The Nanny Solution

Heat suffused her. So did an awful need. He was absolutely everything any woman would want in a man, and he was within arm’s distance. He also seemed to like her. Was it so hard to believe…

Damn it! She had to stop this wishful thinking! She could not be attracted to him. He was so far out of her league he would hurt her and there was no phase in her new life plan to accommodate getting over a broken heart.

She took Dixon from his hands and stepped back several paces. “Have fun in Paris.”

Jake nodded once quickly, then bolted out the door.

Hannah breathed a sigh of relief. If she didn’t behave herself, he was going to realize that she found him attractive and he would fire her and then she would be sunk.

“So, how did it go?”

Maria asked the question the very second Hannah stepped into the day care with Jake Malloy’s little boy. But Maria wasn’t the only Evans sister at their aunt’s day care that morning, and Hannah knew the crowd hadn’t gathered simply to help Aunt Sadie.

“How did what go?” she asked, being deliberately obtuse because she knew her sisters could be dangerous when they set their minds to something.

Sadie took Dixon, car seat and all, from Hannah’s hands. “The thing with Jake, you idiot.”

“There is no ‘thing’ with me and Jake except an opportunity for me to make money.”

As Hannah said the last, her aunt Sadie came to the doorway where Hannah stood mobbed by her sisters. Tall and slender, dressed in blue jeans and a simple coral-colored blouse, she cut through the half moon made by the three women and effortlessly took Hannah’s hand, turning her away from her sisters and toward herself.

“I’m so sorry that you lost your job.”

Hannah smiled at her aunt. Her dark hair was growing back slowly in curly tufts, and her green eyes had a healthy sparkle that put everybody’s mind at ease. Behind her, the play yards and toy boxes that symbolized Aunt Sadie’s first love rimmed the open area used for games and naps.

“I’m going to be fine, Aunt Sadie. In fact, I have a plan.”

“You do?” all three of her sisters said at once.

“Yes. I might be the baby of the family, but I’m twenty-four years old. An adult. Who can solve her own problems.”

Hannah’s sister Sadie set Dixon’s travel seat on a changing table and began to unfasten the belts that held him secure. “So, what are you going to do?”

“Well, instead of using the money Jake pays me to make my student loan payments—” Hannah began, but Sadie interrupted her.

“Oh, Hannah, I forgot to tell you. On Friday night when Caro mentioned your student loans, Troy told me to tell you to round up your information and he’ll pay them off for you.”

“He doesn’t have to…”

“He knows that. But he’s got more money than he’ll ever use and considers paying tuition and paying college loans as his part to help educate the country. He’s happy to do it. Besides,” Sadie said, laughing as she lifted Dixon out of the seat and gave him a smacking kiss. “If you don’t give him the information, he has ways of getting it. He intends to pay off your college loans. You’re not going to stop him.”

“You know I’d rather try to pay them off myself, but I really appreciate his offer,” Hannah said, realizing her sister was right. If Troy wanted to do this he would. Just as he had provided Aunt Sadie with financial security by giving her the day-care contract for the Sunbright Solutions employees he’d brought from California when he transferred his company to Wil-burn, and just as he was currently building a new facility to accommodate them, Troy appeared to want to give her a start in life too.

“That actually speeds up my plans.”

Caro took the baby from Sadie and nuzzled his neck. “What plans?”

“Jake’s not going to have Dixon forever. So, being his nanny isn’t a permanent job.”

“You can work here,” Aunt Sadie suggested.

Hannah smiled at her. “I know that, but I…”

“But you what?” Maria asked as she took Dixon from Caro.

“I want to leave town.”

All three of her sisters gaped at her. “What?”

“I need to leave town. Look at you guys,” she said, waving her hand in their direction. As comfortable in jeans and soft cotton blouses as they had been in evening gowns, her three sisters had shifted from being glamour girls to being mothers. Maria had her own children. Caro was helping Max raise his eighteen-month-old daughter Bethany. Sadie was mother to Troy’s twins from his first marriage. Hannah could see Max’s Bethany now, in the far corner of the playroom, being entertained by Troy’s two eight-year-old daughters. “I’m not anywhere near like you.”

Sadie gasped. “Of course, you are.”

“No. I’m not. I’ve never been away from home. I want to be away from home.”

Caro stared at her. “Really?”

“Yes.”

“And I agree with her,” Aunt Sadie said, taking Dixon from Maria who had just finished tickling his tummy. “I think if Hannah feels she needs to leave home, then now is the time.”

“Well, now isn’t exactly the time. I still need to get some money together. If Troy’s going to pay off my loans, I’ll save the money Jake pays me and in a few months I’ll have enough to move to whatever town I can find a job in.”

