especially now, when he and Allison were finally taking baby steps toward recovering from the heart-tearing grief of Carolyn’s death?
No. The last thing he needed was to get tangled up with Erin James, or any other woman for that matter. All of his father’s wives had left him, and he’d died alone and miserable, and that had taught Jared an important lesson: never let a woman worm her way into his life only to leave him or take advantage of him in the end. He had to protect himself, and now he had Allison to think about, too.
No way was he going to mess up his precious daughter’s life by getting involved with a woman. Sure, he dated occasionally to satisfy his need for social activity, among other things. But drinks and dinner, usually never with the same woman more than a few times, were as far as his dating ever went. He made it a point not to date anyone he might be tempted to bring home, or anyone who might want to get her hooks into a millionaire—and that seemed to be everybody. He avoided emotional entanglements like a dreaded disease.
And Erin was a reporter, to boot. No way was he going to let some gossip-chasing journalist close enough to hurt Allison.
No. Erin James was out for her story and would probably exploit him given the chance. Flower-colored lips and leaf-speckled eyes couldn’t change that. Nothing could. Resolutely he vowed to put the whole thing from his mind. He’d never wanted to do the interview, and now he wouldn’t have to.
He put Josie in her crate next to his desk, then leaned back in his chair, fiddling with his watch, waiting for relief to surface.
A few minutes later his eighteen-month-old daughter, Allison, appeared in the doorway holding her nanny, Mrs. Sloane’s, hand. “Hi, Dada!” Allison crowed, waving. She ran into his office and jumped into his outstretched arms, looking absolutely adorable in light-blue pants and a pink top with fuzzy yellow bunnies all over it.
He pulled her close and buried his head in her wispy, blond curls, loving how her baby-fresh hair tickled his nose. “Ally-Bear. What a nice surprise.” He gave Mrs. Sloane a questioning look.
She smoothed her gray hair, pulled back in its customary bun, and smiled indulgently at Allison, her gray eyes sparkling. “She wanted to come visit her daddy. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Of course not.” He pressed his mouth to Allison’s neck and made raspberry sounds. “I’m always happy to see my pretty girl.”
Allison chortled in delight and squirmed away. “Tickly, Dada.” She pulled back and plopped down on his lap, then maneuvered herself around and scooted out until she sat just behind his knees. “Horsey, Dada, horsey!”
Smiling, Jared put his hands under her arms and moved his legs up and down in a jerky, horselike fashion. “We’re going on a ride, Ally-Bear. Hold on!” he playfully warned, then moved his legs faster and faster.
Allison shrieked in delight.
Jared had never heard a more wonderful, happy sound in his life. He didn’t want to do anything that might threaten his angel, something that might someday give her a reason not to giggle her heart out.
He made the choice then and there not to second-guess his decision to back out of the interview. Erin James had gotten his back up from the get-go. He didn’t trust her, and he never would. Too much was at stake to risk opening up to her. He’d forget everything remotely connected with the delectable reporter and put his darling Allison first.
Allison laughed again, and the sound echoed within his heart, filling a space that he’d always thought would be empty. Allison was all he needed.
Case closed. He’d do everything possible to stay away from Erin James, no matter how good she smelled.
Erin looked up from the legal pad on her lap. “Come on,” she said to her best friend, Colleen. “Get over here and help me. I need to figure out how to get this interview.”
Colleen glared at her over the door of Erin’s refrigerator and shoved her blond curls out of her eyes. “Would you cool your jets? You burned dinner, so I’m starving.”
Erin pressed her lips together and pushed up her glasses. Colleen was no help at all. “How can you think about food at a time like this? My future’s at stake here.”
The fridge door slammed. Colleen stalked into the living room, an apple in her hand. “And whose fault is that, I wonder?” she said, her eyebrows lifted high, a mock-accusatory look on her face.
Erin raised her hands in surrender. “I know, I know, I blew it. You don’t have to say it again.”
“Oh, but I do,” Colleen said, her mouth curved into a satisfied smile. “For the first time in ages a man’s gotten to you. This day has been long in coming.”
Erin dropped her shoulders and gave her friend a dispassionate look. “Would you get serious? He hasn’t ‘gotten to me’ at all.”
“You get serious. You haven’t been with a man in more than two years. It was only a matter of time before your self-imposed celibacy landed you in trouble.”
“It wasn’t that at all,” Erin said, only half believing the statement herself. “It was my big mouth, as usual.” And her darn curiosity.
“Maybe so, but you said yourself this guy was good-looking. Would you have blown the interview if he looked like Elmer Fudd?”
Erin hesitated. Colleen had made a good point. The disgusting truth was, Erin had been nothing but a big old mass of need since she’d clung to Jared’s hot, interested gaze over the puppy’s head. It looked like her plan to avoid being affected by men had backfired.
“Okay, Miss Smarty-Pants, you’re right,” Erin finally said. “I’m attracted to him. But that’s pointless, and so is analyzing why I messed up the interview.” She gazed speculatively at Colleen. “Did I tell you I discovered Jared adopted his niece when his sister died a year ago?”
“Yes, I think you’ve mentioned it a time or two,” Colleen mumbled around a chunk of apple.
Erin lifted one shoulder. “Okay, I’ll admit that bit of information intrigues me. I mean, how many single guys would adopt a child?”
“Not many,” Colleen admitted. “Pretty fascinated by this guy, aren’t you? Do I sense a romance in the making?”
Erin stared at Colleen, her friend’s question restoring Erin’s vow not to be so darn interested in Jared, aside from the interview she needed. “No, you don’t. I’m not fascinated. All I’m interested in is finding a way to get the job done, not encourage a romance.”
“Okay. So what about sex?”
Erin wasn’t at all surprised by Colleen’s statement. With Colleen, everything came down to sex. Erin looked at her as if she was a dull child. “This isn’t about sex. It’s about getting that bonus.”
Colleen slid her gaze to Erin, her blue eyes gleaming. “Of course it’s about sex. Men relate to sex better than anything. Use it to get the interview.”
Erin blinked and widened her eyes. “You think I should…have sex with him to get the interview?”
“Of course not! Just use your sexuality to soften him up. More than one man has been known to give in to a sexy,
