Viv clearly wanted to see the best in this family. Perhaps it was because Laney was pregnant and Viv felt protective—one woman to another. Jack wasn’t quite sure, but he’d done this work long enough that he refused to be sidetracked by the family’s sudden need to walk on the right side of the law.
He reached for Viv’s hand on his arm. Sliding it between his, he held her still, ignoring the way her eyes widened in surprise.
“I need you, Viv.” In ways he couldn’t even let himself believe. “You’re my eyes and ears on the inside. You can’t get caught up in this family when we’re on the brink of shutting them down.”
When she trembled, Jack gripped her hand tighter. She closed her eyes and pulled in a breath. Black lashes fanned out against her tanned skin. What was she so worried about?
“Is it because Laney is expecting?” he asked. “Is that what has you upset?”
Viv shook her head, lifting her lids to meet his eyes. “No. Well, that does bother me, but I just worry not everything is as it seems.”
“Is there something you need to tell me?”
Katie belted out a cry, which had Viv jerking her hand away and heading toward the baby. And just like that the moment was gone. What was Viv hiding? He turned and saw that she had entered her comfort zone as she wrapped her arms around Katie and swayed back and forth.
Viv’s hair lay in waves down her back, shifting as she moved. She seemed to be humming in an attempt to sooth Katie’s cries. Jack watched, wondering again why Viv had never pursued a family of her own. Maybe it was time he dug a little deeper into his assistant’s personal life. After all, she was so determined to dive into his.
* * *
Days off were absolutely glorious. To have a day off from both jobs was even more splendid. Viv actually welcomed lounging in her pj’s and getting caught up on housework. She’d gladly take wielding a toilet wand over volleying back and forth between a rumored mob family and the sexy boss she was hiding the truth from.
Katie crawled behind her as they headed down the hallway. With the baby still in her footed pajamas, her knees would occasionally slip on the hardwood, but she’d push herself right back up and continue on.
Viv didn’t want to think about how she’d bounce back once this case wrapped up. Eventually Jack would learn the truth, in turn he’d hate her and at best she’d be fired. The fact she’d kept something so personal, so life altering from Jack would tear him apart. Plus, on top of the inevitable, the O’Sheas would likely learn she’d been spying. And Katie would find her forever home.
Viv pushed the negative thoughts away before they could consume her.
“Up, up, up.”
Glancing over her shoulder, Viv laughed at Katie, who now sat at the end of the hall outside her bedroom. With her arms extended, she wiggled her little fingers back and forth and continued to demand, “Up.”
Just as she started back down the hall to get Katie, Viv’s cell chimed from the kitchen. She quickly scooped Katie up and played airplane as she ran the short distance to the galley-style kitchen. Braden’s number lit up, instantly giving Viv’s heart a few extra beats.
The new family patriarch for the O’Sheas had never been anything but kind to her, but she still worried at the random call. It wasn’t typical of him to contact her when she was off, and with everything going on, she certainly didn’t want to draw attention to herself.
Katie pulled on Viv’s loose ponytail as she swiped her finger across the screen. “Hello?”
“Vivianna. I need you to come in to the office early on Tuesday.”
That stern voice boomed through the line, reminding her of her father. Len Smith never let his children get out of line, except when Viv had wanted to leave home and live in a big city. But that was not a subject she wanted to think about right now.
“Of course,” she replied, tipping her head when Katie reached for the cell. “Is one hour early enough?”
“That will be fine. The FBI needs to question all employees again.” Braden blew out a sigh, as if echoing her own feelings. Fear also crawled up her spine, causing shivers. “It’s a nuisance, but necessary to get them to back off. I apologize for putting you out. You’ve been an exemplary employee.”
Well, either he didn’t suspect her of anything or he was a really great actor trying to trap her.
“It’s no bother at all,” she replied. Katie lunged for the phone once more and Viv eased her back down to the floor. “I don’t mind answering more questions.”
