A Baby for the Boss (14 page)

“Mike, you’re just saying this now, to try to make it better.”

“No, damn it.” He scowled. “You’re wrong. I believed before today. It was that talk the other night, out at the pool?” He pulled her tight as if expecting her to make a bolt for escape. “It was then reality crashed down on me. When you said you didn’t need me. Didn’t want my money. When you made me see that you’re not the kind of woman who has to
trap
a man into anything.

“You’re one of the strongest women I’ve ever known. You’re beautiful, talented. You’re kind and funny and you don’t take any of my crap.”

She laughed, but it hurt her throat, so she stopped short.

“You’re everything to me, Jenny. You have to believe me.”

“I want to,” she admitted. “So much.”

He smiled, just one brief curve of his mouth. “Then let this convince you.” Digging into his pants pocket, he pulled out a small deep blue velvet box.

Jenny’s eyes went wide and she sucked in a gulp of air and held it. He was telling the truth, she thought wildly. He’d already had a ring for her when Hank showed up. It was real. It was staggering.

Mike flipped the top of the box open, and showed her a canary yellow diamond, glittering in an old-fashioned setting that seemed to Jenny as if it were made especially for her. “When did you—”

“Yesterday,” he said. “After our talk the night before last, I drove into Vegas, found the best jeweler in the city and got this ring for you.” He lifted her chin with the tips of his fingers until her teary eyes met his. “I knew, before your uncle showed up, that I love you. I trust you. I need you, Jenny. I always will.”

“Mike...” Her bottom lip trembled.

Taking her left hand in his, he slid the ring onto her finger and sealed it there with a kiss. “Say you’ll take the ring, Jenny. And me.”

It was a gift, Jenny told herself. A gift from the universe, because suddenly she had everything she’d ever wanted most in her life. She looked up into his beautiful eyes and saw her own love shining back at her.

“Jenny?” he asked, a half laugh in his voice, “you’re starting to worry me...”

“There’s no need, Mike. I love you. I have since that first night in Phoenix.” She went up on her toes and kissed him lightly. “I’ll take the ring. And you. And I promise I will love you forever.”

“Thank God,” he whispered and pulled her in close. His arms wrapped around her, her head nestled on his chest, she heard him say, “You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, Jenny Marshall, and I swear I will never let you go.”

Epilogue

A
few months later, the wedding was held at the Balboa Pavilion. Built in 1905, the Victorian-style building was on the National Register of Historic Places, and a California landmark. The grand ballroom boasted dramatic floor-to-ceiling windows that provided a spectacular view of one of the largest small-yacht harbors in the world.

Candles flickered on the linen-draped tables scattered around the wide room. Yellow and white flowers decorated every surface and cascaded over the front of the bride-and-groom table. And tiny white fairy lights sparkled and shone on every window as the day wore down and night rushed in.

“It was all perfect,” Jenny mused, leaning back against her brand-new husband.

Mike's arms wrapped around her middle, his hands tenderly cupping the bump of their child, and he dipped his head to kiss the curve of her throat. “It was, and you are the most beautiful bride ever.”

Jenny did feel pretty in her white off-the-shoulder dress that clung to her bosom and waist, then fell in a soft swirl of skirt to the floor. Mike, of course, was gorgeous: tall, handsome and looking as though he'd been born to wear a tux.

“I love you,” she whispered, tipping her head back to look at him.

“Never get tired of hearing that.” He grinned, kissed her and swore, “I love you, too. And I'm going to show you how much every day of our honeymoon.”

A slow, knowing smile curved her lips. “You haven't had a vacation in years. I can hardly believe we're taking a week in Ireland
and
a week in London.”

“And,” he teased, “another week in Tuscany.”

“Really?” Jenny turned in his arms and hugged him. “You didn't tell me!”

“Surprise!” He grinned down at her and said, “An artist really should tour Italy, don't you think?”

“Absolutely.” Jenny couldn't possibly be happier, she thought. A man who loved her, a baby on the way, a job she loved and so many friends who had come to wish them well.

“Maybe we'll look around, see if we can find a spot we like, buy a place of our own there.”

“Seriously?” He shrugged. “Why not? We can take the kids there every summer.”

“Kids?”
she repeated, still grinning.

“Well, we're not gonna stop at one, are we?” He patted her belly and she caught his hand and held it in place, linking the three of them.

“No, we're not,” she agreed, then leaned back against him and watched their guests dance on the wide wooden floor beneath thousands of tiny white lights.

“Your uncle and Betty look like they're having fun,” he said, giving a nod toward the dance floor.

Jenny smiled to see Hank and Betty dancing together, alongside Mike's parents. The four of them had hit it off well enough that they were all planning a trip to wine country together. Their family was big and growing, Jenny thought, and she couldn't be happier.

