He was keeping her in the dark, forcing her into a job she normally wouldn’t have done. A little social nicety wasn’t out of line.
In the kitchen, she faced him with a pretty smile. Her full lips turned upward. Her amber eyes sparkled. The blond hair that floated around her head to her shoulders gave her the look of an angel.
“Where to?”
Okay. Maybe this attraction would be a little harder to handle than he’d imagined. She was pretty and sweet. Agreeable. Genuine. She looked like a woman who couldn’t tell a lie if her life depended on it, like somebody he could trust with his life. He wanted to melt into a puddle at her feet, to tell her his secrets, ask for her help protecting his kids.
He almost snorted a laugh. Right. With the exception of Mrs. Pomeroy, the last woman he trusted ran out on those same kids. He already knew his instincts about women were way off-kilter. He didn’t need another experiment with a woman to prove it.
“Turn right and go up the back stairs.”
She frowned. “I don’t have quarters near the kitchen?”
“Since you’ll be the one waking with Henry in the middle of the night, you need to be close to him.”
She hesitated. He couldn’t figure out why she’d want to be by the kitchen. She was far too thin to be a midnight snacker. She could want assurance that she wouldn’t disturb him when she woke to make Lacy’s breakfast—
Or maybe she wanted private space? Damn. He’d forgotten about that. She wasn’t normally a live-in employee. She probably didn’t know how she’d get downtime.
“When I’m home, I care for the kids. With the exception of getting up with Henry for his 2:00 a.m. feeding when I go back to work. That will be your domain. So you can go to your room any time you’re not busy. You can watch TV all you want. You have use of the pool, and you can also leave when I’m here if your work is all caught up.”
She nodded, but didn’t look reassured. Still, she started up the stairs.
Averting his eyes to resist the temptation of watching her bottom as she walked the thin flight of steps, Mac said, “First door on the right is yours.”
She tossed a shaky smile over her shoulder. “So I’m right by the stairway?”
He almost laughed. It sounded as if she wanted assurance that she could make a quick getaway. “Yes. You’re right by the stairway.”
She breathed a sigh of relief and his brow furrowed. Maybe he hadn’t been so far off the mark about the quick getaway? Or at least the possibility of one. She wasn’t normally a live-in worker. If assurance that she had an escape route pleased her, then who was he to argue?
In the upstairs hall, she turned right and entered the suite. But she stopped so quickly Mac almost ran into her back.
Hesitantly stepping into the room, she smoothed her hand along the arm of a simple yellow sofa that sat beside a matching chair and in front of a wide-screen TV. Her head turned from side to side as she walked to the door that led to the bedroom. Then she gasped.
“This is gorgeous.”
He ambled up beside her and glanced into the room which, he supposed, was pretty with its black four-poster bed and pale gold spread and matching curtains.
“It’s a bit of a perk since our maid also has to be a nanny.”
This time when she faced him her angelic smile had been replaced by one of sheer joy. Her amber eyes were so brilliant they virtually shone.
“Maybe I should take this job permanently,” she said with a laugh.
Bowled over by the power in her smile, he nearly said, “That’s a great idea.” Luckily he stopped himself. First, he was too darned attracted to her to keep her forever. Second, she was a stranger hinting for a full-time position caring for his kids. He knew all the employees of Happy Maids were bonded, which meant they’d passed routine background checks, but he’d still ordered his security team to do a full background check on Ellie after she’d agreed to take the job. Within twenty minutes Mac knew she’d never been in jail, never been arrested, never even had an unpaid parking ticket. Which meant his children were somewhat safe with her.
But he still didn’t feel he knew enough to be comfortable leaving her alone with his kids. Lacy and Henry were everything to him. He wouldn’t trust them with just anybody. He’d ordered his security team to keep looking into her past. By this time tomorrow, he hoped to know everything there was to know about Ellie Swanson. If he found anything at all in the report he didn’t like he might actually be asking her to leave, not inviting her to stay permanently.
He walked over to the door leading to the nursery. “Henry’s in here.”
She followed him into the huge room decorated with rainbows and unicorns, white rockers and fuzzy lime-green throw rugs. Henry stirred. Mac leaned in to check on him and Ellie leaned in, too.
She whispered, “Oh, we’re going to wake him?”
Her breath fanned across his cheek. The scent of her cologne wafted to him. Her upper arm brushed against his. He swallowed and decided he’d better speed up his search for a permanent maid. He’d never been more aware of a woman. Let alone someone who was technically help.
But he hadn’t met her as help and she didn’t behave like help. And if he didn’t soon establish a boss/housekeeper relationship between them, this attraction could be trouble. He could embarrass her, or worse, embarrass himself. Then her entire stay would be awkward.
Henry woke and let out a little cry to awaken his voice before he shrieked in earnest. Mac hoisted the baby into his arms before he terrified his new nanny.
To his surprise, though, she laughed. “Oh, gosh, he’s cute.” She tweaked his cheek. “And listen to those lungs! You’re going to be a rock star someday, aren’t you, little pumpkin!”
Henry stopped crying and peered at her curiously.
It appeared Mac wasn’t the only Carmichael male who was being thrown off-kilter by this woman’s looks and far too casual behavior.
“Henry, this is Ellie. She’s going to be caring for you when Daddy can’t. Ellie, this is Henry.”
“Can I hold him?”
“Sure.”
She took the baby from his arms with the ease of someone accustomed to holding a baby.
“Hey, sweetie,” she said, bouncing him a bit. But Henry only continued to stare.
I’m right with you, kid. She’s so beautiful I could stare at her all day too, Mac thought, taking a step back out of range of her cologne. He walked to the changing table and retrieved a diaper and other necessary items to clean up the baby before putting him into a new outfit. “Bring him here. I’m sure he needs to be changed.”
Ellie smiled at him. “I can handle this. You go and do whatever you would usually be doing right now.”
“No.”
“No?” She took a few steps closer to the changing table. “I thought I was here to care for your kids?”
“Yes, you are. But,” he said, keeping his gaze and attention on Henry as he removed his diaper, “as I’ve already mentioned, I’ll care for the children while I’m here.”
“Okay.”
She didn’t sound at all understanding of his position that he’d be caring for his own kids. But Mac didn’t feel the need to explain that he had to make up for his ex-wife’s neglect by being available to his kids as much as he could be. Through his peripheral vision he saw that she stood off to the side, watching him, making Mac nervous until he realized she was waiting for instructions.
Mac glanced