The Nanny Proposition

“Wait,” he said, and despite herself, she stopped.

* * *

Liam looked into the clear blue eyes of his brother’s housekeeper. “I’m going to need help with Bonnie.”

She nodded and smiled encouragingly. “That’s probably a good idea,” she said in her musical Scandinavian accent. “Being a single parent is a hard road. Will your parents help?”

That would have been best, and if he’d known he was about to become a father, he could probably have arranged it. He rubbed his fingertips across his forehead. “My parents are overseas for a couple of months.”

Dylan let out an ironic chuckle. “They’d been looking forward to their big European holiday, but it turns out it was bad timing.”

“You might want to think about hiring a nanny,” Jenna said.

That had been his thought exactly. When the midwife had handed the tiny bundle to him, Liam had awkwardly accepted Bonnie and held her against his chest. He’d played a lot of sports in his life and coaches had often told him he had natural grace and agility. Yet he wasn’t comfortable holding his own daughter. At least his heart knew no such awkwardness—in that moment, with his baby clasped to him, his heart had expanded as if it could reach out and encompass both of them with a love stronger than anything he’d ever experienced.

When they’d arrived at Dylan’s penthouse, he’d held a fussy, sad-eyed Bonnie, and the sight had slayed him. He’d move heaven and Earth for this little girl, but she hadn’t seemed to want anything from him. Now, if everything went to plan, he’d found somebody she would want—Jenna Peters.

And he was going to get her for Bonnie.

Liam looked at his younger brother. “You’re going to do me a favor, Dylan.”

“I am?” he said, folding his arms across his chest. “What is it?”

“You’re going to let your housekeeper go without serving out her notice.”

Dylan slowly uncrossed his arms and planted his hands low on his hips. “Why would I do that? I like Jenna.”

Liam smiled, feeling the satisfaction of a good plan coming together. “She can’t be your housekeeper because she’s about to become my nanny.”

“Your nanny?” Jenna said, her pale eyebrows drawing together. “I’m not leaving my job.”

“Not just a nanny. You’ll also teach me how to be a parent.”

“You’re already her father.”

“I might be her father, but parenting is not part of my skill set.” He shifted his weight to his other leg. Admitting a weakness so freely was tough, but he had to be completely honest if he wanted this to work. “I need to learn how to take care of a baby and bond with her. Circumstances mean I haven’t had time to prepare for this and I’m not willing for Bonnie to suffer while I’m catching up. You’d be something of a parenthood coach.”

Bonnie’s grandparents had been furious that he’d been sent home with her, but he’d left them to their grief over losing Rebecca. He expected to hear from them soon about a bid for custody, and he’d deal with that when it happened. For now, he was focused on the immediate future. On being exactly what Bonnie needed.

“I’m no expert,” Jenna said, shaking her head. “Many other people are more qualified for that. Agencies devoted to nannies and babysitters.”

He glanced pointedly at his daughter, now sleeping soundly, then back to Jenna. “Bonnie seems to disagree.”

“Getting a tired baby to sleep is one thing. I’m still working out so many other things as I go along through trial and error. Of course, I read books and articles.” She tucked a strand of blond hair that had escaped her ponytail behind her ear, somehow making the simple gesture elegant. “But sometimes I’m just guessing.”

He shrugged. None of that worried him—he’d already assumed as much. “You’re many steps ahead of me. You’ll share what you know and I’ll pick it up as we go along. It won’t take long before I’ll know everything I need to know about babies.”

Her eyebrows lifted to almost her hairline and she seemed uncertain about whether to laugh or not. She didn’t believe him. That was fine—she didn’t know him. He’d never shied from a challenge before, and this challenge was about his daughter. He wouldn’t fail.

“So, you’ll take the job?”

“Thing is, this is more than a job—it’s my home too.” She tapped her fingers against her lips, drawing his attention to their softly curved shape. “What will happen to me once you know all you need to know? I have a stable job and home for my daughter here, and I’m sure Dylan would replace me fairly quickly so I wouldn’t be able to come back.”

“Even when you’ve finished coaching me in the role of parent, I’ll still need a nanny, at least until she goes to school. You won’t be kicked out on the street.”