“You two should be dancing,” Brady said as he and Aine approached. Their infant son had stayed home in Ireland with Aine's mother, and though of course they were worried about leaving him, they were also enjoying the little break from parenthood.

“Why aren't you?” Mike asked with a laugh.

“We're about to,” Brady assured him with a slap on the shoulder. “But first, we wanted to say happy wedding, happy life and good luck with the baby.”

“Thanks,” Mike said and pulled his oldest friend into a hard, one-armed hug.

“What's all this?” Sean asked as he walked up to join them. “People partying without me?”

“Where've you been?” Mike demanded. “You disappeared like an hour ago.”

“On the phone with the contractor from hell,” Sean muttered, glaring down at the phone so he didn't see the amused glances Mike and Brady shared.

“How is the very efficient Kate?” Brady asked.

“Driving him crazy,” Mike offered.

“Hey, you try dealing with a know-it-all,” Sean quipped.

“We do it all the time,” Aine said, with a grin for Jenny.

“She's right,” the new bride agreed.

“All right, enough of the insults.” Brady pulled his wife onto the dance floor and her delighted laughter spilled out in her wake.

“Can I dance with the bride now?” Sean asked.

Mike strong-armed him out of the way. “Get your own girl.

“You owe me a dance, Mrs. Ryan,” Mike said and spun Jenny into his arms and then around in a tight, fast circle.

“Sweep me away, Mr. Ryan,” Jenny said and laughing, she wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight. While the music played and the night wore on, joy shone as brightly as the fairy lights in the darkness.

* * * * *

If you loved A BABY FOR THE BOSS, don't miss the other stories in the
PREGNANT BY THE BOSS
trilogy from
USA TODAY
bestselling author Maureen Child

HAVING HER BOSS'S BABY

Available now!

And
SNOWBOUND WITH THE BOSS
Available March 2016!

And pick up these other fun and sexy reads from
USA TODAY
bestselling author Maureen Child

DOUBLE THE TROUBLE
THE FIANCÉE CAPER
THE COWBOY'S PRIDE AND JOY
AFTER HOURS WITH HER EX

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NANNY MAKES THREE
by Cat Schield.

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Nanny Makes Three

by Cat Schield

One

S
hortly after the 6:00 a.m. feeding, Liam Wade strode through the barn housing the yearling colts and fillies, enjoying the peaceful crunching of hay and the occasional equine snort. It was January 1, and because of the way horses were classified for racing and showing purposes, regardless of their calendar age, every horse in every stall on the ranch was now officially a year older.

Dawn of New Year's Day had never been a time of reflection for Liam. Usually he was facedown in a beautiful woman's bed, sleeping like the dead after an evening of partying and great sex. Last year that had changed. He'd left the New Year's Eve party alone.

His cell phone buzzed in his back pocket, and he pulled it out. The message from his housekeeper made him frown.

There's a woman at the house who needs to speak to you.

Liam couldn't imagine what sort of trouble had come knocking on his door this morning. He texted back that he was on his way and retraced his steps to his Range Rover.

As he drove up, he saw an unfamiliar gray Ford Fusion in the driveway near the large Victorian house Liam's great-great-grandfather had built during the last days of the nineteenth century. Liam and his twin brother, Kyle, had grown up in this seven-bedroom home, raised by their grandfather after their mother headed to Dallas to create her real estate empire.

Liam parked and turned off the engine. A sense of foreboding raised the hair on his arms, and he wondered at his reluctance to get out of the truck. He'd enjoyed how peaceful the last year had been. A strange woman showing up at the crack of dawn could only mean trouble.

Slipping from behind the wheel, Liam trotted across the drought-dry lawn and up the five steps that led to the wraparound porch. The stained glass windows set into the double doors allowed light to filter into the wide entry hall, but prevented him from seeing inside. Thus, it wasn't until Liam pushed open the door that he saw the infant car seat off to one side of the hall. As that was registering, a baby began to wail from the direction of the living room.

The tableau awaiting him in the high-ceilinged room was definitely the last thing he'd expected. Candace, his housekeeper, held a squalling infant and was obviously trying to block the departure of a stylish woman in her late fifties.

“Liam will be here any second,” Candace was saying. With her focus split between the child and the blonde woman in the plum wool coat, his housekeeper hadn't noticed his arrival.

“What's going on?” Liam questioned, raising his voice slightly to be heard above the unhappy baby.

The relief on Candace's face was clear. “This is Diane Garner. She's here about her granddaughter.”

“You're Liam Wade?” the woman demanded, her tone an accusation.

“Yes.” Liam was completely bewildered by her hostility. He didn't recognize her name or her face.

