that,” he said and paused. “Did anyone ever tell you how beautiful you are when you’re half-asleep?”
Unconsciously, her mouth lifted in a half smile. “I can’t recall such a compliment.”
“Nice to know I’m the first,” he said, bending toward her and pressing his mouth against hers. Before she could say a word, he left.
Bridget wondered if she’d dreamed the kiss.
She fell back asleep for what must have been 30 seconds and she heard the sound of a baby’s cry. It awakened her like cold water on her face. She sat upright, climbed out of bed and walked to the boys’ room. She swung open the door to find Travis and Tyler sitting in their cribs and wailing.
“Hi, darlings,” she said and went to Travis. “Good morning. It’s a wonderful day to be a baby, isn’t it?” She saw a twisty thing on the side of the crib and cranked it around. The mobile turned and music played. “Well, look at that,” she said and touched the mobile.
Travis gave a few more sobs, but as soon as he looked upward, he quieted as the mobile turned.
Bridget felt a sliver of relief. “Good boy,” she said and went to Tyler’s bed and cranked up the mobile. Tyler looked upward and gave up his halfhearted cry, staring at the mobile.
Diaper change, she thought and took care of Travis. Then she took care of Tyler and hoisted both boys on her hips and went downstairs. She fed them, changed them again and propped them on a blanket in the den while she called her sister’s friend for a reference for the best nanny agency in Dallas. Three hours later, she interviewed four nannies in between feeding the twins and changing more diapers and putting them down for a nap. When they fussed at nap time, she played a CD more repetitious than her brother’s top-adviser’s speech on a royal’s duty. She’d heard that lecture too many times to count. The huge advantage to the babies’ CD was that it included singing. Bridget wondered if she might have been more receptive to the lecture if the adviser had sung it.
The second prospective nanny was her favorite. She received letters of reference on her cell phone within an hour and sent a generous offer that was immediately accepted. After she checked on the boys, she ordered a nanny/babycam. Next in line, she would hire a relief nanny, but right now she needed a little relief of her own.
Bridget sank onto the couch and wondered when her day had felt so full. Even at this moment, she needed to use the bathroom, but she didn’t have the energy to go. She glanced at herself, in her crumpled dress from yesterday with baby formula, baby food and liquid baby burp. That didn’t include the drool.
Crazy, but the drool was sweet to her. How sick was that? But she knew the twins had drooled when they’d relaxed and trusted her.
She laughed quietly, a little hysterically. Anyone in their right mind would ask why she was working so hard to find a nanny for a doctor with two baby boys. Maybe a shrink could explain it, but these days, Bridget had a hard time turning down a cause of the heart. And Ryder and the boys had struck her straight in the heart with a deadly aim. She hoped, now, that she would feel some sort of relief.
Leaning back against the sofa with her bladder a little too full, she closed her eyes. Heaven help her, this baby stuff was exhausting.
Ryder left the office early, determined not to leave Bridget totally in the lurch with the boys. Stepping inside the front door, he found Bridget, mussed in the most alluring way, asleep on his couch.
She blinked, then her eyes widened. “Oh, excuse me. Just a second,” she said, then raced down the hallway.
He listened carefully, automatically these days. A CD played over the baby monitor, but there were no other sounds. A double check never hurt, he thought, and strode upstairs to listen outside the nursery door.
Nothing. He opened the doorknob in slow motion and pushed the door open. Carefully stepping inside, he peeked into the cribs. Both boys were totally zoned out. He almost wondered if they were snoring but refused to check.
Backing out of the room, he returned downstairs to the den. Bridget was sipping from a glass of water.
“Are they still asleep?” she asked.
He nodded.
She grimaced. “I hate to say this. You have no idea how much I hate to say this, but we need to wake them or they’ll be up all night. And I’m not staying tonight.”
“Yeah,” he said, but he was in no rush.
“I hired a nanny. She can start Monday. I’ve also ordered a baby/nannycam for your peace of mind. The next step is hiring a relief nanny because the twins are especially demanding at this age. Well, maybe they will be demanding at every age, but we have to deal with the present and the immediate future.”
Ryder stared at her in disbelief. “How did you do that?”
She smiled. “I’m a fairy princess. I waved my magic wand,” she said. “Actually I got into the best nanny agency in Dallas, used my title, interviewed four highly qualified women in between changing diapers, selected one applicant, received references, blah, blah, blah and it’s done.” She lifted her shoulders. “And now I’m done.”
“I’m sure you are. In any other circumstance, I would invite you out to dinner for the evening.”
“Lovely thought,” she said. “But I feel extremely grungy. The opposite of glamorous. I’m going to my sister’s ranch for the weekend. You can call me next week about all the doctors you want to send to Chantaine.”
His lips twitched. “You don’t really think I’m going to sell out one of my residents for this, do you?”
“Sell out is such a harsh term,” she said with a scowl. “I believe it’s more accurate that you’re giving them an opportunity for hands-on experience in a beautiful environment with a compensation that allows them to concentrate on treatment rather than their debt.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Pretty good.”
She shrugged. “It’s the truth. My security is waiting to drive me to my sister’s house. Can you take it from here?”
“Yes, I can. Do I have your number?” he asked. “For that dinner I promised.”
She looked at him for a long, sexy moment that made him want to find a way to make her stay. “Some would say I’m more trouble than I’m worth,” she said.
“They haven’t seen you with twins,” he said.
She smiled slightly and went to the kitchen. Out of curiosity, he followed and watched her scratch a number across the calendar tacked on the fridge. “Good enough?” she asked.
“Good enough,” he said.
“Don’t wait too long to call me, cowboy doctor,” she said and walked toward the front door.
“I won’t,” he said, his gaze fixed on the sight of her amazing backside. “G’night, gorgeous.”
She tossed a smile over her shoulder. “Same to you.”
Bridget felt Valentina search her face. “Twin boys? Dr. Ryder? What does any of this have to do
