by Susan Meier
Henry’s soft cries poured from the baby monitor and Ellie froze. Already her impulse was to drop everything and rush to get the baby when he cried. But she waited to see what Mac wanted her to do.
He said, “I’ll get him,” and headed for the back stairway. “As I said, when I’m here, I take care of the kids.”
This time his doing her job didn’t bother her. He’d explained that he wanted her to get accustomed to things…the house, the cleaning schedule… All that was good. It even made more sense from the perspective of his wanting to give the kids a chance to get accustomed to her.
She had nothing to worry about.
She gathered the items from the recipe and began preparing the sauce. Her eyes on the list of ingredients, she measured and poured milk, cheese and butter into the pan. Stirring the sauce as it heated, she tried to keep her mind on her cooking, but couldn’t.
The instincts she kept trying to ignore tiptoed into her conscious, whispering that Mac wasn’t being nice. He was keeping his kids away from her because he didn’t really trust her. Sure, he’d apologized about strong-arming her, and, yes, he had a good explanation about why he was doing her job…but there was something in the air in this house. Something that didn’t quite fit.
Something…
The sauce in the pot bubbled over and Ellie jumped back out of the way with a squeak as she snapped off the gas burner.
She heard the sound of Mac racing down the stairs and quickly placed her body in front of the stove to hide the mess.
“Everything okay?” he asked, walking into the kitchen with Henry on his arm.
“Great.”
“I thought I heard a squeal.”
The odd feeling returned again. He had every right to investigate a squeal, but the tone of his voice just didn’t sit right.
Of course, she might be overanalyzing because she was nervous about having just burned a big part of his dinner!
“I… Um…” She swallowed to gather her courage. “My sauce just boiled over.”
“Oh. Okay, if everything’s under control the kids and I are going to take a short walk.”
He took it so casually that Ellie blinked in surprise as Mac turned away. Sam would have screamed at her for hours for ruining dinner, proving Mac wasn’t a full-fledged grouch or even really a control freak. So what the heck was going on here?
As Mac called, “Lacy!” Ellie noticed Henry had on a straw hat and a lightweight one-piece pajama that covered his entire body to protect him from the sun. Ellie didn’t criticize Mac’s diligence. But it did further the theory that he was very protective of his children and she’d better do the absolute best job she could do when she was alone with them—
Ah! Now she got it.
The parents of the kids she typically babysat for trusted her. This guy didn’t know her. So how could he trust her? He couldn’t! That was why he seemed to be keeping the kids from her. Until he got to know her he’d probably huddle over Henry and Lacy rather than let her alone with them…and probably also question her every move. His distrust could even be the “odd” thing she sensed in the air of this house.
Lacy ran into the room. She also wore a straw hat to protect her from the sun. “I’m ready, Daddy.”
Mac said, “Let’s go.” Then he and the kids trooped out of the kitchen.
Ellie spun around and looked at the milk-covered burner on the stove with a groan. She grabbed her cell phone from her jeans pocket.
“Ava, can you get a jar of store-bought Alfredo sauce here in twenty minutes?”
Ava laughed. “Ellie, you’re going to wear me out.”
“This time I can let you in the gate.”
“Great. I’ll fill you in on the Happy Maids stuff while I’m there.”
Twenty minutes later, Ava arrived with two jars of Alfredo sauce and the maids’ time sheets to be signed for payroll. As Ellie poured the penne pasta, portabella mushrooms and red and yellow peppers into a casserole dish and then covered them with Alfredo sauce and popped them into the oven, Ava briefed her on Happy Maids’ day.
“Nothing out of the ordinary happened. The houses were cleaned as scheduled. The Maids have their jobs for tomorrow.”
“Thanks, Ava.”
“You’re welcome. Now, I have to get home. I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon around this time.” Ava headed for the butler’s pantry, but stopped and grinned at Ellie. “Don’t hesitate to call me if you need something.”
