Nicki didn’t have time to consider the telling statement because he led her inside through the back door and immediately steered her into the family room. She gaped up at the cathedral ceiling, and the second-floor balcony. Dwarfed by the proportions, she offhandedly guessed this one room was larger than her mother’s entire town house.
“My folks built this house, and the floor plan’s a little dated, a little cut up. But the kitchen’s through the butler’s pantry, in there,” he said. “Help yourself.”
Nicki followed the direction he indicated. She waved off his suggestion, figuring she’d get lost if she tried to negotiate one more room.
“Suit yourself,” he said, peeling off his overcoat to throw it over the back of a chair. He hit the light switch, illuminating the fireplace. “Make yourself comfortable, I’ll only be a minute.”
She nodded, “Thank you.”
He took a couple of steps, then paused, fiddling with his cuff links to remove them.
Nicki glanced over at him, transfixed. There was something about a man and his cuff links…the way his fingers worked at removing them, the way he turned back the cuffs, covering the thick bones of his wrists and exposing the dark hairs across the backs of his hands. She looked up, startled to realize he’d caught her watching. An odd, almost bemused expression shadowed his gaze. He slipped the cuff links into his pants’ pocket.
“If you’re still cold, I’ve got an afghan.” He pulled a chenille throw off the leather couch.
Nicki rubbed her arms and tried to protest that she’d be fine, but for an instant she was afraid this unexpected chill of awareness didn’t have a thing to do with the cold. She was acutely conscious she was in his home, alone, with him. The man-woman thing wrought unexpected havoc with her senses.
He shook open the throw for her. “Here. I can see you don’t know how to dress for the weather.” Instead of offering it to her, he moved behind her to slide the afghan over her shoulders.
Heat seeped through the afghan, in all the places his hands had touched. Her heart yammered.
“Actually,” she said, accepting the ends from him, “these are my Florida clothes.”
“Florida?”
“Oh, long story,” she said dismissively, pulling the afghan tighter around her. “And not a particularly interesting one, not when you’re already late.”
He backed away, never taking his eyes off her. “I’ll just be a few minutes. As I said, make yourself comfortable.”
Nicki nodded and turned back into the room. She could hear his distinctive tread behind her on the carpet. When she knew he was out of the room, she walked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows, and tried to not shiver. Garden lights illuminated a winding path off the deck. At the end of the path was a gazebo where a huge Christmas tree glittered beneath a veil of carefully spaced colored lights.
It was obvious that everything had been professionally decorated. She chuckled, in spite of herself, wondering how it must be to be Jared Gillette and have everyone provide you with a Christmas.
Turning from the window, she nearly bumped into the grand piano.
“Wow…” she whispered, trailing a hand over the gold ribbon and greenery on the top. Interspersed in the arrangement were framed photos of a wide-eyed cherub with a pouty mouth, a flirtatious brow, and a riot of long, blond hair. Nicki reached over to carefully extract a photo. This child was a darling…and she’d seen her fair share of kids the past few weeks.
She didn’t think Jared was married. Maybe a niece? Cousin? Family friend, or godchild?
Carefully placing the photo back, she strolled to the other side of the room and tarried at the fireplace mantel. Black-and-white snapshots of a younger Jared and his friends scattered the length. All were framed, many were inscribed.
She sniffed. Obviously there was a different side of Jared Gillette than she was familiar with. These snapshots made the man actually seem human.
She was about to turn away when something caught her eye. A tiny pair of baby shoes, obviously worn, the white leather creased, the toes scuffed and the laces a bit dirty. She couldn’t help it, she picked up one shoe and found an inscription in black felt-tip marker on the sole. J.G.’s 1st pair of shoes.
Jared Gillette was actually this little once? He hadn’t always been a larger-than-life tyrant?
