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Though the Audra he remembered was a short, chubby cherub with big blue eyes and a riot of yellow curls, she’d grown into a beautiful woman. Tall and slender with sleek, sophisticated golden hair and blue eyes that were both warm and sexy, Audra would turn any man’s head.
“This is the sitting room.”
A few steps in front of him, Audra appraised the overstuffed sofa and chair, coffee table, armoire and bar in the corner with a frown.
“It’s not supposed to be huge. It’s just a sitting room.”
She faced him. “It’s okay. I was simply thinking it needs a rocker and maybe a TV.”
He hit a switch, and the armoire doors opened. “TV, CD player, DVD player. The works.”
“Great. I’ll get a rocker at the furniture store, and this room will be perfect for a nanny’s needs.”
He pointed at two white doors on the wall to the right. “That was my bedroom. And that,” he said, motioning to the second door, “leads to a room I used for storage. It’s empty now, so it’s all ready for baby furniture.”
“Is there a door that connects the two rooms?”
“No.”
“We’ll need one.”
“Talk to your mom. She takes care of the house. If there’s anything you need to have fixed, remodeled or repaired, she does the hiring.”
“Got it.” She nodded and turned away from him, still appraising.
Feeling safe, Dominic let his gaze ripple from her tiny waist, down her backside to her shapely legs. The part of him that longed to forget his responsibilities and flirt with her begged to be given at least a few seconds of consideration, but he silenced it. He had to get her set up, rush with her to Marsha’s mom’s, then hurry to the office. He didn’t have time to slow down the process. He honestly wondered if he’d ever get another free minute. Running the monolithic family business was overwhelming all by itself, but as of an hour ago he had also become a daddy.
A daddy.
“Give me another second to check out the empty room.”
Glad she knew what she was doing, Dominic said, “Sure. Knock yourself out.”
Audra disappeared into the storage room, and he blew his breath out on a tired sigh. The second he’d taken Joshua from Olivia Trabold’s arms, memories began tripping over themselves inside his head. Peter talking incessantly about becoming a dad. Agonized Peter suffering with Marsha as they tried unsuccessfully for nearly ten years to create a child. Peter passing out cigars in the hospital waiting room, so proud of his brand-new son that his smile had lasted a week.
And Dominic standing behind him, making faces at his sap of a brother. Dominic didn’t deserve to be Joshua’s father. The baby should have known strong, wonderful Peter. Not crazy, party guy Dominic.
Audra walked out of the empty room. “As soon as we install a door that connects the two bedrooms, this will be perfect. Let’s go see how my mom is making out with Joshua.”
Dominic followed her down the back stairs to Mary’s office. They entered to find her sitting in her tall-backed chair behind her desk with Joshua nestled against her.
Audra sighed. “Look how cute!”
“I know. I’m an adorable grandmother.”
Audra laughed. “I was talking about Joshua. He’s so beautiful.”
Dominic puffed with pride as if he’d had something to do with the little boy’s appearance into this world, but he stopped himself. This was Peter’s son. The child for whom Peter had yearned for a decade. Dominic felt like an interloper, a thief who’d usurped his brother’s job and his child, who wasn’t qualified for any of it. He might have enough accounting knowledge and business savvy to keep Manelli Holdings on top with a good staff to prevent him from making any huge mistakes, but he’d never, ever considered becoming a father. Hell, he’d never wanted a serious relationship. He had friends. He had fun. And now he was the head of a company and somebody’s dad. He didn’t even have enough memories of Peter as a father to try to imitate him. The only parental words in his head belonged to their own father.
“In the Manelli house we don’t call boys beautiful.”
Audra’s mom rose. “Dominic’s right. The senior Manelli would have your head if he heard you call any Manelli male beautiful.”
As Mary rounded her desk, Dominic watched the baby in her arms, unwittingly realizing both Greene women were correct. Though his dad might have anyone’s hide for calling a Manelli male beautiful, with his eyes closed in sleep and his round cheeks flushed pink Joshua was beautiful.
