“And me,” he reminded her. Jules reached out for the baby, and Mitch carefully handed her over. “Let’s go to my office. Come on.”
He glanced around the lobby as he led her down the side hall. Their quick steps tapped on the shiny tile floor.
“Don’t worry,” Jules said. “I don’t think anyone saw her spit up all over your nice suit.”
He glanced back at her as he pushed through the office door. She looked like she was fighting a grin.
“I don’t care if anyone saw…” Having a baby spit up on his thousand-dollar suit was just not the way he’d seen this day going. He just didn’t know how to say it without it sounding exactly the way it sounded. That he was more concerned with the state of his suit than the state of the child. He softened slightly, sighing. “Fine. I’ve never been puked on before.”
Jules snickered, swaying slightly as she held the baby. Her brown hair angled over her forehead as she smiled down at the bundle in her arms. “There’s a first time for everything. I think you’re initiated now.”
He paused in the middle of slipping off his coat, sideswiped by the sight of her there. So beautiful, but also now so tender as she beheld the little girl. He almost forgot what he was doing until Jules looked up at him.
“You better get to it before it sets,” she said.
“Right.” Mitch cleared his throat and slipped his suit coat off. He laid it down over a clear section of the desk and hurried into the small attached bathroom to snag some paper towels. When he came back out, Jules grimaced.
“I think she got your shirt, too.”
He looked down, and sure enough—a small damp area right besides the breast pocket stared back at him. He tutted.
“I guess I should just be happy she feels better,” he said with a sigh. “At the expense of my clothes.”
“Exactly.” Jules still swayed where she stood. It seemed the baby had fallen asleep again. “She wasn’t feeling good, and now she feels great.”
Mitch worked on removing the bulk of the spit-up while Jules walked around the office, gently patting the baby’s butt. Whenever she crossed through his line of view, it was hard not to stare. There was something so elegant, so soft about her right now. She’d stepped into his office a hardened professional, but now she was like any working mom. The transformation nearly stole his breath, but he couldn’t even say why.
Jules is just the event planner, and you’re just trying to find out where to send this baby. He frowned as he scrubbed at the stain.
Why was that so hard to remember?
4
She’d had a sleeping baby in her arms for less than a half hour and already she felt like this kid was hers.
You can’t just adopt the first orphan you find, Jules. The words were so ridiculous she hesitated to even think them. It wasn’t like she even planned on kids—not yet, anyway, and certainly not as a single mom. She’d thought that someday she might settle down, find a great guy, start a family the old-fashioned way.
But for some reason, this baby in a manger seemed like a test to that idea.
Or was she just falling victim to the Christmas season and the incredibly sexy man in the room?
Jules struggled to keep her eyes off him as he unbuttoned his shirt. It was almost like he’d forgotten she and the baby were in the room, since they’d been standing by the windows for a while as the baby slept. When the shirt crested his shoulders and she caught a glimpse of pale skin and sturdy, rippling shoulder, she gasped.
Like an idiot.
Mitch whipped around, confusion on his face. “Sorry. Should have warned you.” His shirt hung open, revealing washboard abs and the absolute perfect amount of black chest hair. He offered a lopsided grin. “I’ll go into the bathroom.”
“No, no,” she blurted, unable to stop her gaze from careening over the milky expanse of his chest. Damn, she’d give a lot to see the rest of him underneath that shirt. Like the whole rest of his body. “I just…I noticed it started snowing.” Her gaze jerked to the window, at the cobalt sky threatening black. “That’s all. This is your office. You change if you need to.”
Her heart stayed in her throat as he headed her way, brows drawn together as he assessed the outside world through the window. “Oh, wow,” he murmured. The cedar scent of his aftershave reached her, the masculine scent nearly sending her to her knees. It had been long—far too long—since she’d been with a man. And she had never had the pleasure of being with someone who looked like Mitch.
