by Robin Wells
She should have known it was only a matter of time before Nick grew tired of a boring little homebody like her. After all, Nick was the most exciting man she’d ever met.
Especially when he kissed her.
The thought of Nick’s long, slow, spine-tingling kisses sent a rush of heat coursing through her. Nick’s kisses had made her knees melt and her head spin and her whole world tilt off its axis. When Nick had kissed her, he’d made her feel like he found her exciting, too.
The baby shifted in her arms, pulling her thoughts back to the present. She was embarrassed to realize that her gaze was locked on Nick’s lips.
Even more disconcerting was the intent way Nick was looking back at her, as if his eyes could drink her in. She’d forgotten the way he focused his attention, forgotten the knack he had for making her feel as if she were the most important person in his world.
“It’s good to see you, Rachel,” he murmured. “You look wonderful. Just the way I remember you.”
“You haven’t changed much, either,” she managed.
He drew back his navy sports coat and cast a rueful glance down at large stain on his white oxford shirt. Nick had always been meticulous about his clothing, Rachel recalled. He’d said it was the result of having to wear dirty clothes to school as a boy after doing the morning chores on his family’s farm.
He pointed to the yellowed splotch. “I’m afraid I’m a little worse for the wear. The plane trip was a nightmare. Jenny poured a whole bottle of juice all over me at takeoff, then cried nonstop throughout the entire flight. In fact, this is the first time she’s stopped crying all day.”
Rachel looked down at the child. Her white-blond head was snuggled against Rachel’s tan blouse, her eyes half-closed. She looked as if she might fall asleep at any moment. “The poor sweetie. She’s probably exhausted.”
“Well, she’s not alone.” Nick ran a hand down his face and blew out a tired breath. “I tried everything I could think of to get her to stop wailing—singing, making funny faces, rocking her, feeding her, reading to her. Nothing worked. I thought the other passengers were going to throw us both out the emergency exit.”
“Where’s Jenny’s mother?” Oh, dear, why had she asked that? If she were here in the building, Nick might think she wanted to be introduced. Rachel didn’t think she could handle the social civilities of meeting Nick’s wife without bursting into tears. She was close to crying as it was.
“She’s...” Nick hesitated, his mouth stretching into a somber line, his eyes clouding. “She’s dead.”
Rachel was immediately ashamed of her thoughts. Her heart flooding with sympathy, she drew the drowsy child tighter against her chest. “Oh, how terrible. Poor Jenny.” Rachel gently stroked the child’s back. “I’m so sorry. It must have been awful, losing your wife.”
Nick’s eyebrows flew up. “I didn’t lose a wife. I lost a brother. He and my sister-in-law died in a car crash in Oklahoma three weeks ago. I was their only living relative, so now I’m their child’s guardian.”
The baby wasn’t Nick’s. An unbidden sense of relief swept through Rachel. Confused by the intensity of her reaction, she kept her eyes carefully focused on Jenny.
“Patricia didn’t tell you?”
Rachel shook her head. “She was just getting around to telling me you were going to be my new boss, when you walked in.”
“I’m surprised you’d assume I’d gotten married. You know I’m not the marrying type.” He gave a crooked smile, the kind that could charm a snake out of a tree. “If I were, I would have tried to marry you.”
His tone was light, but the words fell heavily on her heart. He’d always been good at turning on the charm, at smoothing over awkward situations. That was no doubt what he was doing now.
Rachel swallowed around the lump that had formed in her throat. “I—I’m very sorry about your brother and sister-in-law. What an awful tragedy.”
Nick nodded soberly. “Especially for Jenny. To make matters worse, she can’t seem to stand me.” He gazed at the baby and sighed deeply. “Not that I blame her. I don’t know the first thing about babies. She must know she’s in the hands of a rank amateur.”
Rachel softly touched Jenny’s cheek, her heart aching for the motherless child. “She’s probably just missing her parents.”
