Page 8 of The Bad Girl and the Baby

He’d been in meetings all day.

And the results were not all good.

First off, they’d offered him a desk job with the unit. He didn’t want a crappy desk job. He’d been in on this project from the start. It was understood—he was to be second-in-command in charge of the field operations. Out there with them. In the field. Not behind a desk. His commanding officer had pointed out that those plans had been before his change in circumstances.

Lulu.

He’d replied that his “change in circumstance” made no difference. He had finally convinced them he was up for the job, and they’d promised it was his. But he needed to get his house in order. It had been noted that he’d taken more time off than was normal. They’d allowed him compassionate leave while he sorted things out after his brother’s death, but the general consensus of opinion was…things should have been sorted by now.

He’d been based in the UK for that time, but working long hours setting up the new unit and the inevitable trips abroad always seemed to take longer than his nannies expected.

They didn’t sign up for 24-7, one of them had told him as she handed in her notice.

Christ, he hoped this one lasted.

He’d been in too much of a rush that morning to really process the huge coincidence that his new nanny, and the girl who’d got his dick hot and hard last night, were one and the same.

He didn’t believe in coincidence. It made him twitchy.

In a break between meetings, he’d even phoned the agency to check that the excellent nanny they had told him they were sending was actually the one that had showed up. They had assured him that Ms. Prescott had phoned in soon after she had arrived and confirmed she was on site with Lulu. Which relaxed him a little.

And as he drove home, he finally admitted to himself the small flicker of excitement. He was very aware of how much time had passed since he’d been with a woman. But she was the first who had got through to him since his brother’s death, when his life had taken a turn for… It would be unfair to Lulu to say “for the worse.” Even thinking it made him feel guilty. But he’d never intended to have a family. He liked order, and Lulu was chaos personified. But sometimes you had no choice. He’d made a promise to his brother. Steven had been concerned with securing Lulu’s future. Had he had some portent of what was to happen? With their parents and sister across the world in Australia, Lulu’s only other relative was an aunt who was apparently totally unsuitable.

But it was fair to say, while he’d not exactly put his life on hold—his career was moving forward in the direction he wanted, his dream job close at hand—his personal life had shuddered to a standstill.

Last night was the first time he’d even thought about sex. And he’d woken up that morning with a raging hard-on. He’d jerked off in the shower, closing his eyes and remembering the feel of her against him. When he’d opened the door that morning and seen her standing there, he’d been gobsmacked. Almost speechless, he’d retreated to cursory instructions and gotten out of there fast.

He sent up a silent prayer that Lulu had been good—or at least not a total monster—and hadn’t scared off his new nanny already. He couldn’t believe how much he was looking forward to seeing her again.

Hell, was he going to be one of those clichés who fell for the nanny?

Though there was no law against it.

He was deep in some fantasy where Ms. Prescott thought Lulu was an angel, had somehow brought order to chaos, and she also fancied him like mad. She’d stay late, and after Lulu was tucked up in bed, she’d suggest a nightcap, and they’d sit on the sofa and her hand would…

Jesus, he was pathetic.

He pulled up in front of the house and switched off the engine.

Just be cool.

The place was quiet as he entered. No screaming, which was unusual. Everything looked to be in place. The kitchen was spotless and empty of people.

He finally found his niece playing some sort of game on the floor in the living room. She glanced up, said, “woof,”—he guessed that was doggy language for hello—and went back to her game.

Matt turned his attention to the woman and the smile froze on his face.

A stranger was seated on his sofa. A pretty woman, probably around his age, slender with full breasts beneath a pink T-shirt.

She got to her feet as she saw him, her eyes widening. “Captain Peterson?”

“Matt,” he said automatically. Who was she? What had happened tohisMs. Prescott?

She took a step closer and held out her hand. “Hi. I’m Diana Prescott. I’m sorry I missed you this morning, but Lulu’s aunt said you’d had to leave.”

Okay, this was making no sense.

He took her hand and shook it. “Lulu’s aunt?”

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