by Arlene James
Emily reached for Amanda Sue, and the baby came right to her.
Logan stroked her cheek again. “I’ll be quick as I can, princess.” He looked at Emily with eyes so devastatingly blue in their happy brightness that they took her breath away. “I guess I did better than I thought, huh?” He all but tiptoed to the door, despite the fact that Amanda Sue was watching him calmly now. He hurried away smiling.
Emily chuckled and hoisted Amanda Sue a little higher in her arms. “You little tyrant,” she said laughingly. “I wonder how old you’ll be before he figures out you’ve been playing him like a lute?” Amanda Sue dug a finger into the scarf knotted beneath the Peter Pan collar of Emily’s white cotton blouse and babbled about chins or something similar. “Well, that’s all right,” Emily went on thoughtfully. “Daddies ought to be vulnerable to their daughters, especially this one. God knows he’s broken enough hearts of other fathers’ daughters. Who’d have thought that when he finally met his match she’d be little more than two feet tall?”
Amanda Sue chuckled as if she understood every word, and then she abruptly kicked, stiffened, and tried to slide down to the floor. Emily laughed, catching her more tightly against her. “Oh, no, you don’t. We’re going to get you changed and ready to meet everyone. We’re going to find you a nanny today. Yes, we are. A nanny for Amanda Sue.”
It never occurred to her as she carried the child toward her father’s office that it might not be as simple as it sounded.
Three
The woman clutched her handbag beneath one arm and patted the steel-gray helmet of her hair even though not a strand had moved out of place. It wouldn’t dare, Logan decided, for fear of being plucked and banished. She looked down her lengthy nose at Amanda Sue, who sat in her father’s lap, his tie once again clamped firmly between her teeth despite all his efforts to prevent it. She looked like a pink-and-white puppy with a favorite sock in its mouth. Logan had seriously tried to interest her in something else, but she was nothing if not determined, this child of his, and she looked so downright happy and adorable that he didn’t have the heart to make her cry again. Some of the other candidates had laughed, but this woman’s disapproval was palpable.
“I’ve dealt with many an unruly child,” the woman said smugly, “and my methods have proven successful in nearly every case. Believe me, I know how to bring a child to heel quickly.”
It had been a long, disappointing morning, and Logan was feeling the strain. Despite his own mental canine comparisons, he rolled his eyes and snapped, “Dogs are brought to heel. I hope you aren’t saying you’ll treat my daughter like a dog.”
The woman narrowed her eyes to black slits. “Please do not put words in my mouth. I’m merely stating that a willful child requires a strong, firm hand.”
Logan pinched his nose, trying to hold on to his temper. His daughter, meanwhile, was continuing to ruin a perfectly good silk tie by gnawing and slobbering on it. Emily had suggested that she was cutting teeth. But he was more concerned about the granite-jawed prison matron sitting across from him. “You do understand that my daughter has been through a terrible loss and trauma, don’t you?” he asked.
The woman inclined her head. “All the more reason to provide a strictly scheduled routine. The structure will give her security and teach her self-control.”
“She’s sixteen months old,” he pointed out. “How much self-control can she have at this age?”
“More than you might realize,” the woman said complacently. “Turn her over to me, and we’ll soon have a different child.”
Logan wanted to smack her. How dare she imply that there was something wrong with Amanda Sue! True, she was strong-willed and much too intelligent for his own good, not to mention adventurous enough to scare the pants off him at times, but she was a Fortune. Of course she was strong-willed and intelligent and adventurous, even quick-tempered. She was also beautiful and charming and perfect just as she was. He wouldn’t have her changed, but he couldn’t help wondering what this hyena in a middle-aged woman’s guise might know that he didn’t.
“Just exactly how might you accomplish this transformation?” he asked.
The woman readjusted her seat on the chair and lifted her chin. “I know the so-called experts counsel against breaking a child’s spirit,” she began, “but frankly my experience shows otherwise.”
Now he really wanted to smack her. He set his back teeth. “Is that so?”
