It was imperative that he get rid of Dani before he did something stupid—imperative for two reasons. One, he didn’t need the temptation of having his charming, cheerful, cute-as-the-proverbial-button assistant underfoot outside of office hours. And two, he felt guilty as hell for ruining her holiday plans. Maybe they were still salvageable. She said she hadn’t planned to leave until tomorrow, and Gainesville was not even two hours away.
Unfortunately, the massive and almost unprecedented winter storm was the wild card in this scenario. And then there was the baby. If he did the right thing and sent Dani home for Christmas, he’d be stuck caring for an infant. The notion was more than a little terrifying.
“Another shirt would be helpful,” Dani said quietly, not meeting his gaze.
“Follow me,” he said gruffly. The condo had two guest rooms. One he used as a home office. The other was furnished simply and elegantly in shades of amber, chocolate and ivory.
He’d hired a professional to do the whole condo when he bought it. Everything but the den. That was his and his alone. The huge comfy couch, big-screen TV and gas fireplace were things he had purchased on his own. Except for sleeping, he spent most of his leisure hours in the den. Ah, who was he kidding? He worked in there, as well. Creating boundaries had never been his strong suit.
In the guest room, Dani explored, the baby still in her arms. But the little girl was waking up.
Dani grinned and kissed the baby’s head. “Hey there, Peaches. Mr. Nathaniel is showing me around. You want to sleep in here with me?”
It was tempting, very tempting, to let Dani rescue him. But such cowardice would be wrong on several levels. He took the baby from her and shook his head. “Take a shower if you want to. Get ready for bed. Then you can help me get everything set up in my bedroom for the night.”
“Okay.” Dani’s eyes were big as saucers. Maybe she was worried about the innocent baby.
“I won’t let anything happen to her,” he said. The defensive note in his voice was unavoidable. As unpalatable as it seemed, he had to at least acknowledge the possibility, however slim, that Peaches was his. “We’ll give you some privacy,” he said. “When you’re ready, come find us.”
* * *
Dani returned to the foyer and gathered all her things. If she hung the dress and tights carefully, they might be wearable again. At the drugstore, she had bought toothpaste, a toothbrush and some facial cleanser. Fortunately—because of the Christmas party—she had made sure that morning to put mascara and other makeup in her purse for touch-ups.
After a quick shower, she rinsed out her bra and panties and hung them on the towel bar. Then she put on the sweatpants sans undies and spent a few minutes blow-drying her hair. It was thick and shoulder length, maybe her best feature. Because it was still a little damp when she was done, she left it loose. Whenever Nathaniel remembered to give her a second shirt, she would change into that for the night.
Barely half an hour had elapsed by the time she went in search of her host, forty-five minutes at the most. It wasn’t hard to locate him. All she had to do was follow the sound of screaming. Little Peaches had a great set of lungs.
Dani stopped dead in the doorway of Nathaniel’s bedroom, taking in the scene with openmouthed awe.
Nathaniel’s head shot up and he glared at her, his expression hot enough to melt steel. “If you dare laugh, you’re fired.”
She swallowed hard, schooling her face to show nothing more than calm interest. “I wouldn’t dream of laughing.” It was maybe the biggest lie she had ever uttered. Poor Nathaniel.
Peaches had experienced what those in the parenting world not-so-fondly call a blowout. A poop so big and messy it squirts out the sides of the diaper and into every crevice imaginable. It was clear Nathaniel had made a heroic effort to remove the dirty diaper and replace it with a clean one, but he was taking too long, and poor Peaches was mad.
Dani grabbed several wipes out of the container and began cleaning the spots Nathaniel had either missed or hadn’t gotten to yet. The baby was stark naked. Nathaniel had poop on his hands, his sweatshirt and if she weren’t mistaken, a smudge on his chin. He was wild-eyed and flushed.
Her heart squeezed in sympathy. Most parents had nine months to get used to the idea of a baby. Nathaniel had been tossed in the deep end. If Peaches weren’t his at all, this whole experience was even more unfair.
“I’ll pick her up,” Dani said. “You start getting rid of all the nasty stuff and throw your comforter in the washer.” She was afraid the bed covering was beyond redemption.
Carrying the baby into the bathroom and using the sink as a miniature bathtub was her next step. Fortunately, the little one stopped crying when she saw herself in the mirror. Dani adjusted the water temperature and grabbed a washcloth.
The bottle of liquid hand soap on the counter would have to do for now. Moments later, she wrapped the sweet-smelling infant in one of Nathaniel’s big, fluffy towels and returned to the bedroom.
Nathaniel had just finished cleaning up the mess that was his mattress. He held out a fresh diaper. “You can do the honors.”
“Of course. I can’t believe this Ophelia person left you with nothing. We don’t even have another outfit for the baby.”
“I turned up the thermostat. And I put her sleeper in the wash with all the rest. It will be ready in a couple of hours.”
“I guess that will have to do.” Since Peaches was sucking on her fist, it seemed another bottle was in order. “I’ll feed her again. Your turn in the bathroom.”
When she turned to walk away, Nathaniel put his hand on her shoulder lightly. “Thank you, Dani. I know my thanks is not enough, but I want you to know I’m grateful.”
They were standing so close together she could see the dark stubble on his chin. It was the end of the day. That made sense. His brown eyes were deep pools of melted chocolate. He smelled of soap and a tiny hint of aftershave and maybe even a whiff of baby poop. Dani bit her bottom lip. Why had the baby chosen now to be docile? A diversion would be helpful.
“You’re welcome,” she said quietly. “I know this isn’t easy. You’re doing the right thing.”
He shrugged. “It’s not as if I had a choice.”
“Even without the snowstorm, I think you would have taken the child. Because you have to know...one way or another.”
“Who made you so smart?”
“Not smart. Just realistic. You’re not the kind of man to walk away from a responsibility, unpleasant or otherwise.”
“It’s more that that,” he said.
His hand was still on her shoulder, fingers splayed, though she wasn’t sure he noticed. “How so?”
“What if Peaches is mine? Birth control is never a hundred percent. What if this little girl is my only shot at having a child?”
“You don’t think you’ll get married one day?”
The hour was late. It had been a very strange day. Nathaniel was practically embracing Dani and the baby. She wanted to lean into him and rest her head. She was tired and confused and very afraid of doing something she would regret.
It took everything she had to step back and break the spell. “I shouldn’t have asked you that,” she said hastily. “I’m sorry, Mr. Winston.” She used his last name as a shield, but it was flimsy armor at best.
You can’t put a genie back in the bottle, though. Nathaniel gave her a pointed look as