She’d been so focused on her career and so jaded by the dating world in New York City that the majority of her male interactions were with clients and the occasional hanger-on at the bar. If she even deigned to go out with her girlfriends.
Truth was, she didn’t expect much in the way of love. Her mother had drilled that into her from a young age. Why bother looking for something that didn’t exist?
“This really is going to be a bad storm,” Mitch said, raking a hand through his hair. The shirt shifted, and she caught a glimpse of his dime-sized nipple. She was blatantly staring now. “I’m going to call Rose so we can have security meet us in here and then figure out where—”
A knock interrupted him. They both swung around to look at the door just as it cracked open.
“Mitch.” His secretary poked her head in, then stopped short with a little “Oh!”
“It’s fine, come in.” Mitch waved her in, heading toward a wardrobe on the other side of the office. “I was just about to call you. Additionally, I need to send some things for dry cleaning.”
Rose rolled her lips inward. What a sight she’d stumbled upon. Jules almost laughed. Rose had let her into the office for a business meeting, and now she’s discovered them plus a baby with Mitch half undressed. A little snicker escaped her, and Rose narrowed her eyes at her.
“Okay,” she began, walking carefully into the office. “I have some updates that are slightly urgent.”
“Go ahead.” Mitch was partially obscured by the open wardrobe doors as he shrugged off his shirt. A hanger clanged as he reached for a different button-down. When he shut the doors, he was fully clothed again, buttoning the last button on his shirt. Jules tried not to feel disappointed.
“Your three o’clock appointment just called in to cancel,” Rose said, referring to a sticky note she’d brought in. “He said the weather report looks too scary and he plans to reschedule for next week. If we’re not still buried in snow by then.”
Mitch frowned as he adjusted the cuffs of his shirt. “Is the storm going to be that bad?”
“The weather guy said they’re expecting up to five feet.” Rose sighed, looking more annoyed than scared, in typical New Yorker fashion. “But I’ll believe it when I see it.”
Jules turned back toward the windows. The flurries from a few moments ago had turned into definite snow. There was already accumulation on the street ten stories below. Her heart raced as she looked back at Mitch. This seemed like a serious storm coming.
Mitch started rubbing at his forehead and moved to his desk. “The lobby was already a mess when we were out there just now. Flights getting cancelled, people needing to rebook.”
Mitch fished a remote control out of a desk drawer and pointed it at the far wall. A picture frame slowly slid down to reveal a television. She blinked. So this was what rich guys spent their money on.
“Let’s find a weather report, shall we?” Mitch flipped through a few channels, then set the control down and pressed his palms to the desktop.
Jules should have watched the news program, but all she could watch was Mitch. His power pose yanked at her typical sense of calm. She hadn’t met a man in recent times who really set her ablaze, but Mitch was the exception. Even the furrow of his brow was somehow sexy.
“…and it is recommended to stay off the roads once the full brunt of the storm hits,” the news reporter was saying.
Rose sighed, shaking her head as she watched the television. “You know, they say this every tim
e.”
“I don’t know. Did you see the color of that sky?” Mitch hefted with a humorless laugh. “It’s been a minute since we got slammed with a record-breaking storm. I think we need to batten down the hatches like they’re saying. And prepare for a hell of a lot of rebookings.”
Jules swallowed hard. The snowfall had turned thick. Shit. She’d taken a rideshare to the hotel today but doubted she’d be able to get one in a timely fashion now that the city was probably in a collective panic over this storm.
And now she was panicking too. Because what about this baby?
Where the hell were her parents, and why had she been abandoned today, of all days? Another wave of confusion and heartache crashed through her, and she looked back down at the little girl and her perfect button nose.
“So listen, here’s the deal.” Mitch straightened, a hard edge sounding in his voice that made her straighten as well, like Rose had. “Jules and I discovered this baby while we were out touring the hotel for the upcoming party.” Rose’s eyes widened, but Mitch barreled on. “The baby had a note attached, which we have. But basically…we discovered an orphan.”
