you feeling all right, Ms Hartley?’
She realised she’d scrunched her face up, and immediately set about un-scrunching it. ‘Thought I was going to sneeze.’
He raised an eyebrow.
‘It didn’t seem like a good idea with an armful of baby,’ she improvised. She wanted—no, needed—him to stop looking at her in that way. She gestured to the series of bags that George’s minder had dropped to the doorstep. ‘I guess we should get these out of the sun.’ Without another word, she grabbed the baby capsule at her feet and strode through into Jasper’s impeccable living room.
She grinned at the baby. ‘Oh, you’re going to mess this up perfectly, master George.’
‘How is he going to mess it up?’ Jasper said, coming in behind her. ‘Is he old enough to walk?’
‘Unlikely, though he might be crawling. Hey, little dude, are you speeding around yet?’ She sent Jasper a grin. ‘I’ll show you what I mean.’ She went to hand him George, but he took a physical step away, a look of horror speeding across his face.
Whoa.
She gulped down the words that pressed against the back of her throat. There was something going on here that she didn’t understand, and the last thing little George needed was for her to make it worse. So she instead pointed to the bags. ‘In one of those there are bound to be some toys and a baby blanket.’
Without another word, he started rummaging and eventually found what she’d asked for. Handing her the blanket, he held a toy out in each hand—a plastic set of keys on a key ring in primary colours, and a plush bunny rabbit with long ears. With a squeal, George reached for the keys.
Very carefully, Jasper handed them over.
Imogen spread the blanket on the living room’s thick designer rug and then upended the rest of the contents of the bag across it.
‘What the—?’
Setting a boomerang pillow in the middle of it all, she very gently settled George into its curve before pulling the toys closer. He threw the keys, waved his arms about and started making broom-broom noises.
She reached for a toy car. ‘Is this what you’re after, little guy?’
He grabbed it, immediately shoving one corner of it in his mouth.
Imogen rose and gestured to the baby, the rug, and the assortment of toys. ‘Hey, presto, your living room isn’t quite so immaculate.’
He eyed her carefully. ‘You sound as if you approve of the change.’
‘It’s very hard to disapprove of babies, Uncle Jasp—Mr Coleman,’ she amended in a rush, heat flushing through her cheeks.
What on earth…? Just because there was a baby in the house didn’t mean she could dispense with normal boss-employee formality.
He let her near slip pass, just continued to stare at her. Um…?
Oh! She was supposed to be working. He was probably wondering what on earth she was still doing here lingering in his living room as if she owned it. Swallowing, she backed up a step. ‘I guess I better get back to work and—’
‘No!’
She halted, mentally tutoring herself on the appropriate levels of deference due to an employer. ‘Sir?’
‘I have a proposition to put to you, Ms Hartley.’
She glanced at baby George, who was happily banging a plastic hammer against his foot, and she started to laugh. ‘I just bet you do.’
Damn! Couldn’t she maintain a semblance of polite dutifulness for even thirty seconds?
He eyed the baby and then her. ‘You did say you wanted a promotion.’
She’d been joking! And while it hadn’t been a joke that’d made him laugh, or even smile, she knew he hadn’t taken her seriously. ‘Is nanny a promotion?’
‘Absolutely. It comes with a higher pay grade, for a start.’
She didn’t care about the money. The money wasn’t the reason she was here.
‘With all the associated security clearances.’
Had he just made a joke? She grinned—partly in shock but mostly in delight. ‘Now that is an attractive fringe benefit.’
‘Is that a yes, then?’
She glanced at the baby. It’d be way more fun to look after George, but it wasn’t why she was here.
‘You’re hesitating. May I ask why?’ He gestured to the baby. ‘You seem a natural. While I understand there may be some allure to dancing with vacuum cleaners, you did seem to enjoy singing nursery rhymes too.’
She’d definitely rather look after George than dust and vacuum, but she’d promised her mother she’d find out what was troubling Aunt Katherine. Looking after a baby 24/7 could put a serious dent in the amount of time she could give to that.
‘Ms Hartley?’
‘Mr Coleman, I have a feeling that your idea of what being a nanny involves and my idea of the same are worlds apart.’
He blinked.
She nodded at the letter he held—the letter from his sister that he still hadn’t opened. ‘You don’t know how long George is here for. You don’t know what his mother’s wishes are and—’
‘How will our ideas about a nanny’s duties differ?’
She eyed him uncertainly. ‘I think you’ll expect me to be on duty twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. And I’m sorry, but I’m not interested in working those kinds of hours. That’s not the reason I came to Tesoura. I’m here to spend some time with my aunt. And in my free time I plan to lap up all of the tropical gorgeousness that I can.’ Until she returned home, and her real life started. A thrill rippled through her at the thought…along with a growing thread of fear. ‘The former is going to prove difficult and the latter impossible with a baby in tow.’
He tapped a finger against his lips. ‘Asking you to work those hours would be completely unreasonable.’ He said the words with such a deep regret that in other circumstances she might’ve laughed.
She didn’t laugh. She edged towards the door before she weakened and did what he wanted—became a full-time carer to that gorgeous bundle of baby.
‘Where are you going?’
His sharp tone pulled her to a halt. ‘To go and perform the duties you’re currently paying me for.’
‘You can’t leave me alone with the baby.’ Panic rippled across his face. ‘Please.’
That please caught at her, tugged on all of her sympathies and completely baffled her. ‘Why not?’
‘I