She chewed on her lip, and he could see her mind going at a hundred miles an hour, thinking through all the possibilities. He liked that trait in his daughter’s nanny. Hell, he liked that trait in anyone.

Jenna rubbed a delicate finger across her forehead. “Can I think about it?”

“I’d prefer you didn’t. As you can see, I’m on my way home now. I only stopped in here to drop Dylan off and I wanted to try and settle her before the drive out of town. I’d like you to come with me and help with the feeding and bathing from the start.”

“Now?” she asked, blue eyes widening.

“Pack a bag and we’ll pick up Meg on the way. I’ll send a moving company over to grab the rest of your things tomorrow.”

“Hey, what about me?” Dylan asked, looking at them in bewilderment.

Liam waved the concern away with a flick of his wrist. “I’m sure you’ll survive without a housekeeper until you can get an agency to send over a temp.” He turned back to Jenna. “You’ll take it?”

She lifted a hand to circle her throat, looking from him to Dylan and back again. “But—”

“Don’t overanalyze it, Jenna. I have a job vacancy and you’re qualified to fill it. I’ll match the wage Dylan is paying you with a twenty percent raise, and the job comes with accommodation. Best of all, you can keep your baby with you during the day instead of having her in day care. Just say yes. Go on—” he smiled “—you know you want to. Say yes.”

Her eyes flicked back to his brother. “Go on,” Dylan said, clearly resigned to being housekeeper-less in the short term. “If you want the job, take it. I’ll be fine. My brother and my niece need you more than I do right now.”

“Yes,” she said, then bit down on her lip, as if surprised at herself. Then more firmly, “Yes.”

“Excellent.” Liam stood, ready to leave now the solution could be put into place. “How long will you take to pack a bag?”

“If you give me your address, I can throw a few things together and catch a cab over in about an hour.”

“I’ll wait.” He wanted her there when he and Bonnie arrived home. He was pretty sure Bonnie would need changing or feeding or both. “You and Meg can come with me and the movers can do everything else.”

“Now,” she said, a touch of wonder in her voice. “Okay, I’ll go and pack a couple of bags as quickly as I can.”

Liam let out a long breath as he watched his new nanny head down the hallway. There was something beautiful in the way she moved—he could watch her just walk all day. Having her under the same roof would be no hardship.

Before he could let that thought take hold, he gave himself a mental shake. He had bigger issues than attraction to a beautiful woman. In fact, attraction would be downright problematic. Now that he’d solved the problem of what to do with Bonnie, he wouldn’t jeopardize that solution by acting like a teenager ruled by his hormones. He knew how to behave himself, knew what needed to be off-limits. Nothing would jeopardize this plan.

Everything was going to be all right.

He glanced down at Bonnie, sleeping in his arms. No, everything would be better than all right. He’d make sure of it.

Two

The trip in Liam’s Jeep to his home in San Juan Capistrano was awkwardly silent after Meg’s babble as she played with a crinkly toy in the back subsided and she eventually dozed off. By the time Jenna had finished packing a couple of bags of her and Meg’s things, Bonnie had been hungry so they’d fed her before setting off. Now the baby was asleep too.

Behind the shield of her sunglasses, Jenna sneaked a look at her new employer. He sat tall in the driver’s seat—she knew he had an inch or two on Dylan’s six feet—and faint frown lines streaked across his forehead. Those lines were absent from his brother’s face. But minor differences to his brothers didn’t come close to explaining why it was this brother who’d always caught her eye. Why on those rare occasions his gaze had fallen on her at Dylan’s apartment over the year, her heart had beaten that little bit faster.

What did she really know about him—well, besides that he was a man used to getting his own way? She’d been swept along by the speed with which he’d acted. She was used to autocratic people—not only was her mother a ruling monarch, but her father and siblings were all princes and princesses who were used to having people, including her, obey them.

She’d needed that job with Dylan, the settledness of it, the security of it for her and her daughter, yet here she was after only a matter of hours, minutes really, being relocated to Liam’s house. Why had she let that happen?

As hard to resist as he was, she knew it was Bonnie’s plight that called to her. And Liam’s reaction to his new daughter—he was bumbling with his inexperience but so very protective and determined to do the best by the baby.