“Ho-ly shit,” Rose said. Jules offered a small smile when Rose’s gaze landed on the baby. “What are you going to do with it?’
“I think we should call Social Services,” Jules spoke up. “My other thought was I could take her home with me, but…”
Mitch shook his head. “Not with all this weather on the way. How could you even make it back to your place? Besides, you don’t have anything for her right now.”
Jules deflated a little. He was right. She had nothing for a baby, no accommodations, no nothing. Not even formula.
“Honestly, I think our best bet is to stay right here and ride out the storm.” Mitch propped his hands on his hips. The way his blue gaze swept over her sent a chill of excitement through her. Snowbound with this sexy man? She couldn’t say no to that.
“Okay,” she said, her voice shaky.
“The hotel is equipped with cribs, blankets, formula, and more,” Rose said.
“Great. Can you call for some of…everything? Have it sent to the penthouse.”
Rose nodded and started to leave, but Mitch snapped his fingers. “Ah. Almost forgot. Send these clothes for dry cleaning too. And if you need to spend the night here at the hotel, you know we’ll have you covered.”
“Got it.” Rose sent him a smile. “And thanks.”
Once it was just her and Mitch and the baby in the office, Jules sent Mitch a stricken look. “What now?”
“Let’s go up to my penthouse. We can get settled in there with the baby and see what happens with the weather.” Mitch led the way down the hall to an unmarked elevator door. He punched in a code and then shoved his hands in his pockets. “I insist that you stay here as well.”
“At the hotel?”
“Yes. I have a guest suite in the penthouse. You should be comfortable there.”
She blinked a few times, letting the news settle into her. The elevator doors swept open, and he ushered her inside while the proposition cycled through her.
Sleepover with the hottie billionaire during a freak snowstorm and an unexpected baby?
Yeah.
Why the hell not?
5
The elevator doors swept open twenty floors above the lobby and Mitch gestured for her to step through.
But she couldn’t move—not right away, at least. The sight of the penthouse in front of her stole her breath for a moment, and all she could do was stare. A white, glittering foyer greeted them, a wide hallway leading toward enormous floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked Manhattan.
She’d lived in this city her entire life, but she never tired of seeing it from high up. The view was gorgeous. This tiling was gorgeous. This man was gorgeous.
“Come in, please,” Mitch urged, snapping her out of her trance. She drifted forward, gaze bouncing off all the interesting facets of this penthouse. The sleek steel accents against the black countertops she glimpsed walking past the kitchen. The blue and gray rug in the living room, which matched the blue and gray blanket lying messy on the couch, as if he’d spent the night before with some Netflix.
After a whole young adulthood of being warned away from rich men and the trappings of wealth, her mother would have been dismayed to learn that she was here, of all places. Smack dab in the middle of a billionaire’s penthouse, actively being swept away by his trappings of wealth.
“Your place is incredible,” Jules breathed, hating that she sounded as awe-struck as she felt. Mitch didn’t even act bashful. Why should he?
“Thanks. I think so too.” He led her toward the windows, where a small cluster of slate-gray armchairs were gathered around a low wood table. “Please sit. Make yourself at home. This is your home, too, as long as you need it to be.”
Jules was about to thank him when a buzzing noise sounded through the penthouse. Mitch hurried around a corner, and a moment later she heard the dull undertones of another voice and then footsteps. A hotel employee appeared a moment later, rolling a crib behind him. Mitch carried a wooden changing table, which he set down in front of the windows.
“Where did he…?” Then the baby started fussing, as if she could sense that her necessities were here.
“There’s a service elevator off the kitchen,” he explained, arranging the changing table while the employee made another trip to get more baby things.
“Wow. So your workers can just stop in and make a surprise visit?”
“Oh no,” he said. “There are very strict rules for the use of the service elevator. It will never open unless I allow it.”
