Page 25 of Baby Nanny

“You’re wrong. I’m exactly that sort of man.” He couldn’t explain why he continued to argue the point, other than he needed her to face reality, to see him for who and what he was. “That’s why I hired you . Iwanted someone who could take care of my niece, leaving me free to get back to living my life on my terms.”

She waved his confession aside as thought it were of no concern. “Maybe at first. But as soon as you set eyes on your niece, you changed your mind. You’re happy to take an active role in Isabella’s life.”

“I am?”

Her grin widened. “You’re here, aren’t you? And you’ve told me you’ll do whatever it takes to retain custody of her. Why do you think you’re doing that? It’s because you’re a softy at heart.”

Infuriated, he planted his fists on his hips. “That’s a damn lie. You take it back right now.”

She swept him a mocking bow. “Of course, Mr. Mason . Iabsolutely take it back. After all, you’re only a man who’s taken in his niece when she had no one else, taken a leave of absence from a multi-billion-dollar company in order to spend time with her, adopted a stray dog, stripped his possessions from his house to accommodate said dog and niece. Why, I’ve never met anyone more deserving of the name Scrooge.”

“That’s me. Just call me Ebenezer.”

Annalise shot him a sparkling look. “So, tell me, Eb. Is there anything you wouldn’t do for Isabella?”

“No, there isn’t.” Time to turn the tables. “But I suspect the eventual question will be… Is there anything you wouldn’t do?”

Annalise’s amusement faded. “What do you mean?”

“One of these days I’m going to ask you for a favor that will help my niece,” he warned. “I just wonder how you’ll answer when that time comes.”

She didn’t hesitate. “That’s easy.” To his surprise, she returned his gaze with one weighted with grim determination. “I’ll do whatever it takes, too.”

He nodded in satisfaction. “Good answer. And just so you know…” He leaned in. Unable to help himself, he brushed her mouth with his, reveling in the brief flash of heat. “I intend to hold you to that promise.”

Their remaining daysat the bungalow took on a surreal quality. As Jack had warned, the dog threatened to eat them out of house and home. Within days she put on enough weight to hide her painfully thin rib cage, though Jack suspected that might also have something to do with the treats Annalise and Isabella were sneaking the dog whenever he turned hisback.

The days flashed by, exhausting, exhilarating, and filled with warmth and laughter and plain, old-fashioned fun. He’d never seen Isabella so carefree, even though she still refused to speak. Between Annalise and Madam she was mothered to within an inch of herlife.

Not that they left him out of the mix. As often as his niece could be found in Annalise’s arms or sprawled across Madam’s back, she spent an equal amount of time curled up in his lap. He hoped their familial connection helped heal her grief the way it helped healhis.

Their time together seemed to be making a difference, but he could still sense an undercurrent of sorrow he had no idea how to reach, let alone assuage. As though sensing his mixed emotions, Madam would rumble over to rest her huge head on his knee and offer licks of reassurance while Annalise watched with her incandescent smile. That smile made him long for something else, something more. Something that would complete their familyunit.

But the true breakthrough happened one morning shortly before they were scheduled to leave. The sun had barely broken the plane of the horizon when his bedroom door banged open and the next instant his mattress overflowed with dog, niece, doll, and a huge picture book that smacked him square in the jaw as Isabella snuggled down next tohim.

“Baby Belle?” he asked sleepily. “What’s wrong?”

She shoved the book into his hands and patted it, blinking up at him with absurdly long lashes. Her dimple flashed. Madam settled her huge head on his spare pillow with a wide yawn and promptly went back to sleep.

“You want me to read to you?” Jack asked. She nodded, leaning her head against his chest. Her halo of curls, still pillow-ruffled, were downy soft and seemed to have a mind of their own . Asudden memory came to him. “This is… this is Family Bed, isn’t it?” he asked gruffly.

She nodded and patted the book again. Before he could gather himself sufficiently to read, he heard Annalise shuffling in the general direction of his niece’s bedroom.

“Isabella? Madam? Hey, where is everyone?”

“She’s in here,” he called. “We’re all in here.”

Annalise appeared in the doorway, her curls as tumbled and ruffled as his niece’s. She pulled up short at the sight of all of them piled in his bed. “Oh,” she said, disconcerted. “There you are. What… what are you doing?”

“It’s Family Bed,” he offered.

She blinked at him in utter bewilderment. “What’s Family Bed?”

And he’d thought he’d been deprived. He wondered why she’d never experienced something so wondrous. What had her childhood been like that she’d never known the pleasure of curling up with her parents and siblings in one big bed? Even he, with his dearth of close family ties had, for one sweet summer, known the joy of FamilyBed.

“Every Sunday my mother, stepfather, and Joanne would collect books and newspapers, coffee and juice, and spend the first couple of hours of the day in bed together.” He glanced down at his niece, tucked close to his side. “I gather Joanne continued the tradition.”

A wistful smile teased at the corners of Annalise’s mouth. “It sounds lovely.”

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