“I’m sure that’s part of it. But Jenny’s always been finicky about people. Aside from her parents, the only person she’s ever tolerated is an older woman, Mrs. Olsen, who used to occasionally baby-sit for her back in Oklahoma. Mrs. Olsen kept Jenny for me while I settled the details of my brother’s estate there. I tried to get her to move here to take care of Jenny for me, but she has a husband and a home, and she couldn’t relocate.” Nick blew out a long breath. “This is the first day I’ve been all alone with Jenny, and to tell you the truth, I’m at my wits’ end.”
“Give it some time,” Rachel said. “In a few days, you and Jenny will be thicker than thieves.” She glanced up curiously. “What are you going to do with her while you work?”
“I plan to hire a daytime nanny. I’ve got the name of a good agency.” Nick gave a warm smile, the kind that always turned Rachel’s insides to melted butter. “I just hope I can find someone she likes as much as she likes you. It’s amazing how well you calmed her down.”
Rachel sifted her fingers through the baby’s blond curls. “I love children. Maybe she just senses that.”
“Maybe so. I remember that about you.” His gaze lingered on her face. “I remember a lot about you.”
Rachel’s pulse lurched, then pounded madly. She remembered a lot about him, too—including some things she wished she couldn’t recall in such vivid detail. Things like the hungry, smoky look he got in his eyes when he was about to kiss her, and the way his eyes closed when his lips touched hers, and the delicious roughness of his clean-shaven chin.
Her mouth went dry. She knew she should pull her eyes away, but she couldn’t seem to do so.
Remember the rest of it, she ordered herself. Remember how he left without any warning. Remember how you felt when you found out that he’d been transferred at his own request.
Swallowing hard, Rachel turned her gaze to the baby, who was now asleep in her arms.
The air between them grew thick and charged with emotion. Nick uneasily cleared his throat. “I, uh, hope you won’t mind working with me again.”
“Mind?” She willed her mouth into a smile, hoping it looked a lot more genuine than it felt. She’d be darned if she’d let him know how badly his abrupt disappearance had hurt her two years ago, or how unsettling his sudden reappearance was now. “Why should I mind?”
Nick shoved his hands in the pockets of his gray slacks and shrugged. “I was just afraid that, well, since we dated and all...”
“That was all a long time ago,” Rachel said rapidly, forcing a note of nonchalance into her voice. “Don’t worry about it. It was just one of those things.”
His eyes darkened and a nerve flexed in his jaw. He opened his mouth as if he were about to say something, then abruptly closed it. “Right.” He shifted his stance and pulled his hands from his pockets. “I’m, uh, glad you feel that way.”
But he wasn’t glad. Not a bit. It bothered the heck out of him to hear her dismiss their relationship so lightly.
Just one of those things. It hadn’t been like that at all. When he’d been with Rachel, he’d felt more alive than he’d ever felt in his life. It was almost as if she threw some sort of magic spell over him.
He could almost feel himself slipping under it now. Everything about her was just as he remembered—her creamy skin, her deep blue eyes, her shoulder-length brown curls defiantly trying to escape from her neat, pulled-back hairstyle. He’d always loved Rachel’s hair, had always thought that it perfectly captured her personality—prim and restrained on the surface, wild and abandoned underneath, involved in a continual, silent, unconscious struggle to break free.
She looked wonderful, standing there
in that tailored navy suit. He’d thought he was finally over her, but all sorts of old feelings were floating to the surface as he stood there looking at her.
He abruptly realized that he was staring. He glanced away, but not before he saw a faint blush stain her cheeks.
“Well, I’d better get back to work,” she said. “I still need to double check the numbers on the monthly profit and loss report before I print it out, and I want to get out of here at a decent hour.”
“Do you have plans for the evening?” The question slipped out before he could stop it.
Her eyes grew wary. “As a matter of fact, I do.”
“A date?” Good grief. What was the matter with him? He had no right to ask such personal questions, but he couldn’t seem to help himself.
Rachel looked away. “Not exactly. I’m planning to go to the movies with Patricia and some other friends.”