“My daughter is dead.”

“I'm very sorry to hear that.”

“She was on her way to see you when she went into labor and lost control of her car. The doctors were unable to save her.”

“That's very tragic.” Liam wasn't sure what else to say. The name Garner rang no bells. “Did she and I have an appointment about something?”

Diane stiffened. “An appointment?”

“What was your daughter's name?”

“Margaret Garner. You met her in San Antonio.” Diane grew more agitated with each word she uttered. “You can't expect me to believe you don't remember.”

“I'm sorry,” Liam said, pitching his voice to calm the woman. She reminded him of a high-strung mare. “It's been a while since I've been there.”

“It's been eight months,” Diane said. “Surely you couldn't have forgotten my daughter in such a short period of time.”

Liam opened his mouth to explain that he wasn't anywhere near San Antonio eight months ago when it hit him what the woman was implying. He turned and stared at the baby Candace held.

“You think the baby's mine?”

“Her name is Maggie and I know she's yours.”

Liam almost laughed. This was one child he knew without question wasn't his. He'd been celibate since last New Year's Eve. “I assure you that's not true.”

Diane pursed her lips. “I came here thinking you'd do the right thing by Maggie. She's your child. There's no question that you had an affair with my daughter.”

He wasn't proud of the fact that during his twenties, he'd probably slept with a few women without knowing their last name or much more about them other than that they were sexy and willing. But he'd been careful, and not one of them had shown up on his doorstep pregnant.

“If I had an affair with your daughter, it was a long time ago, and this child is not mine.”

“I have pictures that prove otherwise.” Diane pulled a phone out of her purse and swiped at the screen. “These are you and my daughter. The date stamp puts them at eight months ago in San Antonio. Are you going to deny that's you?”

The screen showed a very pretty woman with blond hair and bright blue eyes, laughing as she kissed the cheek of a very familiar-looking face. Kyle's. A baseball cap hid his short hair, but the lack of a scar on his chin left no doubt it was Kyle and not Liam in the picture.

“I realize that looks like me, but I have a twin brother.” Liam was still grappling with seeing his brother looking so happy when Diane Garner slipped past him and headed toward the entry. “But even so, that doesn't mean the baby is a Wade.”

Diane paused with her hand on the front doorknob. Her eyes blazed. “Margaret dated very infrequently, and she certainly didn't sleep around. I can tell from the pictures that she really fell for you.”

Either Diane hadn't heard Liam when he explained that he had a twin or she saw this as an excuse. While he grappled for a way to get through to the woman, she yanked the door open and exited the house.

Stunned, Liam stared after her. He was ready to concede that the child might be a Wade. A DNA test would confirm that quickly enough, but then what? Kyle was on active duty in the military and not in a position to take on the responsibility of an infant.

The baby's cries escalated, interrupting his train of thought. He turned to where Candace rocked the baby in an effort to calm her and realized Diane Garner intended to leave her granddaughter behind. Liam chased after the older woman and caught her car door before she could close it.

“Are you leaving the baby?”

“Margaret was on her way to see you. I think she meant to either give you Maggie or get your permission to give her up. There were blank forms to that effect in her car.”

“Why?”

“She never wanted to have children of her own.” Diane's voice shook. “And I know she wouldn't have been able to raise one by herself.”

“What happens if I refuse?”

“I'll turn her over to child services.”

“But you're the child's grandmother. Couldn't you just take care of her until we can get a DNA test performed and...”

“Because of health issues, I'm not in a position to take care of her. You're Maggie's father,” Diane insisted. “She belongs with you.”

She belonged with her father. Unfortunately, with Kyle on active duty, could he care for a baby? Did he even want to? Liam had no idea—it had been two years since he'd last spoken with Kyle. But if the child was a Wade—and Liam wasn't going to turn the child out until he knew one way or another—that meant she belonged here.

“How do I get in contact with you?” Liam asked. Surely the woman would want some news of her grandchild?

“I gave my contact info to your housekeeper.” The older woman looked both shaken and determined. “Take good care of Maggie. She's all I have left.” And with more haste than grace, Diane pulled her car door shut and started the engine.

As the gray car backed down the driveway, Liam considered the decision his own mother had made, leaving him and Kyle with her father to raise while she went off to the life she wanted in Dallas. He'd never really felt a hole in his life at her absence. Their grandfather had been an ideal blend of tough and affectionate. No reason to think that Maggie wouldn't do just as well without her mother.

He returned to the house. Candace was in the kitchen warming a bottle of formula. The baby continued to showcase an impressive set of lungs. His housekeeper shot him a concerned glance.

“You let her go?” Candace rocked the baby.

“What was I supposed to do?”

“Convince her to take the baby with her?” She didn't sound all that certain. “You and I both know she isn't yours.”

