A Nanny Under the Mistletoe: A Nanny Under the Mistletoe / Single Father, Surprise Prince!. Teresa Southwick

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СКАЧАТЬ of the mental picture had her naked in his bed. Before the vision went any further, he looked closer and noticed there was something else on her mind. And he would bet it had nothing whatsoever to do with his bed.

      “What?” he asked.

      She shook her head. “It’s none of my business.”

      “Since when has that stopped you?” He shrugged. “Go ahead. Tell me what’s on your mind.”

      “You don’t really want to know.”

      Probably not. But now he was too curious. “Yeah, I do want to know.”

      “Technically you’re my boss. I’m your employee. It’s not my place to offer an opinion.”

      Curiouser and curiouser. Now he really needed to hear what she had to say. “Just pretend I’m the company suggestion box. Or better yet, a comment card. The one that says we’re really interested in your feedback. Et cetera. Lay it on me.”

      “Okay. If you insist.” She folded her arms over her chest. “I can’t help noticing that you don’t seem like the type of guy who embraces parenting. The sort who doesn’t do the dance of joy at being tied down.”

      She was right about that. Ties gave people the power to stab you in the back. If someone was going on the offensive, he preferred to see it coming and take appropriate evasive measures in order to defend himself. Maybe that’s why he was so drawn to Libby. She had no problem with telling him what was on her mind, whether or not he wanted to hear it.

      Jess met her gaze as the defensive part of him locked and loaded. “My energy has been focused on business for a very long time. I put together some cash and parlayed that stake into something of much greater value. With one enormously successful resort open on the Strip and another one in development, not to mention partnerships in properties all over the world, there’s not a lot left over for anything else.”

      Which is why relationships like Elena worked for him. No demands, just rewards.

      “I understand what you’re saying,” she agreed, in a tone that indicated she didn’t see at all. “The problem, as I see it, is that when you’re raising a child, being tied down comes with the territory.”

      Okay. She’d nailed him. Mission accomplished. It was a direct hit on the target. What she meant was that Ben and Charity had picked the wrong guy to take care of their kid. Did she really think he wasn’t aware of that?

      On the day she’d delivered Morgan, she’d accused him of not really wanting the child. He hadn’t confirmed or denied but defended himself with a question. Who says I don’t want her? Libby was dancing around it again now, but the meaning came through loud and clear. He wasn’t the go-to guy and his friend had misplaced his trust.

      He was more than ready now to end this conversation.

      “Okay, Libby. Point taken. I’m well aware of my shortcomings and limitations.”

      “It’s not a flaw,” she backpedaled. “Some people just aren’t cut out to raise kids. Self-awareness is a good thing.”

      Jess ran his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know why Ben chose me to be Morgan’s guardian, but he did.”

      “And what you’re doing is admirable, Jess, but—”

      He held up a hand to stop her. “I assured my friend that his child would be taken care of if anything happened to him. It was one of the last conversations we had. You’re here in my employ to take care of Morgan. I gave my word and I’m doing my duty.”

      Disappointment was evident in her eyes again and he hated putting it there. One of the perks of living alone was not having anyone to let down. He would have to learn not to let it bother him the way it was now.

      Chapter Five

      After her students had gone home for the day, Libby had work to do while Morgan was being supervised in the Nooks and Nannies after-school program. She sat behind the flat oak desk in her brightly decorated classroom. The walls were filled with pumpkins colored by her kids, as well as witches, ghosts and other costumed characters to commemorate the upcoming event. When Halloween was over next week, she wanted to go right into projects for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

      As she thumbed through material for ideas, several caught her eye. Paper plates and brown construction-paper feathers to fashion a turkey. If everything was cut out and ready, the kids would have fun pasting it all together. There was another one that used small magazines with the pages folded to form the turkey body, then a pattern to cut out the long neck and head.

      It would make a great centerpiece for the dinner table on the big day but would require a lot of supervision, a higher adult-to-child ratio than normal. Mental note: ask for parent volunteers. There were enough involved parents this year to make it a fun exercise for everyone.

      Christmas would be next, a time rich in project material from trees and ornaments to Santa and presents, as well as the spiritual side of the season. She wanted this holiday to be special for Morgan, the first without her parents.

      The thought made Libby’s heart heavy. Her own holiday memories were filled with Charity, and then Ben. Some of them included Jess, because he was their friend, too. A vision of him popped into her mind followed by a familiar yearning that lately had turned into an empty ache. Her seeing-him-every-day plan to crush out her crush didn’t seem to be working all that well. Not much had changed from the days when their paths crossed because of mutual friends.

      In all fairness, it wasn’t Jess’s fault that she had the hots for him but left him so cold he couldn’t remember her name. She knew that and in spite of it, her longing for him was still an issue even though no one would ever accuse him of being a parent, let alone one she could count on.

      The intercom on her phone buzzed and she picked up. “This is Libby.”

      “Hi, Lib, it’s Mary in the office.”

      “Hey.” The receptionist’s tone was normally upbeat and cheery. It took Libby a couple of seconds to realize that wasn’t the case now. “What’s wrong?”

      “Morgan is here. She had a little accident—”

      “I’ll be right there.”

      Libby ran out of her classroom and to the administration offices, which were in another building. There was a small room just off the reception area where the kids went with minor scrapes and bumps, where first aid was handled. The door was open and she heard whimpering. The knot in her chest squeezed against her heart as she braced herself and walked in.

      “Hey kiddo. You have a boo-boo?”

      The little girl was sitting on a chair, her right hand wrapped in a towel. There was blood on her pink sweater, jeans and white sneakers. It was more shocking because, for some stupid reason, she hadn’t expected to see blood.

      She looked at Sophia Green, the Nooks and Nannies director, who was sitting beside Morgan, an arm around her shoulders.

      “What happened?” Libby asked.

      Sophia’s gray eyes were serious as she tucked a strand of reddish-brown hair behind her ear. “She cut her hand.”

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