She seemed unaware of his censure. “I believe the old ways are the best ways,” she said sagely. “My mother believed children were to be seen and not heard. She made very sure that my brother and I were well-behaved, well-groomed and well-thought-of. If we broke the rules, we were harshly dealt with, let me tell you, but privately. Publicly, she made sure we were a credit to our parents.”
“Uh-huh. And what about your own children? Are they a credit to their parents?”
“Oh, I have no children of my own,” she said dismissively. “I decided long ago to dedicate myself to the children of others, and one thing I realized early on is that modern parents are too emotionally attached to their children to see what it is they really need.”
He couldn’t quite believe he’d heard her right. Emily appeared at his elbow, saying brightly, “Okay, I think that’s enough. Don’t you, Mr. Fortune?”
“Quite enough,” he agreed, sending her a loaded message she couldn’t help interpreting correctly. She moved around the desk to the woman’s side and literally seized her by the arm, pulling her to her feet.
“Thank you for coming,” she said briskly, propelling the woman toward the door. “We’ll be in touch with your agency.”
Amanda Sue made roaring sounds around a mouthful of his tie and smacked her hands aggressively on the top of his desk, as if bidding the woman good riddance. Logan smiled. Even she had sense enough to know that woman didn’t belong anywhere near a child. He wouldn’t entrust an animal to that woman. Unfortunately, he hadn’t found anyone else to whom he could comfortably give over care of his daughter, either.
A couple of the candidates were mere children themselves, just teenagers, really. Two others were in the U.S. only temporarily, one with only weeks left on her visa, and the last thing Logan wanted to do was let Amanda Sue get emotionally attached to someone guaranteed to leave her soon. One woman, while a citizen, didn’t speak English well enough to properly interview. Given the circumstances, he felt Amanda Sue would be too confused to respond well. Another woman had seemed mildly impaired mentally. She was very pleasant, and he liked her a great deal, but he felt uncomfortable leaving her alone with Amanda Sue for days at a time when he was traveling. This last one was the topper on the cake, however, a real brute in support hose.
Emily steered the woman out of his office and her own, then returned, closing the door behind her. “Charles Dickens wrote books about idiots like her,” she said, dropping down onto the corner of his desk. Amanda Sue started crawling up onto the desk to get to her.
Logan let her go. What could it hurt with him and Emily sitting right there? Emily seemed to agree. She reached out and took Amanda Sue’s hands in hers, helping her stand from a crouch, then drawing her forward carefully. “Maybe I should call another agency,” she said, fingering a curl on top of the baby’s head.
“Do that,” he agreed, smoothing a grossly wet, rumpled tie. “This one sure didn’t send over any winners.”
“Still want to schedule the interviews here?” Emily asked, and he sighed. Interviewing nannies wasn’t exactly conducive to business, but he didn’t want any strangers knowing where he lived. The kidnapping of his cousin’s infant son Bryan had taught them all the folly of not taking every precaution. He nodded.
“Yeah. I don’t want anyone I don’t completely trust in my house.”
“I understand,” Emily said. “So tomorrow we start over. Now what?”
He looked around him, wondering if he could keep Amanda Sue here and actually get anything done, but he knew the answer to t
hat. “Why don’t you take her on home,” he said finally. “I’ll try to get through early here so you can get home at a decent hour. Uh, unless I can persuade you to spend the night?”
She sent him a look that said, Please don’t ask. He ignored it.
“I could really use a good night’s sleep myself,” he went on, “and I have so much work to do. And you wouldn’t have to cook or anything. I’ll pick up something.”
“I don’t know. I really prefer—”
“I understand,” he said, “but I’m desperate here. I haven’t even checked my voice mail today.”
“All right,” she said, capitulating reluctantly, “but just tonight.”
He nodded, deeply relieved. “Surely we’ll find someone tomorrow.”
