into his office after lunch and froze in shock just inside the door. A baby carrier sat in his in-basket. With a frown he glanced back at Savannah’s desk. It was empty.
What was going on? He moved to his desk, but the carrier was empty, too.
What was Savannah up to now? Babysitting no doubt. People here already had her pegged as an easy mark. Well, he’d put a stop to this. There was a limit to his patience. And babies topped the list. His brothers popped them out on a regular basis; well, their wives did, and more power to them.
Rick preferred to keep his distance. Not that he was nervous or anything, it was just that babies were complicated. You had to hold them just so, bounce them a certain way, make sure they didn’t touch things. Feed them, change them, burp them. Yes, definitely complicated.
A baby’s cry shot tension straight up his spine. There was no ignoring that wail of displeasure. A moment later Savannah walked out of his bathroom with a baby boy in her arms.
“So there is a baby here,” he said, looking from her to the boy in her arms, ready to take her to task for wasting time. Wait, the kid looked familiar. “Does it belong to one of my brothers?”
“Yes, he is your nephew, Troy.” She bounced the boy gently. “Do you think five months is too young for an apprenticeship?”
“Oh, yeah, we’ll just put a nanny on staff.” He opened his top drawer and tossed his wallet inside. “Where are Brock and Jesse?”
“Jesse is downstairs going over preliminary designs for your grandmother’s birthday gift with Rett.” She shifted the baby. “Do you want to hold him?”
“No.” He took an involuntary step back.
Savannah lifted both brows at his reaction. “No? With your large family I’d think you’d be used to kids.”
“Yeah, well, kids aren’t really my thing.”
“Really?” His answer shocked Savannah. “How can you resist such a charmer?” She turned Troy to face him. “He’s adorable. And babies are so easy to reach, all you have to do is smile and coo.”
To show him, she smiled at the five-month-old.
Troy shyly smiled back.
“See?” She glanced up at Rick and got caught in his watchful gaze.
“Pull yourself together Ms. Jones. I never coo,” he said firmly.
“Well, that’s a shame.” The baby squealed and bobbed in her arms. She felt bad for Rick, that his icy reserve prevented him from finding joy in his infant nephew. “Maybe you should try it sometime. Babies love unconditionally, you know. It’s kind of a win-win situation.”
He cocked a dark brow, reminding her silently that she was speaking to the boss.
“Right. What was I thinking?” She backpedaled a bit. She needed to leave the room before she said something she’d regret. She knew she talked too much. Her sister, Claudia, said it was Savannah’s biggest weakness and her biggest strength; she tended to say too much, but she also had the power to put people at ease.
Rick tolerated her chatter fairly well, though he rarely spoke himself. Rather he observed and directed, often without saying a word. He orchestrated her comings and goings with the crook or staying motion of a finger. For the first week she’d felt as though she danced to the tune of the puppet master. Now she appreciated the efficiency of their system.
She just wished he could connect with his nephew, who was so lovable and accepting. Maybe if he held Troy, he’d be swayed by the baby’s sweetness.
When the phone rang, she grabbed her chance.
“I should get that. Here, take Troy for just a minute.” She plopped the boy into Rick’s arms and reached for the phone, carefully keeping an eye on the pair as she spoke.
He skewered her with a glare. Though he seemed uncertain, he instinctively cradled Troy against his shoulder, looking more as if he held a fragile piece of spun glass than a living, breathing child.
Why did a single man holding a baby always look so sexy?
Of course, Rick always looked good. Her first week of work she’d had a serious talk with herself about keeping her eyes off the boss.
Yeah, right. The man was serious eye candy so that didn’t work.
But she wanted this job and that did. So yeah, her ambition helped her keep her hormones in check. That and Rick’s workaholic habits and stern demeanor.
Today none of that seemed to matter. Not when he looked so vulnerable, strong yet gentle, with the baby cuddled in his arms.
Not wanting to press her luck, she wrapped up the call. “Sorry about that.” Savannah took a step toward Rick. “I’ll just take him back—oh, baby!”
Troy burped up, all down the front of himself. And Rick.
“Sh—” Rick broke off a curse. His reflexes in holding the baby out and away had not been quite fast enough to save himself from a nasty dousing, including on his shiny black loafers.
Troy’s brow puckered up, and Savannah grabbed the wet cloth from his seat and rushed forward to clean him up before he started to cry.
“It’s okay, sweet thing, you’re fine, you’re good.” Once she had the baby all mopped up, she turned to Rick and swiped at his white shirt. After she got the worst of the mess off the front of him, she lifted her gaze and met his blue eyes, which were much closer than she had anticipated, and were focused on her with a mixture of irritation and awareness.
“Sorry, that’s the best I can do,” she said, her voice huskier than normal.
“Thank you,” he said, his voice calm and controlled, his gaze holding hers. “I think you should take him until Jesse returns.”
“Of course.” She hastily stepped forward, almost tripping over her own feet as her nerves tingled. A ring sounded through the open door and she paused. “Oh, there’s the phone on my desk.”
“Let it go to voice mail,” Rick ordered. “I need you to take Troy while I change my shirt.” Without waiting for her response, he passed the baby into her care.
The phone on her desk stopped, and his began to ring.
Even as he picked up the receiver the other hand went to the top button of his shirt. He made quick work of both the call and stripping to the waist.
Savannah swallowed hard, tempted by the sight of bronze skin and hard muscles. A taut, lean torso supported broad shoulders and narrowed to lean hips. The ocean-kayaking he did with his twin showed in the defined muscles of his arms.
“Savannah.” Her name was a buzz in her ears until he thrust the phone into her hand. “Take down the details of this conference call for me. I’ll be back in a minute.”
“Of course.” She watched his strong back disappear into his private bathroom before turning her attention to the task. Easily juggling baby and receiver she jotted down the information from the manager of the San
