Reunited by the Tycoon's Twins

by Ellie Darkins

  From temporary nanny...

  ...to forever mom!

  Unexpectedly laid off, journalist Madeleine Everleigh finds herself under billionaire Finn Holton’s roof—as nanny to his tiny twins! Maddie’s always seen her brother’s best friend as forbidden fruit and consigned him to the periphery of her life, but sharing his home makes ignoring him impossible... Maddie needs the job and Finn needs her help—what they don’t need is the simmering tension that threatens to change everything!

  “Finn...”

  He waited, in silence, to see where that sentence was going. But it seemed Madeleine either didn’t know or didn’t want to share it with him, because her voice faded out. Her eyes dropped, too. To his lips, and then back up again.

  Her lower lip slipped between her teeth and she bit down, and he knew that they were thinking the exact same thing. How would it feel to press his mouth against her lips? To feel the slide and the power of them beneath his own? To taste and to test? To press against her until they were stretched out on the grass?

  The cry of a baby behind him brought a stifled groan to life, and Maddie took a breath as she glanced over at the stroller.

  Maybe it was for the best, he considered, as he followed her gaze and saw Hart stirring.

  And maybe he was going to spend the rest of the day wondering exactly where that look might have taken them if they hadn’t been interrupted.

  Dear Reader,

  I don’t think there’s anything more adorable than a six-month-old baby. They’re all rolly and cuddly and babbling and fun—but probably not yet mobile enough to get themselves into trouble while you’re making a cup of tea.

  They’re also flipping hard work: the sleepless nights, the sterilizing, the trying to get all four of those wriggly limbs into a babygrow all at the same time, only to have to change it again ten minutes later.

  It’s gloriously intense, which seemed like the perfect backdrop for helping two people find each other. Because as long and dark as those nights pacing the corridors can be, when you’re in it with someone you care for, making someone tea and toast at four in the morning looks a lot like love.

  I hope you find as much joy in this story, these babies and this family as I did in writing it. I wish you many hours of unbroken sleep.

  Love,

  Ellie Darkins

  Reunited by the Tycoon’s Twins

  Ellie Darkins

  Ellie Darkins spent her formative years devouring romance novels, and after completing her English degree decided to make a living from her love of books. As a writer and editor, she finds her work now entails dreaming up romantic proposals, hot dates with alpha males and trips to the past with dashing heroes. When she’s not working, she can usually be found running around after her toddler, volunteering at her local library or escaping all the above with a good book and a vanilla latte.

  Books by Ellie Darkins

  Harlequin Romance

  Frozen Heart, Melting Kiss

  Bound by a Baby Bump

  Newborn on Her Doorstep

  Holiday with the Mystery Italian

  Falling for the Rebel Princess

  Conveniently Engaged to the Boss

  Surprise Baby for the Heir

  Falling Again for Her Island Fling

  Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com.

  For my girls

  Praise for

  Ellie Darkins

  “Ellie Darkins brings two polar opposites together in this divine novel, where it’s a clash of fierce emotions and beautiful, tender romance that warms your heart...engaging dialogue and skilled storytelling bring this story to life and capture your attention instantly!”

  —Goodreads on Surprise Baby for the Heir

  Contents

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  EPILOGUE

  EXCERPT FROM HER BILLIONAIRE PROTECTOR BY NINA SINGH

  CHAPTER ONE

  ‘MADELEINE, WHAT’S WRONG?’

  Finn took in the scowling face of the woman on his doorstep and tried to reconcile it with the girl he had first met more than two decades ago and hadn’t seen in more than two years. And then she let loose an impressive string of expletives and Finn’s eyes widened.

  This definitely wasn’t the girl he remembered from his teenage years, loafing around her house with her brother.

  He covered the ears of the baby he was snuggling on his shoulder, but the tirade came to an end and he breathed a sigh of relief, removed the emergency ear muffs and stepped aside so that Madeleine could follow him into the hallway of the townhouse, and then on into his apartment.

  ‘Are you okay?’ Finn asked, wondering why Madeleine Everleigh had turned up on his doorstep fuming mad.

  When his best friend Jake had talked him into letting his sister stay and help with the babies for a few weeks, he had thought that he was doing her a favour.

  ‘An idiot in a white van beeped at me,’ Madeleine said, following him into the apartment. ‘It’s nothing.’

  No doubt she had to put up with this crap all the time. He’d known Madeleine for ever, and it had not exactly been possible to ignore that she was a woman with lush curves and a beautiful face, however hard he tried.

  ‘It’s not nothing; you shouldn’t have to put up with that. I’m sorry it happened,’ Finn said, shaking his head and wishing he could take back the last few minutes. ‘Come through. I’ll put the kettle on.’

  The baby on his shoulder gave out a little squeak and Finn shushed him and bounced on the spot, only slightly frantically, hoping for just five more minutes before his son woke. He’d only been asleep for half an hour—if his routine went out then his sister’s routine went out and then the rest of the day and probably the night would be complete and utter chaos. They’d all spent the three months since his ex-wife had moved abroad trying to build a routine, but losing his nanny when they’d only just settled into one again had thrown a spanner in the works and, without help, everything was at risk of descending into madness.

