know there’s more to it than overseeing a nanny,” she said, mildly annoyed and feeling a bubbling panic at his implacable tone and lavish offers. “I lost my mother when I was ten. I know what it’s like to be without a mother. Your little girl needs a mother.”
He flinched, and Mattie felt as if she had been too harsh.
“A nanny may be the best I can do,” he replied stonily.
“But I’ll give her all the love I can. And if you’re there—even for just a year—you can get us off to a good start.”
“Josh, I can’t—”
“Listen,” he commanded in a tone that made her forget her arguments. His voice was quiet, yet there was an air of authority and determination about him that ended her talk.
“We’ll draw up a prenuptial agreement. If we decide to part before Irma dies, you get your ranch back intact—and all the things I just promised you.”
She closed her eyes to shut out his disturbing image. “I can’t do it.”
“Yes, you can. You’re perfect. We can work together. You can run your ranch and I’ll run mine. The difference is, you’ll live at my house and be in charge of the nanny and Elizabeth. That’s all.”
Josh held his breath. This was the perfect woman. She would be as capable as anyone could possibly be. She was softhearted, he knew, or she never would have been as loyal to her family as she had, staying on the ranch when she dreamed of leaving. And the little he had been around her, he liked her. She hadn’t talked incessantly. She could ride as well as any man he knew. She could run the ranch better than many he knew. And she was honest and forthright—refreshing qualities after the coy flirtations of the last three nannies. She was a fine-looking woman, too. Although he wouldn’t have let it matter if she had been as plain as a mud hen. He wanted Mattie Ryan. He needed her. And he had to make her need him. He knew she was in tight times and shouldering the responsibility solely by herself. And he knew how lonely and frightening that could be.
She opened her eyes and looked at him. “Move away.”
Instantly he stepped back, and she strode away from him. His gaze ran over her back. Her jeans were tight, and she had an enticing little sway to her walk that made him notice her fanny and her long legs. With surprise, he realized how he was looking at her and how his body was responding—something that hadn’t happened since Lisa. In spite of the flagrant enticements of the nannies, he had been as numb as the ground, but he wasn’t numb now. This was a lot of woman, and a damned good-looking one at that.
Mattie spun around and faced him as if she were armed and ready to duel. She had her hands on her hips, and he could see the flash of fire in her eyes.
“I think you’ll regret this terribly. Suppose you fall in love again?”
“I’m not going to. I adored Lisa and I won’t fall in love. I feel numb,” he said, knowing that until five minutes ago it had been the complete truth. “And I can get along out here on the ranch.”
“I think you’re wrong. It’s too soon. In six months I think you’ll feel differently and you’ll want to fall in love.”
“Then we can get the marriage annulled, and you can have all I promised you. Ask what you want in the prenuptial agreement. Make the stakes higher if I leave you, Mattie. Then you’ll see how earnest I am about this.”
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