Smiling to herself, Nicki straightened the loops on one of the bows and carefully set the shoe aside. She wandered further down the mantel and discovered a grass-stained baseball encased in a plastic cover. 1st Home Run, Little League, Jared G., Age 11. Next to it, a wooden car along with a tiny plastic trophy, also housed in a plastic case, were identified with a gold plate. 1st Place, Pinewood Derby, Winter Park Cub Scout Pack #47. Further along, there was a brown-speckled rock, an autographed Indiana University baseball schedule, and a silver baby spoon.
Nicki stood back, surveying the collection of odds and ends. Jared Gillette, she thought, this is your life. You may be a hard-nosed businessman, but you definitely have another, much more curious, dimension.
Next to the mantel were two exquisitely framed water-colors. She stood for a moment, studying them.
“Like them?” Jared asked, coming up behind her. “This was my mom’s retreat and she had only her favorite family things in here. I keep telling myself I should dump the personal stuff and stick to only a few good pieces of art.”
Nicki whirled, ashamed to be caught looking. “They’re…” The words died in her throat. The image he presented took her breath away. He was wearing a midnight-black tuxedo. He’d replaced the scarlet business tie with a crisp, formal black bow tie. His pleated dress shirt sported black studs for buttons and there were heavy gold links at his shirt cuffs. He fiddled with one link, adjusting it beneath his jacket sleeve.
Then he caught her glance and lifted a brow, offering her a mind-bending smile. “Yes?”
“The watercolors are beautiful,” she said, fighting to keep her composure. “Keep them.”
His laugh was short, brittle. “Funny. I thought you were going to say something else.”
She hesitated. “I was. Seeing you dressed up like that, reminded me of only one thing. A grinch in a penguin suit.”
His brows lifted in surprise, then he threw back his head and laughed, not the least bit irked at her audacity.
Nicki caved in and actually felt herself smiling. Then she chuckled, her laughter mingling with his in the cavernous room. She slipped the afghan from her shoulders and started to fold it, even as she shook her head, marveling at what had just transpired. “Okay. That’s good. For both of us,” she admitted, replacing the afghan on the back of the leather couch. “A little laugh at the end of a bad day. We may never be business associates, but at least we can laugh about our differences. And by the way, I’m sorry for that crack I made about not working for you if you were the last man on earth. It’s bothered me that I said that. I overreacted, and I know it.”
Jared’s laughter faded and he grew silent. His gaze settled on the top of her windblown hair, then ricocheted between her dimples. The woman had an uncanny knack for amusing him. She was bright, articulate, and remarkably attractive. On top of that, she was sincere.
“Nicki Holliday…you are the most—” The phone rang, interrupting him. He blinked. “Give me a minute…”
He picked up the phone and never had time to offer up the customary “Hello?” Sandra, his ex-wife, launched into her spiel. Even from four steps away, he guessed Nicki could hear her demanding voice. He turned his back. “Sandra…of course, I’ll take her….” While his ex-wife rambled on, Jared was vaguely conscious that Nicki had discreetly moved to the other side of the room. “Then we better do something about joint custody,” he said.
Could he actually turn this around to his advantage? He’d been waiting a long time—and patience had never been his virtue. His lawyer had predicted this day would come…. But Jared could already see through the ruse: his ex-wife was throwing up a smokescreen to get him to up the an
te.
Pulling the phone away from his ear, he made a snap decision. He didn’t care what it cost, he wanted his child back.
Snagging a deep breath, he wedged the phone back against his ear, to endure Sandra’s screeching. “Madison doesn’t like Howie, and they pick on each other like a couple of little kids—”
“Fine. I’ll have my lawyer contact yours tomorrow.”
“But you’re still single, Jared, and you spend all your time at that stupid store. Madison needs a real home, a feminine influence. I know you, you’ll just dump her and forget her. She needs a woman around.”
Jared’s eye fell on Nicki, and suddenly the most outrageous idea struck him. Hell, he could bend the truth a little; his ex-wife had been doing it for the past ten years. “Actually, Sandra, I’m currently involved in a very serious relationship. She’s here right now. But…look…don’t say anything to Madison, will you? I’ll tell her when the time is right.”
