black umbrella, he walked toward the two mud-splattered females. The bottom half of his daughter looked as if she’d been dipped in chocolate milk. Amanda caught sight of him and pointed out his presence to Lilly.
“I think I’m late with the umbrella,” he said.
“We’re a mess, aren’t we,” Amanda said, wincing, then she shrugged and chuckled. “You may not remember this, but when you’re a kid, some days you just need to stomp in a mud puddle. Don’t worry. I think I can get the mud out of her outfit.”
“And yours?” he asked, his gaze inadvertently drawn to her damp blouse, which emphasized her small breasts and hardened nipples encased in lace. Feeling a slow, seductive curl of warmth in his stomach, he blinked and forced his gaze down to his daughter. Lilly was clinging to Amanda’s leg. Hiding again. Jack sighed. Failure was an alien concept to him, but when he looked at his daughter, all his wins at work turned to dust.
“Dry cleaning works wonders,” Amanda said, and turned to Lilly. “While you and I were playing in the mud, I bet your daddy bagged another big deal this afternoon.”
Lilly looked at him with wide, solemn, unblinking green eyes.
“Hey, princess,” he said, and gently touched her soft, damp cheek with his knuckles. “Did you have fun today?”
She nodded, but said nothing.
He glanced down at the bedraggled, stuffed cat she held in her hand. “We’ll need to wash your kitty, too,” Jack said, feeling, as he often did with his daughter, at a loss.
“Miss Annabelle,” Lilly whispered.
His heart squeezed. Lilly rarely spoke, even in a whisper.
“Miss Annabelle needs a bath and you do, too,” he said.
“’Manda says I get a cookie,” Lilly whispered.
He glanced up at Amanda and raised his eyebrows. He wondered how she had won over his daughter so quickly.
“A cookie is a magical thing,” Amanda told him, as if she could almost read his mind.
An hour later, after Jack pulled strings and got a doctor to examine the nanny, and Amanda gave Lilly a bath, he joined his assistant and daughter for a dinner of grilled cheese sandwiches and soup.
“I would have heated the casserole if I’d known about it,” Amanda said. “Ms. Brown mentioned it when I took her soup to her room.”
Noting the way his daughter gobbled down her sandwich instead of picking at her food the way she usually did, Jack shook his head. “No, this is fine. It was kind of you to feed us.”
“Not exactly a celebration dinner,” Amanda said with a wry smile.
“Celebration?” Jack repeated.
“For the Eastco account.”
“How did you know I got it?”
She rolled her eyes. “As if they stood a chance.”
He felt a curious rush of pleasure at her praise. “You’re assuming I always win.”
“Safe assumption. I’ve seen you in action,” Amanda said, then turned to Lilly. “I think your dad deserves a cookie. What do you think?”
Lilly stared at him, then nodded at Amanda. “Can I please have another cookie?” she whispered.
Amanda gave a mock gasp. “Another cookie? But you’ve already had two today.” She bent closer to Lilly. “Are you sure you’re not a cookie monster in disguise?”
Lilly giggled, and the sound surprised Jack again. He gazed at Amanda and made a quick, instinctive decision. “It’s getting late. Why don’t you stay here tonight?”
Amanda did a double take and looked at Jack as if he’d sprouted horns. “I—I don’t have any clothes for work tomorrow and—”
“I can take you by your apartment on the way to the office,” Jack said, thinking he’d never seen her flustered.
She blinked. “And my cat,” she managed. “I need—”
“Do you have a neighbor you can call?”
“Well, yes—”
“Good,” Jack said, knowing he was railroading her. He hadn’t seen his daughter this happy in weeks, and if Amanda was the magic potion, then he sure as hell didn’t want her leaving yet. “Then it’s settled. You probably want to get out of those wet clothes. I’ll see if I can find something for you to put on after your bath.”
He returned shortly with one of his terry robes and a pair of silk pajamas he’d never worn. When his wife Sandra had left two years ago, he’d gotten rid of every remaining article of clothing she’d left behind. He’d wanted no sign of her left in the house. She’d taken his name, his money and his daughter, and left him with bitter emptiness. Sandra might be dead, but the damage she’d caused continued.
The complete and utter sense of failure he’d felt at the time of the divorce echoed through him again as he watched Amanda with his Lilly through Lilly’s open bedroom door.
Brooding, Jack absently noticed Amanda had climbed into Lilly’s small bed with his daughter as she read and sang with her instead of sitting in the chair beside Lilly’s bed as Ms. Brown did. After she finished The Little Engine That Could and a chorus of “Eensy Weensy Spider,” Jack entered the room and kissed Lilly good-night.
Amanda left the door cracked and joined him in the hallway. “I think she’s a goner.”
“Are you sure you didn’t miss your calling?” Jack asked her.
She met his gaze. “What do you mean?”
“You’re so good with children. Did you ever think about working with them in some professional way?”
She gave a half smile and shook her head. “I got my experience the natural way. I had a younger brother and younger sisters. My father died when I was young, so my mother counted on me a lot. Then when my mother died, they needed me even more.”
“I forgot about your family,” he mused, wondering why he hadn’t paid more attention. “I’ve noticed the pictures on your desk, but you don’t mention them often.”
“Oh, I love them all,” Amanda said, her voice full of affection. “Both my sisters received academic scholarships to college, and my brother operates his own successful home-remodeling business. I’m very proud of them, so don’t get me started,” she warned him. “I won’t stop and I’ll end up boring the boss to death.”
“I’m not bored,” he told her. “Would you like a nightcap before you turn in?”
Amanda hesitated, a flash of uncertainty sweeping across her face. For a second he thought she might refuse and felt a strange sting of disappointment.
“Thank you. That would be nice,” she finally said, and pulled the lapels of his robe closer together as they walked toward
