скачать книгу бесплатно
So they had lived here together. How painful this must be for him. “She had incomparable taste.”
He took the baby from her and fastened him in the seat. “Let’s see if he likes this.” When he pressed the button, it started to swing and played “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush.” Jamie looked at his father. The baby acted happy and it brought a ghost of a smile to his father’s lips.
Mr. Wainwright’s eyes unexpectedly narrowed on her features. “Your contribution to the room keeps it from feeling like a museum. Shall we eat?”
Reese could imagine the apartment felt that way to him with his other half gone out of his life. But he had his adorable son staring up at him in wonder, as if his father was the whole world to him. That had to compensate for his loss.
Leaving him to sit at the head of the table, she took her place at the side just as the song changed to another nursery rhyme. It played a medley of ten tunes.
He removed the covers from their plates, sending a mouthwatering aroma through the room. “Help yourself to coffee or tea.”
“Thank you, but I’ll just have water.” She poured herself a glass from the pitcher and drank a little before starting in on her food. “This roast chicken is delicious.”
“I’ll tell the chef. He was plucked from a five-star hotel in Paris.”
“The chicken or the chef?”
His deep laugh disarmed her. “Touché.”
She laughed with him. “It explains the buttery taste I love. I’m afraid I’m as bad as Julia Child. We think alike. Butter is the building block for good food.”
His dark eyes flicked to hers. The candlelight reflecting in them made the irises look more brown than black. Until now she hadn’t been able to decide their exact shade. “You eat a lot of it out in Nebraska, do you?”
“We Cornhuskers never heard of cholesterol,” she teased, laying it on a little thick. “In truth, all of us healthy farm girls thrive on it.”
One dark brow shot up. “If I offended you, I didn’t mean to.”
She smiled. “I know you didn’t. I was just having fun.”
“That’s a refreshing quality of yours, Reese. Mind if I call you that?”
His genuine warmth came as a surprise. She hadn’t expected a truly successful, wealthy CEO like him to be so well-rounded. It was probably that quality as much as his brilliant mind that drew people to him and made him such a paragon.
“To be honest, I hate being called Ms. Chamberlain, Mr. Wainwright.”
He smiled. “If that was more funning on your part, I still get the hint. Call me Nick.”
“Thank you. I was afraid it wouldn’t happen for a while.”
Another chuckle ensued. “Am I that impossible?”
Reese was already too addicted to his potent charisma. “Not at all, but I’d like Jamie to know I have a first name. Ms. Chamberlain is kind of heavy for a ten-week-old.” She put her fork down. “Speaking of the baby, I know it looks like I bought out the store, but everything I purchased was for a reason. Of course I’ll take anything back you don’t like or find necessary.”
“I’ll reserve judgment until tomorrow. We’ve worked hard enough today and need an early night.”
“The only thing we ought to do before turning in is to fix up Jamie’s crib.”
“What’s wrong with it?”
“Nothing, but it needs a mattress cover under the fitted sheet and a bumper pad to go around the edges so he won’t hurt his head against the bars. And I bought a cute little mobile with farm animals that plays tunes. Anything with bright colors and he’ll reach for it.”
He glanced down at Jamie. “You know what, sport? I have a feeling Reese is going to spoil you rotten.”
“That’s the plan,” she interjected. “You can’t spoil babies enough because they’re too cute.” She leaned over to cup his cheek.
“Would you like dessert?” he murmured.
She felt his dark gaze on her, making her so aware of him, it sent heat to her face. “I don’t think I have room for any, thank you. The dinner was wonderful.”
Reese started to get up from the table, ready to take the dishes into the kitchen. She assumed it lay beyond the door at the other end of the dining room. But he said, “Leave everything for the waiter. He lets himself in and out. So do the maids.”
“I didn’t realize.” She remained in place.
“When you need a wash done for you or the baby, just put it in a laundry bag on the counter in your bathroom. You’ll find them in the cupboard beneath the sinks. If you need pressing or tailoring done, phone them to indicate what you want.”
She left her napkin next to her plate. “Do you always have your meals brought up?”
“No. Most of the time I eat out. Occasionally I fix something in the kitchen and sit at the island. While you’re here, feel free to order whatever you want from downstairs. All you have to do is pick up the house phone and dial one for the chef’s office, or two for maid service. They come in every morning. Your job is to take care of Jamie, nothing else.”
“Understood.”
