too attractive to stay single.”
“Thanks, but loads of pretty women stay single. I think you date some of them.”
“True. But you look like the marrying kind. You love babies, for one thing. You like guys, for another.”
“I’m not touching that one. We really should keep things impersonal, sort of always on an employer-employee basis.”
His eyes gleamed. “I thought that when you arrived, but now I don’t know why we have to remain so businesslike. This may be a short-term employment.”
She shook her head. “There’s a good reason to keep our dealings with each other businesslike. I don’t want another relationship. No, impersonal is much better. So what are your hobbies, David?” she asked, growing hot beneath his blatant scrutiny and trying to get the conversation back to impersonal grounds, still too aware that he had just told her that she was attractive.
He smiled as if fully aware of her abrupt change in topic. “I like to jog and swim and ski and do calf roping and go dancing with pretty women. You like to go dancing, Marissa?”
“Yes, with a saint,” she replied, and his brow arched.
“A mere mortal won’t do? Dancing’s a pleasure. It doesn’t have to lead to binding entanglements.”
“You know the old adage about playing with fire,” she said.
“I think maybe you’re missing out on some enjoyment in life.”
“And you’re ready to fill in what’s missing?” she teased, unable to resist.
He grinned. “Saturday night. Let me take you dancing.”
“Whoa, cowboy! You’re going way to fast. Like you did this morning. No dancing Saturday night, thank you,” she replied, shaking her head but wanting to say yes instead. “David, I’ve been burned badly and I don’t want any kind of relationship.”
“I promise. Just a few hours of dancing. Think about it and I’ll ask you again later,” he said.
“Why do I get the feeling that you’re very accustomed to getting what you want?”
“Sometimes,” he said, giving her a level look, and she wondered when he hadn’t gotten his way.
“For now, we’re better off if we keep this situation very businesslike,” she repeated firmly.
“Whatever keeps my nanny happy is fine with me.” He shifted, placing one foot on his other knee. “What do your parents do?”
“They have a ranch near here for abandoned and mistreated animals.”
“Wow! That’s charitable. Is it a nonprofit business?”
“Yes. They have someone who runs the ranch for them. Actually, a staff of people. My parents spend most of their time either lobbying in Washington or on the lecture circuit.”
“How did they get into saving animals?”
“Dad is a veterinarian. Also, he had some patents that caught on and that gave them the income to start the ranch. The ranch has taken most of their income. Because it’s nonprofit, it’s cost them a lot.”
“That’s commendable, I suppose,” he said, and lapsed into silence.
“Want me to take Autumn now so you can go to bed and get some sleep?” she asked.
“That’s not a bad idea,” he said, coming up out of his chair with a fluid movement. She stood to take Autumn from him. He stood very close, gazing down at her.
“Good night, David,” she said emphatically, and took Autumn, walking quickly away from him to the rocker.
“’Night, Marissa. Holler if you want me, but holler loudly.” When he left the room, she wanted to wipe her hot brow. He was already flirting, and she could imagine that he saw her as an easy conquest and an easy way to pass the time and then go on his way and forget her. Too much like her ex-husband. David had said he had no intentions of ever marrying. No interest in commitment.
She did not stir the heart, soul and passion of men like Reed and David Sorrenson. She looked at the baby in her arms. No, she was the practical, somebody-to-rely-on-for-necessary-jobs person.
“Heart, stop beating so fast,” she whispered. She had to summon more resistance to David Sorrenson. Especially if he hung around the house and flirted, because she knew he meant nothing by it except the most casual fling. Why had she told him about the sperm bank and opened herself up to suggestions? He hadn’t come on so strong until after that tidbit of information.
She looked down at Autumn, who was blissfully sleeping. “Sweet baby, you’ve complicated my life, but I love you, anyway.” For the first time she realized that she might have a double heartbreak. If she had this job very long, she would suffer when she had to give Autumn up, even though she wanted the little baby to be with her mother.
They fell into a routine, with David leaving early in the morning to work on his ranch and coming in at night. But as the days of the first week in November passed and moved into the second week, he began staying at home more, coming in earlier, leaving later in the morning, spending time with Marissa and Autumn.
Under the same roof with David, spending increasing time each day and evening with him, Marissa knew she was attracted more than ever to him. Moments together, casual contacts, all were building banked fires of longing in her that she tried to ignore, yet failed miserably. She found his smoldering gaze on her often and wondered what was running through his thoughts. He flirted, he charmed, he entertained her, and he was becoming more irresistible than ever. Yet she knew she needed to guard her heart against all that sexy charm and appeal, or she’d suffer the same hurt she had before.
Dodging sniper’s bullets, David gritted his teeth and ran through the darkness across the uneven ground, away from the burning house that was a death trap. Even with the firefight going on, he heard the pistol shot ring out. Pain stabbed through him. He couldn’t move his feet, couldn’t breathe. He gasped for breath, wanting to scream, instead just gulping for air.
With a jerk, David sat up in his bed, disoriented for only a second, and then knowing he was in his room at the ranch, not halfway across the world, running for his life, having his heart torn out by the violent death of his best friend. He was sweating, the covers tangled where he had thrashed around during the familiar nightmare. He raked his fingers through his hair and studied the surroundings of his room, trying to get back to the world he was living in now and away from that hell that he couldn’t shake out of his memory. Would the nightmares ever end? he wondered. Then he became aware of a baby crying.
He listened, stretching out again and putting his hands behind his head. Finally silence settled, but images of Marissa, only a room away, scantily clad in a see-through nightie, danced in his mind. Sperm bank. It was more than a week ago that she had told him about her secret wish, but he couldn’t get it out of his mind. She shouldn’t have to go that route at all. Not with her looks.
“Yeah, right,” he said aloud in the dark. “Ready to volunteer?” he said to himself. He’d volunteer in a flash. She was sexy and appealing, and he knew there were times that he’d come on too strong, but