Aunt Sadie smiled. “I think that’s a great idea.”

Marie gave Hannah a concerned look.

Caro bestowed a confused expression.

Sadie Jr. crossed her arms on her chest and studied her.

“Forget about matchmaking me and Jake,” Hannah said, putting an end to this once and for all. “I wasn’t kidding when I said I thought he was too old for me.” Hannah lied because she knew darned well he was perfect for her, she just wasn’t perfect for him. If she admitted either of those things, her sisters wouldn’t stop with their matchmaking efforts. “And I really feel strongly about leaving town so I can get some life experience.”

Aunt Sadie said, “Good for you.” Then, after nuzzling Dixon’s cheek, she handed him to Caro again and left to check on the other children.

The second she was out of earshot, Maria grabbed Hannah’s forearm to get her attention. “I don’t mean to be the party pooper here, but I think your plan is all wrong.”

“Why?”

“Hannah,” Caro said, picking up where Maria left off. “You were the girl who didn’t even leave town to go to college.”

“That’s my point…”

Sadie spun Hannah away from Caro. “But you love it here! And Jake is obviously attracted to you. You can’t say you didn’t notice the way he was looking at you at his birthday party.”

“I didn’t notice.”

“Well, I did!” Maria said.

“So did I,” Caro seconded.

“And I already said I saw it,” Sadie said. “I think the guy is ready to settle down and I think that’s why he kept looking at you Friday night. You’re the kind of woman he could marry.”

“You’re thinking about leaving town because you want another teaching job,” Maria said, taking Dixon from Caro. “But next year when the new budget is passed or when a few of the older teachers retire, you could get your job back. Until then,” she said, placing a soft kiss on Dixon’s cheek, “what if your job is here? What if Dixon is the reason Jake is ready to settle down? What if he’s looking for someone to help him raise his son?”

Looking at adorable Dixon, something soft and warm floated through Hannah’s heart. Just thinking about helping to raise the little boy gave her a fluttery feeling in the pit of her stomach.

“Yeah, and what if Jake’s tired of slick women and is looking for a small-town girl?” Caro asked.

“I doubt that someone like Jake is interested in me…”

Caro chuckled. “I would have never dreamed I would end up marrying Max Riley…Yet here we are.”

“Yeah, and me with Troy Cramer!” Sadie said then laughed. “The last I had heard he was a computer nerd. He surprised the hell out of me, and Jake might just surprise the hell out of you.”

Hannah licked her suddenly dry lips.

Sadie caught her forearm and squeezed lightly. “Hannah, if you’re attracted to him, you can’t leave town without trying.”

All right. So Hannah agreed with them. Sort of. Somewhat. It did seem possible that after fifteen years of running around, and also because he now had a baby, Jake might be ready to settle down. She could buy that.

Over the course of the three days Jake was away, Hannah also admitted to herself that she really didn’t want to leave Wilburn. She never had. She liked it here. She liked the simple, quiet life. She liked kids. And, yes, damn it, she also liked Jake. If her sisters saw a spark of interest in his eyes then Hannah would be a fool to leave town without at least attempting a relationship with him.

After the cleaning lady had gone Thursday afternoon, Hannah popped a casserole into the oven, set Jake’s dining room table with good china and waited for his return. The itinerary his secretary had given Hannah said that he would arrive in Pittsburgh at four and take Troy’s private plane to the airstrip behind Troy’s estate. Adding a twenty-minute drive from the airstrip, Jake would arrive a little before six.

But he wasn’t home by a quarter to six as she believed. He didn’t even make it home by six. Unfortunately, six turned into seven, which turned into eight, and Hannah had no choice but to put Dixon to bed. She lowered the temperature of the oven for her casserole and then began to pace the foyer. She considered calling the Sunbright offices to see if he had stopped there before coming home, but didn’t feel right about that.

When another half hour ticked off the clock without Jake, Hannah began to worry in earnest. Troy had built the Sunbright Solutions complex in a wooded area. He’d wanted space to expand and plenty of land for employees to walk the grounds as they thought through complicated problems. But that also meant the road that led to the offices was twisty and windy. Jake could have been in an accident. He could have driven off the side of the road, rolled down a hill, landed in the thick forest and not be discovered for days!

She was just about to panic when the front door opened. Jake stepped inside as if nothing had happened and Hannah threw herself into his arms. “Oh, my gosh! I was so worried about you!”

For the briefest of seconds Hannah thought she felt his arms tighten around her, and she realized she was pressed against his chest. The stretch of her arms around his neck proved he was a good six inches taller than she was. She could smell the faint scent of the aftershave he had put on that morning.

