The day had been long and she felt physically exhausted, but exhilarated, too, because she’d found the kind of job she’d been hoping for, never dreaming it really existed. Now she didn’t have to go home. Instead she could make the kind of money her father wouldn’t be able to pay her by her staying right here in New York.
All she had to do was look after one little baby in surroundings only an exclusive group of people would ever know about or see. When Reese had mentioned Jackie Kennedy to her mom, she’d also been thinking of her son John Jr.’s Tribeca apartment.
It must have been over ten years ago she’d seen a few pictures of the interior following his death when she’d been a teenager. From what she remembered, it wasn’t nearly on the same scale of splendor as Mr. Wainwright’s fantastic residence. The architectural design for making the most of the light was nothing short of breathtaking.
Like the man himself. Breathtaking.
“Good morning, Reese.” Nick put his newspaper down on the glass-top patio table. He’d seen her ponytail swinging as she’d stepped out on the terrace and closed the sliding door. In a modest pale orange top and jeans that still managed to cling to her womanly figure, he was going to have difficulty keeping his eyes off her.
“So this is where you are.” She walked right over and hunkered down in front of Jamie, who was strapped in the swing wide-awake. He liked the motion, but Nick hadn’t turned on the music yet. “I’ve been looking for you.” She kissed his cheek and neck. “Hey—you’re wearing a nightgown. Do you have any idea how cute you look?”
Jamie transferred his attention to her while he took little breaths as if he recognized her. Naturally he did. Nick could have been blindfolded but would still know her by her scent. It reminded him of wildflowers. This time she kissed his son’s tummy, causing him to smile. “Did you sleep through the night like a good boy?”
“He had a bottle at two-thirty and only woke up again at seven-thirty.”
“Well, good for you.” She tickled his chin and got him to laugh out loud. “Five hours is terrific. The sixty-four-thousand-dollar questions is, how’s Dad?” She shot Nick a direct glance. The iridescent blue of her eyes was an extraordinary color.
“Dad’s all right for an old man. What about you?”
“I got a wonderful sleep and now I’m ready to help put that nursery together.”
“Not before you eat breakfast or you’ll hurt Cesar’s feelings.”
“Chef Cesar?” she teased.
“That’s right. He made a crab omelet in your honor with plenty of butter.”
“Did you hear that, Jamie? I guess I’d better eat it while it’s still hot.” She sat down opposite Nick and removed the cover on her plate. “Croissants, too?” Her gaze darted to the baby, who followed her movements while she ate. “We’re going to have to go for a long walk in the stroller to work off the pounds I can already feel going on. But that’s okay because this food is too good to resist.”
Nick couldn’t imagine her ever having that kind of a problem. “Coffee?”
“Please.”
To his dismay he discovered Reese had another quality he liked besides her ability to have fun. She enjoyed everything and ate her meal with real pleasure. No female of his acquaintance did that, certainly not Erica, who was constantly watching her figure.
He found Reese a woman devoid of self-consciousness. For some men, it might be off-putting, but for Nick it had the opposite effect…a fact that troubled him more than a little bit. She was his nanny for heaven’s sake!
After finishing her coffee, she looked across at him with a definite smile in her eyes. “Before we put our shoulders to the wheel—is there anything I should be worried about in the Wall Street Journal this morning?”
He chuckled. “Not unless you’ve been following news on the euro.”
“Is it good or bad?”
Her question surprised him for the simple reason he couldn’t imagine it being of interest to her, but she was being polite so he would return the compliment. “Overnight it staged a late surge in U.S. trading, rebounding sharply against the dollar. As a result it unwound the ‘carry’ trades and sent the Australian dollar and Brazilian real plunging.”
Her well-shaped brows knit together. “Is that a critical situation in your eyes?”
“No, but it has some global economists rattled.”
“Well, if you’re not upset, then I’m certainly not going to be.” She got to her feet. “If you don’t mind, I’ll carry him back to my bedroom and give him a quick bath. Then we’re all yours.”
Nick had no idea what to make of her. But as he watched her disappear with Jamie, he decided it didn’t matter because his son appeared to be in the best of hands. Yesterday morning he couldn’t have foreseen the changes that had already taken place since he’d picked her up in front of the hotel.
He gathered up the swing and headed for the nursery. After putting it in the corner, some impulse had him walking across the hall to her room. She’d left all the doors open, so he continued on through. When he reached the bathroom, the sight that greeted him brought a lump to his throat.
Reese had filled one of the sinks with water. While she cradled the back of Jamie’s head in the water, she washed his scalp and talked to him in soothing tones. His son was mesmerized. Slowly she rinsed off the baby shampoo, then took a bar of baby soap and washed his limbs. With the greatest tenderness she turned him over and washed his back. He made little cooing sounds Nick felt resonate in his body.
Without conscious thought he reached for one of the towels and held it up for her. Their eyes met for an instant. She said, “While you dry him off, I’ll find him a new outfit to put on.”
Nick cuddled his boy to him, uncaring that he was still wet. He smelled so sweet. As he felt Jamie burrow into his neck, a feeling of love flowed through him so intense, he was staggered by it.
“What do you think?” she asked when he appeared in the doorway to the nursery, holding up three outfits. “The white with the tiger, the green with the fish or the navy with the Snoopy?”
“Maybe we should let Jamie decide.” He turned him around in his arms and walked over to her. “I wonder which one he’ll go for.”
She laughed in anticipation, watching him closely. “His eyes keep looking at the dog.”
“Every boy should have one,” Nick declared. “Snoopy it is.”
“Did you have a dog?”
“No. What about you?”
“We went through three before I left home.”
Reese had the diaper ready. Nick lowered his son in the crib and put it on with no hesitation this time. She handed him the one-piece fitted suit with no legs. After he’d snapped it, he picked him up again.
“Let me brush his hair and then he’s ready for the day.” As she lifted her arm, it brushed against Nick’s. An unconscious thing to be sure, the lightest of touches. But he’d felt her warmth against his skin and the next thing he knew it had swamped his sensitized body.
He hadn’t been intimate with a woman since the last time he’d slept with Erica. That was the reason for this total physical reaction. It had to be.
“First things first,” she declared. “There’s a diaper pail around here somewhere with a scented deodorizer. Ah—” She opened one of the cartons. “Just what we need.” After lining it, in went the diaper. Then she lifted her head, causing her ponytail to swish like quicksilver. “Where do you want the crib to go?”
He