The concept—provide short-term, temporary nannies to watch children while the family was on vacation—had proven surprisingly popular. Savannah and Stacey had begun the business because of their own desire to travel and see the world. With the little money they had that would be unlikely. So they’d found a way to travel on someone else’s dime.
After a degree in education, plus some business courses at NYU, Savannah had been instrumental in getting the business going. Soon there were more requests than she and Stacey could handle, so Stephanie had been hired to handle the scheduling aspect. Other nannies, trained at the prestigious Miss Pritchard’s School for Nannies, were carefully vetted and hired. Now they had a dozen others on the payroll, and during the summer months everyone was fully booked.
To ensure the nannies weren’t stuck for weeks with horrendous children or parents, the interview aspect went both ways. Either the prospective client could decline after meeting the nanny or the nanny could refuse to take the assignment.
So far there had only been a handful of refusals. She winced, thinking she’d make this another one.
She grew more nervous the longer she waited. What was she doing coming here? She didn’t want to spend three weeks with Declan. Or with his daughter.
“Mr. Murdock can see you now,” the receptionist said, rising and heading for the hall on the left. Her sleek toned looks gave mute testimony to the healthy lifestyle a sports aficionado could expect—especially if they used Murdock equipment.
Savannah wished she could have checked her makeup and hair one more time. It would never do not to be immaculately turned out and polished-looking. She hoped Declan didn’t remember the casual clothes she’d worn in college. Money had always been tight in her family. After the first six months with their new venture, however, that had changed. Now she and her sister enjoyed high-end fashionable clothing, makeup and a professional hair stylist. No more letting her hair grow long like Stacey. Savannah liked it short and spiky. And the kids usually liked it, too. It was easy to care for. And if she were in the sun for long, the blond bleached out to almost white. Which was always a startling contrast to her tanned skin.
The receptionist handed her off to a personal assistant who took her to Declan’s office—still located in the back corner of the warehouse-converted-to-offices. But the extremely modern look of chrome, leather and fine woods was a huge step up from when she’d visited before. His business model had obviously propelled his own firm into the stratosphere.
“Savannah,” he said when the PA opened the door to usher her in. He stood behind the desk, studying her as she stepped into the office.
Savannah felt a catch in her breath. He looked the same. She’d forgotten how tall he was. While she was only five foot four when she stretched, Declan had to be close to six feet. Muscular and fit, he didn’t look a day older than when she’d last seen him. His hair was still dark, not a strand of gray could she find. His eyes were a rich chocolate-brown, focused on her now. She could have stared back forever. For a moment she felt as tongue-tied as that college student who had been so in love. She nodded slightly, clinging to her composure with all she had. Wishing he’d aged, grown a pot belly and lost his hair.
“Hello, Declan.” Yippee, her voice hadn’t cracked. She hadn’t stuttered or slapped his face. She also hadn’t expected the jolt of awareness that spiked through her. Taking a slow breath she tried to relax, to treat him like any other prospective client. She wished she could forget the past that seemed to spring to the forefront. Why did long-dormant emotions have to blossom now?
“Connie, coffee for us both.” He said to his PA, then looked at Savannah with an eyebrow raised in silent question.
“Thank you, that would be nice.” They both had shared a love of strong coffee. Their final meeting had been at a coffee shop. She’d often wondered if he’d done that deliberately to make sure she didn’t cause a scene in public.
“Thanks for coming. This is a bit awkward.”
“You need a professional nanny for a trip you’re taking. That’s what our company specializes in. The past is dead, Declan.”
He sat after she did and glanced away. Was he remembering their time together, their last meeting? She hoped he found this meeting extremely awkward. She would do nothing to ease the situation. After a long moment, she broke the silence.
“Do you still guest-lecture?” she asked.
He shook his head. “No time now. The business grew faster than I expected. The spring class that year was the last one I did. We’ve expanded to major markets around the country—which is the reason for the trip. I’m exploring the possibility of opening boutique stores in some resorts. So I’m combining business with pleasure. I want to spend a day or two at the San Francisco facility. It’s fairly new. Then on to the mountains to test some new equipment. Then to one of the resorts in California that wants to discuss opening a boutique outlet there, offering only the sporting goods suitable for their resort.”
She listened, but kept her expression impassive. So he was doing well, good for him. She was here merely to talk about the proposed trip.
He waited a moment and then cleared his throat. Was he as nervous as she felt? She hoped so. And hoped he rued the day he’d dumped her for Margo—daughter or not.
“I hear your company’s doing well.”
She nodded.