  ‘Look, I appreciate it and everything but...’ She cast a look at Hart that reminded Finn of how he had looked at babies before he’d found himself the single parent of two of his own. She was not exactly ideal nanny material, but he had promised his best friend that he’d give his sister somewhere to stay and a regular wage while she was between jobs. Jake hardly ever asked for favours and after twenty years of friendship it was really the least that Finn could do.

  ‘This is Hart, by the way,’ he said, giving the baby a gentle pat on the bum. ‘Bella’s asleep too, but this one is allergic to his crib.’

  He laughed at the horrified expression on her face.

  ‘Only metaphorically,’ he reassured her. ‘I’ve tried everything but a lot of the time he’ll only sleep on me. Which is why I need the help.’

  ‘Yeah, I don’t know if Jake mentioned but I really don’t have any experience with babies. I mean, his were all older than this when he adopted them.’

  Finn smiled, and hoped it didn’t look too forced. ‘Yeah, he did mention it and it’s fine, honestly. I just need an extra pair of hands for a few weeks until I can find a permanent
nanny—I don’t want to rush into hiring someone so it’s great that you could help out at such short notice.’

  Her face tightened, and Finn could have kicked himself for causing that reaction.

  ‘Well, one of the great things about being fired,’ Madeleine said, ‘is that you can be super flexible. Really, I can recommend it...’

  He reached his free hand towards her, then let it fall, realising he didn’t know what he had been planning on doing with it. There was something about being around Madeleine that was making him feel like a kid again, and he couldn’t say that he liked it. Everything that he had said in the last five minutes had been utterly the wrong thing and he didn’t seem to be able to get off the back foot. And he’d invited her to stay, in his home, for at least a few weeks. He must be completely mad. ‘I’m sorry, Madeleine. Jake told me that they made cutbacks at the website...’

  ‘Yep.’ She folded her arms across her body, and her expression went from irritated to full on angry. ‘I don’t know why I’m surprised. I escaped the last round, but everyone knows that there’s no such thing as job security in journalism any more. I knew it was coming but it was still a shock.’

  ‘Of course it was. It’s a lot to take in. But is it too much of a cliché if I say that their loss is my gain? You’re doing me a massive favour,’ Finn said, smiling, hoping to ease her bad mood, ‘and I truly appreciate it.’

  She did smile at that, and he saw her shoulders relax a fraction. That was good; he wanted her to be comfortable here. He was hardly doing Jake a favour if his sister was so on edge the whole time that she was here that she couldn’t even get through the door without worrying about him ogling her.

  ‘You’re the one giving me a place to stay. I think you’re the one doing the favour really.’

  He didn’t remember her being so prickly when they were kids. Of course she wasn’t, back then. Nobody made it into adulthood without a major dose of reality to knock the idealism out of them. Or maybe that was just his divorce talking.

  ‘Wait until the twins are both up at three in the morning. We’ll talk then about who’s helping out who,’ he said with a wry smile. ‘Anyway, can I take your bag? Let’s go through to the kitchen—I’m desperate for caffeine—then I’ll show you your room. Do you want tea or coffee?’ he asked as he gestured for Madeleine to take a seat at the kitchen island, but she stayed standing.

  ‘You sit,’ she said. ‘You’ve got the baby.’

  He smiled. ‘I’ve barely managed a sip of water all day so I’m not going to argue with you. See, this is working out perfectly already.’ He watched as she grabbed cups from the top of the coffee machine, slotted in a pod and made a couple of espressos. He took one from her gratefully and she finally took a seat beside him.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ she said, as she drank half the coffee in one go, then let out a long sigh as she relaxed back on her stool. ‘I turned up in a bad mood and I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.’

  Finn smiled, grateful for the change in atmosphere. ‘You’ve been through a lot. It’s understandable.’

  Madeleine quirked her eyebrows in a gesture that spoke of untold cynicism. ‘None of it’s your fault, though,’ she said. ‘You’ve already been better too good to me.’

  Finn frowned. ‘Don’t say things like that. You deserve good things happening to you, Madeleine. I don’t like that someone’s made you think otherwise.’

  He held her gaze for a moment too long, feeling the atmosphere between them grow heavy, and then Hart turned his head and nuzzled into Finn’s shoulder, and he knew that they were on borrowed time.

  ‘Could you take him while I make up a bottle?’ he asked, and laughed at Madeleine’s wide-eyed reaction. He chuckled softly as he transferred the baby into her arms. ‘It’s fine,’ he said. ‘Just bounce him a bit if he starts to cry. He’s going to wake up hungry and that’s not the best time to be showing you how to make up a bottle. We’ll go through it all after.’

  ‘Um, okay, I guess?’ Madeleine said, bouncing the baby awkwardly in her arms. Finn laughed. ‘Don’t look so terrified, Madeleine. Jake said you didn’t have much experience, but he didn’t mention a mortal fear of children.’

