“Whose child is this?”
“She’s my niece. My sister’s child.”
Ana looked down at the squalling bundle. Her expression softened. “Ah, pobre bébe! Where is her papa?”
“He died with my sister.”
“How sad,” Ana said gently. She cooed at the baby. Whispered something in Portuguese. The child’s screams became sobs; the sobs became whimpers. And, to everyone’s amazement, the tiny rosebud mouth curved in a smile.
“She likes you,” Linc said.
Ana threw him a sharp look. “What a shock.”
“I only meant—”
“I have a dozen little cousins. They all like me. What is her name?”
“Jennifer.”
“Jenny,” Ana crooned, touching the tip of her finger to the baby’s chin. “Such a lovely name for a lovely little girl.”
Jennifer—Jenny—smiled giddily and blew a bubble.
Linc watched in fascination and upped the count. There weren’t three Anas, there were four. Sexy siren. Demure innocent. Tailored cosmopolitan and now earth mother.
He thought of what it would be like to find out which of the Anas was real. To kiss that soft mouth until she melted against him and revealed herself. To him. To his hands, his mouth, his body. Revealed all the rich layers that waited for discovery…
Hell, he thought, and cleared his throat. “Sarah?” he said briskly to his PA “Take the baby, please.”
His PA looked him straight in the eye. “I have work to do, sir,” she said, and walked out of the room.
Linc wanted to call her back but she was right. What was he supposed to do now? No nanny until tomorrow. Or Monday. Or maybe never, the way things were going. He had an afternoon full of meetings. His lawyer. The social worker, who’d probably just love to watch as his niece screamed her displeasure to the world.
The baby grabbed Ana’s hand and smiled. Ana gave a soft laugh. And an idea so ridiculous any sane man would have dismissed it sprang to life in Linc’s brain.
“So, Ana,” he said, trying to sound casual, “what will you do now that the job thing hasn’t panned out?”
Her shoulders straightened. “That is not your problem.”
“Yes, you made that clear. But, ah, but I feel somewhat responsible. That letter did go out on my letterhead.” He paused. “Actually, I’ve thought of something that might suit you.”
“Thank you,” she said, though her tone made a mockery of the words, “but I do not want charity. I have already said that it was wrong to let my father ask you for a favor.” She looked quickly at the baby, then held her toward Linc. “You may take her now, senhor.”
Linc dug his hands into his pockets.
“No charity. This is a real job, but I warn you it doesn’t require that degree in business.”
“It doesn’t?”
“You wouldn’t be working for my company, you’d be working for me.”
Color flooded her face. “If you think I would take money to—to—”
“I need a nanny for my niece.”
Her jaw dropped. Obviously she couldn’t believe what he’d just said. Well, damnit, neither could he, but he was desperate.
“Are you up to some honest work?” His tone hardened. “Or would you rather hurry home to Papa and admit that your first foray into the world turned out to be too much reality to handle?”
CHAPTER FOUR
WASN’T there a North American expression? Something about being caught between a boulder and a hard surface?
There was, Ana was sure, though maybe she had the syntax wrong. She’d studied English since childhood and she spoke it well, but when she was under pressure her command of the language sometimes faltered.
Besides, language was fluid. And if you lived a medieval existence, if you were sheltered, all but smothered by a well-meaning father and a doting mother, you couldn’t possibly keep up with its ebb and flow.
There was, however, no way to misunderstand what Lincoln Aldridge had just said. This was the real world. He lived in it. She did not.
Never mind the college degree. She had one, yes, but the truth was that most of what she’d learned about business she’d learned through her own reading. The college she’d attended was a nice place but it demanded little of the wealthy young women who were its students.
Papa had sent her there to placate her, just as he’d done by sending her north. To Lincoln. First he’d given her a safe education at a school he could trust. Then he’d sent her to New York for a safe job with a man he could trust.
What irony!
Why would anyone trust Lincoln Aldridge? Obviously he lived by his own rules. He’d kissed her because it had pleased him to do so. Now he was offering her a job for similar reasons.
“Well?”
Aldridge’s eyes were locked on hers. He looked impatient and arrogant. And beautiful.
A sweet fire engulfed her.
She’d never seen a man you’d describe that way but it suited him. That hard masculine face. The long body. The musculature of it that not even an expensive suit could disguise.
Ana dragged her gaze from his. There was a baby seat in the middle of an enormous conference table. She carried the contented baby to it and took her time securing the safety harness, grateful for the chance to regain her composure.
Of course she would not accept his offer. Why would she even contemplate saying yes? She wasn’t a nanny. She adored children but she had not come to New York to burp babies.
“Never mind.” A patronizing little smile lifted one corner of his mouth. “That look on your face says it all. You expected me to make you second in command at Aldridge. Instead, I’m offering you good wages to do an honest job—”
“What do you call ‘good wages’?”
She could see the question surprised him. Well, it surprised her, too, but what harm was there in asking?
He named a figure. Another surprise. It was a lot of money. Ana did some fast mental calculations.
“Plus, of course, room and board.”
