Belinda (6 page)

“Goodnight, Reeve.”

“Good night, Belinda.”

She lifted her slim hand until it was
touching her lips, then ever so slowly, she blew him a kiss. The
beauty of the gesture mesmerized him. He stood in the hallway
gazing upward long after she had disappeared from the top of the
stairs. And then he found himself touching his own face as if her
kiss had actually landed there.

Reeve had started his interviews at eight
o’clock that morning and already he had eliminated five nannies. He
was beginning to despair. He turned his full attention to the
current candidate, Miss Caroline Upchurch. So far, she was doing
well in the interview. She had the right background, the right
education.

“How do you discipline children, Miss
Upchurch?” he asked suddenly, treading into treacherous waters.

“I slap their faces.”

“You slap their faces?”

“Mr. Lawrence, there’s no need to roar. My
hearing is perfectly sound.”

“It’s not your hearing I question, Miss
Upchurch, it’s your judgment. You may go.”

“But you didn’t even ask about my background
in art.”

“Miss Upchurch, under no circumstances would
I entrust my children to the care of a woman who believes in
physical violence—even if you had painted the Sistine Chapel.” He
stood up, dismissing her.

She sniffed as she walked haughtily toward
his office door. When she opened it, he caught a glimpse of Belinda
Diamond, his first of the morning. She was wearing denims and a
bright red shirt, and she was apparently engaged with his children
in some sort of game. Betsy and Mark’s squeals of laughter echoed
through his open door.

He followed Miss Upchurch and stood leaning
in his doorway. His son and daughter were hopping on the marble
squares in the hallway, and Belinda was cheering them on. They
didn’t see him at first, and he enjoyed watching them.

Suddenly Belinda turned. Her face lit in a
huge smile at the sight of him. “ Hi!” She waved, then motioned him
over. “Come join us.”

“What are you playing?” He left his place at
the door to stand beside her. She smelled like roses.

“Hopscotch. Your hall is the perfect place.
It already has squares laid out and everything. We didn’t even have
to draw them off with chalk.”

“You have chalk?”

“Sure. Got it from Mark’s room.”

“And you were going to draw squares in the
hall?”

She put her hands on her hips and squared her
chin. “It wipes right off. And anyhow, it’s raining outside. The
children can’t play out in the rain.”

“Hmm...” He considered her closely. She took
his scrutiny in stride, looking him squarely in the eye. Belinda
Diamond was not a woman who was easily intimidated.

Quite suddenly Reeve was overtaken with an
idea so simple he wondered why he hadn’t thought of it sooner.

“Would you mind stepping into my office?”

“Look, if it’s about the chalk—”

“Forget the chalk—carry on, children. Belinda
will be back soon.” He was scrupulously careful not to touch her as
he escorted her into his office. But even so, the fragrance of
roses washed over his senses, reminding him of long walks in the
moonlight on summer nights when the roses were in full bloom. He
couldn’t remember the last walk he’d had on a summer evening.

They stepped into his office, and he closed
the door behind them. Belinda let out a big sigh. Thank goodness,
he wasn’t upset about the hopscotch game on his fancy marble floor.
And whatever he wanted to talk to her about couldn’t be all that
bad, not in a room that looked as good as this one. It was homey
and comfortable, not as elegant and forbidding as his dining room
and his den. There were lots of books on the wall and window shades
at the windows, drawn up so she could see the rain tapping against
the panes. His desk chair looked cozy and big enough for two.

She slid a sideways glance at Reeve. My, he
was wonderfully made. What would it be like to have a man like that
all to yourself in a room like this? The first thing she would do
was cuddle up to his broad chest in that big old desk chair. The
thought made her smile.

“Won’t you sit down, Belinda?”

She was still smiling when she sat down, even
though Reeve had taken the chair behind his desk and now seemed
more remote, like a king sitting on his throne.