Her breathing stopped. Every cell in her body sprang to life with awareness of him. And all she wanted at that moment was to snuggle against him and to bury her face in his neck.

But just as quickly as she had gotten the impression that his arms were around her, the feeling was gone. She realized that holding a briefcase and a suitcase made it impossible for him to hold her, yet she was clinging to his neck like an idiot.

She jumped away. Though her face flamed with embarrassment, she decided to use her brother’s friendship with Jake to make hugging him seem reasonable. “Sorry. It’s just that we never know about Luke. We’re always pacing the floor, thinking the worst. I expected you at six and started to worry at eight. For the past half hour I’ve been pacing.”

“I stopped at the office.” Jake dropped his suitcase and pocketed his keys and, as if nothing had happened, turned toward the hallway that led to his office. “I work late a lot.”

The completely neutral tone of his voice made Hannah swallow. Good Lord, she’d really made a fool of herself this time. She was such an idiot! Sadie would have never lost control and shown her emotions that way. Caro would have died first. Even Maria would have been cooler, calmer.

Hannah swallowed hard. “I made a casserole, if you’re hungry.”

He shrugged. “No. Not really.” He began to walk down the corridor, paused, and faced her again. “You do know you’re only here to care for the baby.”

She swallowed, then nodded.

“You don’t need to make me supper, wait for me, or anything like a regular housekeeper would do.” He held her gaze. “You just take care of Dixon.”

She nodded again. Jake smiled and resumed his trip to his office.

But tears stung Hannah’s eyes. She was an idiot. A big, fat, stupid idiot! And if she didn’t learn some sophistication soon and get the hell out of this town, she was going to die of embarrassment.

Chapter Three

Absolutely positive he was going to be punched out by his best friend in the very near future, Jake arrived at the Sunbright Solutions complex early the next morning. He had ducked out of his kitchen before Hannah had awakened and stopped at a convenience store for his morning coffee rather than drink it at home while he waited to say hello to Dixon. He was, admittedly, avoiding his new nanny until he figured out how to handle this mess.

He couldn’t believe that Hannah had thrown herself into his arms the night before and all but wept with relief. Worse, he couldn’t believe how elated he was to see her and how his arms had instinctively wrapped around her, even though he was holding a briefcase and a suitcase…. But she had leaped into his arms and he had wrapped his arms around her, and both had shocked him.

No. They had scared him. Sexually, he and Hannah were on the same page. He had many times seen the glint of attraction in her eyes that mirrored the intense gut-level reaction he kept having with her. That wasn’t the problem.

The problem was that emotionally and experience-wise, he had her by almost ten years. There was no way in hell he could get involved with her. She was too young for him and, he reminded himself, she was the little sister of his best friend.

Unfortunately, neither of those points stopped the tingles, the urges, the unmitigated sexual response he had every time he got within ten feet of her.

Jake took the right, then the left that would get him in the corridor that led to the wing that housed the offices for his portion of the staff. Troy had been moving his company, Sunbright Solutions, from California to Wilburn for the past year. The first few months, employees who transferred worked in the office wing of Troy’s mansion. Now that most of the Sunbright Solutions complex was complete, everyone had his or her own space. To Jake’s great relief, there was little chance he would run into Sunbright’s vice president of operations, Luke Evans, the big brother of the naive woman who seemed to have the hots for him.

Jake and Luke might have been on the same high school football team, but Jake was a quarterback and Luke was a fullback. At least fifty pounds—and the ability to bench-press large chunks of iron—separated them.

“Jake! Jake! Wait up!”

Jake squeezed his eyes shut as Luke’s voice echoed through the sun-drenched glass corridor. So much for thinking twenty thousand square feet could save him.

He took a quick breath and turned to face Hannah’s big brother. He didn’t like the urgency of his best friend’s tone. Jake liked even less that while he had been globe-trotting, still had jet lag and had spent his first night home worrying about his attraction to this man’s sister, Luke had been sleeping in his own bed, and visiting his gym. His green eyes were clear and rested. His broad shoulders filled out his navy-blue suit coat in the way that spoke of commitment to regular strength training. If Luke asked about Hannah and Jake said the wrong thing, one jab would send Jake sprawling.

“I have a few questions to ask you about the California complex.”

Jake almost choked on a sigh of relief. “Okay, shoot. Talk to me while we walk.”

“I’d rather we kept this just between us. Let’s make small talk until we get behind a closed door.”

“Problem?”

“Let’s wait for the door.”

“Okay,” Jake said, getting the message. “So got any plans for the weekend?” Though the question was trite and even somewhat stupid, he tossed it out quickly to prevent Luke from asking about Hannah.

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