He was met with dead silence on the other end of the line. Finally, “You?” Sandra accused. “And another woman?”
“Not with just anyone,” he said, thinking of Nicki in a Santa suit. “This is someone who cares. Someone who loves kids. She’s a nice woman. You’d like her.”
“Well, I…”
“Sandra, look…we’ll settle this.”
“I don’t care when it’s settled,” Sandra hissed. “Because I’m sending Madison out to you. Whether you like it or not.”
“I’ll arrange for her airline ticket,” Jared said smoothly, aware Sandra didn’t spend one cent of the child support he sent her on Maddy. She spent it all on herself.
When Jared finally dropped the phone back into the cradle, disbelief washed through him. After all these years he was getting his child back. Even if it was only part-time—for now.
Across the room, Nicki, silhouetted against a wall of windows, half turned in his direction. She frowned, concern written on her features. “Everything okay?” she asked.
“Never better,” he assured. He paused for a moment and straightened his jacket before moving toward Nicki. He had to make a decision and he had to make it quickly. “Would it be easier,” he asked bluntly, “for you to walk away from the Santa job, if I offered you a Santa-like job?”
She stared at him. “Are you serious?”
“Absolutely. You’d work here. In my home. With a pay raise substantially more than anything an elf could ever possibly make. I’d certainly match the Santa pay, and probably throw in a little extra. Actually, a lot extra.”
Surprise turned to suspicion. “Doing what?”
“Taking care of the most precocious little girl in the whole world.”
“Who?” she asked, frowning.
“My daughter. Madison.”
Nicki stalled, visibly weighing the implications. “Jared…” she said carefully, “you don’t even know me.”
“I know enough to know you’d be perfect for the job,” he stated. “And I need somebody right away. There’re twenty-nine days until Christmas, and this is not the ideal time for me to find a nanny.” He strode over to the baby grand and plucked the most whimsical portrait out of the display. He extended it to her. “Nicki, meet my daughter Madison. My ex, after two years, has decided she’s had enough. She’s giving me joint custody—and it’s the best Christmas present I could have asked for.” Jared unconsciously reached for her upper arm, persuasively squeezing it. “Nicki, think about this. You need a job, I need the help. Come on. Let’s make a deal.”
Chapter Three
Nicki agreed to talk about it on the way home. But in the car, she waffled. She liked Jared—almost more than she should. Yet she knew how he was when it came to business, how would he be when it came to family?
“You’re perfect for the job, Nicki. I read your personnel file. You’re a whiz with the kids. There were a dozen parents who called the store complimenting you.”
“Seeing a child for five minutes is a lot different than being a full-time baby-sitter.”
“You’ve got the imagination to handle it.”
“But there would be a lot involved—”
“Only Madison. Irene has been my housekeeper for years. She cooks, she cleans, she even does the laundry. She runs my place with an iron hand.”
“Oh, good,” Nicki said dryly. “Then I’d get to put up with two of you.”
Jared’s sensuous mouth twitched, but he stared straight ahead at the road. “Irene is efficient, she’s not an ogre.”
Nicki worried the strap of her purse, debating. “I don’t know…your hours for the next few weeks will be long.”
“That’s why I need someone reliable. I don’t have a lot of time to invest, and I have to make this work.”
“It’s going to be an adjustment for Madison. Especially if you aren’t going to be home very much. Maybe you should hire someone more experienced, more…” She lifted both shoulders, at a loss for words.
“Nicki, I’ve seen nothing but praise where you’re concerned. Your background check has already been done for the Santa Claus job, so I know nothing criminal or unsavory is lurking in your past. Reliable help is hard to find, and I need someone right away—someone I can trust.”
“But why does it have to be me?” she nearly wailed.
He stopped at a traffic light, tapping his fingers impatiently against the steering wheel. “Aside from all the other reasons, you convinced me you believe in Christmas. This year I have to make it special. I want someone who can make my house smell like gingerbread and who can pick out and wrap the perfect presents for a five-year-old. Come on…” He wheedled. “I know you’ve got the inside track on that one.”