“Interesting,” she said, unable to fight the grin as she looked around. This was like being on a different planet altogether. Service elevators? This was a modern-day Victorian mansion, Manhattan style. “I clearly don’t live in a penthouse, so please forgive my ignorance.”
He grinned, a dimple flashing. “Most people don’t. And I get it. It’s a little weird. But it makes the most sense for being the COO of the family business. I’m always on-site to handle problems, and who better to live in the hotel than the hotelier’s son himself?”
The baby’s wriggling and fussing escalated into a full-blown cry. The employee re-entered a moment later, dropping off a big case of baby items—wipes, diapers, even some Denton-branded onesies. Who knew if they were her size, but it was better than nothing at this point. Mitch slipped the employee a bill that looked a lot like a hundred, and the service elevator buzzed a few moments later.
“Wow.” Jules wasn’t even sure what she was commenting on at this point. Everything was impressive, from the décor to the quickness with which his demands were fulfilled to the fact that he had this freaking view. She set the baby down on the new changing table, her gaze snagged by the sprawling city before her. The Hudson river wound through the city, while the snowfall began to blanket the concrete and the parked cars lining the streets below.
Mitch came over to the table, swiping his thumb over the baby’s forehead. “Does she need a diaper change or a bath or something?”
“That’s what we’re going to find out.” Jules grinned down at the infant. Her past nannying experience was always for six months plus, with a preference for toddlers. This child couldn’t have been more than two months old, which meant Jules didn’t have as much know-how.
Not that she ever did to begin with. Not like she’d thought when she’d first started nannying.
Jules undid the swaddle and found the baby in a tattered onesie and a newborn size diaper, which looked way too small for her. Her heart sank. Maybe her family was poverty stricken. Maybe dropping her off at the front doors of a hotel really was the best decision.
She might never know.
“Oh, honey,” Jules murmured, carefully opening the bloated diaper. “Can you pass me some wipes, please?”
“Oh, yeah. Sure. Sure. Just, uh…” Mitch poked around in different bags until he finally l
ifted a package. “Are these wipes?”
“Sure are.” She smiled as he tugged out a few wipes and then placed them carefully along the side of the changing table. Like this was his way of really helping. “Now I need you to see if you can find a size one or two diaper in there.”
“Size one or two?” he repeated, sounding uncertain as he assessed the boxes of baby things. “How will I know?”
“It should say on the box, or the diaper itself.” Jules carefully wrapped up the full diaper, cooing down at the girl as Mitch continued his search.
“Ah ha!” A moment later he delivered a small white diaper and looked proud. “Here it is. Size one. Got it.”
Warmth spread through her. She hadn’t ever really imagined what starting a family might be like, much less imagined the guy she might start it with. But this right here—playing new parents with a successful hottie like Mitch—was more fun than she’d anticipated.
“Do you want to change her diaper?” she teased as she slid the new one under the little girl’s butt.
“I should watch you at least once before I attempt it,” Mitch said, his brows drawn together as he watched her movements.
“Have you ever changed a diaper before?” Jules fastened the diaper and then carefully removed the tattered onesie.
“Will you be absolutely shocked if I say no?”
A laugh rocketed out of her. “I’d be absolutely not shocked. There probably isn’t much time for diaper changing while running an international hotel chain, is there?”
“That and a startling lack of babies in my family.” Mitch gave her a warm smile, one that sent heat flashing through her. The man was too good looking. Too easy to be around and talk to, even with an orphaned baby and lots of unmade decisions between them. “I’m not married, and my brother hasn’t had kids yet. I can’t even remember the last time I was around a kid that wasn’t the child of a hotel guest.”
“And your parents don’t want grandbabies?”
He shrugged. “My mom would have loved them, I’m sure. She passed away several years ago, though. And my father, well…he’s still in business mode.”
Christmas with the Denton Billionaires: The Complete Series Page 12