If the smile she gave him wasn’t quite as hopeful as it might have been, he chose not to think about it. He was covered for a few precious hours, and that was enough for the moment. Tomorrow would come soon enough, too soon probably, but he’d cross that bridge when he came to it. Meanwhile, he had a lot of work to do and a little time to do it in. But at least he wouldn’t have to worry about his daughter while he was doing it, and that, he was discovering, was more important than anything else.
What a day it had been, Emily mused, wrestling Amanda Sue into her sweater. She had worked closely with Logan Fortune for two years now, but never like this. It was as if they were a couple, rather than simply a good business team, and such illusions were terribly dangerous given the way she felt about him. She’d held the attraction at bay for such a long time, but she wasn’t superhuman.
She had known from the beginning of her employment with him that any personal involvement would be sheer folly. Logan was a real player in the field of romance, and Emily was anything but. Dalliance with the likes of him could only lead her to a broken heart, but here she was about to spend the night at his house. Still, what else could she do? He and Amanda Sue both were obviously exhausted, and how could she not allow him the benefit of her experience when he was trying so very hard? One night, she told herself, and tomorrow would be a better day for everyone.
Finally getting Amanda Sue properly attired, Emily began to gather their things, all the while balancing the child on one hip. Amanda Sue helped out by grasping handfuls of her blouse, front and back, and hanging on. It was awkward, but it beat setting her down and then trying to keep her from looting the desk while gathering everything. She was heading toward the door, laden with baby, purse and bulging diaper bag, when she called out, “We’re going now.”
To her surprise, Logan got up from his desk and hurried out to send them off. “Wait. Amanda Sue can’t go without telling Daddy ’bye-bye.” He waved at his daughter and pretended to blow a kiss, as before. His daughter, however, had other ideas. She puckered her lips and leaned so far forward that Emily had trouble holding her up. Logan laughed. “What’s she doing now?”
Emily smiled. “I think she wants a real kiss.”
He all but recoiled. “A real kiss?”
“It won’t kill you, Fortune, and my arm’s weakening.”
He bent and quickly smacked Amanda Sue on the cheek, but the baby objected, wiping it away with a flat wipe of her hand and puckering up again. Logan looked to Emily for help, and it was all she could do to keep from laughing. Finally, he pursed his lips and gave Amanda Sue a dry, fleeting peck on the mouth. Satisfied, Amanda Sue grinned and settled back, her arm looping around Emily’s neck. Logan colored, but the eyes with which he gazed at his daughter were very nearly worshipful.
“See you later,” he said nonchalantly, but he wasn’t fooling Emily. That first real kiss from his daughter had tied his heart into knots.
He turned away, but a sudden thought occurred to Emily. “Oh, wait,” she said. “What about the safety seat? I can’t take her in my car without it.”
“You’re right. Here, take my keys.” He dug into his pants’ pocket. “Better yet, just take my car. Otherwise, I’ll have to walk down with you.”
“True. If you’re sure that’s how you want to handle it, though, we’d better trade. Otherwise, how will you get home?”
“Good point.”
She dug in her purse for her own keys and handed them over, then thought better of it. “Uh, actually, I have to stop to get some overnight things and feed my cat, so I’d better take my apartment key.”
“Right.”
She pointed out the key, and he worked it off the ring, handing it over with his own.
“This thing just keeps getting more and more complicated, doesn’t it?” she said, putting the keys into her bag.
Logan sighed. “To tell you the truth, I guess I’m still reeling from the news. It’s like this whirlwind blew into my life and hasn’t slowed down yet. I keep hoping that when it does, it’ll leave behind some semblance of order, but what are the chances of that?”
“Not much, I’d warrant,” she admitted sympathetically, “but it’ll get better eventually.”
He sighed. “At least I have you until it does,” he said softly. “God help me if I didn’t.”
Emily felt a strange heat blossom in her chest. She quickly turned away before it could spread to her cheeks. “Better get going,” she said briskly.
“Remember,” he called as she pushed through the door, “dinner’s on me.”
She nodded and kept moving, afraid to look back for fear of what she might see in his eyes. Simple gratitude or a certain sensual warmth? The problem was, she wasn’t sure which would frighten her more.
