Page 22 of The Billionaire's Accidental Daddy Duty
What else could I say? As much as I wanted Declan, he was right. A quick tumble between the sheets wasn’t worth the trouble. My reputation at the office would be ruined. It would be as he’d said. I would become tabloid fodder. No company would hire a programmer with that kind of thing on her resume. And a recommendation from the fixer would mean less than nothing. Declan was the best kisser I’d ever met, and I had no doubt sex with him would be mind-blowing, but none of it was worth giving up a career and a better life for myself.
I had applied for the programmer job because I wanted to make something of myself and have the life I’d always wanted. I thought of my sister and what she would think of me—probably that the apple never fell too far from the tree. Here was Declan with a brand-new baby and a shot at a family. I had no right to come in and take thataway from him, from Harper—just like Mom had done with Louisa’s family.
“Well, good night. And thank you for dinner. It was delicious.” I picked up my plate and walked it over to the sink.
“Leave the dishes. Mrs. Ross will handle that in morning. Which reminds me, I’ll have to introduce you. She doesn’t like it when I bring women over.” He glanced upward. It was like rolling his eyes, but in a sexy way.
“I’m glad I didn’t run into her.”
“You left before she got here. She usually comes in before I leave for work.” He nodded once as if he were looking for something else to say. “If you need anything, let her know. She’ll help with whatever.”
“I’m looking forward to meeting her.”
“Right. Good night, Isla.”
“Good night, Declan.”
I strode past him and headed to my room. When I reached the door, I peeked over my shoulder to find he hadn’t moved at all. A part of me wished he was having second thoughts about our new house rules. But he was right. He had to focus on work and his new baby. He didn’t have time for a side hussy. With a sigh, I walked in, shut the door quietly, and went to check on Joey.
“Your dad isn’t the jerk everyone thinks he is. You’ll be alright, kid.” I gently touched the back of my fingers to his pink cheek.
A minute later, Declan padded along the hallway. When he stopped in front of my room, my heart raced. I went to meet him and placed my palm on the panel to listen in, but I heard nothing. Maybe I had imagined he’d come to me.
The next morning, Joey’s fussing woke me up. I changedhis diaper and gave him a binky before I went out to the kitchen to make his bottle. I hadn’t brushed my teeth or changed my clothes, but Joey wasn’t in the mood to wait for breakfast.
I walked out, expecting to see Declan in the kitchen, but he wasn’t. Even the papers and his computer were gone. It wasn’t even seven yet. I supposed he didn’t want to deal with me this morning. In the kitchen, I found a handwritten note from him. He had to go to the office early, but he promised to send Mrs. Ross a text to let her know I was here. The message ended with a, “Have a good day. I’ll see you tonight.”
Of course, he meant he’d come home to see his baby, but for a few beats, I fantasized about what it would be like to have Declan Noble say those words to me for real.
“Stop it.”
It was bad enough to be having dirty thoughts about him, developing feelings would be wrong in the most epic and disastrous way.
Mrs. Ross showed up exactly at seven o’clock. She already knew I was there and had even brought a small gift for Joey. We spent the better part of the morning drooling over the baby. After his morning nap, Mrs. Ross suggested I take him for a stroll around the park. I did need to get out of the apartment and get some fresh air, so I said yes to her plan and even accepted the lunch she prepared for me.
I stood in the middle of Declan’s apartment, doing a mental check on the stuff I needed to take with me—stroller, diaper bag, baby.
“Wait.” She met me at the door. “I won’t be here by the time you get back. Let me smell that bald headagain.”
“I hear ya. That baby scent is making my uterus hurt.” I laughed and angled Joey so Mrs. Ross could get a good waft before we left. “I have to ask. Did Mr. Noble ask you to nanny for him?”
“I have too many clients to tend to during the day. I wish I was available to help. Sweet boy.” She kissed his head then met my gaze over her reading glasses. “You’re young. It’ll happen for you soon.”
Whoa, what? “Oh no, not me. I like kids, but I have to figure out how to keep a job first.” I barked out a laugh.
Yeah, now that I almost had the lead programmer job, I wasn’t mad at Declan for firing me, and could joke about it. I swiped my lips with the back of my hand to erase the kiss from last night. Declan wasn’t for me. The whole family thing with kids and a husband wasn’t for me.
9
A WHOLE MONTH
Isla
“I think my ovaries are about to explode.” Sally, the sales attendant behind the cash register, smiled at me.
She’d obviously noticed I had been ogling my boss and his chubby baby from the other side of Bella Baby, a swanky baby shop in Manhattan that catered to new parents with way too much money to spare. I was here as Declan’s resident expert in all things baby. Truly, my only credentials were babysitting all my kid cousins on Mom’s side of the family, but that was good enough for him. The original plan had been for me to go shopping on my own, but Declan came home for lunch and announced we were going shopping.
He was the boss; I couldn’t say no.