She folded her hands in her lap and waited
quietly for him to speak, but he acted as if he’d forgotten why
he’d wanted her in here. He was as still as Abraham Lincoln in his
great big old stone chair in Washington, D.C.—and nearly as
scary-looking. Lord, she wished he’d smile. With his eyes all dark
and his face so solemn, Reeve looked like he might be sizing her up
for his dinner.

Belinda had never been the nervous type, so
she didn’t fidget. Instead she looked him right in the eye.

“Belinda, I’ve had a bit of ill luck this
morning. I’ve been interviewing nannies. Unsuccessfully, I might
add.”

“That bunch of women I’ve seen parading in
and out of here?’

“Yes.”

Her face split into a big smile. “I don’t
blame you for calling them nannies. Especially that last one. She
really did look like a goat.”

Reeve burst into laughter. “Point well made.”
He sobered and picked up his letter opener. It was cool and heavy,
and it gave him something to do with his hands—though he had never
had trouble with his hands until he’d met Belinda Diamond.

“Since my wife’s death, I have employed a
succession of women to look after my children.”

“I see.” Belinda’s heart went flip-flopping
around her chest, and she felt as if all the air had been sucked
out of the room. But she didn’t dare get her hopes up too high. She
knew the meaning of disappointment.

“Tomorrow I have to leave for a business trip
to San Francisco, and I’d like to have someone here to help Quincy
with the children. She’s getting too old to manage the household
and the children, too.”

Belinda didn’t know why he was beating around
the bush so. He was beginning to make her nervous. She wanted to
blurt out to him to get to the point, but she kept her peace. A
part of being a new woman was learning not to speak before she
thought.

His face had softened a little. “My children
like you, Belinda.”

“I like them.”

“They are very precious to me.”

“All children are precious.”

Reeve relaxed a little. He wasn’t given to
impulse, and yet he had acted on impulse by bringing Belinda
Diamond into his office and hinting that he might have a job for
her. Now it seemed the best way to approach the interview was not
to conduct an interview at all, but to continue with this informal
discussion. Belinda was the kind of artless truthful woman who held
nothing back. He had already learned enough about her to suspect
that she would be a good nanny—temporarily, of course. And now, the
things she said confirmed his opinion.

He plowed full speed ahead. “Betsy and Mark
can sometimes be naughty and full of pranks.”

“Shoot, you should have seen all the things I
got into when I was their age. My daddy swore I was going to give
him a heart attack before he reached thirty.”

“I suppose you took your whippings.”

“Whippings!” Her eyes got darker as she
leaned forward in her chair. “My daddy never laid a hand on me. And
I’ll tell you another thing—anybody who does that to a child is a
yellow-bellied, lily-livered coward who deserves to be strung up so
the buzzards can gnaw on his insides.”

Reeve’s big laugh pealed around the room.
Belinda had certainly spared no words in telling him what he wanted
to know.

“Well, I didn’t think it was all that funny.”
Belinda stood up.” And if you’re the kind of man who whips his
children, then I’m in the wrong house. I don’t even want to ride in
the car with you down to Main Street, thank you very much.”

Head high, she began her regal exit. Reeve
hurried around his desk and caught her by the shoulders. She tilted
her head to look up at him, her eyes still blazing.

“I would never touch my children in anger,
nor would I allow anyone else to punish them in such a manner. I
was merely testing you, Belinda.”

“Why didn’t you just come right out and ask?
I’d have told you the truth.”

“I know that.”

Her face was still tilted up to his, and she
was so close he could feel the pleasant warmth of her body and
smell the intoxicating fragrance of roses. He had held on to her
too long. What was more, he didn’t want to let go. The knowledge
was so disturbing that he hurried back to his chair. When he was
safely behind his desk, he braced his hands and said softly,
“Please don’t go, Belinda.”

“Well, I swear...” The legs of her jeans
rubbing together made a soft swishing sound as she walked back to
her chair. The sound crawled along Reeve’s nerves. “What some men
won’t do to get a rise out of woman.”

She fanned her hot face with her hand. Even
that movement was elegant and somehow sexy.

“I have a business proposition for you,
Belinda,” he said, very much in charge once more.

“I’m all ears.”