Audra laughed lightly. “He’s stealing your heart, isn’t he?”
And looking into her sparkling blue eyes, Dominic felt another tug of emotion. Except this tug had nothing to do with family love. This one was all about attraction. Audra’s face glowed with life and vitality. Her full lips bowed into a smile so warm he felt it reach out and touch him. In one quick glance he saw and responded to the way her breasts strained against the pretty blue top she wore over a navy-blue skirt that subtly outlined a very shapely bottom.
Two weeks ago he’d have turned on enough charm to light New York City in a blizzard. Today he turned away. “I don’t have time for anybody to be stealing my heart.”
“And that scares you?”
It didn’t scare him as much as it filled him with remorse, regret and even guilt. While Peter had gone looking for a wife, Dominic had had his pleasure with every woman who suited his fancy. While Dominic took trips to Monaco, Peter had studied. While Peter attended business meetings and summits with their father, Dominic hadn’t paid more than a passing glance of attention at the family business.
Dominic had thoroughly enjoyed the past fifteen years that Peter had spent working, settling in, doing the right thing by the family. And now Dominic, the family playboy, suddenly had everything his brother had wanted—the business and the baby. He couldn’t fail. He refused to fail, to let everything Peter had started fall to ruin. Yet Dominic didn’t feel right taking charge, either. He was confused, grief stricken and in over his head.
All he really wanted was his own life back. The one he knew how to live.
Mary quietly said, “Do we now have someplace I can lay him down to sleep?”
Audra turned to the door. “The baby carrier is in the kitchen. I’ll get it.”
Dominic followed her. “I might as well bring the rest of his things to the nanny suite.”
“Good idea.”
“Then I’ll accompany you to Olivia’s, but after that I’m off to work.”
Audra said, “That’s fine. I can handle the furniture shopping this morning.”
“Then this afternoon you can move in.”
***
That comment stopped Audra dead in her tracks. For all her talk of getting up for 2:00 a.m. feedings, it hadn’t sunk in that she’d have to move into the nursery while Dominic scouted a permanent nanny. Still, what difference did it make? She needed money. She was offering to be a nanny to get that money. And nannies usually lived in. No big deal. Especially considering Dominic was the epitome of the type of man she had sworn off forever.
She turned to tell him that she’d be moved in by the time he returned from work, but their gazes caught and she didn’t see the fun teenager who had turned into a playboy. She saw a man who had lost his brother three months ago in a tragic accident and who had gained custody of Peter’s son because of another family tragedy. Circumstances had made him serious and sad in a way that caused Audra’s heart to awaken from a near year-long sleep. She felt it yawn and stretch and open again, as if welcoming him.
Any teasing comment she could have made froze on her lips. She might have been immune to the playboy, but would she really be safe with this guy? With a child to raise, he didn’t have time to gallivant around the globe. He’d be underfoot. A brooding, sexy man aching for love. Like Heathcliff. What woman could resist that?
Worse, they would be living together. Running into each other in various stages of undress as they went about their morning and evening routines.
Still, it was too late to back out now. This deal was all about promises. She’d not only promised Dominic her assistance, but the Belles had promised Julie a wedding. And only she could earn enough money fast enough to pay for that wedding. One way or another she would resist him.
“Not a problem. I’ll call the office and tell them I’ll be out the entire day and move in this afternoon.”
CHAPTER THREE
THE trip to Marsha’s mom’s went smoothly. Audra did most of the talking, seeking information about Joshua’s routine as they collected the rest of the baby’s things and stuffed them into her little car. When everything was packed, she and Dominic went their separate ways.
As Dominic expected, the participants for his first meeting were already milling around his secretary’s workstation when he arrived. He ushered them into his office, grabbing the pertinent files from his desk as they settled at the round conference table in the corner of the glass-walled room. That meeting bled into the next and the next and the next until his office suddenly emptied at six o’clock and he was alone.
Exhausted, he leaned back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose. This wasn’t the end of his day. It should be. But at the point in time when he wanted nothing more than a glass of Scotch and some peace and quiet, he had a baby waiting for him.
