Emma gave a little nod.
As the oldest, Paris started. “Dad, we want to talk to you about something.”
He took another bite of ice cream. “Sure. Anything.”
Penny chimed in next. “Emma got a phone call today and it upset her. It upset us, too, when she told us about it.”
Daniel’s gaze shot to Emma’s. “Did you have bad news from home?”
“No,” Emma said softly. “It was Rebekah from the shelter. Fiesta is having a few problems.”
Pippa explained exactly what those problems were. As she did, Daniel frowned, and then he scowled. That scowl was meant for Emma.
“Won’t you let us bring her home, Dad?” Paris begged.
Pippa went to her dad and gave him a hug. “Please, Daddy. We’ll get to see her kittens born.”
Penny sounded like an old soul when she said, “It would mean a lot to us, Dad.”
Daniel studied each of his daughters, one by one. He didn’t look at Emma. “We do have a spare room upstairs. We could keep her in there, at least until after the kittens are born.”
All three of his daughters cheered, high-fived and gave Emma wide smiles. Then Daniel said, “Why don’t you go up to your rooms for a while. I’d like to talk to Emma.”
His daughters were now ready to do anything he said. They ran off talking about preparations for Fiesta and exactly what they’d put in her room.
As soon as Daniel heard all three girls run up the stairs, he pointed his finger at Emma. “You ambushed me.”
“I didn’t,” Emma protested, feeling defensive. “It happened exactly as your daughters said. What were they supposed to do, write you a letter so you didn’t feel ambushed?”
“You could have called me at work to warn me that this was coming. Instead, all three came at me at once with you managing in the background.”
“I wasn’t managing anything. The girls have felt strongly about Fiesta ever since they found her.”
He shook his head, scowling again. “You shouldn’t have talked to them about the cat until you consulted with me. They’ve had enough loss. What if Fiesta or one of the kittens dies? On the other hand, if the kittens are healthy, I have to find homes for them and the mom. I don’t want a houseful of cats.”
Emma had kept her temper even up until now. But suddenly his words lit a match to it. She pushed her chair away from the table and stood. “If I’m going to be involved in your daughters’ all-day care, then that means I’m going to be involved in their lives. I wasn’t going to tell them what the phone call was about but they heard Fiesta’s name mentioned. I wasn’t going to lie to them when they asked me about it. And as we talked about it, I realized a pregnant cat could teach them about birth and responsibility. It could also bond you with your daughters more than they are now. Did you ever think of that?”
Before she cried in front of him, she tossed her napkin to the table. “I’ll clear this mess later. I’m going to my room for a little while.”
She hurried from the kitchen before more of her feelings leaked out.
* * *
Daniel cleaned off the table and ran the dishwasher. Action was his defense against unsettled feelings. Emma Alvarez had unsettled quite a few. When he’d finished all the kitchen chores—he was not going to leave them for Emma—he knew what he had to do.
Apologizing wasn’t something that came easy to him. Maybe that was one of the reasons Lydia had left, along with many others. Unfortunately, Emma’s actions had stirred up the past. It was a hornet’s nest he didn’t usually disturb. Possibly, that’s why he still felt empty sometimes. After Lydia had left, he’d had to focus on the girls and work. That was it. It was called putting one foot in front of the other and he’d done that for two years.
However, suddenly Emma’s presence had thrust him back into thoughts of his marriage and the aftermath of it. He was uncomfortable. That’s why he’d argued with Emma.
Walking down the hall to her room, he knew there was a possibility that she could be packing to leave. Did she run from arguments? Did she stay and fight? Did she resolve them and go on? He didn’t know how she would respond to their current problem. To his surprise, he wanted to find the answers to all of those questions.
Knocking on Emma’s door, he tried to prepare himself for the scene ahead. After all, that’s what lawyers did. Don’t ask a question you don’t know the answer to. At least that’s what his friends who were criminal-trial lawyers had told him.
When Emma opened the door, her eyes went wide. She obviously hadn’t expected him. She’d changed into a sleeping tank and shorts that had little multicolored paws all over them. That almost made him smile. But the discussion they had to have was too serious.
“I’d like to talk to you,” he said.
She shored herself up to her full height and squared her shoulders. Maybe she thought he was going to fire her. No chance of that. “Can I come in?” he asked.
She looked as if she wanted to say no, but she didn’t. Rather, she stepped back so he could walk into the room. He told himself he should keep his distance. Instead of taking his own advice, he motioned to the love seat. “Can we sit?”
“I suppose,” she answered warily.
After they were both seated and she managed to position herself at least five inches away from him, he plunged right in. “I’m sorry for what I said earlier.”
Her voice was soft when she responded, “I shouldn’t have answered you the way I did. You’re my employer and—”
He interrupted, “Employer or not, I want you to be honest with me. I want to tell you why I became so defensive.”
Her expression gentled and so did the look in her liquid brown eyes. “Daniel, you don’t have to do that.”
“I think I do. Maybe you’ll understand me and my daughters better if I explain.”
“All right.” She still sounded hesitant about it, and he wondered if she didn’t want to know much about him so he wouldn’t ask questions about her. That was a subject for another time.