Katie grabbed hold of Viv’s plaid pajama bottoms and started her chant once again. “Up, up, up.”
Braden laughed. “Sounds like you’re busy, so I won’t keep you.”
The O’Sheas might be ruthless and known for their less-than-legal business dealings, but nobody could ever say they weren’t a loving family. Family meant everything to them. And with Braden’s wife and sister expecting babies, he apparently was in tune with little ones.
“I’ll be there at eight on Tuesday,” she told him, smiling down at Katie, who continued to tug, her tiny chin now quivering. “See you then.”
She’d kept her voice steady, she hoped, while talking to him, but a new worry crept in. What if the FBI had found something? The Feds knew she was a plant; Jack was very thorough with keeping his contacts informed. Still, if they were questioning the whole office, maybe they were about to crack this case.
And then what? What would Jack do? The journal was completely personal, so there was no need for the Feds to know about it at all. But she was the only living person who knew the truth. It was her moral duty to tell him, whether the case was blown open or not.
Katie started fussing, rubbing her eyes and biting down hard on her gums. Viv set the phone back on the counter and reached for her. It was getting later in the day, but Katie had been up nearly all night with teething pain. Viv would give anything if those teeth would just pop through and let Katie have some rest. Poor thing was turning one in a week and Viv wanted to plan a fun celebration, even if it was just the two of them.
“It’s all right, sweetheart.” Viv ran her hand up and down Katie’s back as she headed toward the nursery. “Let’s rock a bit and see if we can get you to rest.”
Three hours, no sleep and an empty bottle of pain reliever later, Viv needed reinforcements. The bottle of medicine had only one dose left when she’d pulled it from the cabinet, but thankfully, she kept a spare in the diaper bag.
With Katie on her hip, Viv frantically searched her apartment. Where on earth could it be? She always kept it right by the front door so this didn’t happen.
Katie’s screams were getting worse and Viv’s frustration level was soaring. How could she be so irresponsible and misplace the bag with the backup medicine in it? She’d put her spare bottle in the bag when she took Katie to the office yesterday and...
Oh, no. Viv’s heart sank. The diaper bag was at the office. She’d completely forgotten it in her haste to get out of the confined space with Jack.
She could throw on clothes and run to the drugstore two blocks away, but she truly hated to take Katie out in this weather. She glanced at the clock hanging above her bookshelf and noted that it was much later than she’d thought. She really had only one option if there was any hope of sleep tonight.
Six
Jack felt like a complete fool. His instincts had gotten him through combat; he’d managed to make enough business deals in the past decade to make him a millionaire; he spoke Italian and Portuguese and owned homes in both countries. Yet as he stood outside Viv’s apartment door with diaper bag in hand, along with a sack of extra items from the store, he cursed under his breath.
He should’ve just brought the bag Viv had requested and not gone the extra mile. The last thing he needed was her reading too much into his actions. He was having a hard enough time justifying
them to himself. He’d come damn close to kissing her in her office yesterday so he needed to calm down and reassess exactly what he needed to focus on...and it wasn’t his assistant.
A middle-aged woman walked by and stopped at the next door. She threw him a soft smile, causing her eyes to wrinkle in the corners.
“You’re here for Vivianna?” she asked.
Jack nodded. “You must be Martha.”
He’d never met the babysitter before, but he knew she lived just on the other side of Viv. Jack shifted the diaper and drugstore bags into one hand and stepped forward to take Martha’s bag of groceries.
“Let me,” he offered, not letting her argue. “I’ll carry them inside.”
“But you have your own load.”
Jack flashed her a smile. “Then you better unlock your door so I can go in and set yours down. My mother raised a gentleman.”
She fished out her key and threw a glance over her shoulder as she turned the knob. “I like you. Are you here to take Viv out? That girl never gets out except to work.”