Of course, Joshua now had a nanny of sorts. So the baby wasn’t really waiting for him. He had company and was probably being entertained. Audra clearly knew what to do with the little guy. Which was more than Dominic could say for himself. He didn’t know the first thing about changing a diaper. Forget about the more sophisticated end of the deal, like communication. He wasn’t one to engage in baby talk. And the baby couldn’t yet speak at all.
Plus he was tired. But edgy. Too restless to relax. The very last thing he wanted to do was inflict himself and his mood on a baby.
The blare of music from his cell phone into his silent office caused him to jump. He snatched it from his desk, peeked at the caller ID and groaned. As if it wasn’t bad enough he’d had to give up his old life, certain friends from that life hadn’t yet gotten the message that he could no longer come out to play. He nearly ignored the call, but in the end couldn’t do that. He knew why Owen Bradley was calling. The man had scheduled the premiere of his movie in Boston specifically so Dominic could attend. If nothing else, Dominic had to apologize.
By eight o’clock that evening, Audra had finally stowed her belongings, including her laptop and a few client income tax files she needed to work on, in the suite Dominic had shown her. Settling into the rooms at the end of a long hall that led only to her suite, she realized most of her worries from the morning before had been unfounded. She and Dominic wouldn’t be running into each other. She had no reason to be concerned an accidental meeting with gorgeous, brooding, Heathclifflike Dominic would turn into something neither one of them wanted. There would be no accidental meeting. She’d swear their quarters were so far apart they were in different zip codes.
Wearing a pair of jeans and a pink top from the extra clothing she’d brought, she tiptoed into the nursery just as Joshua awakened.
“Hello, sweetie,” she said, pulling the baby from the crib, which had been delivered that afternoon and assembled by the estate handyman. Dressed in one-piece blue pajamas, Joshua blinked and yawned, stretching his little legs to their limits. But when his eyes focused and he looked at her, he began to wail.
“I know this is really hard on you.” She kissed both of his cheeks. “You’re not accustomed to me yet, so you’re scared. But that’s okay. You’ll get to know me and you’ll see there’s nothing to be afraid of.”
She continued cuddling and soothing him as she strode through the sitting room, down the winding staircase and the hall. Heading for the huge kitchen of the mansion, she said, “Let’s go see my mom.” She rubbed noses with the baby. “Remember her? She rocked you this morning.”
The baby’s crying slowed to sniffles, and he blinked at her. Using her hip she bumped open the swinging door and was surprised to find the kitchen dark. She fumbled for the light switch and flicked it on. The stainless-steel appliances and empty beige-and-gold-flecked countertops of the three islands greeted her.
Having watched her mother supervise the food preparations for many a party and too many formal dinners to keep count from this kitchen, Audra was accustomed to seeing the room full of life, energy and busy hands on Friday nights.
“Wow. Wonder where she is?” Her voice echoed hollowly around her in the huge, empty space. “She should be supervising service of some course or another of dinner right now.”
“I’m not eating here tonight.”
Audra swung around to find Dominic standing in the open doorway. Backlit by the lamps of the corridor behind him, he looked like a vision in his black tux, with his hair casually, sexily spiked and his hands tucked into his trouser pockets. Her breath stuttered just at the sight of him.
“I made arrangements to go out with friends.”
“Oh.” That was the only sound that would come out of her mouth. He was—quite literally—breathtakingly handsome.
“I thought I’d let you know I was going so you didn’t come looking for me.”
Her fogged brain finally picked up that he was leaving. As in going out. As in not going to be paying any attention to Joshua on his first night in the house.
So much for brooding Heathcliff.
“You’re going?”
“Yes.”
“But it’s Joshua’s first night here!”
“And if I hadn’t hired you I couldn’t have accepted the invitation.”
Relief and understanding merged, and Audra’s tense muscles relaxed. “Oh, it’s business.”
He flashed her a smile. “Monkey business.”
