“Everything is all right over here, isn’t it?” Nellie asked. “I couldn’t help but notice your husband didn’t take the train in this morning with everyone else.”
Hayley wasn’t sure whether she was piqued or amused by Nellie’s nosiness. She just knew her situation was unusual. Would they shun her and Christine if they realized she was really hired help? Or would they continue to treat her in the same warm, welcoming manner?
“Everything’s fine,” Hayley said, forcing herself to put her worries aside and smile politely. “Dillon’s just catching up on his sleep. He had to work most of last night, monitoring a breaking story.”
“Dillon, he would be your husband?” Nellie asked.
“Uh, boss, actually,” Hayley corrected. “I’m his housekeeper.”
“Oh,” Carol said, looking stunned; then she smiled. “That’s wonderful.”
Hayley smiled back, blessing Carol for her open-mindedness.
“And Mrs. Gallagher?” Nellie asked point blank, her smile seeming more nosy than sincere. “Is she here today?”
Hayley took a deep breath. Maybe she was a fool, but until now she hadn’t considered how the other people in the neighborhood would react to her living here with Dillon, without a “Mrs.” on the premises. “There is no Mrs. Gallagher,” she retorted frankly. “Dillon’s not married. And neither am I.”
“I see,” Nellie said heavily.
Hayley doubted that, but she wasn’t in the habit of telling her life story to every stranger she met on the street, and she wasn’t about to start now. Carol, on the other hand, was someone she could see herself becoming quite good friends with. “Well, if you’ll excuse me,” she began politely, “I really do need to get back to work. I’ve got so much to do, getting this place into shape, that I can’t afford to waste my baby’s nap time.”
“We understand,” Carol put in before Nellie could speak. “But before you go, there is one more thing. We’d like to invite you to a barbecue at my home, Saturday evening. It’s a get-together for all the neighbors. It’d be a good chance for you and Dillon to meet everyone. And of course children are welcome so you can bring your baby.”
Hayley wasn’t up on suburban etiquette, but she was fairly certain that most of the residents didn’t bring their hired help to parties. On the other hand she was going to be living here, too, for the next year. And so would Christine. She wanted to make friends with the people in the neighborhood. She hoped Dillon would, too, but even if he didn’t, that wasn’t going to stop her, no more than his distaste for suburbia would stop her from settling here in Connecticut permanently.
“I’ll tell Dillon about the invitation and ask him if he’d like to come,” she promised. “I’ll definitely be there.”
* * *
“I THOUGHT I HEARD the doorbell,” Dillon said several hours later. He strode into the kitchen and paused to probe her eyes.
In a khaki shirt worn open at the throat, faded jeans that fit his lower body like a glove and hiking boots that had definitely seen better days, he looked casual and at ease. His dark brown hair was agreeably tousled, his jaw clean shaven and scented with after-shave. His dark blue eyes were alive with interest.
“You certainly did,” Hayley finally confirmed. She couldn’t believe how good Dillon looked. And on so little sleep…
“What the—” For the first time, Dillon noticed what Hayley had been dealing with for several hours. He stared at the confections, casseroles, salads and breads that lined the kitchen counters and covered the breakfast nook table. “Where did all this come from?” he asked, amazed.
Hayley straightened and shut the refrigerator door. She leaned back against it. “Would you believe almost half of our, uh, neighbors stopped by to say hello?”
Dillon quirked a dark, disbelieving brow. “All at once?”
Hayley tossed him a wry smile. “It seems they noticed you didn’t take the train in to New York this morning. It also seems that they’re drowning in curiosity about us.”
Dillon pulled up a kitchen chair, turned it around backward and slid into it, folding his arms over the back. His eyes glimmered with suppressed amusement. “What’d you tell them?”
“Not nearly as much as they’d like.” Hayley grinned back impudently.
“Bet they’re frustrated as hell,” Dillon predicted.
“And running out of Tupperware containers,” Hayley said, trying hard not to notice how rock hard his thighs looked beneath the soft, much-washed fabric of his jeans as he straddled the chair. She forced her gaze back to the rugged contours of his face. “There’s more. One of the women, Carol, and her husband, Hal, are throwing a barbecue Saturday night. They’ve invited all three of us. I’ve already promised to attend with Christine. You’re welcome to go over with us. But if you’d rather go alone,” she went on hurriedly, “you know, arrive separately, I understand.”
Dillon almost choked. “Are you kidding? I’d sooner have my teeth drilled than attend some suburban get-to-know-you bash.”
Hayley had half suspected he might react that way.
“Never mind about going it alone,” Dillon muttered. “No, if we’re going, and we probably should for the sake of neighborhood harmony, we’re going together.”
“Are you sure?” she asked, thinking maybe it would seem too much like a date. She was already fantasizing about him as it was and about what it would be like to live here permanently. “It might seem a little odd to people for you to take your housekeeper and her child along to a party,” she managed.
He quirked a brow.
“I mean, wouldn’t it cramp your style if…we were together?”
Dillon grinned. “First of all, I doubt there’s anyone I want to date at this party. Second, nothing cramps my style, I assure you. If I want to go after a woman, I go after her all the way. I don’t care who’s watching. Third, you’re not getting out of this. It’s just as important for you to meet everyone out here as it is for me. After all, you’re probably going to be around more. And you never know when you’ll need a helping hand.”
True, Hayley thought.
“Or want to be available to lend one to someone else,” Dillon continued. He tested one of Carol’s frosted walnut brownies. “And even if it is dull, it can’t last all that long. Besides—” he grinned at Christine, who was in her high chair “—we can always use your little darling as an excuse to leave early.”
“Tell the truth, Dillon. Hayley’s not really your housekeeper, is she?” Bob asked, casting a lustful glance in Hayley’s direction. “You guys are shacking up together. Aren’t you?”
Dillon sampled a Mexican meatball and decided to play dumb. “You mean living under the same roof?” he asked, wondering for