“Tomorrow, I leave on a trip to San
Francisco, and I’d like to hire you as temporary nanny for my
children.”

“Temporary?”

The disappointment was clearly written on her
face, but he wasn’t about to make any long-term commitments to a
woman whose mere presence was enough to shake both his judgment and
his reserve. Besides, she was not suitable for the long haul. Betsy
and Mark needed a woman well versed in art and literature and
music, someone who could give them the training that Sunny would
have if she were alive.

“Since you’re planning to settle in Tupelo, I
know you’re looking for a job with more future, Belinda. And I
certainly don’t want to stand in your way.”

“Shoot, you’re not in my way. I guess I’d
just go around you if you got in the way.”

“So—” he leaned back in his chair “—are you
willing to work for me for the next few days, Belinda?”

She would have crawled on her hands and knees
and slobbered all over his feet for the chance to stay in his
fairy-tale castle a while longer. Just think of all the grand times
she would have exploring! On the other hand, she didn’t want to
appear too anxious. If you got too anxious, employers cut the pay
down until it was next to nothing.

Belinda decided to speak right out, as bold
as you please.

“How much does it pay?” He named a figure
that had her gasping in surprise it was so high. “Lord have mercy!
That sounds like so much money it’s almost wasteful!”

“Good. Then it’s agreed. I’ll have Quincy
inform you about the children’s routine, then you may consider your
duties officially begun.”

He stood up, and waited for her to understand
that the interview was over and she was being dismissed.

Instead, she snuggled down in her chair and
gave his office a lively inspection.

“Just think—me in this wonderful house for a
few days.” She smiled at him. “Won’t that be just grand?”

“I... suppose so.” He hovered behind his desk
like a benevolent professor indulging a favorite student.

“Last night when I was bundled up under that
big soft comforter of yours in that pretty bedroom, I pretended
this was my house. That every bit of this was all mine.” She waved
her hand around the room to encompass his bookshelves and his desk
and his works of art and his Persian rug. “Why, I was just as happy
as if I had died and gone to the Glory Land. That’s how wonderful I
think this house is.”

He sank back into his chair. There was
nothing alarming about Belinda’s vision. In fact, he found it to be
rather flattering. He had always taken pride in his home, and it
pleased him to see that she loved it so.

“I’m glad you like it.”

“Like it! Mercy me.” She came out of her
chair, as graceful and quick as a gazelle, and moved around till
she was standing beside his chair.

She reached out and ran her hand lovingly
along the back of his chair. He could barely feel her touch on the
back of his neck. He reached for his letter opener, gripping it
hard.

“If I lived in this big old house
permanent-like...” She paused, gazing down at him. Her voice and
her eyes had both gone dreamy. “You know, maybe with a husband and
two kids all my own...” Her hand played softly along the back of
his chair again, making his blood race. “Why, I ‘spect I might have
a hard time getting all my work done. Take this chair, for
instance. If I had a husband, why, I’d curl up in his lap in this
big old comfortable chair and smooch to my heart’s content.”

Her hands whispered along the leather again.
“Smooching’s nice, don’t you think?”

He cleared his throat, and her warm hand slid
along the back of his chair once more, grazing his neck. Suddenly
his body responded like an old soldier who had been out of battle
too long but who’d never forgotten how to win the war.

Blindly he reached for the intercom.
“Quincy!”
He knew he was bellowing, but he was past
caring.
“Will you come into my office?”

Belinda jumped back from his chair as if
she’d been shot. Land, she’d done it now. All that money down the
tube just because she got carried away over his desk chair. Well,
it was more than that, really, she thought as she made her way back
to her own chair. Actually, she got carried away by him—by Reeve
Lawrence. There was something powerful about that man. He was like
a magnet drawing things toward him. Her, for one. She had felt the
pull, and she had just naturally followed it. That’s how she had
ended up behind his chair, running her hands along the back, for
goodness’ sake.

And now she was going to pay the
consequences. He was going to fire her even before she got started.
Worse yet, he was going to have Quincy show her the door.