  ‘I’m not afraid!’ Madeleine said with a flash of defiance that hit him straight in the gut. God, he liked that. But this was definitely not an appropriate thought to have about his best friend’s sister. Or about his kids’ babysitter for that matter. Temporary or not. He concentrated on the formula machine, pressing buttons and moving bottles on autopilot, until he had two bottles made up. If Hart was hungry, no doubt he would be hearing from Bella soon enough too.

  With Madeleine taking care of Hart for a second, he allowed himself a moment to lean against the worktop and feel—really feel—how tired he was. If anything was going to distract him from his completely inappropriate thoughts about Madeleine, it would be that. Most of the time he managed to keep the fatigue at bay. But since his last nanny had left a week ago, he’d barely managed a minute’s break.

  His assistant was keeping the business ticking over, with him squeezing every minute of work into the day he possibly could, but there was only so long that that could carry on. He had built that business from the ground up and he wouldn’t see it founder because he couldn’t get proper childcare in place. With everything that the business had been through recently—their move to new premises, the enormous amount of money he had had to borrow to make that happen...

  He had survived his divorce; he would survive this. But only if he stayed focused. Which was why he was so grateful that Madeleine had agreed to help him out. For the first time in weeks he could see himself actually getting back to the office some time this year, and without two babies strapped to him.

  That was what he had to remember when he was tempted to sneak a look at her. When he was tempted to think of her as anything other than his best friend’s sister or his temporary sitter. He and his business had survived the breakdown of his marriage by the skin of his teeth. They were still only surviving because he was generating enough income to service the debt that he had accrued in order to separate his and Caro’s finances fairly and equitably. His company couldn’t withstand any more disruption. His life couldn’t stand any more disruption—he wasn’t opening himself up to that again. Ever. So this sudden and inconvenient attraction to Madeleine didn’t matter in the slightest.

  He turned back to the kitchen island and smiled despite himself at the sight of Madeleine gazing thoughtfully at Hart. ‘You two getting to know each other?’ he asked, concentrating his gaze on the baby as the safest course of action.

  ‘Babies are weird. He’s a whole, real person,’ Madeleine said, a little line creasing her brow. ‘Only much, much smaller. And we don’t know who he is yet. Don’t you think that’s a little strange?’

  ‘A little,’ Finn agreed. ‘Don’t worry. Spend enough time with them and you’ll be too tired for philosophy.’

  ‘You know you’re really not selling this.’

  ‘Too late,’ he said with a laugh. ‘You’ve already agreed.’

  She rolled her eyes. ‘I could change my mind.’

  ‘And leave me in the lurch? You wouldn’t. Jake would be mad.’

  She huffed a little breath of a laugh. ‘Aren’t we a little old for threats like that?’

  He smiled. ‘Probably. Here, do you want to try him with this?’

  She took the proffered bottle from him and stroked it over Hart’s lips, then smiled down at him as he latched onto the teat, still only half awake. Madeleine beamed down at Hart, totally absorbed in watching him drink, and Finn forced down the warm feeling that was growing in his chest. It was just hormones, he told himself. It was natural to feel that when you were looking at a woman feed your baby. It was just nature. It didn’t mean anything. It definitely didn’t mean that he was interested in Madeleine because that would be more than inconvenient. It woul
d be a complete disaster.

  CHAPTER TWO

  SO...BABIES ARE OKAY, really, Madeleine thought, as she looked down at Hart drinking his milk, eyes rolling back in his head and cheeks wobbling. Yeah, babies are fine. It was the dads that were the problem. Well, one dad in particular. This one, whose eyes she could feel on her as she fed his son.

  She was used to feeling men’s eyes on her. They followed her down the road, fixed on her in lifts. Judged her from across a desk at work. They scraped on her skin from the minute she left the house until the minute she locked the door behind her at night, breathing out a huge sigh of relief as she did so.

  She felt Finn’s eyes on her occasionally since she’d arrived. Only, they didn’t scrape. They...nudged. Suggestively, enquiringly, in a way that she was actually in danger of enjoying.

  With some coffee inside her, and the baby on her knee, she could feel the tension leaching from her muscles and the rough start to her day starting to fall from her. There was something about the rhythmic sucking from the baby that held her attention absolutely. It wasn’t until the bottle was empty and Hart was sucking on air that she looked up from him to find Finn watching her.

  His eyes were fixed on her face, never wandering south, and she felt her cheeks warm.

  ‘See, you’re a natural,’ he said, taking the bottle and the baby from her and laying Hart on his shoulder.

  ‘I don’t know about that,’ Madeleine said with a shrug. ‘But I’m glad I can help out. Did your last nanny leave in a hurry? Jake didn’t tell me much...’

  Like how you found yourself a single dad in the first place, she thought.

  One minute Finn Holton had been the high-powered CEO of a company bringing ground-breaking technology to the world on a regular basis. The next he had been photographed with twin babies in a sling, and his wedding ring nowhere to be seen. The tabloids had gone understandably silly at this turn of events, but no one seemed to really know what had gone on. And she should know how hard they’d tried.