“Right!” Sally’s authority finger shot out to emphasise points. “Leave Charlotte with him while you deal with Juliette Hardwick. If he wants to skip out of minding the baby, he’s history. If he takes it on, he’ll start finding out Charlotte is real. Put him to the test, Nina.”
Having settled the matter to her satisfaction, Sally slid off the stool, supremely confident of pertinent results.
“But it mightn’t prove anything,” Nina argued, not liking the idea of leaving Jack in charge of her baby. “Charlotte sleeps most of the time.”
“It’s a question of attitude,” Sally claimed, making a jaunty exit. She paused at the door for a curtain line. “And don’t forget to give him a reward if he does good. I’m a great believer in the reward system. It encourages performance.”
The door closed.
Right! Nina thought, mentally girding her loins. There was no good to be gained in mushing around with negative pessimism. If she wanted decisive answers, risks had to be taken. If Jack came tonight, she would leave Charlotte with him. After all, he was her father. His reaction to the idea of being left in sole charge of a baby should tell her something.
Attitude.
It should be a dead give-away.
CHAPTER NINE
A GLANCE at her watch warned Nina to stop dithering. It was almost five o’clock. Jack finished work at four. She wasn’t quite sure what his plan was, but it didn’t take long to get from Roseville Chase to Lane Cove. She wanted to be ready for him. For tonight’s appointment with Juliette Hardwick, as well.
She always wore black for business. It was classy while also being unobtrusive. It was important for the women being dressed for a wedding to outshine everyone else. Since it was Nina’s job to ensure they achieved that result, she didn’t want her own appearance to be a distraction. Black was also the perfect foil to show up their dresses in the mirror as she moved around them, tucking and pinning.
With having to breastfeed Charlotte, it was far more practical for her to wear a button-through tunic,
but vanity kept pulling her towards the silky two-piece, which featured a cowl neckline and a gold-link belt. It was definitely her sexiest outfit, soft and swishy, the fabric clinging to her curves, accentuating her femininity.
She had worn loose clothes through most of her pregnancy. Now that she had her figure back, more or less, the temptation to really feel like a woman again argued against common sense. Besides, Jack had seen her looking a frump in the hospital. It wouldn’t hurt to remind him of how she could look—a sort of welcome, and a reward if he really was as good as his word about being a dad for Charlotte.
She wasn’t sure how far a reward should go at this stage. Sally did have a point. Some positive encouragement might help to establish a more positive attitude. It was worth trying, anyway. If Jack saw her making an effort for him, he might make more of an effort with Charlotte.
Decision made, Nina whipped her favoured outfit off its hanger and quickly pulled it on. Her waist wasn’t quite back to normal, but her breasts were bigger, so her figure still balanced in a satisfactory fashion. She slipped on a pair of soft gold slippers and hunted through her earrings for the black and gold dangly set that complemented her short hairstyle.
She’d washed and blow-dried her hair into perfect shape earlier this afternoon. The longer sections on either side of her face now curved smoothly along her cheekline. It was a sophisticated style, cleverly shaped to her head and cut higher at the back to accentuate the curve of skull and neck. A gamine-style fringe softened the overall sleek severity of the cut and served to make more of a feature of her large, dark eyes.
In keeping with Sally’s policy of always looking good, Nina had taken time with her make-up, using both a light and dark grey shading to add emphasis to her eyes. Her thick black lashes looked even more lustrous with mascara. She’d balanced deep red lipstick with a subtle application of toning blusher, making her cheekbones slightly more dramatic. Sally insisted that hands were important, too, so a matching red varnish glossed her well-kept nails.
Now that her hair was short, Nina enjoyed wearing earrings. She had a long neck, and they really added style and made a statement with whatever she was wearing. Having found the pair she wanted and fastened them to her lobes, Nina felt a definite lift in spirits as she surveyed her reflection in the mirror. Not bad. Not bad at all. She grinned at herself. Jack would see a big difference between yesterday and today.
Not that she wanted to encourage him too much, more laying a promise on the line if he was prepared to toe it where Charlotte was concerned. No mother without daughter. A package deal. And Charlotte was not to be short-changed. Nina was determined on that.
She moved over to the double bed where the capsule occupied one side, propped around by pillows for extra safety. Leaning over the snugly sleeping baby, she inhaled the fresh, sweet scent of her. It had been a delight bathing Charlotte this afternoon, tiny arms splashing, legs kicking, her eyes wide open, staring up at Nina as though querying the experience while obviously enjoying it. The world was so new to her. Nina hoped nothing would spoil it for her daughter for a long, long time.
She moved quietly out of the bedroom and was passing the kitchenette when the knock on the door came, startling her into an abrupt halt. Her heartbeat accelerated with a hop, skip and jump. It had to be Jack. Fate had dictated that their paths cross again. She silently begged not to be disappointed as she composed herself as best she could and took the last few steps to admit the father of her child.
With a hopeful little smile appealing to all that was good in Jack, she opened the door. The same kind of smile was waiting for her, but she barely saw it. Her heart contracted at the sheer male vitality that hit her. Jack was dressed in jeans and a cream and navy body shirt, and his tall, muscular frame seemed to leap at her.
He’d had his hair trimmed, and his face looked so clean-cut and handsome, Nina couldn’t help staring, drinking in all his attractive features, the high, wide forehead punctuated by strongly arched eyebrows, eyes of deep river green sweeping over her with drowning intensity, the striking sculpture of his nose and cheekbones and the teasing sensuality of his full-lipped mouth. She could smell the spicy aftershave lotion he had splashed on his shiny smooth jaw and had a mad urge to taste it, to run her tongue over the slight dimple just above the strong, straight line of his chin.
“Nina.” Intense relief and awed pleasure. His face broke into a dazzling grin. His hands came up, gesturing appreciation of the picture she made. “You look fantastic.” He laughed. “I feel like I’ve been run over by a truck, you’re so stunningly beautiful.”
She laughed, too. He’d had the same impact on her.
“Even your hair…” He shook his head in wonderment.
“You preferred it long?”
“No…it’s different, but it does suit you.” Emphatically positive.
“I know you liked it long, but it got in the way with bending down to get hems right on dresses.” She prattled, tingling with nervous excitement.