“You’re welcome to fix your own meals whether I’m home or not. Tomorrow there’ll be time for you to look around the pantry and compile a list of groceries you’d like to have on hand. Dial three for the concierge. Give him the list and he’ll see they’re delivered.”
He pushed himself away from the table and stood up to take the baby out of the swing. “Come on, Jamie. Let’s see how long it takes your old man to put that mobile together.”
“You’ve been given a reprieve on that one,” Reese said, bringing up the rear. “The only thing you have to do is fasten it to the end of the crib and turn on the music. There’s a small sack of batteries somewhere, but give me a minute to make up the crib first.”
He moved fast on those long, powerful legs. She had to hurry to keep up with him. When they reached the nursery, she found the item for him, then quickly got busy. After she’d tied the last part of the bumper pad, she reached for Jamie.
“I’ll feed him while you set up the mobile.”
She darted into Nick’s bedroom and got a bottle of formula out of the diaper bag, sat down on the end of his bed and fed Jamie.
“You’re a hungry boy.” He drank noisily. His burps were noisy, too, making her laugh. When he’d drained his bottle, she wandered back into the nursery where she found Nick watching the mobile turn while it played a song.
He glanced at her as she walked in. “I know I didn’t have one of these when I was growing up.”
She nuzzled Jamie’s neck. “I think you’re going to like what your daddy just put up.” When she lowered him to the mattress, the tune drew his attention, as did the plush animals going around and around.
“Look, Nick—his cute little body is squiggling with excitement. He loves it!”
“I think you’re right.” When she looked up, their eyes caught and held. The intensity of his gaze made it difficult to breathe. “If you want to call it an early night, go ahead. I’ll get up with him during the night. Tomorrow will be soon enough to take care of everything else and set up a schedule.”
Then he looked back at Jamie with so much love, Reese was spellbound. She got the hint. He wanted time alone with his son. Nothing could be more natural or more reassuring to Jamie who, would be spending tonight in brand-new surroundings.
“I’ll say good-night then and see both of you in the morning.” As she reached the door, she turned around. “Thank you for giving me this opportunity. I’m very grateful. He’s a precious boy.”
Without waiting for a response, Reese slipped out of the nursery to the bedroom across the hall. After taking a shower and getting ready for bed, she climbed under the covers and reached for her cell phone to call her parents. It was an hour earlier in Lincoln.
“Reese? I’ve been hoping you’d call, honey.”
“Sorry about that, Mom, but I’ve been so busy today, this has been my first chance to call. I’ve gotten myself a nanny job.”
“Of course I’m happy for you, but everyone misses you.”
“I miss them, but with the salary I’ll be making here, I can concentrate my time on studying for the Series 7 and the Series 65. I have to take the test at the end of July before classes start again at the end of August. It shouldn’t be a problem putting in the hours I need and still work around the baby’s schedule.” But she needed to get busy right away, which didn’t give her much breathing room.
“You only have one child to look after?”
“Yes. He’s ten weeks old. Oh, Mom, Jamie’s the most beautiful child you ever saw.” That was because his father was the most arresting male Reese had ever laid eyes on in her life. The byplay of muscles beneath his T-shirt revealed a fit masculine body. Working out in his gym on the roof every day was the reason he was so buff.
“What are his parents like? I hope they’re nice. Do you think you’ll all get along?”
Reese bit her lip. “There’s just the father. His wife died during the birth.”
“Oh, no—”
“It’s very sad.”
“What’s his name?”
“Nick Wainwright. He’s the CEO at Sherborne-Wainwright. It’s the kind of brokerage company every student at Wharton would kill for in order to be able to work there. Would you believe I’ve been installed in his penthouse on Park Avenue? If Jackie Onassis were alive today, she would gobble it up in a second.”
Her mom chuckled. “Be serious.”
“I am. Who ever dreamed I’d be an honest-to-goodness nanny in a household like his?”
“How old is he?”
“It’s hard to tell. Thirty-three, thirty-four maybe.”
“Well…you’ve got a terrific head on those shoulders and broke off with Jeremy for a reason. I don’t have to worry about you losing sight of your career plans just yet, do I?”
“Nothing could make me do that.”
“I believe you. Destiny has already singled out my brilliant daughter for something special. Tell me more about this financial prince of Park Avenue.”
“Mom—” Reese laughed. “Financial prince…what a thing to say.”
“Tell me the truth. Is he as gorgeous as Jackie’s son was?”
Her mother would keel over if she ever got a look at Jamie’s father. “There are no words.”
“Well. Coming from you, that says it all.”