Ellie shook her head in dismay. “I’m sorry but this guy is a serious control freak.” She’d finally decided to label him a control freak, if only because distrust was such an ugly word and she didn’t want Ava to realize she was uncomfortable. She might want Ellie to leave and she couldn’t. Cain and Liz needed for her to do a good job. “I didn’t dare risk a mistake.”
Ava laughed. “I was teasing. I don’t mind you calling me for help. You’re doing this as much for my boss as for yours. So we’re in this together.”
With that Ellie scooted out through the butler’s pantry and garage, leaving Ellie to prepare a salad in the twenty minutes it would take to heat the pasta and sauce.
She was just pulling dinner from the oven when Mac and the kids returned.
She greeted them with a smile. “You’re right on time.”
“Great. We’re starving.” He ambled to the door. “You may serve us in the formal dining room.”
Ellie smiled, breathing a silent sigh of relief that he’d told her what to do and quickly set the table. As she did that, Mac grabbed a jar of baby food, a baby dish and a tiny spoon.
She served the food while Mac fed Henry.
“That’ll be all, Ellie.”
Ellie nodded in acknowledgement and scurried back into the kitchen. But she opened the swinging door a crack and peeked into the dining room. Watching the happy little family, she amended her opinion of Mac once again. It seemed wrong to call him a control freak when he was looking out for his kids. In some circles that would make him a good dad.
Still, there was the matter of the missing wife. She couldn’t reconcile herself to thinking that any woman would give full custody of two adorable children to her husband. Had there been a custody battle? Were these two kids scarred for life?
Of course, his wife could be—Ellie swallowed—dead. Oh, dear. That would certainly raise a whole different set of issues! Including the curiosity of why he hadn’t told Ellie, if only to explain whether or not the kids were still dealing with that.
No. He would have told her if his wife were dead. As diligent as he was, he’d want her to be prepared about everything to do with his kids. His wife had to have left.
But where was she? And why had she gone, leaving her kids behind?
Telling herself it was none of her business and that she could handle not knowing for one month if it meant that Liz got the recommendations she needed and Cain got the contracts he wanted, Liz began scrubbing pots and wiping the kitchen counters.
When the Carmichaels were finished eating, Mac leaned into the kitchen. “We’re done. Lacy and I will be upstairs getting Henry ready for bed.”
“Okay.”
“Once you’ve cleaned up, you’re done for the day. You may do whatever you wish. It’s still hot out, so you might want to take a dip in the pool. The kids and I are in for the night, so it’s all yours if you wish. Good night, Ellie.”
He pulled out of the room without waiting for her reply and Ellie leaned against the counter with a sigh of relief.
Day one down!
After clearing the dining room and popping the dishes into the dishwasher, Ellie went to her room.
She wouldn’t mind a swim, but she hadn’t brought a suit. Plus, she needed to get up early the next morning. She set her alarm for four, so that she’d be ready for Lacy whatever time she awoke, then did a quick pirouette in the massive bedroom she’d be staying in for the next month. Her boss’s life might be a bit of a mystery. She might wonder what happened to the kids’ mom. And she absolutely had to get
better at cooking. But spending a month in this suite could almost make up for that. It was the lap of luxury.
Running her hand up one of the black posts of the four-poster bed, she noticed the gold decorative rings at the top and sighed dreamily. What must it be like to have so much money that you could have everything you wanted, exactly as you wanted it?
Lifting her makeup bag from the black mirrored dresser, she turned and walked into the bathroom. Again, she stopped and stared in awe. Brown travertine tiles on the floor matched the brown tiles in the shower and surrounding the spa tub. This bathroom was as big as the kitchen in her and her roommate Mitzi’s apartment.
She set the makeup case on the counter of the double sink with black-and-gold granite countertops, then stripped to make good use of the spa tub. After a nice long soak, she stepped into lightweight pajamas, applied face cream and crawled into bed with a book. Cool silk sheets greeted her and she groaned. There was a definite difference between cleaning someone’s house once a week and staying in that house—even if it was as hired help. She certainly hoped she didn’t get used to this!