“I don’t think I’d have pegged a firm like yours as a contender for growth, which shows how wrong I’d have been. I have friends who had one of your nannies for their trip to South America last year, the Spencers?”
“I think Stacey had that assignment. They visited Machu Picchu,” Savannah said.
“Right. They highly recommend the agency to anyone who listens. And as many of us who socialize together have children, we all listened.”
Connie brought in a tray with a carafe of coffee, sugar and cream and two mugs.
“Thanks,” Declan said. She nodded, smiled at Savannah and left, closing the door behind her.
Once they both had their coffee, Declan leaned back and studied her for a moment. “So tell me how this works.”
“Stephanie didn’t explain?” Savannah asked. Usually the prospective client got the complete rundown. Fees, limitations, expectations—the works.
“Mainly what I took away from meeting her was we both have to suit each other. I know you’d suit, what do you want to know about Jacey?”
“I need to meet your daughter,” Savannah said. He’d been divorced when she’d known him before. Now according to the interview at the office, he was divorced again. What had happened to that second go-round of marriage? Had he ended up dumping Margo as he had her?
“So your office manager said. Jacey will be with me all summer. So if you come by the apartment tomorrow you can meet her. I want to fly to San Francisco on Monday. If you two don’t suit, I haven’t a clue what I’ll do. I heard you specialize in teenagers.”
“I do. Is she a problem?”
“I rarely see her. Now I have her for the summer and am not sure what to do with her.”
Savannah’s attention was caught by his comment. Why didn’t he see his daughter? He’d said he wanted to make a good family life with her. What had happened?
“What time?” she asked. Maybe she’d
learn a bit more once she met Jacey.
“Say tenish?” His home address was on the questionnaire he’d filled out at the office. She knew the general area—affluent, but not outrageously so. Close to work and other amenities of downtown Manhattan. Was she seriously considering taking the assignment?
She hesitated a moment, still unable to make up her mind. She hadn’t expected to be so drawn to him. They’d been lovers, always touching, kissing, delighting in just being with each other. Now it was awkward, as he’d said, to sit opposite him and pretend he was merely a client. To ignore the past, the heartache that threatened again. To refrain from demanding he tell her he’d been wrong to lose the best thing that ever happened to him.
She blinked. She was over this man!
“Tell me about the trip,” she said, stalling before making up her mind. One part wanted to learn more about what he was like now. Another wanted to run as fast as she could.
“A couple of days in San Francisco, then we’ll head for the Sierra Nevada mountains in California. We’ll hike part of the Pacific Crest Trail for a few days to test a new tent and camping gear. Also I want to get Jacey away from New York. Her mother’s made other plans this summer and she’s sulking about it. The sweet little girl I knew is long gone. Now it’s a phone glued to her ear, clothing that’s totally inappropriate for her age and makeup that could clog a sewer pipe. All part of growing up, so Margo says, but I don’t like it.”
Savannah said nothing, but to her Jacey sounded like a normal teenager, maybe carrying things a bit to the extreme, but that was teenagers. And ones with divorced parents often went to the edge for attention, reassurance, love.
“Then we’ll spend a few days at a resort in the mountains. It’s an exclusive destination resort with hiking trails, some white-water rafting nearby and all the amenities you’d expect to find at a five-star resort.” He shrugged. “I think the trip will be good for Jacey.”
“Sounds like you would be with her most of the time. Why a nanny?”
“There will be times when I won’t be with her. She’s too young to leave on her own in San Francisco or the resort. While we’re on the trail, it’ll be just the three of us.”
She slammed the door shut on the image that immediately sprang to mind—starlit nights, quiet conversation, kisses in the dark.
“San Francisco’s a favorite city of mine,” she murmured. She loved the crisp breeze from the Pacific, the dazzling white buildings against the deep blue sky. The excitement unlike New York’s but special in its own way. “Has Jacey been before?”
“No. And I’m not getting an enthusiastic response when I bring it up. I’m hoping she’ll come around.”
He hesitated a moment, then said slowly, “There’s one small thing, though.” He narrowed his eyes slightly as he watched her.
Savannah’s instincts clamored for caution. Something about his change in tone suggested this could be a deal breaker. Was his daughter more of a problem than a typical teenager?
“I, ah, need you to keep the past in the past. She need not know we once—” He floundered for the word, his expression one of regret.
Savannah stared at him. That was the absolutely last thing she expected. And the last thing she’d ever do—tell anyone how he’d chosen someone else over her.
“I assure you, I keep my private life my own with all my clients. I would never tell your daughter—” Never tell her of her heartbreak. Never tell her how she had so loved her father and been devastated when he’d chosen Jacey and Margo over her.