Nicki’s head fell back against the headrest. “Sunny, the power print doll, and Curious Kendall, the electronic board game,” she intoned.
“See?” he said, depressing the accelerator, “I haven’t spent enough time with Madison in the last few years to know those things. I need someone—maybe a Saint ‘Nick’—to make us a family again.”
Nicki rolled her head over, to study Jared’s silhouette and ponder this new predicament. “You aren’t playing fair,” she said. “You’re using my arguments against me.”
If he only knew what he was doing to her. She had been dreading Christmas, maybe that was why she had been giving her all at work. Without her mom, she was alone—and what Nicki wanted more than anything was a family.
But Jared Gillette wasn’t offering her that, she sternly reminded herself. He was offering her the opportunity to be hired help to his family.
“The thing is, I’d still have transportation problems,” she said.
Jared’s response was lightning-quick. “Not if you move in.”
Nicki’s jaw dropped.
“I have seven bedrooms and six baths. I think we could find you something comfortable. Maybe the guest room,” he said thoughtfully, “it has a sitting room and an efficiency kitchen.”
“Oh, why are you doing this to me,” she moaned.
“What?”
Grimacing, Nicki tried to dredge up one more argument. There weren’t any; there were only positives to this arrangement. Her mom always said things happened for a reason. Maybe this was a time to remember and to embrace mom’s sage old advice.
“My mom’s lease is up at the end of January, and I’d been trying to find something—” she hesitated, ashamed to admit her dire predicament “—less expensive. But if you think that we could manage to get along, in the same house, and not…”
“I do,” Jared said firmly.
For some strange reason his response rattled Nicki. He made it sound as if they were taking vows, not agreeing to a business deal. “Okay,” she said reluctantly. “I’ve got my reservations, but since this is just a temporary arrangement, you’ve got a baby-sitter.”
A smug smile settled onto Jared’s features. He slowed at the entrance to Tammany Hills and flipped on the turn signal. “You’re on the clock,” he said. “Starting now.”
�
��Now?” Nicki couldn’t keep the ripple of surprise from her voice.
“Mmm-hmm.”
“Oh, that one, to the right,” she directed, as he turned into the complex. “The gray front with the red shutters and trim.” She took a deep breath. “I can’t do it that quickly. I need to get my life in order.”
He pulled up into the assigned parking space. “Get your life in order tomorrow,” he scowled. “Tonight, you put on your dancing shoes and wear something dressy. I want you with me at this charity event.”
Nicki’s jaw slid off center. “But…but…but—” Realizing that she sounded like a motor running out of steam, her mouth whomped shut.
He shut off the car and turned to her, resting an elbow over the back of the seat. He skimmed her front with a challenging look, as if daring her to balk.
“Here’s the deal,” he said flatly. “I told my ex-wife that she wouldn’t have to worry about Maddy, because I have a new woman in my life, one who will be able to help me out and do all the little-girl things.” He shrugged. “For some reason she seemed extraordinarily concerned about that.” He nailed her with a telling glance. “Guess what? That woman is you.”
A feeling of anticipation and dread pooled in Nicki’s middle. Her mouth went watery, and for an instant she wondered if she’d truly lost her mind to even consider working for this man. Aside from the entire scenario being preposterous, Jared made her jittery, as if she were being pulled in two directions.
“If I know my ex,” Jared went on, “she’ll call someone tomorrow to find out who I escorted to the gala. You’re going to play the part of the woman in my new, serious relationship, and you’re going to help me get full custody.”
“I can’t,” she protested. “That seems so…deceitful. Dishonest.”
“Not if you know my ex-wife,” he said brusquely.
Nicki shook her head, debating, and very much aware she could still back out. The last thing she wanted was to get involved in some kind of messed-up triangle. The power struggle of two people fighting over their child had to be the worst.
The Nanny & Her Scrooge Page 3