Jack secured the large brown grocery bag against his chest as he followed Martha into her apartment, which was the same layout as Viv’s. Martha decorated quite a bit differently, though. There wasn’t a shelf or stationary surface that didn’t have a knickknack on it. The porcelain cats, ducks, random shot glasses from around the world...there was just so much to take in at once. How the hell did anyone watch a child here? Breakables were everywhere.
“I’m returning the diaper bag she left at work,” Jack finally replied, once he got past the chaos of the place.
Martha motioned for him to set the bag on the dining table. “That’s a shame. I was hoping some fine-looking young man was going to take her out on the town. I’d gladly watch Katie, if that were the case.”
The naughty twinkle in the woman’s eye had him inching toward the door. The last thing he needed was a meddling neighbor trying to play Cupid. He was getting along just fine on his own.
Who said money didn’t buy happiness? He was happy, damn it.
When this was all over, he decided, he wouldn’t vacation at his villa in Italy. He was buying a whole new house for a getaway. He’d always loved the beauty of Amsterdam. Maybe he’d go there and look into real estate.
“I’ll let her know you’re available.” Jack started through the open door, but the woman wasn’t done with him yet.
“The weather is getting bad out there.” She wiggled her brows. “If you need to stay for a bit, just have Viv run Katie over.”
Was this lady for real? Jack merely smiled with a nod and got the hell out. That was the babysitter? Jack needed to have a talk with Viv about this. Not that he had any say over whom she preferred to have babysit, and Katie sure as hell wasn’t his kid, but Martha seemed a bit too eager to get a man alone with Viv.
How many other men had she tried to set Viv up with?
The thought irritated Jack as he pounded on her door. He had no right to be jealous, but damn it, he couldn’t help where his thoughts instantly went. The idea of some faceless bastard—
The door jerked open. It took Jack a moment to fully assess everything before him. Viv’s hair was half up, half down...and not in a stylish way. More like Katie had yanked on it in a fit kind of way.
Gone was her typical pencil skirt and silk blouse. She’d donned plaid pants—were those flannel?—and a long-sleeved T-shirt that was a bit damp in the chest region. And she wasn’t wearing a bra. Maybe having Katie stay next door with the crazy neighbor was the safest option, after all.
“Thank God you’re here.” Viv blew out an exhausted breath. “She’s been screaming for the past fifteen minutes. Sorry to bother you, but I figured you’d still be at the office this late.”
The screamer in question turned from Viv’s shoulder to look straight at Jack. Her little eyes were red and puffy, and drool covered her chin. Her blond curls were in disarray. The two females before him looked as if they’d been through a battle.
Jack stepped in and immediately put the diaper bag on the table just inside the door. Without asking, because he recalled from the last time, he reached into the front pocket and pulled out the pain reliever.
Katie let out a cry, and Viv grabbed the bottle from his hand. “I can’t thank you enough. I really didn’t want to get her out in this weather, and I can’t believe I left the bag at the office. What kind of foster parent am I?”
She struggled with the lid and holding a fussy baby. Jack eased the medicine from her hands and twisted it open. “You’re the best foster parent.”
Tears welled in Viv’s eyes. “She’s been miserable and I couldn’t do anything to help.”
He understood that helpless feeling all too well.
As Viv administered the medicine, Jack shrugged out of his coat and hung it over the back of one of two kitchenette chairs. Then he returned to the accent table and started pulling things from the drugstore sack.
“What are you doing?” Viv asked.
Feeling like a fool at the moment.
“I didn’t want you to run out of pain reliever tonight, so I brought a few backups.”
He stacked the various boxes on the table, because he didn’t know which brand was the best and had bought two boxes of each.
“A few?” she asked with a slight laugh. “That will last me forever. Maybe you should be a foster parent. Clearly, you plan ahead better than I do.”
She had no clue that associating the word parent with him was literally like a knife to his chest. She didn’t know, because he’d never told her.