The feelings of the past threatened to swamp her. She drew a deep breath. Things changed in seven years. She was a bit disconcerted to discover she was still very aware of him as a man. But she had a life she loved, friends and a work ethic she’d spent years developing. And a definite hands-off attitude for any of her employers. She would never risk her heart a second time with a man who threw her love back in her face.
“Say something,” he urged softly. “Will you take this job?”
“Why me? Surely there are others in the field you could find to accompany you two.” There were other nannies in her own firm who could have gone.
“Stephanie said you had the most experience with teenagers. That you have a way with them. I need someone who will help Jacey. I think she’s long overdue for some good moral values and—”
“I still have to meet her before making a decision,” Savannah said. Sure, she was good enough to hire to watch his daughter for three weeks, but not good enough to marry and present as a stepmother back in the day?
“Give her a fair shot, Savannah. It wasn’t her fault what happened.”
She looked up and was met with steady brown eyes. What if she fell for him again?
Never! The trust they’d shared had been shattered. She would not make that mistake a second time.
For three weeks she’d have be around Declan—some of that time 24/7. She’d have to keep all thoughts of the past from mingling with the present. And she’d have to look after his daughter by another woman. She didn’t know if she wanted that. It was like lemon juice hitting a cut. Sharp and painful.
Carefully putting down her cup, she prepared to leave. “I have your address from the application. We’ll meet at your flat tomorrow at ten.” She had to think this through. Maybe talk to Stacey or Stephanie to get an impartial view. Maybe have her head examined that she was even considering it.
“You’d need to understand about Margo, as well.”
“What about her?” Savannah didn’t want to even think about his wife. Ex-wife.
“We divorced before I started Murdock Sports. She left New York, but when she came back, she had Jacey. I really wanted to do the right thing by my daughter. It was a mistake from the beginning—except for Jacey. She’s been the light of my world for years. However, ever since the second divorce, this company’s really grown. Margo’s been haranguing me for more money. She wants a share. That’s the last thing I’ll agree to.” The hard edge of his tone reminded Savannah that as fascinating as she’d found him, he was still a hard-driven businessman.
“And she’s using your daughter as a weapon,” Savannah guessed. She’d dealt with other divorced parents in her job. Some could be so thoughtless around their children.
“Exactly. At least I have her for three months this summer. My hope is that we build some kind of relationship like we had a few years ago. That’s the reason I wanted to start with a couple of weeks in the wilderness. Cut off from outside influences, just focusing on rebuilding our relationship, maybe she’ll realize what’s important in life.”
There was definitely the chance to build something when it was only Jacey and her father, away from her mother, friends and cell phones.
Declan continued, “She used to love going on hikes, camping. We did a lot of it when she was younger. I’m hoping that enjoyment will surge forth again. The Sierras are the prettiest mountains in the west, I think. Clean, fresh air, beautiful country, wildlife. Perfection.”
If Savannah had a lick of sense, as her grandmother used to say, she’d turn down the job so fast it’d make Declan’s head swim. But she liked the outdoors. She liked to hike and camp and see nature’s beauty. And she’d never seen the Pacific Crest Trail.
She was intrigu
ed and tempted.
Yet could she set aside her resentment of his daughter? Despite his cutting her out of his life when Margo had returned, he’d helped both her and her sister and the others who now worked for Vacation Nannies by fine-tuning her business plan with her. No one else might think so, but she owed him. She had a dream job, plenty of money for her chosen lifestyle, went on assignments to some of the world’s most beautiful and sought-after locations—all because Declan Murdock had taken time to teach a class.
She could handle anything for three weeks. As long as she remembered every day it was only temporary! She would be the most professional nanny in the world. And at the end of three weeks, she’d walk away without a backward look.
CHAPTER TWO
Declan stared at the doorway after Savannah left. He was surprised she’d agreed to proceed. He wouldn’t have blamed her if she’d refused outright.
Rubbing his hand on the back of his neck, he looked at the stack of reports in front of him. Not that he saw them. Instead, images of Savannah danced in front of his eyes. Her laughter that time they’d taken the paddle boat around the lake at St. Anne’s. The way her eyes grew a deeper blue when he kissed her. The evenings they’d made dinner together, stopping between tasks to kiss, touch, promise silently that even more would come later.
The worst mistake of his life had been turning his back on Savannah, thinking he and Margo could make a marriage just for Jacey’s sake.
He wasn’t sure what he’d expected when he saw Savannah again, but it hadn’t been that mature sophisticated businesswoman instead of the fun-loving student on the brink of life.
The Nanny Who Kissed Her Boss Page 2