Madelyn felt her spine stiffen and strength ooze to her limbs, as indignation prepared her for a fight. She might not do anything foolish, but she would correct him if he dared tell her no.

  “I hope that puzzled look doesn’t mean you think I should be the one doing the cooking.”

  “No,” he said slowly, prudently as far as Madelyn was concerned. “It’s just that I don’t cook. I can make the coffee but I wouldn’t guarantee an egg.”

  “Sounds like you’ve got some learning to do then.”

  Madelyn knew she had to get the heck out of the room. She was tired and short-tempered. But more than that, he was starting to look good to her again. And that simply wasn’t right.

  She pushed through the swinging door that took her to a short hall that led to the stairway. In the nursery, she fed Sabrina the last bottle in the group Pete Hauser had brought to Ty’s office, and like a miracle the little girl fell asleep. Madelyn laid her in her crib and gazed longingly at the single bed she’d slept on for about twenty minutes the night before.

  A wise woman would take her sleep time when she could, but Madelyn had to call her mother to ask about the appropriate formula for a six-month-old baby and purchase a supply before the baby awakened. Plus, she hadn’t forgotten the other end of this deal. She had to get Ty actively involved in her PR ideas while he needed her or she knew he wouldn’t do half the things required to improve his reputation.

  She left the nursery and made her way to the kitchen. Pushing through the swinging door, she found her boss making toast.

  “You don’t by any chance like your toast black?”

  “No. If you burned some, those are yours.”

  “Great,” he said, also prudently.

  He would have to be a complete idiot not to notice she was cranky. Nonetheless, she gave him points for recognizing when to back off, and she softened her tone when she said, “I came up with a few more PR things last night.” She grabbed a piece of toast on the way to the cupboard to get a mug. The coffee smelled incredibly strong, but Madelyn didn’t care. The extra caffeine would come in handy.

  Ty turned back to the toaster. “I assume Sabrina’s resting, so why don’t you take this free time to type them up. I’ll look at them when I get a chance.”

  That felt so much like a brush-off that Madelyn stopped the coffeepot midpour. “What’s wrong with hearing me out now?”

  “I have things to do this morning. I make my schedule a week in advance. Since I didn’t know I’d be getting a baby on Friday, I have tons of things that have to be done today or I’m screwed.”

  Again, Madelyn felt like she was being brushed off, but she recognized that people who ran companies the size of Ty’s typically had hellish schedules. She also knew her sour mood was coloring her judgment. But before she could comment, Ty grabbed two pieces of toast and a cup of coffee and left the kitchen without another word.

  Madelyn blew her breath out on a long sigh and rose to retrieve the receiver for the wall phone. Though, technically, he was breaking their agreement, she had things to handle for the baby. So this wasn’t the time to push him about the PR arrangement.

  “It’s me, Mom,” Madelyn said when her mother answered the phone. “I need some help. Sabrina is out of formula and there aren’t any notes or anything in the diaper bag Ty got from the lawyer who gave him the baby.”

  “How old is she?”

  “Six months.”

  Penney Gentry instructed her daughter on how to choose a temporary formula for the baby, but added, “You really should find out who her pediatrician is and call him to see what he knows about Sabrina.”

  “I haven’t even slept yet, Mom. I doubt that I have the strength to talk to her doctor. Besides it’s Saturday.”

  Madelyn’s mom didn’t say anything for a second, then she asked, “Are you okay?”

  “Just tired.”

  “How about if your dad and I get the formula and bring it to the house?”

  “How about if you do it alone?”

  Penney laughed. “Your dad is fine. He was just a bit concerned last night. Ty Bryant doesn’t have a very good reputation.”

  Ha! Didn’t Madelyn know the truth of that! She was the one charged with fixing the impression the whole town had that Ty Bryant was one of Satan’s minions. “His reputation is as a scrooge, Mom, not a philanderer. I’m safe.” She rolled her eyes. If her mother only knew how safe she was!

