gaze fell from his handsome face to his sweater-covered chest to his snug blue jeans and the crackle of electricity sparked again.
She stifled the urge to yank her hand away. It was one thing to take a job as a live-in employee, knowing she was attracted to her employer. She’d always been able to ignore her hormones.
But knowing he was attracted to her, too—
Weren’t they tempting fate?
CHAPTER TWO
CLARK WALKED AROUND the desk. “Let’s get your things from your car and I’ll give you the grand tour of the house.”
He motioned for her to precede him out of the den. She headed for the door and he followed, his gaze automatically dipping to her butt.
With a wince, he forced his eyes back up again. What was he doing? Yes, Althea was pretty with her sunny yellow hair and big blue eyes, and, yes, he’d felt that zap of electricity when they shook hands, but she was now his employee.
Even if she wasn’t, he wasn’t interested. He could have cited the usual reasons. Losing his wife so suddenly had been a shock. But discovering she’d been having an affair and that her lover was someone he’d considered a friend—that had about killed him.
The echo of the pain of the first few months after her accident still lingered. Memories of consoling Jack, the chaos of caring for a six-month-old baby alone, the cool, empty feeling of his bed, all rose up inside him every time he thought about moving on. But none of those were as bad as the ache. The solid ball of grief that weighed him down, sat in his belly like lead, even as it competed with the hurt and humiliation of discovering she’d been having an affair.
The woman he’d believed would love him forever, the woman who’d borne his children, had betrayed him.
That kind of humiliation left more than a mark. It changed a man’s perspective. Caused him to make vows—and keep them.
He would never be vulnerable again.
Never.
That’s why he wasn’t worried about his attraction to Jack’s new teacher. He was too smart to be tempted to even consider trusting someone again.
Plus, her résumé might say she was twenty-eight but she looked twenty-two. He’d already been made the town laughingstock. He didn’t need to add chasing after a woman who looked too young for him.
When he and Althea reached the front door, he opened it for her. She looked back at him with a smile. “Thanks.”
His heart tumbled in his chest. Had he thought her pretty? He’d been wrong. When she smiled she was breathtaking.
But he wasn’t interested. “You’re welcome.”
They stepped out onto the snow-covered porch and he grimaced. “I should have gotten you a coat.”
She glanced at him skeptically. “You have one that would fit?”
He wanted to drown in her big blue eyes and for a smart man that didn’t make sense. He’d already set his mind not to trust again and that precluded falling in love, or even indulging an attraction. But how could he stop an attraction? The bubbly feeling that rose when she looked at him was natural, spontaneous.
And annoying. He hated being out of control.
“No, but even a too big coat would be better than an insubstantial hoodie.”
She laughed.
The sound skipped along his nerve endings, filling him with pleasure. Damn it! Why was this happening?
She jogged down the steps. “Can’t argue that. But since we’re out here already, let’s just grab my suitcases and do the tour so you can get to work and I can spend some time with Jack.”
He couldn’t argue that. With his hormones going haywire, the less time they spent together, the better.
Her things turned out to be two suitcases, an overnight bag and a laptop. He carried the two suitcases. She carried the rest. He led her down the hall to the kitchen again, then to the suite of rooms behind it.
“Mrs. Alwine stays here when I travel. But while you’re here, the suite is all yours.”
She made a slow turn, taking in the big dresser and mirrored vanity, as well as the aqua-and-brown comforter and pillows that matched the aqua-and-brown print curtains.
She faced him with a frown. “So in other words, if you travel while I’m here, I’m in charge of the kids overnight.”
Heat crawled up his neck. He hadn’t even considered that might be presumptuous, then realized he’d done the same thing to Mrs. Alwine. The heat intensified. If there was one thing he prided himself on it was doing his fair share. Not leaving the kids to their own devices. But it seemed in being so careful of the kids, he’d been a little heavy handed with his employees.
“I guess that depends on when Mrs. Alwine comes back.”
She laughed and slid out of her jacket. A rust-colored T-shirt outlined perfect breasts and a small waist. With a quick shake of her head, her sunny yellow hair swirled around her and fell in place on her shoulders.
His mouth watered, and he cursed inside his head. With her hoodie gone, she didn’t look twenty-two anymore. She looked all twenty-eight of the years he’d seen on her résumé. But instead of that making her less desirable, it made her more desirable. She was right in his age range—not too young for him as she’d looked in the hoodie.
He pivoted to face the door. That kind of thinking wouldn’t do either one of them any good. He needed her help. She needed some money. For both of them to get what they wanted—what they needed—they had to keep this relationship strictly platonic.
“I’ll round up the kids and you can do what you want this afternoon. Maybe let Jack have a hand in choosing the new homeschooling program.”
She nodded, but he didn’t hang around. He bounded out of the room, found the kids, and got them set up in the den.
When everyone was settled around the big desk, Jack behind the computer, Althea on the chair beside him, and Teagan on the opposite side with her coloring book, he said, “Okay. Now I’m going upstairs to my office to work.”
He closed the den door behind him with a giant sigh of relief. But Althea faced his two quiet children with a sigh of confusion.
Seeing the look of exasperation on Jack’s face, she clicked off the computer monitor. “I just got here. You just met me.” She smiled at Jack, then Teagan. “I don’t think we should work this afternoon.”
Jack said, “All right!” But Teagan jumped off her chair, scampered over to Jack and frantically tugged on his shirtsleeve.
He leaned down, rolled his eyes, then caught Althea’s gaze. “She still wants to color.”
“Oh, sweetie! You can color, if that’s fun for you. I’m just saying that neither your brother nor I was prepared to work today so I don’t