“My ex-wife often made decisions on her own that affected all of us. The last one she made was leaving her family.”
Emma studied his face. “You didn’t see it coming?”
The corners of his lips turned down and the lines on his brow deepened. “No. I’m not sure what that says about me as a husband, but I didn’t see it coming. My law partner’s name was Allen. The two of us had won a class action suit against a medical-device manufacturer that captured national recognition for us. We were both offered jobs in a prestigious law firm in Alexandria, Virginia. Lydia and I discussed it. She wanted me to take the job, but I wanted our daughters to grow up in a small town where everyone knew and cared about everybody else.”
“I’ve seen that since I came here,” Emma agreed. “Everyone in the town appears concerned for everyone else.”
He nodded, then went on. “I rejected the offer from the law firm but Allen accepted it. That offer doubled his salary. Lydia ran away with him because she wanted a different life than I did. That trumped leaving her daughters behind. I also learned she’d been having an affair with him.”
Emma reached out and covered his hand with hers. “I’m so sorry. Does Lydia stay in touch with the girls?”
“She sends them cards on their birthdays. She called this past Christmas. But afterward, Pippa had nightmares again. Penny complained that they never see their mom so they really don’t have one. Paris was even more quiet than usual for the week after the call. Pippa has asked me more than once if her mommy still loves her. I don’t know what to say to that.”
“Daniel...”
“I didn’t tell you this so you’d feel sorry for me or the girls. We’re doing good. But I want you to understand where we’re coming from. You’re right about being in the girls’ lives day-to-day more than I am. I’ll try to be open-minded. I still
don’t know about bringing a pregnant cat into the house but we’ll deal with it.” He gave her a wry smile and felt himself leaning toward her.
Emma smiled back and assured him, “I’ll consult with you about big decisions.”
They were very close as he said, “How about if you define big.”
Before they realized it, their lips were an inch apart and then finally just a breath apart. This time Daniel couldn’t have pulled away if he’d wanted to. A fantastically sensual power seemed to overtake them both. His mouth took hers with a vehemence that astonished him and maybe astonished her. However, instead of pulling away, she returned the same pressure. Just his lips on hers made him want so much more.
Suddenly common sense dumped cold water on him. He leaned away and so did she. “Well,” he said, “I’m not going to apologize for that, but I know that getting involved would be a big mistake.”
“Are you saying the kiss was a mistake?” Emma asked him, her eyes bright.
“What do you think?”
“We shouldn’t let it happen again,” she agreed. “Not if I want to work here. I don’t intend to get involved with anyone for a long, long time.”
As she said that, her voice shook a little. Daniel suspected her last romance had hurt her deeply. “I’m not ready for an involvement, either, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends, right?”
As soon as he said the word, he knew he was kidding himself. He could see her breasts rising and falling under the cute tank top. Her lips had that just-kissed look. If he wasn’t the father of three girls who needed him to make responsible decisions, he’d take Emma into his arms and kiss her again.
That wasn’t what friendship was about. He held out his hand to her and she put hers in it. He squeezed her hand and reiterated, “Friends.”
But after they said good-night and he’d left Emma’s room, he was sure friends wasn’t the right word for what seemed to be beginning between them.
* * *
The next morning, as usual, Daniel was up early. The sun had come up and the birds had started tweeting as he dressed for the office. But when he exited his bedroom he heard scrambling and low talking in the room down the hall. Passing by Paris’s room, and then Pippa’s and Penny’s, who shared one, he saw that their doors were open. Their beds were unmade, but this early that wasn’t unusual. Making their beds was one of the chores they had to do every day. As a responsible parent, he still wasn’t sure which chores were necessary and which weren’t. But even Pippa could take care of that one.
He walked down the hall and stopped in front of the closed door. Hearing voices inside, he opened it slowly, not knowing what to expect. He would have thought his daughters and Emma would still be sleeping this early.
What he saw inside made him stop and recalculate. The single bed in the room, ready for Penny when she decided she wanted a separate room from her sister, had been pushed up against one wall. He recognized the blanket that had been tossed on top of it. It was from the linen closet.
Emma, in jeans and a T-shirt, her feet bare, was kneeling on the floor adjusting a large plastic bin. He could see through the side. There was torn paper on the bottom and a towel laid across that. Paris was positioning an old rug she must have found in the basement under the bin. Penny and Pippa were nestling a towel in a carton and they pushed it inside the open closet.
Not exactly sure how to deal with what they were doing, he simply stated, “I’m sure there’s a reason you’re up this early.”
Penny answered him. “As soon as Furever Paws opens, we want to go get Fiesta. First, we have to go to the pet store and buy a cat carrier, food, a litter box and litter. That’s what the website said.”
He raised his eyebrows at Emma. “What website?”
“Furever Paws has a page on their website that lists the supplies you need if you’re going to bring a cat home. I let the girls use my tablet and we found the items we might need for a pregnant cat.”
From her position in the closet, Pippa explained, “Sometimes the momma cat likes to have her babies in the dark, in a quiet place. So we’re putting a box in the closet, too.”