“You sound pretty sure about that.”

Liam gave her a crooked smile. Candace had started working for him seven years ago when the former housekeeper retired. Diane Garner wasn't the first woman to show up unexpected and uninvited on his doorstep, although she was the first one to arrive with a baby.

“You've been different this last year.” Candace eyed him. “More settled.”

She'd never asked what had prompted his overnight transformation from carefree playboy to responsible businessman. Maybe she figured with his thirtieth birthday he'd decided to leave his freewheeling days behind him. That was part of the truth, but not all.

“I've been living like a monk.”

She grinned. “That, too.”

“What am I supposed to do with a baby?” He eyed the red-faced infant with her wispy blond hair and unfocused blue eyes. “Why won't she stop crying?”

“She's not wet so I'm assuming she's hungry.” Or maybe she just wants her mother. Candace didn't say the words, but the thought was written all over her face. “Can you hold her while I get her bottle ready?”

“I'd rather not.”

“She won't break.”

The child looked impossibly small in Candace's arms. Liam shook his head. “Tell me what to do to get a bottle ready.”

The noise in the kitchen abated while the baby sucked greedily at her bottle. Liam made the most of this respite and contacted a local company that specialized in placing nannies. Since it wasn't quite seven in the morning, he was forced to leave a message and could only hope that he'd impressed the owners with the urgency of his need. That done, he set about creating a list of things that baby Maggie would need.

* * *

Hadley Stratton took her foot off the accelerator and let her SUV coast down the last thirty feet of driveway. An enormous Victorian mansion loomed before her, white siding and navy trim giving it the look of a graceful dowager in the rugged West Texas landscape.

The drive from her apartment in Royal had taken her fifteen minutes. Although a much shorter commute than her last job in Pine Valley, Hadley had reservations about taking the nanny position. Liam Wade had a playboy reputation, which made this the exact sort of situation she avoided. If he hadn't offered a salary at the top of her range and promised a sizable bonus if she started immediately, she would have refused when the agency called. But with student loans hanging over her head and the completion of her master's degree six short months away, Hadley knew she'd be a fool to turn down the money.

Besides, she'd learned her lesson when it came to attractive, eligible bosses. There would be no repeat of the mistake she'd made with Noah Heston, the divorced father of three who'd gone back to his ex-wife after enticing Hadley to fall in love with him.

Parking her SUV, Hadley headed for the front door and rang the bell. Inside a baby cried, and Hadley's agitation rose. She knew very little about the situation she was walking into. Only that Liam Wade had a sudden and urgent need for someone to care for an infant.

A shadow darkened the stained glass inset in the double door. When Hadley's pulse quickened, she suspected this was a mistake. For the last hour she'd been telling herself that Liam Wade was just like any other employer. Sure, the man was a world-class horseman and sexy as hell. Yes, she'd had a crush on him ten years ago, but so had most of the other teenage girls who barrel raced.

A decade had gone by. She was no longer a silly fangirl, but a mature, intelligent,
professional
nanny who knew the risks of getting emotionally wrapped up in her charges or their handsome fathers.

“Good morning, Mr. Wade.” She spoke crisply as the door began to open. “Royal Nannies sent me. My name is—”

“Hadley...” His bottle-green eyes scanned her face.

“Hadley Stratton.” Had he remembered her? No, of course not. “Stratton.” She cleared her throat and tried not to sound as if her heart was racing. Of course he knew who she was; obviously the agency had let him know who they were sending. “I'm Hadley Stratton.” She clamped her lips together and stopped repeating her name.

“You're a nanny?” He executed a quick but thorough assessment of her and frowned.

“Well, yes.” Maybe he expected someone older. “I have my résumé and references if you'd like to look them over.” She reached into her tote and pulled out a file.

“No need.” He stepped back and gestured her inside. “Maggie's in the living room.” He shut the door behind her and grimaced. “Just follow the noise.”

Hadley didn't realize that she'd expected the baby's mother to be ridiculously young, beautiful and disinterested in motherhood until she spied the woman holding the child. In her late forties, she was wearing jeans, a flannel shirt and sneakers, her disheveled dark hair in a messy bun.

“Hadley Stratton. Candace Tolliver, my housekeeper.” Liam cast a fond grin at the older woman. “Who is very glad you've come so quickly.”

Candace had the worn look of a first-time mother with a fussy baby. Even before the introductions were completed, she extended the baby toward Hadley. “I've fed her and changed her. She won't stop crying.”

“What is her normal routine?” Hadley rocked and studied the tiny infant, wondering what had become of the child's mother. Smaller than the average newborn by a few pounds. Was that due to her mother's unhealthy nutritional habits while pregnant or something more serious?