Relief eased the constriction in Nick’s chest. He knew that it was illogical, knew he had no rights where Rachel was concerned, but he hated the idea of her seeing another man. “Sounds nice. Anyone I know?”
“I think they all came to work here after you left. You’ve met Patricia. There are six of us who meet every day for coffee breaks and lunch, and sometimes we pal around together on weekends.”
“Are they all women?”
Rachel shot him a curious gaze. “As it so happens, they are.” She rose from her perch on the corner of the desk. “Well, I’d better give Jenny back to you.” She stepped forward and started to place the child into his arms. Her hands brushed his, and a current of electricity passed between them. He knew she felt it, too, because she froze, her blue eyes wide and alarmed.
Two years had gone by since the last time they’d touched, but time had done nothing to diminish the chemistry between them. It still sizzled, still felt strong and urgent and compelling. They’d always been more than physically compatible, Nick thought; they’d been physically combustible. The problem was, the emotional connection between them had been just as strong as the physical attraction. Things had been getting too serious.
Which was why he’d left. Rachel needed a husband and a family, and he had no intention of ever settling down. Marriage meant being tied down, and being tied down meant monotony, boredom and drudgery. He’d had enough of that to last a lifetime, growing up on a family farm. Besides, his parents’ grim, loveless marriage had been more than enough to convince him to remain single. He wanted to see the world, to pursue new challenges, to follow his own whims without having to answer to anyone.
For some reason, though, he had a hard time remembering that whenever he was around Rachel. The memory of how she’d felt in his arms sent a ripple of arousal racing through him. He quickly tried to batten it down.
Getting involved with Rachel had been a mistake before, and it would be a mistake again. He had no right to start something he had no intention of seeing through to an honorable conclusion. He knew how she felt about marriage and family, knew that she wasn’t a person to take romantic involvement lightly. He’d known two years ago that she was getting far too serious about him. He’d seen it in the way she looked at him, in the way her eyes lit up whenever he walked into a room.
He’d seen it, and yet he’d postponed breaking things off, he thought guiltily. The truth was, he’d loved having Rachel look at him that way.
But he wasn’t entitled to it. The man Rachel looked at like that should offer her forever, and he was not a forever kind of guy.
“Well, here you go,” Rachel said, lowering the sleeping baby into his arms. The child stirred, stretched, then opened her eyes. The moment the infant caught sight of Nick’s face, her forehead scrunched into an angry frown, her face grew red and her rosebud mouth puckered into an earsplitting cry.
Oh, no. Here we go again. Nick hated feeling out of control, and he’d never felt less in control in his life than he did with Jenny.
The baby squirmed into an upright position and yelled directly in his ear. Momentarily deafened, he winced and gave her an awkward pat. “Hey, there, kiddo. Everything’s going to be okay.”
But Jenny wasn’t so easily convinced. Her tiny white sneakers delivered a one-two punch to his stomach as her miniature fists flailed wildly at his chest. He turned to Rachel, his spirits sinking.
“See what I mean? She can’t stand me.”
“She just needs some time to get used to you,” Rachel consoled. “I’m sure everything will be fine after a period of adjustment.”
The baby struggled angrily against him. “So what am I supposed to do in the meantime? She won’t eat, she won’t sleep and she refuses to let me comfort her. I’m afraid she’s going to make herself sick.”
The baby turned toward Rachel, stretched out her arms and screamed at a decibel level that could shatter glass.
“She does seem awfully upset.” Rachel’s eyes darkened with concern. “Would you mind if I hold her again?”
“Be my guest.” He passed the baby back to Rachel. The moment the child settled in her arms, she stopped bawling and gave Rachel a big, gummy grin.
Nick scratched his head. “How did you do that?”
Rachel gave a modest shrug. “Maybe I remind her of her mom.”
“You don’t look anything like her.”
“Babies recognize more than just a person’s looks. Maybe I feel like her. Or smell like her.”
