by Susan Meier
But looking at Belle she suddenly longed to confide. Life had handed Belle plenty of troubles, and she’d weathered them well. She wasn’t merely smart. She was wise because of all the things she’d been through.
Belle studied Audra’s face. “There’s definitely something you’re not telling me.”
Audra coughed nervously, not accustomed to showing weakness. “It’s nothing.”
“Ah, sugar, let me help you.” Belle took Audra’s hand and patted it as she lowered herself to one of the plush chairs around the conference room table. “Come on. Sit.”
Audra sat.
“So what’s up?”
Though she desperately wanted to confide, she wasn’t ready to share her humiliation about David. She wasn’t even sure she could talk about Dominic. But she really needed some advice. So maybe the thing to do would be approach it backhandedly?
“I have a friend whose boss is a little flirty.”
Belle’s eyebrows rose in question, then she laughed lightly. “A little flirty?”
“Well, he’s—” Because she was hiding her nanny job from the Belles, Audra could see no reason to deviate from that part of the story. “My friend is working as a nanny for a very wealthy, very handsome guy. He just got custody of his nephew and he has absolutely no baby skills.”
“Oh, poor guy.”
“When his brother died, my friend’s new boss also had to take control of the family business and he’s overwhelmed.”
Belle shook her head. “Wow.”
“So you think he’s got a valid point when he says he’s having trouble adding the baby into his life?”
“Oh, sugar, working and parenting are both hard. Blend them together and a person’s private life is all but gone.” Bell leaned her elbow on the conference table and placed her chin on her closed fist. “That’s probably why he’s flirty. He misses going out.”
“Yes, I think that’s part of it.” Audra squirmed on her seat. “But my friend also tells me that she and her boss have a lot of chemistry.”
“So why don’t they date?”
“He’s dropped a few hints in that direction, but they’re not suited. He’s rich. She’s normal. Plus, he’s not cut out to be a family man, so she knows he would never consider a permanent relationship with her.”
“He’d never consider anything permanent but he wants to sleep with her?”
Audra thought that through. “I don’t think it’s quite like that.”
“I still don’t like it,” Belle said without hesitation.
“But even you said it makes perfect sense.”
“No, I didn’t! I said it makes sense that he’s overwhelmed by the baby.”
“So that’s why he’s flirting—”
“Audra, you’re twisting this to make a scoundrel seem like a good guy.”
Audra gaped at Belle. “That’s not fair. You don’t even know him.”
“I don’t know the girl, either, but I can tell you some things about her. If she’s tolerating a boss flirting with her, she’s got very low self-esteem. Probably she’s recently been hurt.”
“She has, but her self-esteem is fine. She’s definitely over her hurt and able to handle herself.”
Shaking her head, Belle rose from her seat. “I hope so.”
“She is.”
Belle stopped at the door. “If she continues to work with that guy—whatever her reason—she needs to set him straight. If nothing else, flirting with an employee is out of line.”
With that Belle left the conference room, closing the door behind her. Audra fell back on her seat. A headache formed at her temples. She might be strong enough to resist Dominic, but she’d forgotten one important detail. As her employer, Dominic was out of line. And Belle was right. She had to set him straight.
Shrugging into her coat again, she walked through the reception area to the front door.
“Where are you going?” Julie called after her.
“Bank. I have a check I have to deposit.”
“You’re doing very well with him.”
Dominic kept his attention on dressing the baby for bed, feeling odd. Not only was Audra behaving stiffly and formally, but also the baby had been inordinately happy to see him. The chubby cherub on the changing table grinned toothlessly at him, making spit bubbles in the corners of his mouth, gooing and cooing, as if joy spilled from him.
With the little boy warm and squirming under his hands—very real, very human, very vulnerable, yet somehow very sweet—the truth of his situation plowed into Dominic. He was Joshua’s parent now. He was responsible for raising him. And the only parenting example he had was bad.
Grateful that Audra was helping him, he said, “If I’m doing well, it’s because I have a good teacher.”
She walked to the rocker and bent in front of the bookcase to choose a book. “Don’t get too cocky. You’re not a pro.”
He knew something was bothering her. “I might not be a pro. But I’m good enough to handle him in an emergency.”
Book in hand, she faced him. She took a breath that shifted her breasts beneath her simple yellow T-shirt, drawing Dominic’s attention to them. He nearly said something flirty, if only to get her out of her bad mood, but suddenly realized she was right. He wasn’t a pro, and the kid currently squirming against his palms was his now. His. He couldn’t alienate the one person in his life who was helping him.
“I know you think you’re too busy to spend time with Joshua, but also I think we could fix that with a good schedule.”
All right. He might not want to alienate her, but sometimes her ideas were a bit extreme. “You want me to create a schedule to spend time with my own family?”
“Yes.”
Dominic turned his attention to fastening the snaps of the outfit of a baby who cooed at him, touching his heart when he thought his heart was untouchable, once again making him feel Audra was correct. He should spend more time with Joshua.
But how? His schedule was already filled to capacity.
