got me wrapped around his finger.” The shadows lifted from his face, leaving a tender expression.
“I can see why. So good-natured.” Her cheeks grew warm remembering her own words about the boy being as handsome as the father. It was true, but she still wished to have the comment back.
“He seemed to take to you.” Those eyes zeroed in on her and turned darker, more observant. “Something I needed to know. Which is why I wanted to do the second interview here at the house in Kyle’s environment.”
“I understand.”
He nodded. “Your background check didn’t turn up anything. I talked to your previous employers, who all said I’d be crazy not to hire you.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“In fact, one woman I talked to said you were personally responsible for her decision to quit her job and be a stay-at-home mother.”
Emma remembered. “Carly Carrington. But her choice wasn’t because I didn’t do my job.”
“She was very clear about that. It was about how much you enjoyed her baby and she was jealous. Unwilling to miss any more of her child’s life.”
“I lost the position, but her child got the most important thing. Her mom.”
“She told me you said that. So my decision all came down to chemistry.”
She wasn’t worried about bonding with the baby, but it was decidedly inconvenient that she was attracted to the father. Her life was way too complicated to deal with something like that even if he was interested, which clearly he wasn’t. She should turn down this job right now, but the fact was, the doctor needed a nanny and she needed a job.
“I get the feeling that you’ve made up your mind.”
He nodded. “I’m told that kids have a highly reactive blarney meter and can spot a phony a mile away. Like I said, Kyle warmed to you really fast.”
“I thought so, too. And the feeling is mutual.”
“That was obvious, too.” He stood and walked around the desk, half sitting on the corner beside her. “So, when can you start?”
“Right away.” It probably wouldn’t be appropriate or professional to pump her arm in triumph, so she sat demurely with her hands folded in her lap.
“Good.” He thought for a moment. “Sylvia is going back to California in two weeks. I’d like you to work with her until she leaves. Transition Kyle.”
“He’ll feel the change, but it will be more gradual that way,” she agreed. “I appreciate this opportunity, Dr.—”
“Call me Justin.”
“Okay.” It was a strong name and suited him.
“I’ve had a short-term contract drawn up with the stipulations that we discussed in the first interview.” He took a paper from his desk. “Look it over and if you’re okay with everything, sign at the bottom, Emma.”
It felt as if he was testing the sound of her name on his tongue, and for some reason that started tingles skipping up her spine. But she managed to read the words and signed with the pen he’d handed her.
“Welcome aboard, Emma.”
“Thank you.”
She wasn’t sure that this opportunity was a sign of how to proceed with her own personal predicament, but it bought her time to figure everything out. She was very good at her job and he was lucky to get her, but that didn’t ease her conflict. After finding out she wasn’t who she’d thought, absolute truth took on a whole new meaning for her. Now she felt guilty for not confessing to Justin why she was really here in Blackwater Lake, but that wasn’t an option.
What man in his right mind would hire a nanny whose whole life was a lie?
Chapter Two
Two weeks later, Sylvia was gone and Justin had just spent the first night alone with Emma. Well, not alone, he corrected, although it was an interesting and unforeseen way to think about her, especially since he’d never thought about his former nanny that way. Like every other morning, the smell of coffee drifted to him, but this didn’t feel like just another day.
He looked in the bathroom mirror, still a little steamy from his morning shower, and applied shaving cream to his cheeks and jaw. An electric razor would be faster, but didn’t do as precise a job.
The master suite was downstairs and there were five more bedrooms on the second floor along with a big open playroom area the size of the three-car garage. Emma had the room next to Kyle’s with a shared bathroom between them. Sylvia would be missed, but from a father’s perspective, the new nanny had been well oriented to his son’s routine and she interacted with him naturally. He seemed to like her.
Justin liked her, too, in a way that was potentially problematic.
After shaving and combing his hair, he dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved cotton shirt for work at Mercy Medical Clinic. There were no surgeries scheduled for today, but in the case of an emergency, he had scrubs in the office. When he was ready, he walked upstairs to spend as much time as possible with his son before leaving for the day.
At the top of the stairs he heard Emma’s voice and Kyle’s chattering. The nursery door was open the way it always was in the morning, so he walked in as he always did. But however much the scene was routine and familiar, everything felt different.
The baby was on the changing table with a clean diaper already in place. Emma had him in an undershirt and was in the process of sliding his arms into a one-piece terry-cloth romper. Her back was to him and she didn’t know he was there yet.
“Hey, big boy,” she crooned. “Did you have a good sleep?”
The baby was holding an orange-and-yellow plastic toy car and he clapped it against his other hand as he babbled his response.
“I’m so glad to hear it. You look well rested and I didn’t hear a peep. I was listening and I’m right there if you need me. Just say, ‘Hey, Em, some help here.’”
Justin moved a little farther into the room, but quietly. Not to nanny-cam her, just reluctant to interrupt this quiet, happy scene. He could see her profile and knew she was smiling. His son was grinning back, proudly showing off four top and a matching number of bottom baby teeth.
“So, what’s the plan for today, Mr. Kyle? Are you going to help with laundry? Maybe the house cleaning? I know. How about you dust the toys in your basket? That would be a big help.” She put a firm hand on his belly to keep him from rolling off as he unexpectedly squirmed toward her. “Not so fast. And just where do you think you’re going, mister? It was a good try. Points for that. But we’re not quite finished here.”
She encircled his chubby leg in her fingers then bent slightly and kissed the bottom of his foot. He started to giggle and there was a smile in her voice when she said, “Are you ticklish?”
This time the smooch on his foot was accompanied by a loud