“Room and board? You mean, I’d be expected to live in your home?”
“Unless you’d rather get calls from me in the middle of the night if my niece needs tending.”
His tone was so flat it took her a second to realize he was being sarcastic. But he was right. You couldn’t care for a baby at a distance.
Still, she would not do it. She could not do it. Even if it meant returning home and admitting failure…
“I’ll take it.”
His dark eyebrows rose. What a pleasure, she thought coldly, to have taken him by surprise again.
“With one caveat.”
He sighed. “Health insurance? Paid holidays? Mondays and alternate Saturdays off?”
“Insurance, naturally. As for the rest, when I want time off, I will ask for it.”
“Then what’s the caveat?”
“You will keep looking within your organization for something for me.”
“I just told you—”
“I know how large corporations work,” Ana said, lying with aplomb. “People come, people go. When you find a position for which I am suited, you will offer it to me.”
Linc’s body tightened. He had a damned good idea of what position would suit Ana Maria Marques.
He thought back to how she’d just responded to his kiss. It had been the same way that very first night.
“That night,” he said, “in the garden…Were you going to meet a man?”
Her face colored. For an instant she was tempted to tell him the truth, that she’d been doing what she always did when the constraints of her life became unbearable. For years, she’d slipped out of the beautiful house that was her prison, slipped away from the grounds and wandered the hilly streets in blissful solitude.
A faceless entity named Aldridge Inc. had changed all that.
She’d memorized the master code that bypassed the alarm system, come up with a way to dress that would ensure she’d blend
into the darkness. And the very first time she’d tried it…
“Answer the question, Ana. Were you going to meet someone? Or were you coming from a liaison with your lover?” His tone roughened. “Was I the lucky recipient of leftover lust?”
For the second time today, she wanted to hit him. Ball up her fist and smack it right into his jaw. If only he knew how many times she’d relived what had happened, the hours she’d wasted trying to figure out why she’d kissed a stranger…
“Yes,” she said with a careless toss of her head, “that’s it, exactly. I had just left my lover and you took advantage of what he’d made me feel.”
His face darkened; his big body tensed. She wanted to call back the outrageous lie but it was too late. Aldridge had already pulled her into his arms.
His kiss was hard. Merciless. And, oh, God, exciting!
Men had kissed her but not like this, as if the planets and stars were nothing but an illusion and the only thing real was their passion. She told herself not to react, but even as she did she was twisting her hands into Lincoln’s jacket, letting herself lean into him—
He let go of her and she stumbled back.
“The truth, senhora,” he said calmly, “is that your lover left you unsatisfied.”
Ana spat a word at him, one she’d heard but never dreamed she’d use. To her fury, it made him laugh.
“What a charming choice of words, Ana. Yes, I know what you called me. I’ve spent some time in Rio, remember?” His mouth twisted. “Now, do you want the job or don’t you?”
“Do you really think I would accept employment in your home after what you just did?”
“What I think,” Linc said, “is that you’re hardly the trembling innocent your father thinks you are.”
“What I think,” Ana said, “is that you are a—”
“I also think that you’re not a fool. You want to stay in New York. That means you need a job. I’m offering you one. Good pay, a roof over your head and food in your belly.” His eyes narrowed. “I can assure you, there won’t be any other benefits. I’ve never tolerated personal relationships between management and employees in the office and I’m not about to tolerate them in my home.” He shot back his cuff and frowned at his watch. “I have a busy schedule this afternoon. I need an immediate answer. Do you want this job or don’t you?”
Was he crazy? Did he really think she would work for him?
He looked up, impatience etched into every hard feature. “Well? Yes or no?”
Ana swallowed dryly. And said yes.
* * *
The meeting with the social worker seemed to go well.
Linc met with her alone and then had Ana bring in the baby. Fresh from a bottle, a nap and a diaper change, Jenny glowed with contentment in her new nanny’s arms. A few minutes of polite chitchat about babies and then the social worker changed topics.
“That’s a great suit, Miss Marques,” she said pleasantly. “Armani? Oh, and I love your shoes. Gucci, right?”
The new direction puzzled Linc. Not Ana.
“Yes to both and thank you.” Her smile was woman-to-woman. “Of course, I have only just arrived in the city. When you see me again, I am afraid I will be dressed more conventionally. You know, for spit-ups and diapering.”
Both women laughed politely. Then Ana leaned forward.
“I hope Senhor Aldridge told you how grateful my father and I are to him for giving me this opportunity.”
It was the social worker’s turn to look puzzled. “Your father?”
“It is common practice in my country,” Ana said demurely, “for young ladies of a certain class to go north, if they wish, and try their hand at genteel employment. Under the close supervision of an old family friend, naturally.”
Linc looked at her. Amazing. Nobody would suspect she was lying through her teeth.
“Fortunately for me, Senhor Aldridge is just such an old, trusted friend. When we heard he needed help caring for Jennifer, Papa saw it as the perfect chance for me to do something useful.”
The social worker looked as if Ana had just explained the mysteries of the universe.