  “I suppose.” Penney sighed. “It’s just that when somebody isn’t nice in one way it’s not a stretch to think they’re into other things, too.”

  “Like he’s a scrooge who seduces young women?” Madelyn said, then she laughed. “Trust me, Mom. The guy’s not interested. And even if he were, we’re both too busy. Between the baby and trying to figure out how to clean up Ty’s reputation—which, by the way, even you know and you never met the guy until yesterday—I’ve got my hands full.”

  “All right. I’ll try to ditch your dad and be there in about an hour or so.”

  “Thanks. And Mom…” Madelyn wound the phone cord around her finger, not quite sure she should make her next statement since it was her job to convince people Ty Bryant wasn’t an ogre or scrooge. She drew a quick breath and plunged in anyway. “Get a receipt and use the back door.”

  Her mother laughed. “Oh, honey, your work is so cut out for you.”

  Madelyn desperately wanted to nap for the hour it would take her mom to get the formula, but the call with her mother reinforced how important it was to clean up Ty’s image. That meant she had to get her PR ideas typed up so she could get Ty involved now. But on her way to his office to get the laptop computer, Madelyn saw the foyer full of baby things.

  She sighed. It would be easier for her to have all the baby clothes, diapers and crib sheets upstairs. Plus, a mobile on the crib might soothe Sabrina back to sleep at night. Not only that, but Madelyn needed the stroller.

  She sighed again. Because getting Sabrina settled and happy would ultimately free up more time to work on the PR, she decided to take it one box at a time. She would put away the clothes, diapers and crib sheets, then install the mobile and assemble the stroller. But that was as far as she was going. Ty was the baby’s guardian. He would do the rest of this.

  Her mother hadn’t arrived after an hour of unpacking. Madelyn checked on Sabrina to make sure she was still sleeping soundly and made her way to Ty’s den for the computer. He sat at his desk, engrossed in a report. She slid the laptop from his file cabinet, expecting him to question her, but he didn’t as much as look up. He had to know she was there. Yet, he ignored her.

  Well, peachy. He didn’t want to talk to her. Big deal. She didn’t want to talk to him either. The only conversation they needed was about PR and Sabrina. She most certainly didn’t want to get accused of flirting with him again. So fine. He could be silent as much as he wanted. It worked for her.

  At the kitchen ta
ble, she typed out the notes of the PR strategies she’d come up with the night before. Another hour went by before her mother knocked on the back door.

  She jumped up and ran to answer it. But when she pulled open the door, it was her dad she faced. “Hey, Miss Maddy.”

  “Hey, Dad,” she said, struggling to keep the panic out of her voice. “Where’s Mom?”

  Her mom peeked out from behind her dad. “Here.”

  “You couldn’t convince him to stay home, could you?”

  “Now, see here, young lady. It’s my job to be concerned.”

  “I told Mom there was nothing to worry about.”

  “Give me a minute to look around and see that for myself, and I won’t be back again unless you ask me.” He stepped into the kitchen, Maddy’s mom on his heels.

  Madelyn closed the door. “Dad, it’s not like I’m staying here forever.”

  “Oh?” Maddy’s mom said, as Ron Gentry set the grocery bag containing the baby’s formula on the table and Penney slipped off her sweater, an indication she intended to stay. Madelyn almost told her not to get too cozy, but her mother said, “So, Mr. Bryant called a nanny service last night, then?”

  “No,” Madeline said. She’d been so embarrassed by him kissing her that she’d forgotten all about that.

  “Then how do you know you’re coming home soon?”

  “I’ll have him call today.”

  “Right,” her dad said, glancing around. “Where’s the baby?”

  “Sleeping.”

  Maddy’s mom glanced at her watch. “Goodness, Maddy, I hope she hasn’t been sleeping all morning after being awake all night!”

  “Actually, she has.”

  “Oh, honey, get her up right now or she’s going to have her days and nights mixed up and you’ll never get any sleep.”