When Viv swiped at her damp eyes, Jack nearly reached for her. And what good would come from that? What did he intend to do once he touched her? Console her? Tell her everything would be all right? He sucked at consoling, to be honest. He wanted to, damn it. She made him want to try. He hated that she obviously felt inadequate and second-guessed herself.
Katie whimpered a bit more and Viv patted her back, bouncing softly in an attempt to calm her. “I’m sorry you had to stop here on your way home,” Viv told him, then blew a stray strand of hair from her eyes. “I’m even sorrier I’m a complete wreck.”
“You’re not a wreck. You look like a woman who’s putting the needs of a child first.” Which made her even sexier. “Never apologize for caring.”
Viv kissed Katie on the forehead and smoothed back her unruly curls. “I just hate to see her in pain. Teething is no joke. We were up most of last night, then she was fine this morning and I managed to get my cleaning done.”
He might not be able to do much, but Jack knew of one thing that would hopefully put a smile on her face. He reached for the last item in the bag.
Viv gasped as he held up her favorite candy. “I think I love you.”
Jack froze. Viv’s eyes widened. “I mean, thank you,” she quickly added. “You don’t know how low my stash was running, and these are the name brand. I always buy the generic.”
Yeah, he’d seen the empty bags in her office, which was just one of the reasons he wanted her to have the real thing.
Jack tore the package open and crossed toward her kitchen. He dumped the candy into her glass bowl and tossed the empty sack.
“I met your neighbor,” he commented, leaning back against the counter. “Does she always try to set you up with a booty call?”
Viv’s eyes widened. Her hand, which she had been rubbing up and down Katie’s spine, stilled. “Excuse me?”
Shrugging, Jack went on. “She was all too eager for me to let you know she’d watch Katie if I wanted to take you out, or if we wanted to stay in, since the roads are getting bad.”
Viv closed her eyes and wrinkled her nose. “Please tell me she didn’t really say that.”
Jack bit the inside of his cheek to suppress his grin. “Do you think I would m
ake that up?”
When she finally opened her eyes, she looked everywhere but directly at him. Vivianna was sexy as hell and adorable all at the same time...and that invisible string pulling him toward her kept getting shorter and shorter. There wasn’t a damn thing he could do to stop it. He hadn’t felt the stirrings of desire for another woman in years.
“She’s tried to set me up on dates so many times, but this is a first.”
Viv shifted Katie in her arms. Apparently, the medicine had started kicking in, because the infant had one fist in her mouth and was playfully tugging Viv’s fallen hair with her free hand.
“In her defense, she was married to her high school sweetheart for forty years. He passed from a heart attack a couple of years ago.” Viv moved into the living area and started to put Katie in her Pack ’n Play. Having other ideas, Katie merely clung to her. “She’s always looking for someone for me because she thinks I’m unhappy alone.”
Jack navigated around the half wall separating the kitchen from the family room. “And are you unhappy alone?”
Finally, those dark eyes met his. “I’m not alone. I have Katie.”
He came to a stop within a foot of her. “And when she’s gone? Will you still be happy?”
Viv tipped her chin. “I’m always sad to see my foster kids leave. Saying goodbye to Katie will be harder to deal with because I’m so close to the story. But if you’re asking if I need a man in my life to make me happy, the answer is no.”
“What does make you happy?”
Why was he asking? Jack wondered. He should get his coat on and get the hell out. The roads weren’t getting any better and...what other reasoning did he need? He was getting too cozy with his assistant.
“Right now?” She raised her brows and smiled. “A shower. If you’d watch Katie for me for just five minutes, I will put in all the extra hours you want and you won’t even have to pay me.”
Watch Katie? Jack would rather hand over his no-limit credit card and send Viv on a trip to Rodeo Drive. Not because he didn’t like children. Quite the opposite. But there was that fear that had been ingrained in him a decade ago. He’d been so hyped up on the idea of becoming a father, and then when that dream vanished, he’d forced himself to shut down that side of his mind.
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