Reese was afraid it did.
“Still, if I know my daughter, you won’t let anything get in the way of your goal. I happen to know you’re going to be a big name to contend with in the business world one day.”
Reese’s eyelids prickled. “Thanks for believing in me, Mom.”
“Oh, I do! Just don’t let those mothering instincts make you too attached to the baby. It can happen.”
Reese knew it was one of the hazards of the job, but she’d deal with it. Jamie was an adorable little boy and it would be so easy to get attached to him, but Reese reminded herself that she would only be here for three months. “I love you. Give Dad and everyone else my love. I’ll call you soon.”
Once she’d hung up, she checked her phone messages. One was from her roommate, Pam, who’d gone home to Florida for the summer. Reese would call her sometime tomorrow.
The other call came from her study partner, Rich Bonner. He’d asked her to phone him back as soon as she could. He’d flown home to California for a break before returning to Philadelphia. Like her, he was preparing for his exams. They’d done a lot of studying together. Reese knew that Rich wanted more than just a platonic friendship with her, but she wasn’t interested, not that way.
If she didn’t return his call for a while, he’d hopefully get the hint. One of the problems with Rich was that he was highly competitive. As long as they remained friends, he had to be nice to her when she got higher grades than he did.
But Reese wagered that if she were ever to become his girlfriend, he’d start telling her how to live her life. Heaven forbid if she landed a better job than he did after graduation. Worse, what if she were married to him and he expected her to stay at home? Another control freak like Jeremy. Help. No more of that, please.
With a sigh, she turned off the lamp at the bedside and pulled the covers over her. Having taken Nick at his word that he would be getting up with the baby, she’d closed the bedroom door. Starting tomorrow night she’d put the new baby monitor in her room so she could hear him cry.
The day had been long and she felt physically exhausted, but exhilarated, too, because she’d found the kind of job she’d been hoping for, never dreaming it really existed. Now she didn’t have to go home. Instead she could make the kind of money her father wouldn’t be able to pay her by her staying right here in New York.
All she had to do was look after one little baby in surroundings only an exclusive group of people would ever know about or see. When Reese had mentioned Jackie Kennedy to her mom, she’d also been thinking of her son John Jr.’s Tribeca apartment.
It must have been over ten years ago she’d seen a few pictures of the interior following his death when she’d been a teenager. From what she remembered, it wasn’t nearly on the same scale of splendor as Mr. Wainwright’s fantastic residence. The architectural design for making the most of the light was nothing short of breathtaking.
Like the man himself. Breathtaking.
“Good morning, Reese.” Nick put his newspaper down on the glass-top patio table. He’d seen her ponytail swinging as she’d stepped out on the terrace and closed the sliding door. In a modest pale orange top and jeans that still managed to cling to her womanly figure, he was going to have difficulty keeping his eyes off her.
“So this is where you are.” She walked right over and hunkered down in front of Jamie, who was strapped in the swing wide-awake. He liked the motion, but Nick hadn’t turned on the music yet. “I’ve been looking for you.” She kissed his cheek and neck. “Hey—you’re wearing a nightgown. Do you have any idea how cute you look?”
Jamie transferred his attention to her while he took little breaths as if he recognized her. Naturally he did. Nick could have been blindfolded but would still know her by her scent. It reminded him of wildflowers. This time she kissed his son’s tummy, causing him to smile. “Did you sleep through the night like a good boy?”
“He had a bottle at two-thirty and only woke up again at seven-thirty.”
“Well, good for you.” She tickled his chin and got him to laugh out loud. “Five hours is terrific. The sixty-four-thousand-dollar questions is, how’s Dad?” She shot Nick a direct glance. The iridescent blue of her eyes was an extraordinary color.
“Dad’s all right for an old man. What about you?”
“I got a wonderful sleep and now I’m ready to help put that nursery together.”
“Not before you eat breakfast or you’ll hurt Cesar’s feelings.”
“Chef Cesar?” she teased.
“That’s right. He made a crab omelet in your honor with plenty of butter.”
“Did you hear that, Jamie? I guess I’d better eat it while it’s still hot.” She sat down opposite Nick and removed the cover on her plate. “Croissants, too?” Her gaze darted to the baby, who followed her movements while she ate. “We’re going to have to go for a long walk in the stroller to work off the pounds I can already feel going on. But that’s okay because this food is too good to resist.”
Nick couldn’t imagine her ever having that kind of a problem. “Coffee?”
“Please.”