Most people had nine months to get used to the idea of parenthood. While she’d fed Bonnie at Dylan’s apartment, Liam had admitted he’d had less than twenty-four hours since being thrust into the role of instant father.

And it was her job to help him acclimatize. Time to step into her role.

“I’m assuming you don’t have any baby supplies at home?” she said, breaking the silence.

“Supplies?” He shoved one hand through his hair, then gripped the wheel again. “I have the car seat Dylan had fitted and the hospital gave me some things.”

“Oh, well that will do for a start, but you’ll need much more than that.”

“I will?” he asked, his dark brows drawing together above aviator sunglasses.

“Yes.” She fished around in her handbag, found a pen and scrap of paper and started making notes. They’d need everything from bedding to clothing to kitchen supplies.... “She’ll need a few pieces of furniture besides a crib. A chest of drawers or a cupboard for her clothes, and maybe a chair we can put in her room for night feeds. But we can use whatever you have.”

“I’ll show you around and you can take what you need from other rooms.” His voice was deep and business-like, as if he was organizing the logistics for a project. “Put everything else on your list and I’ll get a baby shop to deliver.”

“We don’t need all of this right away,” she said, looking down at the crumpled bit of paper in her hand. It was going to be a big delivery to get everything at once—she’d bought Meg’s things slowly, in batches. “With some things, we can make do or she can use Meg’s.”

“Don’t be shy about ordering new things for her. If Bonnie needs it, she gets it.”

“Okay. We’re going to need formula, diapers, bottles, a sterilizer, a crib, crib sheets, blankets, a diaper bag—”

Liam held up a hand. “What’s a diaper bag? Don’t they arrive in a bag?”

“It’s to put all her baby supplies in when we take her out. Actually,” she said, making a note, “we’d better get two.” She scanned to find her place in the list. “Monitor, high chair, baby wash, booties, onesies—”

Liam stopped her again. “All of this for one seven-pound baby?” he asked incredulously. “Seriously?”

She held back a smile. “Amazing, isn’t it? And this is just to start.”

She kept reading, and though his eyes were hidden behind his dark sunglasses and he didn’t interrupt her again, she sensed his air of bemusement.

When they pulled up in front of the house, Jenna was surprised. She’d expected something sleek and modern, like Dylan’s penthouse, but this was older and rambling. Two stories high, tall windows with sashed curtains, wide verandas of varnished wood and the air of a family home.

Liam parked in front of the main door, under a portico, and jumped out.

They unbuckled the babies and Jenna followed Liam into the house, she carrying an instantly awake and perky Meg, and Liam carrying a still-sleeping Bonnie in one strong arm.

The house was spacious and open plan, with living areas connected by archways. The whole was decorated in neutrals with splashes of color, like the burnt orange rugs on the tiled floor and olive green cushions on the sofa. It was sophisticated but much more relaxed than Dylan’s apartment. More of a home. Jenna smiled. Bonnie would love growing up here.

A woman appeared through one of the archways, tall, silent and grim-faced.

Liam glanced up and nodded at the woman. “There you are, Katherine.”

“Do you need something, Mr. Hawke?” she asked, moving very few facial muscles in the action.

“Just to introduce you to our newcomers.” He held an encompassing arm out in their direction. “Jenna, this is Katherine, my housekeeper. Katherine, this is Jenna and her baby, Meg. As I mentioned on the phone, Jenna is going to be Bonnie’s nanny. I’m not really sure how these things work. I understand babies create a lot of washing and mess, so you’ll need to work together. Perhaps you also can take on a part-timer to help with the extra workload.”

Katherine didn’t spare Jenna a glance. “I told you I could take care of the little one, Mr. Hawke.”

Liam didn’t seem fazed. “You already have a full-time job, Katherine. You’re essential to this household, and I won’t have you overburdened.”

Katherine sniffed, appearing to be partially mollified. “I assume there will be one extra for dinner?”

Liam nodded. “And for all meals now, thank you.”

“I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me.” Still without acknowledging Jenna, Katherine turned and left.

Jenna watched the other woman leave. She hadn’t been so thoroughly snubbed since she was twelve and her sister Eva had told her she was too babyish to come to her fourteenth birthday party.

“Did I do something wrong?” she asked.

