“And that scares you?”
It didn’t scare him as much as it filled him with remorse, regret and even guilt. While Peter had gone looking for a wife, Dominic had had his pleasure with every woman who suited his fancy. While Dominic took trips to Monaco, Peter had studied. While Peter attended business meetings and summits with their father, Dominic hadn’t paid more than a passing glance of attention at the family business.
Dominic had thoroughly enjoyed the past fifteen years that Peter had spent working, settling in, doing the right thing by the family. And now Dominic, the family playboy, suddenly had everything his brother had wanted—the business and the baby. He couldn’t fail. He refused to fail, to let everything Peter had started fall to ruin. Yet Dominic didn’t feel right taking charge, either. He was confused, grief stricken and in over his head.
All he really wanted was his own life back. The one he knew how to live.
Mary quietly said, “Do we now have someplace I can lay him down to sleep?”
Audra turned to the door. “The baby carrier is in the kitchen. I’ll get it.”
Dominic followed her. “I might as well bring the rest of his things to the nanny suite.”
“Good idea.”
“Then I’ll accompany you to Olivia’s, but after that I’m off to work.”
Audra said, “That’s fine. I can handle the furniture shopping this morning.”
“Then this afternoon you can move in.”
***
That comment stopped Audra dead in her tracks. For all her talk of getting up for 2:00 a.m. feedings, it hadn’t sunk in that she’d have to move into the nursery while Dominic scouted a permanent nanny. Still, what difference did it make? She needed money. She was offering to be a nanny to get that money. And nannies usually lived in. No big deal. Especially considering Dominic was the epitome of the type of man she had sworn off forever.
She turned to tell him that she’d be moved in by the time he returned from work, but their gazes caught and she didn’t see the fun teenager who had turned into a playboy. She saw a man who had lost his brother three months ago in a tragic accident and who had gained custody of Peter’s son because of another family tragedy. Circumstances had made him serious and sad in a way that caused Audra’s heart to awaken from a near year-long sleep. She felt it yawn and stretch and open again, as if welcoming him.
Any teasing comment she could have made froze on her lips. She might have been immune to the playboy, but would she really be safe with this guy? With a child to raise, he didn’t have time to gallivant around the globe. He’d be underfoot. A brooding, sexy man aching for love. Like Heathcliff. What woman could resist that?
Worse, they would be living together. Running into each other in various stages of undress as they went about their morning and evening routines.
Still, it was too late to back out now. This deal was all about promises. She’d not only promised Dominic her assistance, but the Belles had promised Julie a wedding. And only she could earn enough money fast enough to pay for that wedding. One way or another she would resist him.
“Not a problem. I’ll call the office and tell them I’ll be out the entire day and move in this afternoon.”
CHAPTER THREE
THE trip to Marsha’s mom’s went smoothly. Audra did most of the talking, seeking information about Joshua’s routine as they collected the rest of the baby’s things and stuffed them into her little car. When everything was packed, she and Dominic went their separate ways.
As Dominic expected, the participants for his first meeting were already milling around his secretary’s workstation when he arrived. He ushered them into his office, grabbing the pertinent files from his desk as they settled at the round conference table in the corner of the glass-walled room. That meeting bled into the next and the next and the next until his office suddenly emptied at six o’clock and he was alone.
Exhausted, he leaned back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose. This wasn’t the end of his day. It should be. But at the point in time when he wanted nothing more than a glass of Scotch and some peace and quiet, he had a baby waiting for him.
Of course, Joshua now had a nanny of sorts. So the baby wasn’t really waiting for him. He had company and was probably being entertained. Audra clearly knew what to do with the little guy. Which was more than Dominic could say for himself. He didn’t know the first thing about changing a diaper. Forget about the more sophisticated end of the deal, like communication. He wasn’t one to engage in baby talk. And the baby couldn’t yet speak at all.
Plus he was tired. But edgy. Too restless to relax. The very last thing he wanted to do was inflict himself and his mood on a baby.
The blare of music from his cell phone into his silent office caused him to jump. He snatched it from his desk, peeked at the caller ID and groaned. As if it wasn’t bad enough he’d had to give up his old life, certain friends from that life hadn’t yet gotten the message that he could no longer come out to play. He nearly ignored the call, but in the end couldn’t do that. He knew why Owen Bradley was calling. The man had scheduled the premiere of his movie in Boston specifically so Dominic could attend. If nothing else, Dominic had to apologize.
By eight o’clock that evening, Audra had finally stowed her belongings, including her laptop and a few client income tax files she needed to work on, in the suite Dominic had shown her. Settling into the rooms at the end of a long hall that led only to her suite, she realized most of her worries from the morning before had been unfounded. She and Dominic wouldn’t be running into each other. She had no reason to be concerned an accidental meeting with gorgeous, brooding, Heathclifflike Dominic would turn into something neither one of them wanted. There would be no accidental meeting. She’d swear their quarters were so far apart they were in different zip codes.
Wearing a pair of jeans and a pink top from the extra clothing she’d brought, she tiptoed into the nursery just as Joshua awakened.
“Hello, sweetie,” she said, pulling the baby from the crib, which had been delivered that afternoon and assembled by the estate handyman. Dressed in one-piece blue pajamas, Joshua blinked and yawned, stretching his little legs to their limits. But when his eyes focused and he looked at her, he began to wail.
“I know this is really hard on you.” She kissed both of his cheeks. “You’re not accustomed to me yet, so you’re scared. But that’s okay. You’ll get to know me and you’ll see there’s nothing to be afraid of.”
She continued cuddling and soothing him as she strode through the sitting room, down the winding staircase and the hall. Heading for the huge kitchen of the mansion, she said, “Let’s go see my mom.” She rubbed noses with the baby. “Remember her? She rocked you this morning.”
The baby’s crying slowed to sniffles, and he blinked at her. Using her hip she bumped open the swinging door and was surprised to find the kitchen dark. She fumbled for the light switch and flicked it on. The stainless-steel appliances and empty beige-and-gold-flecked countertops of the three islands greeted her.
Having watched her mother supervise the food preparations for many a party and too many formal dinners to keep count from this kitchen, Audra was accustomed to seeing the room full of life, energy and busy hands on Friday nights.
“Wow. Wonder where she is?” Her voice echoed hollowly around her in the huge, empty space. “She should be supervising service of some course or another of dinner right now.”
“I’m not eating here tonight.”
Audra swung around to find Dominic standing in the open doorway. Backlit by the lamps of the corridor behind him, he looked like a vision in his black tux, with his hair casually, sexily spiked and his