“Excellent,” she said briskly. “Thank you for your time, Mr. Aldridge. I’ll see you in another few weeks.”
Linc waited until the woman was gone. Then he scratched his head.
“What the hell was that all about?”
“You are a man,” Ana said briskly. “I am a woman.”
“Really? I’d never have known.”
“She was trying to figure me out.”
“Tell her to join the club.”
“She could tell my clothes are expensive.”
“So?”
Ana rolled her eyes. “So, it crossed her mind that you might have bought my things for me. That I am your mistress.”
He wanted to say she was crazy, except she wasn’t. His lawyer had warned him that his life would come under the closest scrutiny.
“So I told her a story about practices in my country.” She smiled sweetly. “You’d be amazed how naive some people are about South America. The taxi driver asked me where I was from. Then he wanted to know all about my encounters with jaguars and head-hunters.” Her smile faded. “Satisfied?”
Linc nodded. Who wouldn’t be satisfied? His niece was happy. The social worker was happy.
Unfortunately, when his attorney showed up a couple of hours later, he wasn’t.
Linc called Ana in and introduced them. She was the perfect nanny: polite, respectful, almost deferential. Charles smiled, said all the right things, but as soon as he and Linc were alone, he shook his head.
“She’s a liability, Lincoln.”
Linc sat back in his chair. “Since when is a nanny a liability?”
“When she’s young, stunning and somebody’s spent a million bucks on her clothes.”
Linc sighed. “Her old man’s loaded.”
“The Social Services people won’t know that.”
“Yeah. They will. They already do.”
He told Charles what had happened. The lawyer nodded.
“Young, stunning—and bright. That’s one hell of a combo.”
“The baby’s putty in her hands.”
“And you?”
“What, you think I’m gonna make a move on my nanny? Give me a break, Charles. Except for the last one, all Jenny’s nannies were young and attractive, too.”
“This girl’s not attractive, she’s spectacular.”
Linc sat straight in his chair. “I hadn’t noticed.”
“Maybe not, but Social Services—”
“I just told you, Ana took care of that.”
“For the moment.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning, until they decide you’re a fit guardian for your niece—well, just don’t underestimate their power, all right? Especially with Kathryn’s mother-in-law hovering in the background.”
“You have to be kidding. The woman was a failure as a mother to her son. She’s only interested in custody of Jenny because of the money I’d put in trust for Kath. No court would—”
“You’re male, Kathryn’s mother-in-law is female. You’re an uncle. She’s a grandmother.” The attorney held up his hand when Linc would have spoken. “I know it sounds crazy but I’ve seen judges make decisions that defy logic. We don’t want that to happen here.”
“No,” Linc said grimly, “we don’t.”
The men rose to their feet and walked slowly to the door.
“All I’m saying is, remember Caesar’s wife.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning,” the lawyer said, clapping Linc on the back, “remain above suspicion.”
“You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“Dead serious. One wrong move, one blurring of the line between you and Ana, and you’ll leave yourself open to losing Jennifer. Unless you’ve changed your mind about wanting to raise her…?”
Changed his mind?
Forget Kath’s greedy mother-in
-law. He’d never let someone like her raise Jenny… But there was more to it than that. Early this morning, he’d lifted a tiny stranger from her crib and sat down with her in his arms. Somewhere during the next hour, that tiny stranger had turned into a child he loved.
It defied logic, and Linc was a logical man. But…
“Lincoln? Have you changed your mind?”
Linc held out his hand. Charles took it.
“The only thing that’s changed,” he said, “is that I’m more convinced than ever I want to raise Jenny. And I’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen.”
The lawyer smiled. “In that case, just remember to treat Miss Marques like the employee she is and things will…” He hesitated. “…and things should be fine.”
* * *
Fine wasn’t exactly the word Linc would have chosen.
Not for the first couple of weeks. Ana’s arrival in his life was like a tornado touching down.
First, there was her luggage.
She’d left it at her hotel. He’d sent his driver for it. The guy was a body builder, long on muscle and stamina, but he’d come back looking stunned.
No wonder.
Six suitcases, each the size of a small truck, were lined up behind him in the marble foyer of Linc’s penthouse.
“Oh, hell,” Linc said softly.
“Yeah,” his driver said, just as softly.
Together, they wrestled the stuff up the spiral staircase and into the nursery. Ana left the baby with the housekeeper and followed them, snapping out directions. When the luggage was placed where she wanted it, Linc cleared his throat.
“I don’t suppose you have anything suitable for, uh, for nannying in those bags?”
“Such a typically male attitude,” she said with a cluck of her tongue.
Linc brightened. “Good. For a minute there, I was afraid you owned nothing but—”
She opened one suitcase. Then another. And another. He saw suits, silky blouses, more of those pumps that looked so demure until you noticed the sky-high heels.
“I thought you said—”
“What I said was that your attitude was typical.”
And right on the mark, Linc thought, but he wasn’t foolish enough to say it.
“I will shop tomorrow and buy what is required.”
The Playboy’s Unexpected Bride Page 4