“That’s just Katherine,” he said and shrugged casually. “She’s run this place like a captain runs a ship for eight years and I’d be lost without her, but she can be a little...territorial.”

Territorial was one word. Rude was another. “But you said she couldn’t do both jobs anyway.”

“Knowing Katherine,” he said with the hint of a smile, “she would have liked to have made that decision for herself, then been the one who hired the new nanny.”

Oh, good. That promised to play out well. Jenna took a breath and changed the subject. “Have you lived here long?”

“Since I was eleven. My parents bought it as a little farmhouse, not much more than a shack really, but it was the land they wanted. As the business grew, we added rooms.” He looked around at the house as if it were an old friend. “I bought it from my parents five years ago when they wanted to retire and move off the farm. It is a good arrangement—they moved to a nice apartment in the city with no maintenance, and I can live here next to my work.”

She followed his gaze, taking in all the tasteful elegance that oozed money. “It’s hard to imagine this place as a shack.”

“The original structure is now storerooms off the laundry. But for now, I’ll show you the bedrooms I thought we could use as the nurseries.”

“You’re thinking of giving them their own nursery each?”

He put the keys to the Jeep and his sunglasses on a hall stand, then readjusted Bonnie to hold her closer before turning back to face Jenna. “If we don’t, Bonnie will wake Meg when it’s time for her night feeds and we’ll end up having to get two babies back to sleep.”

“It would be great if they could have their own rooms—I just wasn’t sure how much space you had. I thought Meg might sleep in with me.”

“Up here,” he said as he walked up a staircase, “is the main bedroom wing. My bedroom is this one at the end.” He opened a door and she peeked in to see a huge room decorated in strong browns and cream with a forest green wall behind the bed. Being at the end of the wing, it had windows on three sides that showcased amazing panoramic views of the San Juan Capistrano countryside.

He strode back down the hallway to the first room and ushered her in. “This is one of the guest bedrooms. There are three along this hall. I was thinking you could have this one. Then the next room for Meg, and the one beside mine for Bonnie.”

The rooms were sumptuously decorated, each in a different color. The room that was to be hers had been done in lavender and wheat, with a satin comforter on the four-poster bed and a series of beautifully framed close-up shots of purple irises on the wall. It was gorgeous but didn’t seem either Liam’s or Katherine’s style.

She stepped in and ran a hand over the silky bed cover. “Did you choose this color scheme?”

“No, my mother had the house redecorated before she and my father moved out a few years ago.”

She walked into the next room along and turned around. Meg’s new nursery had mint green walls and accents in rose pink. The bed had a multihued knitted blanket, and on the walls was a photo series of bright pink tulips. “We should easily fit Meg’s crib and changing table in here along with the bed.”

“No problem to move the bed out if you want.”

Her eyes were drawn back to the bedcover. “Who knitted the blanket?”

“My mother,” he said, a trace of a smile flitting across his face. “My brothers and I each have several of them.”

“And the flower photos?” she asked, pointing to the tulips.

“They’re mine. I take lots of photos in the greenhouse for records. My mother had some of them framed.”

His tone was dismissive, but these were more than mere record keeping. The way the light had been captured hitting the leaves and the angle chosen to accentuate the shape of the petals were masterful. However, she didn’t think he’d appreciate her pointing that out, so she let it drop.

The room next to his, Bonnie’s nursery, had the same tasteful and elegant feel, but it was full of dark wood and tan walls. Masculine and heavy. Perfect for a male guest, but not so appropriate for a baby girl’s room.

Liam winced and threw her an apologetic glance. “Perhaps you could organize this room to be painted.”

“Absolutely. Any thoughts on color?”

“I’ll leave that to you,” he said, glancing out the window and seemingly distracted. “I’ll organize a credit card—it will make redecorating this room and obtaining ongoing things for Bonnie easier. Though if it’s something regular, like formula or diapers, let Katherine know and she can add it to the grocery order.”

“Okay.”

Bonnie fussed in his arms, and Liam’s eyes suddenly had an edge of panic.

Jenna put Meg on the floor with a rattle from her handbag. “Do you want me to take her?”

“That might be best,” he said and gently handed her over.

Jenna looked down at the sweet little baby and ran her hand over the soft, downy hair. “Her hair is so dark. Like yours, actually. Meg was bald when she was born.”