The little car chugged into the driveway and promptly died. Logan pulled the emergency brake, removed the key from the ignition switch and grabbed the bag of Tex-Mex on the passenger seat. The clutch in Emily’s inexpensive car definitely needed an adjustment, as did the driver’s side door, which creaked alarmingly when he opened it and maneuvered his way out.
The temperature had dropped into the upper thirties in the past few hours. Logan shivered, wondering if Amanda Sue had a heavy coat. It would be infrequently needed here in San Antonio, but he couldn’t have his little girl going around cold, not that it was apt to slow her down any.
He made a mental note to ask Emily about the coat as he trudged up the walk to his front door. Then he’d suggest she get that clutch looked at. He wouldn’t have her driving his daughter around in an unsafe vehicle. In fact, he wasn’t sure he wanted Amanda Sue in such a small car at all. It just didn’t seem as safe as his own German luxury sedan. With that in mind, he let himself into the foyer and moved down the hall, baby giggles washing away the tiredness that had been dogging his steps all day long.
He stepped into the living room, a smile on his face, and once more froze in his steps. It wasn’t unexpected clutter, this time. The room, in fact, was in pristine condition, save for the old blanket spread upon the floor and the two playing upon it.
Garbed in a footed sleeper, Amanda Sue lay on her back, one hand fisted around the open collar of Emily’s blouse, which had been unbuttoned almost to mid-chest. Emily lay on her side next to Amanda Sue, propped up on one elbow. She tickled the baby’s round tummy with her fingertips while Amanda Sue kicked and giggled happily and tugged on the collar of Emily’s blouse, laying it open and exposing the plump swell of one firm breast. Emily’s glasses had been put away and her long, sand-colored hair swung in a thick, silky fall to the floor. Her straight skirt was hiked up to the tops of her thighs, her long legs and slender, delicate feet bare.
Desire hit Logan in the gut, his gaze sweeping up those long, graceful limbs to the skirt bunched near their tops. She definitely did not wear stockings on a daily basis. All this time and he had just now noticed this enticing fact. All this time and he had just now noticed how enticing his executive assistant was.
Had he once thought her oval face was too long? Her mouth too wide? He realized now that it was nothing more than the severe manner in which she had been wearing her hair. Without her glasses he could actually see and appreciate her deeply set, golden-brown eyes
and the sweep of high, prominent cheekbones. He was astonished to find that she was, in her own unique way, quite breathtakingly beautiful, and she had been sitting right under his nose for the past two years! He couldn’t help wondering just how stupid it would be to seduce the best assistant he’d ever had. If he did, would she suddenly develop dollar signs in her eyes? Somehow he didn’t think so.
Emily looked up just then and smiled welcomingly. “Look who’s here,” she said to the giggling Amanda Sue. “Daddy’s home.”
Quick as lightning, Amanda Sue flopped over and sat up. She clapped her hands and held up her arms. “Daa-dy!”
Logan dropped the food bag onto a corner of the dining table as he passed by and hurried toward his daughter and her fetching sitter. Going down on one knee, he scooped up Amanda Sue, and laughed delightedly at the exuberant hug and loud, smacking kiss that he got. She smelled clean and fresh, his little girl, like something new and bright and wholly Amanda Sue, and he realized suddenly that parental love was something innate and fierce. She was his little girl and he loved her. It was as simple as that. Never mind that she had turned his life upside down, that only days ago he hadn’t known she even existed. She was his now, and that was all that mattered.
Abruptly, his headstrong daughter twisted around and pointed up the stairs. “Boog!” she announced.
Emily laughed. “She has the memory of an elephant, I swear. I promised her more than an hour ago that Daddy would read her a certain book for a bedtime story.”
“Well, Daddy will just have to do that, then,” he said enthusiastically. His empty stomach rumbled, but he dutifully rose to his feet, Amanda Sue cradled in one arm, and reached down a hand for Emily. She slipped her fingers into his palm and let him pull her to her feet. “I see she’s ready for bed,” he said.
