Dare To Resist (Dare Nation 1)

He shook his head. “Those are basics. Anyone can do that.”

“But not just anyone would. Just like being a kidney donor for Paul. You stepped up.” She stroked a hand down his cheek, feeling the stubble beneath her fingertips. “If you’re her father, you’re going to be a good dad. I promise.”

He managed a smile but she knew it was half-hearted at best.

A muscle still worked in his jaw from the way he obviously clenched his teeth. “Listen, I need some time to think. I’m going to go out to the pool for a bit and just chill. Can you handle her if she wakes up?”

She swallowed hard, hating that she’d upset him. “Of course. And I’ll clean up.” She reached out to touch him in reassurance, but he rose, turned, and walked away.

* * *

Austin stood facing the Olympic-sized pool that had been a selling point of the house. The ability to swim laps in order to unwind was always something he enjoyed. Tonight was a cool evening for August, and he wasn’t in the mood to go into the water. He’d just needed to be alone to think.

Ever since he’d accepted the reality of Jenny in his home, he’d been forcing thoughts of Jesse out of his mind. He’d even tried to be okay with the situation after Ian had left, but the more he attempted to be the upbeat, good father she needed, the more insidious thoughts of the dad who’d raised him intruded. And Quinn had called him on it.

Somehow she sensed all wasn’t as it seemed and he’d dumped his fears on her. Not his greatest moment, he thought. Another thing Jesse had instilled in him. Never show weakness.

Except, when it came to the woman currently living in his house, he was beginning to feel his personal walls crumble. And if he wasn’t careful, he was going to be left having to pick up the pieces when she was gone.

* * *

Sitting at her desk in the office the next morning, Quinn looked at the schedule for the day. She’d found a bonded nanny agency that agreed to send qualified candidates with vetted references over to Dare Nation for interviews. She’d explained the urgency of the situation, and she had five women coming to the office today.

Again, she worked with Jenny, alternating between the car seat carrier and the Baby Bjorn. If she wasn’t such a sweet baby, this situation wouldn’t have been palatable, but she was. So Quinn was able to handle it. And there was a small part of her that was falling for the adorable infant, which made her grateful Austin’s mother would be home in a couple of days and relieve her of duty.

The first candidate arrived, a young woman with stars in her eyes, and when she caught sight of the athlete photographs on the walls in the office, those eyes lit up. Quinn disliked her immediately and was grateful when Austin cut the interview short after she was visibly sucking up to him and ignoring the baby.

Candidate number two was an older woman with strict ideas about babies, scheduling, letting them cry it out, and other old-school ideas that had Quinn cringing at the thought of subjecting Jenny to such a rigid woman.

“Thank you, we’ll be in touch,” Quinn had said, interrupting the woman mid-sentence.

Austin, she’d noted, hid a grin as Quinn had risen from her chair and escorted the other woman out, listening to her complain that Quinn hadn’t let her finish discussing the Ferber method of teaching a baby to self-soothe. It hadn’t helped that she’d gone into a lecture on the issues with the Baby Bjorn and spoiling an infant.

The day went on in similar fashion, with either Quinn or Austin finding reasons to dislike the candidates.

And when someone from the lab arrived to take a DNA swab from Austin and Jenny, Austin hovered over the baby and asked a ton of questions, making the entire process take longer than it should have for a mere mouth swab.

On top of that, his lawyer had no leads on the baby’s mother. Austin had visibly tensed when he’d taken the call and hadn’t been happy with no progress, and Quinn had had to remind him it had only been a few days.

Quinn was giving the baby a bottle when Paul Dare walked up to her desk.

“Hi, Quinn.” The handsome man treated her to a warm smile. He had a full head of dark hair, tanned skin, and a healthy pallor, thanks to Austin.

“Hi, Mr. Dare.”

He frowned. “Paul, please. I’ve told you that.”

She nodded. “I’m sorry. Habit.” Her parents had instilled the Mr. and Mrs. thing and it had stuck.

He glanced at the baby in her arms. “Quite the change around here, yes?” The good-looking older man met her gaze and grinned.