Nick remembered all too well how Rachel felt—soft and warm and delicious. He remembered how she smelled, too. In fact, from where he was standing, he could catch a faint hint of her perfume—a flowery, powdery-soft scent that made him think of fresh air and a summer garden.
He’d once asked a woman in Canada to dinner just because she’d smelled like Rachel. Both the evening and the woman had been a major disappointment.
“Where are you and Jenny staying tonight?”
Rachel’s question jerked Nick back to the moment. “In our new home. Rex hired a relocation specialist to lease and furnish a house for us. The place is supposed to be stocked with food and linens and baby supplies, and one of the bedrooms is set up like a nursery.”
“Wow! You vice presidents really get some nice perks.”
Nick gave a wry grin. “It’s costing Rex less than the moving service he usually provides for transferring employees.”
“You didn’t have any movers?”
Nick shook his head. “I don’t have enough stuff to warrant it. I had a few boxes shipped, and that took care of it.”
He hadn’t had many belongings when he’d lived in Phoenix before, either, Rachel remembered. He hadn’t wanted to own appliances or furniture or anything else that smacked of permanence. He might have a baby to raise now, but he basically hadn’t changed.
Rachel swallowed hard and forced a smile. “It sounds like the ideal setup for you.”
“Yeah. It’s only lacking one thing. A person Jenny will tolerate.” Nick’s green eyes locked on hers. He hesitated, and Rachel saw him swallow. “I know you’ve got plans for tonight, Rachel, and I really hate to ask you this...”
She saw the question in his eyes and knew what was coming. She tried to steel herself against him. She was a fool to even consider it. It was bad enough that Nick was back in town and that she was going to have to work with him. She had no business, absolutely none, seeing him outside the office for any reason.
“I really need some help.” His eyes were pleading. “You saw how upset she gets with me. Is there any way you could help me feed Jenny and put her to bed for the night? I’m afraid she’s going to get ill if she continues on this way.”
Rachel gazed down at the baby. The child’s tiny pink mouth curved into a gap-toothed grin, making her chubby cheeks puff out like a chipmunk’s.
Rachel sighed, knowing it was a lost cause. She wasn’t the kind of person who could walk away and leave a baby in misery, and Nick knew it as well as she did.
She reluctantly looked up and slowly nodded her head. “Okay. But just for tonight. And
only because of Jenny.”
She didn’t want him to think she was doing it for his sake. She had no intention of getting involved with him again on any kind of personal level. In fact, if she were wise, she’d give serious consideration to finding another job.
The corners of Nick’s eyes creased in a devastating fashion as he flashed a heart-stopping smile. “Thanks a million. You’re the best, Rachel.”
The way he said her name sent goose bumps chasing up her arm. She looked away, hating the effect he had on her, wishing she could will it away. “I still have to check over that report before I leave.”
“I’ll check it for you. You just keep Jenny happy.”
An unsettled feeling swept through Rachel as he circled her desk and seated himself behind her computer. He’d been back in her life less than fifteen minutes and he was already rearranging her life.
Well, she wouldn’t let it become a habit, she told herself resolutely. She was only helping him out this once. She’d get the baby settled for the night, and that would be the end of any personal involvement with Nick Delaney.
Chapter Two
Twilight hovered over Phoenix, tinting the sky a deep, dusky purple as Nick braked the company-leased black Acura in the driveway of an imposing two-story stucco house. This was it—his new home. He recognized it from a photo the relocation specialist had sent him.
Not bad, he thought, leaning forward to peer out the windshield. Even nicer than the picture had indicated. Located in an exclusive Scottsdale neighborhood, the tall, white house was topped with a red tile roof and surrounded by the kind of lavish landscaping that spoke of professional lawn maintenance. Olive and citrus trees mingled with tall palms and native shrubbery in lush, well-watered abundance.
But of far more interest to Nick than the house was the woman in the blue Toyota pulling into the driveway behind him. Walking into Rachel’s office and seeing her again had made him feel as if he’d just taken a hard punch in the gut. How could he have forgotten how she always affected him?