A Celebration Christmas - Page 4

She tossed the wadded paper towel into the garbage, grabbed her purse and speed-walked out of the kitchen toward the front door.

“Good! I’m glad she’s gone,” said George. He punctuated his declaration with a loud raspberry.

Oh, for the love of all things holy. “Angie, wait, please. Send me a bill for the pants. I’ll replace them.”

One hand on the door, she paused and looked back. “They cost ninety-five dollars. You can include it in my final paycheck, which you may mail to my house.”

Ninety-five dollars? Was she kidding? Who wore expensive pants to clean a house? Of course, with her cushy gig, she didn’t have to get her hands—or her pants—very dirty. Angie was all about making the most money expending the least amount of energy.

He and his colleagues were the ones who paid her.

Who was the smart one in this scenario?

Angie opened the door and nearly missed running head-on into a perky blonde who stood there smiling, one hand raised as if to knock on the door.

Lily Palmer? Had to be.

One look at her sparkling green eyes and her dimpled smile and Cullen had to fight the urge to hire her right on the spot. She looked like a blonde angel backlit by a ray of sunshine that had finally broken through the gray storm clouds.

As the sound of bickering kids trailed through the half-open front door, he wondered if he could interview her on the front porch and not let her inside until she had taken an irrevocable pledge to work as a nanny for the month of December, which was the length of time she was available to nanny.

God, please don’t let the kids run her off the same way they sent Angie packing.

“Hello,” she said. Her smile didn’t falter and the sparkle in her green eyes didn’t fade despite the unwelcoming sounds coming from the house and the figurative horns and fangs that Angie sported as she stood next to Lily on the front-porch step.

“I’m Lily Palmer. I’m looking for Dr. Cullen Dunlevy. I’m here to interview for the nanny position.”

“I’m Cullen Dunlevy.” That was when he noticed that her eyes weren’t just green; they were flecked with gold and her full lips were…stunning. For a fleeting moment he wanted nothing more than to taste those lips, but he mentally shook away the inappropriate thought.

This wasn’t a speed-dating interview.

He needed her.

Uh— He needed her to watch the kids. He’d be wise to keep himself in check.

Angie laughed. It was a bitter sound.

“I have two pieces of advice for you, Lily Palmer,” she said. “Run while you can. Run and save yourself.”

* * *

Lily looked at the shockingly handsome man who had answered the door and then back at the frazzled-looking middle-aged woman, who made a snorting sound as she turned away from them and virtually jogged toward the driveway.

“Have I come at a bad time?” Lily asked.

She could hear a barking dog and children’s voices somewhere behind the half-open front door. The sounds were temporarily eclipsed by the cranking engine of the woman’s sports car.

Dr. Dunlevy smiled sheepishly. A dimple winked at her and his hazel eyes shone with boyish charm. Were they hazel or green? She resisted the urge to stare.

“Actually you couldn’t have arrived at a better time. I’m sorry about all of this.” He held out his hands, palms turned toward the gray sky. “Just so you know, Angie wasn’t here applying for the job. Actually she was my housekeeper. Emphasis on the was. She just quit. I hope that won’t scare you off.”

Lily glanced over her shoulder in the direction of where the woman’s car had been parked. “Well, no. I teach second graders during the school year. I don’t scare that easily. Unless there’s something you’re not telling me.”

If she didn’t need this job so badly, she might admit that Angie’s exit did concern her just a wee bit. But the private school where Lily taught was closed for the entire month of December—for family ski trips and holiday celebrations. Having a month off was a nice perk for the privileged, but for those who needed money, the unpaid vacation was a hardship.

When she’d heard that Dr. Dunlevy, who worked with the husband of her friend Kate Thayer, was looking for a temporary nanny, it sounded like the perfect job. Especially when she learned he was paying two and a half times what she could earn working a temporary seasonal retail position. She wouldn’t let a disgruntled former employee and a barking dog scare her off.

Tags: Nancy Robards Thompson Billionaire Romance
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