She read until about ten, then turned out the light of the brushed gold lamp on the bedside table and immediately fell asleep.
What seemed like only minutes later Henry’s loud crying woke her. Slightly disoriented, she bolted up in bed, wondering what the sound was. But the second burst of crying brought her to full alertness and got her to her feet.
“Henry!” she cried, not even sure if the little boy could hear her. “I’m coming, sweetie!”
Intending to change his diaper and take him downstairs while she warmed a bottle, she ran into the room. As her door opened on the left side of the nursery, Mac’s door on the right side of the nursery also opened. Both flew into the room and stopped dead in their tracks.
Her pajamas, though lightweight, were covering. His chest was bare above low-riding bottoms. His dark hair was mussed. His eyelids drooped sexily and his brilliant blue eyes were glazed over. He had the sleepy look of a man who cuddled after sex.
The very fact that that popped into her mind shocked her. She couldn’t speak. She couldn’t move. She’d seen him in swimming trunks that afternoon, but with her brain jumping to inappropriate places and both of them soft and warm from sleep, everything about the moment felt different.
His gaze fell from her pajama top to her bare feet. As it leisurely crawled back up her body again, the haze in his eyes disappeared. She stifled a shiver. The way he had looked at her stole her breath. Not awake enough to monitor his reaction, he’d taken inventory from the top of her head to the tips of her toes and back up again, very obviously liking what he saw.
Their gazes caught and the light in his eyes intensified, sharpened.
Ellie swallowed, told herself to speak and speak now, but nothing came out.
Then Henry screamed.
“I’m sorry, buddy,” Mac said, breaking eye contact to race to the crib. He hoisted the little boy into his arms. It fleetingly occurred to Ellie that he was adorable with his son, especially when the baby so eagerly wrapped his chubby arms around his dad’s neck, but the ripple of the muscles of his biceps and back as he cuddled Henry caused her heart to stutter in her chest and warmth to pool in her middle.
She took a step back. This attraction was ridiculous. As her boss, he was off-limits for too many reasons to count. But even if he was interested in her, she didn’t want to be attracted to him! He was her boss. Cain and Liz needed for her to do a good job. And by God, she would.
She walked over to the crib. “I’ll go downstairs and get the bottle.”
He peeked over at her. Gooseflesh sprinkled over her entire body. She tried to remind herself that Cain and Liz were depending on her, and that meant she had to behave in a professional manner, but her gaze stayed locked with Mac’s.
What was wrong with her? Her intuition was scrambling. Her hormones had executed a coup. And her brain seemed to have gone on vacation.
Finally Mac said, “I’ll get it.”
Ellie took a breath. “No. That’s okay. You change him. I’ll get the bottle.” She had to get out of this room! “By the time I return, you’ll be ready for it so you can feed him.”
He nodded, and she walked toward the nursery door, but at the last second she changed her mind and headed for the door of her suite. She closed it behind her then walked through her sitting room to get to the hall. It wasn’t that she didn’t want him seeing her things. She hadn’t scattered her things about. She was a tidy person. It was more that there was something about both of them sleeping so close, with only a nursery to separate them. Something intimate was happening between them and she didn’t want him thinking about her any more than she wanted to be thinking about him.
But she would.
Damn it. She knew she would.
What was it about this guy that drew her? Sure, he had beautiful blue eyes. Yes, he was perfect physically with his well-defined muscles that rippled when he moved, and shiny black hair that looked silky smooth and made her itch to run her fingers through it.
But he was…unattainable!
And she didn’t know him. Rich people always had secrets in their closets and this guy’s very demeanor screamed trouble.
Plus, she didn’t want a relationship. Damn it. One day in his company and she’d almost forgotten every lesson she’d learned with Sam!
