the fish, rigid rows of shrubs flanked an Olympic-length pool that reached all the way to a seawall, boat dock, yacht and what looked like two hundred feet of waterfront.
“We’re going to have to keep Rhett away from all that water.”
“I’ll order fencing and safety locks immediately.”
Crossing to a door, she pushed it open to reveal a luxurious bathroom straight out of a hedonist’s fantasies. A glass shower. A tub big enough to accommodate four. A marble-topped vanity as long as a bed. Shaking her head at the opulence, she returned to the bedroom and opened a second door to reveal a closet the size of her bedroom back home. But she didn’t see a crib or connecting door to a nursery.
She rejoined Mitch. “Where’s Rhett’s room?”
He nodded toward the window, indicating the opposite wing of the house. “In the east wing.”
“I won’t be able to hear him from here.”
“That’s why we have Ingrid.”
“We don’t have Ingrid. You have Ingrid.”
His eyes narrowed to green slits. “What are you implying?”
“Your girlfriend is not looking after Rhett.”
“She’s not my girlfriend.”
“Oh please. She almost slipped her hand in your pocket for a quick grope downstairs.”
His chin jacked up. He closed the distance between them in three long strides and stared down at her with what would have been intimidating ferocity if she didn’t work with professional athletes on a regular basis. She’d become immune to the psyche-out glare.
“I don’t keep mistresses in my home.”
“But you do keep them. Or in this case, her.”
Before he could argue, Rhett launched himself at Mitch, startling Carly so much she almost dropped the imp. Kincaid’s only choice was too catch him. Rhett clamped his hands around his half brother’s neck and planted a slobbery kiss on his cheek.
The horror in the lord of the manor’s eyes made Carly snort with laughter. Okay, so that had been a wet kiss. A little disgust was warranted. She released Rhett’s lower half and her nephew shimmied up his brother like a monkey does a tree.
Mitch closed his eyes. The muscles in his jaw knotted—along with every other muscle group she could see. What was going on? He acted as if he couldn’t bear to hold the child.
“Take him.” He ground out the words.
Confused by his weird behavior, Carly hesitated. Rhett couldn’t possibly be more adorable. And he was clean. He didn’t even have a dirty diaper.
Mitch thrust Rhett back at her. Frowning, Carly took him. “You want to be his guardian? How are you going to do that when you can’t even handle holding him? What is your problem, Kincaid?”
Boy, did she have her work cut out for her in bringing these two together.
Mitch scowled. “I don’t have a problem other than a stubborn guest. I’ll show you the nursery.”
Carly shook her head and stood her ground. “Rhett and I are not sleeping a football field apart. Either you bring his crib in here or I’m staying in the nursery.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
Carly held Mitch’s gaze. After a moment’s standoff, he huffed an aggravated breath, crossed the room to an intercom system imbedded in the wall and punched a button. “Mrs. Duncan, please have the nursery furniture transferred to the blue suite.”
Mitch turned and scowled at Carly. “Satisfied?”
“That depends. Let’s see the blue room.”
He stalked across the hall and threw open the opposite door. Carly followed more slowly, making sure not to brush against him this time when she entered. Mitch made it easy by staying out of Rhett’s reach.
Shades of blue from powder to midnight turned the room into a peaceful sanctuary. Like hers, the suite had a connecting bath and a closet large enough to be Rhett’s playroom. “It’s beautiful, and if I leave the doors open at night, I’ll be able to hear him.”
A look she couldn’t identify flickered in Mitch’s eyes. “Fine. Now if you’ll hand the b—Rhett—over to Ingrid, we’ll have lunch before moving your things inside.”
“No Ingrid.”
“She is not my lover.”
“She wants to be.”
A smug smile slanted his lips, and her stomach sank like a wet sandbag. He could charm the birds from the trees with that smile. She hoped he didn’t aim it at her very often.
He tilted his head, his green gaze traveled down the length of Carly’s body, then slowly returned. Her skin tingled and her nipples tightened in the wake of his inspection. “It disturbs you that she wants me?”
Carly stiffened at his implication that she might be jealous. “There’s no accounting for tastes. You can sleep with her and each of the Miami Dolphins cheerleaders solely or en masse for all I care, but I’m not having the woman in charge of Rhett’s safety concentrating on getting into your pants when she should be watching him.”
The smile vanished. “Ingrid came highly recommended from a business associate.”
“Then she won’t have trouble finding another job.” He opened his mouth—presumably to argue. She held up her hand to cut him off. “Mitch, this one’s nonnegotiable.”
“Apparently, many things are nonnegotiable with you.”
“I’m not afraid to fight for what I want.” She had been once, and she’d paid the price ever since.
“Like your sister.” His tone made the comment an insult.
Fury, pain and panic hit her like a barrage of arrows. She gritted her teeth and blinked away the sting in her eyes, but she refused to engage in this particular war of words. He couldn’t know about Marlene’s plan. Her sister hadn’t been the type to broadcast her secrets. Not even to her twin. And Carly had no intention of giving Mitch Kincaid ammunition by sharing what she knew.
“Deal or no deal, Kincaid?”
After a few tense moments Mitch nodded once. “No Ingrid.”
Carly exhaled. She’d won the battle, but she had a feeling she’d unintentionally declared war against a man her sister had claimed didn’t fight fair.
Two
Carly’s plan to turn Mitch into a family man wasn’t going to be as easy as she’d hoped. She hadn’t expected to have to start with a man who couldn’t bear to touch the child.
Tomorrow she’d have to reassess the stages of Mitch’s conversion and
