The Nanny Proposition

Jenna thought about the most precious thing in her life and held back a wince. “She’s in day care.”

“Wouldn’t you prefer to have her with you?”

Jenna hesitated, looking from Liam to Dylan and back to Liam. The answer was obvious, but her boss was sitting in the room. “In an ideal world, of course I’d like to spend all day with my daughter.” Even if she were at home giving Meg a royal upbringing, they wouldn’t see much of each other—Meg would be raised by nannies and nursery staff, as Jenna herself had been. “But I need to earn a living to support us both, and I’m prepared to make sacrifices for that. Dylan’s been good to me. I’m really grateful for this job. Speaking of which,” she said, edging out of the room, “I have to go—”

“Wait,” he said, and despite herself, she stopped.

* * *

Liam looked into the clear blue eyes of his brother’s housekeeper. “I’m going to need help with Bonnie.”

She nodded and smiled encouragingly. “That’s probably a good idea,” she said in her musical Scandinavian accent. “Being a single parent is a hard road. Will your parents help?”

That would have been best, and if he’d known he was about to become a father, he could probably have arranged it. He rubbed his fingertips across his forehead. “My parents are overseas for a couple of months.”

Dylan let out an ironic chuckle. “They’d been looking forward to their big European holiday, but it turns out it was bad timing.”

“You might want to think about hiring a nanny,” Jenna said.

That had been his thought exactly. When the midwife had handed the tiny bundle to him, Liam had awkwardly accepted Bonnie and held her against his chest. He’d played a lot of sports in his life and coaches had often told him he had natural grace and agility. Yet he wasn’t comfortable holding his own daughter. At least his heart knew no such awkwardness—in that moment, with his baby clasped to him, his heart had expanded as if it could reach out and encompass both of them with a love stronger than anything he’d ever experienced.

When they’d arrived at Dylan’s penthouse, he’d held a fussy, sad-eyed Bonnie, and the sight had slayed him. He’d move heaven and Earth for this little girl, but she hadn’t seemed to want anything from him. Now, if everything went to plan, he’d found somebody she would want—Jenna Peters.

And he was going to get her for Bonnie.

Liam looked at his younger brother. “You’re going to do me a favor, Dylan.”

“I am?” he said, folding his arms across his chest. “What is it?”

“You’re going to let your housekeeper go without serving out her notice.”

Dylan slowly uncrossed his arms and planted his hands low on his hips. “Why would I do that? I like Jenna.”

Liam smiled, feeling the satisfaction of a good plan coming together. “She can’t be your housekeeper because she’s about to become my nanny.”

“Your nanny?” Jenna said, her pale eyebrows drawing together. “I’m not leaving my job.”

“Not just a nanny. You’ll also teach me how to be a parent.”

“You’re already her father.”

“I might be her father, but parenting is not part of my skill set.” He shifted his weight to his other leg. Admitting a weakness so freely was tough, but he had to be completely honest if he wanted this to work. “I need to learn how to take care of a baby and bond with her. Circumstances mean I haven’t had time to prepare for this and I’m not willing for Bonnie to suffer while I’m catching up. You’d be something of a parenthood coach.”

Bonnie’s grandparents had been furious that he’d been sent home with her, but he’d left them to their grief over losing Rebecca. He expected to hear from them soon about a bid for custody, and he’d deal with that when it happened. For now, he was focused on the immediate future. On being exactly what Bonnie needed.

“I’m no expert,” Jenna said, shaking her head. “Many other people are more qualified for that. Agencies devoted to nannies and babysitters.”

He glanced pointedly at his daughter, now sleeping soundly, then back to Jenna. “Bonnie seems to disagree.”

“Getting a tired baby to sleep is one thing. I’m still working out so many other things as I go along through trial and error. Of course, I read books and articles.” She tucked a strand of blond hair that had escaped her ponytail behind her ear, somehow making the simple gesture elegant. “But sometimes I’m just guessing.”

He shrugged. None of that worried him—he’d already assumed as much. “You’re many steps ahead of me. You’ll share what you know and I’ll pick it up as we go along. It won’t take long before I’ll know everything I need to know about babies.”

Her eyebrows lifted to almost her hairline and she seemed uncertain about whether to laugh or not. She didn’t believe him. That was fine—she didn’t know him. He’d never shied from a challenge before, and this challenge was about his daughter. He wouldn’t fail.

“So, you’ll take the job?”

“Thing is, this is more than a job—it’s my home too.” She tapped her fingers against her lips, drawing his attention to their softly curved shape. “What will happen to me once you know all you need to know? I have a stable job and home for my daughter here, and I’m sure Dylan would replace me fairly quickly so I wouldn’t be able to come back.”

“Even when you’ve finished coaching me in the role of parent, I’ll still need a nanny, at least until she goes to school. You won’t be kicked out on the street.”

She chewed on her lip, and he could see her mind going at a hundred miles an hour, thinking through all the possibilities. He liked that trait in his daughter’s nanny. Hell, he liked that trait in anyone.

Jenna rubbed a delicate finger across her forehead. “Can I think about it?”

“I’d prefer you didn’t. As you can see, I’m on my way home now. I only stopped in here to drop Dylan off and I wanted to try and settle her before the drive out of town. I’d like you to come with me and help with the feeding and bathing from the start.”

“Now?” she asked, blue eyes widening.

“Pack a bag and we’ll pick up Meg on the way. I’ll send a moving company over to grab the rest of your things tomorrow.”

“Hey, what about me?” Dylan asked, looking at them in bewilderment.

Liam waved the concern away with a flick of his wrist. “I’m sure you’ll survive without a housekeeper until you can get an agency to send over a temp.” He turned back to Jenna. “You’ll take it?”

She lifted a hand to circle her throat, looking from him to Dylan and back again. “But—”

“Don’t overanalyze it, Jenna. I have a job vacancy and you’re qualified to fill it. I’ll match the wage Dylan is paying you with a twenty percent raise, and the job comes with accommodation. Best of all, you can keep your baby with you during the day instead of having her in day care. Just say yes. Go on—” he smiled “—you know you want to. Say yes.”

Her eyes flicked back to his brother. “Go on,” Dylan said, clearly resigned to being housekeeper-less in the short term. “If you want the job, take it. I’ll be fine. My brother and my niece need you more than I do right now.”

“Yes,” she said, then bit down on her lip, as if surprised at herself. Then more firmly, “Yes.”

“Excellent.” Liam stood, ready to leave now the solution could be put into place. “How long will you take to pack a bag?”

“If you give me your address, I can throw a few things together and catch a cab over in about an hour.”

“I’ll wait.” He wanted her there when he and Bonnie arrived home. He was pretty sure Bonnie would need changing or feeding or both. “You and Meg can come with me and the movers can do everything else.”

“Now,” she said, a touch of wonder in her voice. “Okay, I’ll go and pack a couple of bags as quickly as I can.”

Liam let out a long breath as he watched his new nanny head down the hallway. There was something beautiful in the way she moved—he could watch her just walk all day. Having her under the same roof would be no hardship.

Before he could let that thought take hold, he gave himself a mental shake. He had bigger issues than attraction to a beautiful woman. In fact, attraction would be downright problematic. Now that he’d solved the problem of what to do with Bonnie, he wouldn’t jeopardize that solution by acting like a teenager ruled by his hormones. He knew how to behave himself, knew what needed to be off-limits. Nothing would jeopardize this plan.

Everything was going to be all right.

He glanced down at Bonnie, sleeping in his arms. No, everything would be better than all right. He’d make sure of it.