“Don’t look at scheduling time with Joshua as a bad thing,” she said. “When a parent works, schedules are sometimes necessary.”
“I live and die by schedules, now that I’ve taken over the family business.” And because he had the same pressures his father had, Dominic could actually surpass his father in inadequacy. “I know how important they are.”
Audra nodded at the baby in his arms. “So be a little flexible, then. This baby has lost his parents. All he needs is a piece of your time.”
He glanced at the baby again, his chest squeezing with panic. He’d always said having no time at all with his father would have been better than the miserable hours he’d spent in his presence. And maybe the same was true for Joshua?
“You know, Audra. This is kind of pointless. I’m hiring a nanny. She’ll take care of Joshua.” He handed Joshua to her and headed for the door.
“Yes, but—”
“No buts.” He didn’t hear the rest of her protest as he walked out of the nursery. He’d think long and hard about the potential damage he could inflict on Joshua before he’d be back.
If he came back at all.
CHAPTER SIX
WHEN Audra brought a clean and bathed Joshua into the kitchen on Wednesday morning, Joyce greeted her.
“Good morning, Audra.”
“Joyce?”
“I’m working Wednesdays so your mom can care for the little one.” She handed Audra a mug of coffee. “She said to tell you to bring him into her office. And then Dominic asked that you have breakfast with him.”
Audra’s heart stopped. He wanted to have breakfast with her? Oh, Lord. He was either going to apologize or fire her. And after the way he’d walked out the other day she was expecting to be fired.
Of course, Dominic had a way of surprising her. She hadn’t thought he wanted any involvement with the baby at all, and he’d at least made an attempt with Joshua. It had been push and pull with him right from the beginning. If he h
eld to his normal pattern, Monday he pushed and today he’d pull. He would apologize and be back in the nursery that night.
She took the mug of coffee and rushed through the short hall in the back of the mansion to her mom’s office. As she stepped into the room, her mom rose. “Good morning, sweet baby,” she said, holding out her hands to take Joshua.
“Hi, Mom. Can’t talk. Dominic has requested my presence at breakfast.”
Mary grimaced. “He’s been up since five, sitting in the dining room reading the paper.” She glanced at her watch. “For two hours. You might want to get a hitch in your get-along.”
Audra nodded and raced out of her mother’s office. If he had gotten over what had panicked him, wanted to apologize and wanted to arrange a time to be with Joshua that night, she couldn’t afford to miss this chance. Knowing it would take her at least twenty minutes to shower and dress, and considering the potential decline in Dominic’s mood if she made him wait another twenty minutes, she decided to eat breakfast in her baggy pajama bottoms and oversize T-shirt, and ran through the kitchen, retracing the path from her mother’s office.
She made it to the swinging door that connected the kitchen and dining room in what she considered to be record time. With a bump of her shoulder, she opened it, burst into the “every day” dining room and stopped dead in her tracks.
She’d never seen this room before, but had been told it was a simpler version of the formal dining room. Audra had expected something casual and homey. Instead the room screamed old money. The pale blue and delicate yellow tapestry cushions of the chairs corresponded with the blue-and-yellow pattern on the china and the yellow of the walls. An oval taupe-, beige-and sand-colored Oriental rug sat on the hardwood floors below the table. She swallowed.
“Good morning.”
Dressed in a black suit, white shirt and red print tie, Dominic sat at the head of the table, reading the paper, looking very much like a lord or prince or maybe even a king.
She swallowed again, suddenly understanding why the worn clothing she used as pajamas seemed so strange to him. Luxury wasn’t something he indulged in every once in a while. Luxury was a way of life for him.
“Are you joining me for breakfast?”
Realizing she was standing staring at him and his surroundings like an idiot, she headed for the place that had been set, assuming it had been arranged for her.
“I was told you commanded my presence.”
He chuckled. “Not hardly. I have a feeling no one commands you to do anything.”
“You should talk!”
“Excuse me?”
Audra nearly groaned. Why did she keep pushing him? She took a breath as she sat at her place at the table. “I’m sorry, but you’re a heck of a lot worse than I am when it comes to doing what you want when you want.”
Sherry, one of the downstairs maids, appeared with a plate and set it in front of Audra.
“I hope you don’t mind. I asked Joyce to prepare the same breakfast for you as I’m having. It simplifies things for her.”
She glanced at the plate of eggs and bacon. A funny feeling settled in her chest. All right. So he was considerate with the staff? It still didn’t help Joshua one iota.
But she’d done enough back talk already with that one slip. “No. I don’t mind. This is great.”
He folded the newspaper. “Unfortunately, because it took you so long to get here, I’m done eating and need to get moving.”
Now she remembered why she constantly pushed him. He always pushed her first. “Can’t put a stop watch on a baby or his time. I do what Joshua needs when he needs it.”
To Audra’s surprise he laughed. “No kidding.” He reached to his left for a huge box. Wrapped in sunny yellow print paper and tied with a big white bow, it was large enough to contain a full-length fur coat.
Setting the box on the empty space between their place settings, he said, “Here. For you.”