“Too?” he asked.
This time Paris answered, “She’ll have a choice.”
“Even if she has a choice, she’ll probably go under the bed to have them,” he proclaimed wryly. After all, cats could be as unpredictable as kids.
“No, she won’t, Dad,” Pippa protested. “We’ll keep showing her the best place to go. She’ll listen.”
Emma rose to her feet. “The girls said you wouldn’t mind if we rearranged the room.”
“I said that,” Penny confirmed. “It’s supposed to be my room someday, so I can do with it what I want. Right, Dad?”
Sometimes he was absolutely amazed at children’s logic. And yet, he found no good reason to object to the changes, at least not for now. “I suppose you’ll need a feeding area, too. Don’t forget bowls when you go to the pet store.”
Paris, the practical one, said, “Dad, we’re going to need some money.”
“I can chip in,” Emma said quietly.
“And I can empty my piggy bank,” Pippa agreed.
He took out his wallet. “No one has to empty their piggy bank. Emma, I don’t expect you to chip in.” He took bills from his wallet and handed them to Emma. “I’ll leave it up to you to calculate the budget. For now, I have to go.”
“Do you always go to the office this early?” Emma asked.
“That depends on if I have a sitter for the girls.”
Emma turned to his daughters. “You finish arranging. I want to talk to your dad for a few minutes. I’ll be back.”
The girls were already talking about the best places for the feeding station and toys they might want to buy.
Emma preceded Daniel out the door and they walked down the hall. Daniel was aware of a flower fragrance that always seemed to surround her. He wondered if it was perfume or maybe shampoo. Whatever it was, he liked it. He not only liked it, but his body also responded to it.
Standing close at the top of the stairs, he longed to run his hand through her hair. It was so curly and glossy, and he could imagine it spread across his pillow.
No. He would not imagine that. “What did you want to talk to me about?”
“Fixing up the room was the girls’ idea. I heard them clomping up and down the stairs. They were going in and out of the garage.”
“The storage area,” Daniel murmured.
“Yes. There were boxes, old blankets and bins scattered about. They were taking what they needed for the room. I decided if I supervised, maybe they wouldn’t wake you.”
“Never worry about waking me.” Then he added, “Not when it has to do with the girls.”
“I was concerned this was one of those decisions we should have talked about together.”
“Oh, you think this is a big one?” He chuckled. “You don’t know Penny, Pippa and Paris yet if you think this was a big undertaking. They’ll surprise you with their creativity.”
This time Emma laughed. Then she sobered. “So you’re okay with us going to the pet store and picking up Fiesta at the shelter without you?”
Suddenly, he did want to go along with them, but that was unnecessary.
“The girls need a little adventure in their lives. With me, that could be swimming, hiking, miniature golf. But with you, something like this seems perfect.”
Right now, gazing into Emma’s brown eyes, she seemed perfect. He couldn’t help himself when he said, “You look pretty this morning.”
“Really?” she joked. “I’d barely washed my face and brushed my teeth when I heard the girls.”
In spite of himself, in spite of all his good intentions, he reached out and wrapped one of her curls around his index finger. It was so soft. “You don’t need makeup, fancy clothes or jewelry to lo
ok pretty.”
They stared at each other while the vibrations zipped between them. He knew he was courting trouble, but something about Emma got to him. Fighting it once more, he drew back his hand.
“If you need me, don’t hesitate to call me. I have one client appointment this morning at ten. Other than that, I’ll be working at my desk.”
“All right,” she said in such a soft voice he could hardly hear her.
Then he jogged down the stairs before he found out for sure if she was as attracted to him as he was to her.
Chapter Five
Emma heard the sound of the girls scurrying in and out of the bedroom upstairs. The day had grown considerably warmer. Thank goodness Daniel’s house had air-conditioning. This morning, to the girls’ chagrin, Emma, Paris, Penny and Pippa had gone to the grocery store and the pet store for supplies. Then they’d taken those items home before they finally drove to Furever Paws. After they’d brought Fiesta home, they’d spent almost the whole day there. Because of Fiesta and their attention to her, Emma had decided to make something easy for supper—tacos. Daniel’s daughters had said they liked them.
Emma had just turned the ground meat and sauce down to a simmer when she heard the front door open. Crossing to the foyer, she saw it was Daniel. But not just Daniel. He’d carried in a huge cat condo and set it down. It had four shelves and a cube at the bottom that kittens could hide in.
“What’s this?” she asked with a teasing smile.
“You know full well what it is. I thought it might come in handy for Fiesta and her kittens. I suppose we’ll have to keep them for a while before we can give them away.”
“Twelve weeks is good,” Emma informed him.
Daniel gave a low whistle. “That long?”
She laughed. “You’ll soon be used to kittens climbing up your jeans.”
He looked speechless and she laughed again. Keeping the condo where it stood, he approached her slowly and came very close. He was a good six inches taller than she was. She tipped up her chin. Her heart was beating so fast she found it hard to swallow.
The Nanny Clause (Furever Yours Book 4) Page 5