Page 44 of Baby Nanny

“Are you going to tell me what she said, or not?” he groundout.

“Not,” came the crisp response. “To be honest, it doesn’t matter what Annalise said. All that matters is what you have to say. Why did you marry your wife, Mr. Mason ? Iexpect a truthful answer and I expect one now.”

The question didn’t require any thought. “Because I love her,” he answered starkly.

Mrs. Locke pushed back her chair. “I’ll give you three days to resolve this situation before rendering my final verdict on Isabella’s custody.”

He lifted his gaze, feeling the protective predator stirring. No one would take his niece from him. “Is that a threat?” he asked softly.

Just like Annalise, Mrs. Locke didn’t show the least sign of intimidation. What was it with these women? “Yes, Mr. Mason.” She picked up her purse and tucked it under her arm. “That was a threat.”

It didn’t takethree days for Jack to figure out what he intended to do. It didn’t even take him three hours. It just took enough time for him to sit quietly and remember. Remember Annalise and how she’d been from the moment they’d first met. From the day she’d stepped foot in his office, she’d lived and breathed her concern for his niece.

No, not just his niece. Annalise’s daughter.

She hadn’t accepted the position of Isabella’s nanny with the intent of attracting a wealthy husband. It hadn’t been about him at all. All her attention, all her focus, had been directed toward Isabella and helping her child recover from a hideous trauma that had forever changed her younglife.

Even by giving Isabella up for adoption, Annalise had proven she’d put Isabella first and done the best possible for his niece. Marrying him had simply been one more step in that process. He might have wanted her focus to widen enough to include him. But that wasn’t her first priority and never would be. Her child was Annalise’s priority. He closed hiseyes.

Theirchild.

His gaze drifted to Isabella and he accepted the inescapable truth. She was his niece and he’d always keep her parent’s memory alive for her. But at some point, he’d stopped thinking of her as an extension of Joanne and Paul, and begun to think of her as part of himself . Avitalpart.

As though sensing his attention, Isabella’s head jerked up and she looked at him and beamed with happiness. Sweeping Mister Mayhem into her arms, she trotted over and climbed into his lap. He hugged her close, inhaling the sweet, baby scent of her. From tragedy had come an existence he’d never believed possible.

It didn’t matter what it took. It didn’t matter what he had to sacrifice. It didn’t even matter that he’d never be first in Annalise’s life or heart. He and Isabella needed her and he’d do whatever necessary to bring his wife home. But there was something he had to do first.

He gathered Isabella close and prayed he’d find the right words. “Do you remember when we talked about finding people to adopt Madam’s puppies, like you were adopted?” he asked.

Isabella nodded, though she still pouted a bit at the thought.

“Do you also remember me telling you about your other mommy? She’s the one who gave birth to you before you were adopted?” When Isabella nodded again, he rested his cheek against the soft curls crowning her head. He gathered his self-control and spoke gently. Carefully. Lovingly. “There’s something I need to tell you about your birth mommy…”

Jack arrivedat the boatyard early that same afternoon. Sun pounded down on him as he walked the weathered planks toward the large charter yacht he’d been informed belonged to Robert Stefano. He saw Annalise’s father before the other man caught sight of him. It gave Jack a few seconds to further assess the man and get some sort of handle onhim.

Lean and muscular, Robert Stefano wore cutoff shorts and a sleeveless tee, which made him look all the younger and more virile than when he’d first introduced himself. He didn’t wear a cap and the sun picked out the burnished streaks that were so similar to Isabella’s. He must have realized he was being watched. His head jerked up and he stiffened, like one predator sensing the presence of another. Slowly, he swung around. Cursing roundly, he stalked down the pier, planting himself square in Jack’s path. He folded his well-muscled arms across an equally muscular chest.

“What the hell are you doing here?” he demanded.

Jack assessed his opponent—who also happened to be his father-in-law. He could take the man if he had to. Maybe. He imitated Robert’s stance. “I’ve come for my wife, even if I have to go through you to get to her. But when I leave, it’s with Annalise. Now , Ican do it with your cooperation, or without. Your choice.”

“I vote for ‘without.’ She’s not a real wife to you. She’s just a means to an end, and I won’t let you use her. So turn around, son.” A vicious smile slashed across Robert’s face. “You don’t stand a chance against me . Ieat pencil pushers like you for breakfast.”

Jack planted himself, hoping for peace, but prepared for the battle of his life. “Annalise tells me you raised her on your own after her mother died.”

“I did.” Open grief touched his tanned face before being ruthlessly suppressed. “I let that girl down when she was sixteen . Iwon’t let her down now.”

“Sounds like we have ourselves a problem, because I don’t want to let Isabella down, either. She needs Annalise.” He drew a deep breath and confessed,“Ineed Annalise.”

Suspicion glinted in Robert’s green eyes. “For your niece?”

Jack shook his head. “For me. It just took me a while to realize that. Isabella was the excuse I used to bind Annalise to me without admitting why I wanted her.”

Robert’s arms dropped to his sides and he cocked his head to one side in a gesture eerily similar to Annalise’s. “And why is that?”

Jack didn’t bother to pull his punches or hide behind his pride. He put it all out there for the other man to rummage through. “Because I love your daughter.”

Robert eyed him for a long moment, before nodding in satisfaction. “Then what are you doing wasting your time jawing with me?” He stepped aside. “Go tell my daughter how you feel and put her out of her misery.”

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