At the refrigerator, she put her attention on preparing Henry’s bottle. Her mind back where it belonged, she got one of the pre-poured bottles of milk from the refrigerator. She heated it to room temperature as she’d been taught by several of the mothers at A Friend Indeed and returned to Henry’s room.
Mac sat on the rocking chair with Henry on his lap, his towhead nestled against his daddy’s chest. Ellie’s heart squeezed.
Fuzzy feminine feelings rose up in her and she suddenly understood why Mac was so appealing to her. No matter what his secrets, he truly loved his kids and somehow or another that hit her right in the maternal instincts. She’d always wanted children and if she’d met someone normal before she’d met Sam her life probably would have been very different.
“Here,” she whispered, handing Mac the bottle.
He glanced up at her. Their gazes caught for only a second, but it was long enough for Ellie to feel the sizzle again, reminding her that this attraction wasn’t one-side. And that was the problem.
“Thanks.”
She took a step back. “You’re welcome.”
Then she turned and all but ran back to her suite.
Even if an employer felt an attraction for the help, most wouldn’t let it show. Mac hadn’t let it show all day. But being half-asleep, his guard had been down. Nine chances out of ten, he wouldn’t even acknowledge this in the morning.
But what if he did?
What if he liked her?
What if living with him for a month was enough that their barriers broke down?
He already had her stuttering and staring. If he made a pass at her, could she resist him?
And what if she didn’t?
No one knew better than Ellie that there were consequences to relationships.
Especially relationships with bosses.
CHAPTER FOUR
ELLIE awakened at four, dressed in a clean pair of jeans and yawned her way to the kitchen. To her amazement six-year-old Lacy was waiting for her.
“Lacy?”
From her position on one of the chairs at the table, she peeked at Ellie. “Sorry.”
“Oh, that’s okay, honey,” Ellie said, walking over to the table where the little girl sat. She stooped down to make herself eye-level. “I’m just a little concerned about you being up by yourself.”
Lacy leaned her elbow on the table and angled her chin on her fist. She wore pale blue pajamas covered in tiny pink hearts. The color brought out the blue in her eyes and made her wispy pale hair seem even more golden. “I just sit here until somebody gets up.”
“Really?”
“Yes. She does. She’s fine.”
Ellie spun around to face the door when Mac spoke. He stood on the threshold, not in last night’s pajama bottoms, but in a pair of sweatpants and a baggy T-shirt. Barefoot, he ambled into the kitchen.
“She likes an egg for breakfast, toast and some blueberries.”
“And a glass of milk,” Lacy added with a grin.
Staring at Mac, Ellie told her heart to settle down and her hormones to please take a vacation, but neither listened. Her heart tumbled in her chest and adrenaline surged through her blood. The man was just too good-looking. And he was dedicated to his kids. She’d never met a man who changed diapers and awakened at four without complaint. Yet she still felt something was off.
Suddenly the entire situation began to make sense. He was a great dad, seemingly a good person, and he was gorgeous…so she was attracted to him. But her experience with men wasn’t good. So while her hormones were loping off the charts, her common sense was trying to find things wrong with him.
He wasn’t a mystery. She was the one with the problem. Or maybe their attraction was the problem.
Still, she was the help and nothing more. From the nonchalant way he drifted into the kitchen and ambled to the table where Lacy sat, Ellie knew he had absolutely no interest in following up on the attraction he felt to her. After all, it was only physical. They hadn’t spoken beyond the work required for this job. What they felt for each other couldn’t be anything other than a healthy case of sexual attraction.
A good relationship required so much more. Shared interests. Mutual likes and dislikes. Even a shared background would be nice. Her background was so different from his that they probably didn’t even share one similar childhood memory! She didn’t even need to remember all the other reasons they were wrong for each other. With pasts as different as theirs, none of that mattered.
Reminded of her place, Ellie said, “We’re fine here, Mr. Carmichael. You can go back to bed.”
Mac gave her a puzzled frown. “Mr. Carmichael?”
Ellie winced. “You never did tell me what to call you.”