Page 36 of This Baby Business
I walked into the kitchen and he followed. “I’m sorry! I was only trying to help. Mrs. Lane recognized me. I thought it was kind of ironic that you had so many of the products we’d recommended on the website. Now it makes sense.”
“But how did it get from that to us being engaged?”
I picked up one of Grace’s empty bottles and turned to the sink to rinse it, my back to Levi. It might be easier to get the facts out while keeping my hands busy. And while not facing him. “She talked about you. Not good things. You’re aplayboy pilot. You and Sandy were aone-night stand. And then…”
“Then what?”
“She saw my lucky ring and assumed we were engaged. I didn’t correct her.” The words came out in a rush. “Levi, she seemed very happy about you being engaged and settled down.”
He made a very frustrated male sound, and I cringed.
“Why the hell is it that no one believes I’m capable of raising my own child?”
“I’m sorry! I can’t change society for you.”
“You could have told her you’re the nanny.”
The truth?Who told the truth anymore? Being a nanny wasn’t sexy or exciting and, frankly, sounded like I needed the extra work to pay my bills. Not far from the raw and honest truth. And in my case, honesty wouldn’t sell my company for top dollar. I had few true-blue fans, those who hadn’t deserted after my mother’s death. Mrs. Lane was one of them.
I didn’t say anything for a beat.
“Carly,” Levi pressed.
I whirled around, soap suds flying from both of my hands. “Fine. My company is in trouble!”
His eyes narrowed. “What kind of trouble?”
“The kind of trouble that happens when the founder of your company suddenly dies.” I reached for a dish towel to dry my hands. “Think what would happen if Martha Stewart or Rachael Ray died.Thatkind of trouble.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’ve been trying. Really trying to fix this mess and I’m extremely close. The last thing I want is for a fan like Mrs. Lane to get wind that I’m someone’snanny. How would that look? We’ve been trying to sell, so I can’t afford for anything to go wrong right now.”
“And I thought I hired a baby expert.” He rocked back on his heels. “I didn’t know you were selling the company. Might have said something.”
“Why? There’s nothing you can do to help. Look, I need to sell. For a lot of reasons. After my mother died, my father broke his hip when he was in Maine visiting my older brother. He had a total hip replacement, and the physical therapy bills have been through the roof.”
“Jesus, Carly.”
“It’s all right. He’ll get better. And I’ve learned so much from watching Grace. Actually raising a baby is a lot tougher than it looks. It’s helped us both, in a way.”
I threw the dishtowel and it landed on the stove. My hands shook with fear and nerves and a whole lot of other sensations that I couldn’t quite name. This was only partly because Levi studied me, his blue eyes edgy and deep. Unreadable. I had no idea if he was about to kiss me or kill me. He calmly removed the towel from the stove, then stepped into my personal space.
“I wish I’d known about your dad. That’s rough, I know.”
“You should be mad at me. Furious. Please don’t be nice to me right now.” I bit back tears.
“One thing you should know about me. I’m not aniceman. I will disappoint you every time.” He wiped away an errant tear with his thumb.
“I don’t believe that.”
“Believe it. What if Grace’s grandparents are right about me? Did you think of that?” He cupped my chin with one hand.
“If that’s true, then you need me to repair your image.”
He chuckled. “I probably do.”
I managed to crack a smile and bat my wet lashes at him.
