She could see he was upset, though he tried to hide it behind his stoic, emotionless mask. But did he feel for the baby? Or was he annoyed with him? He hadn’t made a move to come to him, to comfort him or touch him in any way. What did that mean? She held Jamie closer and knew she couldn’t just walk away this time.
“All well and good,” C.J. was saying as she came into the room behind him. “But what happens now? You’re just going to have to hire another one.”
“I’ll get a better one,” he said stoutly. “I think I’m getting a better handle on this job now. I’ll know what to ask in the interview. I’ll ask questions about child care methods and philosophy. I’ll set up some scenarios and ask the woman how she would deal with each situation.” He turned to C.J. and Randy. “Did you see her? Sitting there eating a cupcake and yakking away on the phone while the baby was crying. That wasn’t child care, that was child neglect.”
C.J. shrugged as though it was all the same to her. Randy nodded sympathetically. And Max turned to Cari to see what she thought. But she wasn’t giving anything away. Not yet.
He came closer and looked down at the child, who was now gurgling happily.
“Listen, you’re going to have to teach me how to hold him,” he said, favoring her with a slight smile. “I’m not up on this stuff.”
She nodded. “All right,” she responded, heartened that he wanted to learn, but still wary.
“Good. And you can fill me in on anything else I should know before I hire another nanny.”
She nodded again, meeting his gaze and searching his eyes. They were clear and intelligent. She couldn’t detect any lingering anger or uneasiness. In fact, he looked relieved. That was good. But could she trust it?
“And right from the start,” Max went on, “I’m going to have one of those Nannycam cameras installed.” He nodded, looking around at the corners of the room as though planning where the camera would be. “That will help.”
Cari took a deep breath. She was about to take a step here, and she knew it was going to put her in emotional jeopardy. But she’d come this far and she couldn’t back down now.
“Forget the cameras,” she said, then pressed her lips together resolutely.
Max swung around and stared at her. “Why would I do that?”
Lifting her chin, she gazed steadily into his eyes. “I’m staying. I’ll take care of him. At least for now.”
“What?” He frowned as though he didn’t trust her motives.
She felt a quick twinge of exasperation. He’d been trying to talk her into this all day, and now that she’d agreed, he looked as if he’d rather go back to talking instead.
“I can’t disrupt your life that way,” he said, shaking his head and frowning at her, his expression wary.
She threw him a look. “I think you already have.”
“Wait a minute,” C.J. was saying, unable to believe what she was hearing. “You can’t do that.”
Cari looked at her over Jamie’s little head. “Sure I can,” she said calmly. “Why don’t you stay, too, C.J.? I could use the help.” She pretended to smile and made her eyes big and innocent. “We could share a bed, you and I.”
C.J. recoiled. “Are you kidding?” She shuddered. “Anyway, babies give me the willies.”
Cari turned away. They could go on bickering about anything they chose, she’d made her own choice. She was staying with the baby. There wasn’t anyone else looking out for him.
Max seemed to have his best interests at heart, but she couldn’t be sure. Some men couldn’t be with babies. She knew that from experience. Someone had to be Jamie’s champion in the world. At least until his mother showed up, she would be the one.
An hour later they were alone. Randy took a very annoyed C.J. back to her car. Cari taught Max how to hold the baby. He was quick to pick up the subtle nuances. All in all, she thought he was a pretty good student of on-the-fly child care.
“I wouldn’t say you’re a natural exactly,” she teased him as he awkwardly patted the baby he held against his shoulder. “But you’ll do for now.”
Jamie chose that moment to spit up. Luckily, Cari had taught Max to throw a clean burp pad over his shoulder before picking up the baby, so his silk shirt was protected. Still, the sound of the very loud burp made Max cringe and made Cari laugh.
“We’ll move on to bottle feeding tomorrow,” she warned him. “Think you’re up for it?”
“Why not?”
They put the baby down in his crib. Cari cooed to him as his big brown eyes drifted shut. Max watched her more than he watched the baby. There was something about her that just made him feel happy to be around. Very odd.
“Cari.” He took her hands in his and gazed deeply into her eyes. “I am so grateful to you for doing this. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.”
It was true. He’d been going nuts ever since he’d brought Mrs. Turner in and she’d begun her tyrannical reign over his hotel suite. Well, he supposed it hadn’t been that bad, really. But it had been bad enough. The dilemma had been whether to trust her or not when everything she did just seemed wrong to him.
With Cari it was different. Maybe they were on the same wavelength. Or maybe he just liked her better. It didn’t matter. What did matter was that he was calm inside. There was no longer a battle raging between his heart and his head.
“Don’t think of it as me doing something for you,” she said pertly. “I’m doing this for Jamie.”
He only half believed her. He knew there was a provocative buzz between the two of them. She couldn’t deny it, though he could see she wanted to. As though to remind her, he smiled and dropped a quick kiss on her lips.
She drew back, eyes widening. “No, Max,” she said quickly. “I didn’t stay for that. Honestly, I didn’t.”
“I know. I’m sorry.” But he didn’t sound very convincing, even to himself.
She turned and began putting away toys and supplies. He watched her for a moment, then asked, “So tell me, Cari, where did you learn so much about babies?”
To his surprise she froze for a moment, then turned slowly and looked at him with huge, shadowed eyes.
“I had one,” she said softly.
That surprised him. “You have a baby?”
She shook her head. “Not anymore. She died.”
His breath caught in his throat in a way it had never done before. Shock knifed through him and he felt pain for her.
“Oh, Cari,” he began, moving toward her.
She went ramrod stiff, holding him at bay. “I was married, you know,” she said quickly.
He hesitated, fighting the urge to take her in his arms for comfort. “No, I didn’t.”
“My husband and my baby both died in a car accident. It was two years ago.”
“Cari, I’m so sorry.”
She shook her head, not quite meeting his gaze. “Now you know. Okay. I’d rather not talk about it.”
“Of course.”
He watched as she gathered things into piles to go through in the morning. Knowing that she’d been married, knowing about the tragedy in her past, answered a lot of questions for him. He’d