A smile flittered across his mouth then left. “Bonnie’s hair was how I knew for sure she was mine at the hospital.” Frowning, he threw a glance to the door. “Listen, I know you’ve just arrived, but I need to duck out to the greenhouse. I hadn’t expected to miss work this morning, so there are things I need to check on.”

“No problem,” she said, taking the cue. “You go back to work. We’ll be fine here.”

* * *

It seemed it had only been a couple of hours since she’d given Liam the list when a small truck with a stork emblazoned on the side pulled into the paved circular driveway. Liam had obviously found a place that was willing to deliver immediately. It probably helped that money talked.

Two young men jumped out and, with Meg on her hip, she met them at the front door. Bonnie was asleep in Liam’s room in an old basinet Katherine had found. Since Liam’s room was the farthest away from the rest of the house, she’d put the baby down there for the nap, hoping to not disturb her while they set up the nurseries. “We have a delivery for Liam Hawke,” the older man said.

“You’ve got the right place. Thanks for being so quick.”

“All part of the service,” he said. They walked to the truck, rolled up the back and started to unload. Jenna showed them the way to Bonnie’s nursery. The men assembled the new furniture in the living room and left piles of pastel pink crib sheets, blankets and other supplies stacked on the dining room table. Bonnie was lucky that her every need would be taken care of, that she wouldn’t want for anything—yet, there was something a little sad about all her personal things being delivered like a work order. Nothing had been handpicked by someone who loved her.

Though...had things already been bought for her? Bonnie’s mother must have been prepared for a newborn. Had she lovingly chosen little clothes, searched for and selected a charming crib and linen? Dreamed about playing lullabies as her baby went to sleep? Jenna’s throat felt thick with emotion.

“That’s it,” the delivery man said from behind her. “Mr. Hawke paid over the phone, so I just need you to sign for the delivery.” He handed her a clipboard with some papers attached.

“Thanks,” she said, taking the clipboard then setting Meg down on the carpet.

As she put pen to paper to sign for the order, she hesitated for a moment before remembering her name. Jenna Peters. She’d had the name for more than a year now; surely soon it would become second nature to use it?

But even as she signed the fake name and handed the form back, she knew the truth—she’d always be Princess Jensine Larsen, youngest of the five children of the reigning queen of Larsland. A princess who’d never put a foot wrong in her twenty-three years until she made one mistake big enough to obliterate that record.

She’d become pregnant out of wedlock.

At first the news hadn’t been too bad—she and Alexander were in love and had been planning to marry one day. They’d just have to move the date forward. And tell their families. Their relationship had been a secret—after a life lived in the public eye, she’d just wanted one thing that was hers alone. She grimaced. People always said to be careful what you wish for. Now her entire life was lived in secret.

They’d planned on telling their families when Alexander came home from his latest military deployment. But Alexander hadn’t come home. He’d been killed in the line of duty, leaving her grieving and pregnant, with no chance of salvaging her honor.

She hadn’t been able to tell her parents and face their disappointment. Perhaps worst of all, once the local press found out, it would have tarnished the reputation of the royal family, something she’d been brought up to avoid at all costs. A royal family that had, unlike many of its European neighbors, avoided any hint of scandal in its modern history. The situation would have dealt Larsland royalty its final blow in an age when people were questioning the need for royalty at all.

She’d only been able to see one way out. She’d fled the country and set up a new identity in Los Angeles with the aid of a childhood friend, Kristen, who now worked in the royal security patrol. Jenna had originally planned to run to the United Kingdom because she’d been there before and it had a population large enough to lose herself in, but Kristen had a friend in the United States who’d worked with her on an exchange program a couple of years ago and was now in a position to help. Kristen and her U.S. counterpart were now the only two people who knew both who she really was and precisely where she was. She was sure her parents would have used her passport’s trail to track her to the U.S., but it was a big country.

She’d been sending vague updates to her family through Kristen so they knew she was okay, and the press and citizens had been told she was overseas studying. In retrospect, the plan had several flaws, not least of which was that she couldn’t be “overseas studying” for the rest of her life. But she’d been panicking and grieving when she’d made the plan and couldn’t see a way out now it was in place.