“I don’t want—”
“Consider it a gift for me.”
That got her curiosity up. “For you?”
“For me.” He angled his head in the direction of the box. “Come on. Humor me.”
She took a breath and rose. The box was so big she had to stand to reach the bow. Luckily, the lid had been wrapped separately and she only had to lift it to reveal the contents of the box.
When she saw the blue-and-white-striped shirt, she glanced at him. “What’s this?”
His eyes danced with delight. “Pull it out.”
She lifted the shirt and saw that beneath it lay matching plain blue pants. “Pajamas?”
“Ten pairs.”
She pulled out a second pair. Pink boxers and a tank top. A yellow nightshirt. A set of red long-sleeved man’s cut. A multicolored floral nightgown that reached the floor. Navy blue polka dot. Green triangles on a white background. Plain blue. Sunny yellow.
And at the bottom were pink satin man’s cut trousers and a long sleeved top.
Not a pink lace teddy amongst them.
She didn’t know whether to be insulted or to laugh. In the end the laugh won, bubbling from her chest. She peered at him. “Are mine really that bad?”
“Yes, but I also felt odd about walking out on you the other night.”
He caught her gaze. The look in his dark brown eyes sent a sizzle through her. “I panicked. Again.” He drew a long breath. “I’m afraid about this whole dad thing. I want to be a good dad, but I’m not sure I can be.”
“Of course you can—”
“Audra, not only did I have a terrible example in my dad, but also my time is stretched to the limit. I expected to have a few minutes for Joshua yesterday morning but got called to a meeting. That’s how the rest of my life is going to be.”
“You were intended to come into the nursery yesterday?”
“Yes. But I never found time.”
She took a breath. “Then I’m going to apologize, too.”
One of his dark eyebrows rose. “Really?”
She laughed. “I know I’m probably more forward than any nanny you’d hire for real. But that’s because I’m not really a nanny. I’m a CPA, remember?”
He rolled his eyes. “I remember.” Then he smiled. “Actually, I like that about you.”
“That I’m a CPA or that I’m forward?”
“You might be forward, but you keep me on my toes.” Laughing, he shook his head. “That’s probably why I have to wrestle myself not to flirt with you. I don’t want to lose you.” He rose. “But I think we’re making a mistake in ignoring this thing that’s between us.”
She set the pink satin pajamas back in the box, ready to put an end to this discussion once and for all by talking about the possibility of them dating for real. Not as a joke. Or as something they flirted about. But in the real world. In a real way. “You don’t even know me.”
He nodded at the box again. “Look at those and tell me I don’t know you.”
Her gaze fell to the pajamas. Pretty colors. Imaginative prints. Lots of fun. Yet still practical. And no inappropriate pink lace teddy.
She caught his gaze. “All right. So you do have a certain understanding.”
He rose, laid his linen napkin on his plate and stepped away from his chair. “A certain understanding?” He laughed. “Honey, you and I are very much alike, except we come at it from different directions. I have no time because I have a ready-made career that demands every second I can spare and I long for a little bit of fun. You need every ounce of your time to make your place in the world and you long for somebody to whisk you away… even if it’s only every once in a while.” He caught her gaze again. “Whisking you away would give me just the right amount of my old life back and being whisked would give you just the right amount of your old life back.”
He walked to her side of the table, where she stood beside the big box of pajamas, caught her hands and kissed her forehead. “But I respect your wishes.”
The brush of his lips sent a rush of tin
gles to her toes. Her entire body went on red alert, waiting for his mouth to smooth down her temple and capture hers.
Instead he pulled back and walked away. Looping around the long cherry-wood table, he headed for the door at the opposite end of the room and without a backward glance left her alone in the dining room.
Her gaze fell to the pajamas. Acknowledgment rose inside her. He knew her. He saw the playful side most people didn’t see. He understood her practical side. He wanted to whisk her away. But she didn’t want to be whisked, and he respected her wishes.
He might be a player, but he was nothing like David.
The door from the kitchen opened and her mother strode in. “Dominic gone?”
Audra returned to her place at the table and lifted her fork. Though she had no appetite, if she didn’t eat, her mother would ask why, and then she’d be forced to explain that she had made some terrible judgments about her boss.
“He said he’d waited long enough for me.”
Mary glanced at the pajamas. “What’s this?”
“Seems your boss doesn’t like my sleepwear.”
Mary laughed. “You do bear some resemblance to a ragamuffin.”
Audra huffed out a breath. “I’m not exactly sure what difference it makes. These work.”
“Yes, but they aren’t fun.” Audra’s mom picked up the navy-blue polka dot set and laughed. “These are cute.”
“Yeah, a regular laugh riot.”
“Come on. He’s only trying to lighten things up a bit. And he may not even be doing it for you. He’s been horribly down since his brother died. Maybe he did this more for himself. To give himself a laugh.”
Audra nearly groaned. All this time she’d been worried about protecting herself from him, when he’d been struggling with grief over his brother. And she’d been critical, insensitive. She fought not to squeeze her eyes shut in misery.
