Millionaire Dad, Nanny Needed!

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 tingles to her toes. Her entire body went on red alert, waiting for his mouth to smooth down her temple and capture hers.