takes practice,” she said, repeating his words from last night.
He smiled wryly. “True. That’s why I’ve rearranged things at work and handed some tasks and projects over to my staff.” His two senior research assistants had been surprised but keen for the extra responsibility, and he’d also talked to his PA about handing some tasks to her. “My plan is to be home by four o’clock every day.”
“That’s amazing, Liam. Bonnie will love having the extra time with you.” She looked at him with admiration shining in her eyes, and he had to wonder if he’d partly made the decision because it was Jenna who’d suggested it. He’d like to think he’d have realized the right thing to do on his own, but he couldn’t deny the effect she had on him.
He let out a long breath, wanting to respond only as a father, not a man who was having trouble focusing anywhere but on his nanny’s lips.
He shrugged as casually as he could manage. “I can’t promise how successful it will be, that I’ll be home by four every day, but I’ll definitely aim for that.”
“We’ll be able to work much faster on your bonding with Bonnie.”
He’d been thinking about that and knew just what he wanted to do next. “I’d like to learn to feed her on my own. There’s no reason we both have to get up every night.”
“I’ve been thinking the same thing.” She put the lid on the paint tin and gathered up her brushes as she spoke. “I’m sure you’ll find that those late-night feedings, when it’s just the two of you, can be a special time.”
They probably would be. Plus, this plan had the advantage of not feeling tempted by seeing Jenna in that thin robe when he was only half awake and his defenses were low. “How soon can we start?”
“Tonight, if you’re ready,” she said, looking at him with those clear blue eyes, beguiling him with those cupid’s bow lips.
“That will be great.” He headed for the door before he did something stupid, like kissing her here in the freshly painted nursery. “Let me know when she’s ready for her next bottle.”
He walked down the hall to his room, loosening his tie as he went. Now he just had to survive one more night of the temptation that was his nanny and he was home free. Well—he hesitated with his hand on the doorknob to his room—that covered the nights, but he couldn’t be sure of coping with the temptation that was Jenna during the day. He threw the door open and once he was in, he leaned back and hit his head against the door behind him.
* * *
Liam spent the late afternoon hours sprawled in the living room playing with Meg and asking Jenna her opinion on topics he’d come across in the baby books he’d been reading, such as routines and when to introduce solids into Bonnie’s diet. Her opinions were well considered and interesting, and he found himself simultaneously agreeing with her and thinking he should take notes. He thanked the fates he’d stumbled across someone like Jenna to care for his daughter. Their situation was ideal. Well, it would be as long as he could keep his rogue attraction to her at bay.
Dusk was settling over the landscape when Bonnie’s little cries came over the baby monitor.
“That’s my cue,” Jenna said, unfolding herself from the sofa and heading for the stairs.
He scooped Meg up and followed. “Come on, Meg. Group trip to the nursery.” The baby gurgled and babbled her agreement.
Liam walked down the hall after Jenna, trying not to watch the sway of her hips but failing. There was something very particular about the way she walked—it was almost gliding. Had she had deportment lessons as a child, perhaps?
In Meg’s room—which was still temporarily Bonnie’s—Jenna reached into the crib, but Liam put out a hand to stop her. “I’ll do it all this time. You just talk me through it. It’s the only way I’ll become self-sufficient.”
Jenna took Meg from him and nodded. “Okay.”
Slipping his hands under the baby to support her in all the right places, he lifted her to his chest. Her little face was red and her arms flailed. “Shh,” he said. “You might need a bit of patience for this, but I promise you’ll get fed in the end.”
Jenna sank down into the armchair with Meg, who was playing with her own toes. “First, she’ll want a clean diaper,” Jenna said.
He’d had some practice at changing diapers, so he was fairly confident and managed to complete the task without incident.
“Done,” he said and held his diapered daughter in the air.
“She’ll be perky for a little while since it’s still early, so she’d probably like a bit of time on her play mat.”
Play mat. Right. He looked around and nothing jumped out at him. “Where do we keep the play mat?”
“It’s folded in the bottom drawer. It has a mobile that arches over the top and she loves it when you play on that with her.”
He found the mat, laid it out on the carpet, put Bonnie on top and then clicked the arms of the mobile together. Bonnie seemed happy, but how, exactly, was he supposed to play with her? He wasn’t a complete idiot—he’d worked out how to play with Meg, but she had more control over her limbs and a rudimentary understanding of games. Bonnie was a different matter.
He rubbed a hand over his chin. “What—?”
“The soft animals hanging from the mobile arms all make different sounds if you handle them and Bonnie loves it when you touch them for her. Try the ladybug—she’s crinkly.”
Liam crinkled the ladybug, then surprised himself by losing track of time as he lay on the floor playing with his daughter.
“I think she’s getting tired,” Jenna finally said. “She’ll appreciate a bottle and a sleep.”
Reluctantly Liam packed up. When he’d spent time thinking about being a father to Bonnie, he’d mainly thought of himself as a caregiver in this phase of her life and not really being able to interact with her until she was a bit older. He’d never suspected that he’d be sorry to put a play mat away.
“Right,” he said, “we’re ready.”
Jenna stood back so he could pass her and head for the kitchen. She talked him through making up his first bottle. On the other night feedings, he’d held Bonnie while Jenna had made the milk, so the juggling act of holding a baby while carrying out the task was more of a challenge than the bottle itself.
Back in the nursery, he settled down into the armchair, bottle in one hand, his now fussy daughter in the other. “You know, they showed me how to do this at the hospital the day I met Bonnie, but I’m afraid I was so overwhelmed, I didn’t pay enough attention.”
“No matter. It’s all worked out perfectly fine,” Jenna said with a smile. “Lay her back along your forearm. And tilt the bottle to her.”
Getting the bottle past those angry fists was easier said than done, but once Bonnie had the teat in her mouth, she stilled, as if all her focus was on the food. Triumph surged through him at being able to successfully feed his daughter; it satisfied something