His cocky attitude reminded her so much of her ex that any attraction she might have had to him flew out of the nearest window. She turned and walked back to the smallest of three stainless-steel refrigerators. The one she’d commandeered for all things Joshua.
“Dominic,” she said his name using the scolding tone her mother had used with her when she wanted to go out on a school night. “You have a son now. You can’t be going out just because the spirit moves you.”
“First, Joshua is not my son. He’s my nephew.” He stepped into the kitchen, took an apple from a bowl on the first island and tossed it into the air, then caught it. “Second, having someone to stay home with the baby is why I hired you.”
“No, you hired me to be a caretaker, not the love giver. Playing with Joshua, nurturing him, is your job.”
He tossed the apple into the air again, ignoring her.
“I’m serious.”
He didn’t reply, and a horrible realization hit Audra. He didn’t intend to nurture this little boy. Her heart caught with disbelief. Why would he refuse to be a dad to this adorable baby?
She glanced at blue-eyed, curly haired Joshua and decided Dominic simply hadn’t spent enough time with him. Once he had, he wouldn’t be able to help falling in love with him, and being a real dad would come naturally. And there was no time like the present to begin the process.
“Here.” She handed Joshua to him. “Can you hold him while I warm a bottle?”
Having no choice, Dominic awkwardly took the confused baby. From the expression on his face as he fumbled to settle Joshua on his arm, Audra guessed that part of his sudden need to get out of the house might be his own fear.
“I can help show you how to care for him,” she said, setting the bottle in the microwave and not looking at him, trying not to make a big deal out of it so he’d relax.
“I’m fine.”
“Not really.” She didn’t think it prudent to mention that not being able to even hold the baby was a clear indicator that he wasn’t fine. “I’m not talking about giving you actual baby lessons. But if you hang around us, especially while I’m here to help you bridge the gap, you could get to know Joshua by the time the permanent nanny gets here.”
“I already know him.” Struggling to contain the baby, whose confusion had become discomfort in his uncle-turned-father’s arms, Dominic glanced over at her. “He’s six months old. I’ve chucked his chin. I’ve said good-night to him when Marsha brought him into my brother’s den before he went to bed. He was with us on boat trips and family stays at the beach house. The real problem between me and old Josh here,” he said as he continued to wrestle the little boy, “is that I don’t have a whole hell of a lot in common with a baby and he doesn’t have the verbal skills to tell me about his day.”
Audra couldn’t help herself; she laughed. He was right. He and the baby didn’t have a lot in common. Still, what baby and daddy did?
When the bell rang signifying the bottle was warm, she took it from the microwave and set it on the counter, then clapped her hands together and said, “Give him back.”
Dominic was struggling with the baby, so Audra walked over to take the little boy. When she reached Dominic, simple, normal breathing brought the scent of freshly scrubbed adult male and spicy aftershave to her nostrils. Though tempted to inhale a long breath to catch the wonderful scent completely, she resisted the urge, reminding herself that playboys were nothing but trouble.
But in the shuffle of clumsily handing a squirming six-month-old baby between them, fingers touched, arms brushed, and her chest tightened with the same tingle of anticipation she’d felt when she was twelve and she’d found him hiding in an obscure room somewhere in the family mansion. There was something about him that had called to her since she was old enough to realize the differences between boys and girls; and, whatever it was, it was powerful.
Still she ignored it. He wasn’t the kind of guy she should be attracted to. Intent on getting them back to the conversation about Dominic spending time with Joshua to learn how to care for him, Audra pulled away with a smile. But when she caught Dominic’s gaze and saw the smoky look in his eyes, she froze.
“Why don’t you come out with me tonight?”
She swallowed. Oh, Lord.
“It’s a premiere.” He grimaced. “An action-adventure movie, but the star is a friend. I couldn’t refuse.” He stepped close, caught her free hand and caressed it. “We’ll cut out early, grab dinner and maybe go dancing.”
Audra pulled her hand from his. “Forget it, Prince Charming. I’ve had my fling with a playboy. I was engaged to a guy just like you. I won’t be going that route again.”
