Sophie could smell the baby's room from the end of the hall. It streamed through her senses. The lovely soft scent of powder and silky skin and newness. Crystal showed her into the room and Sophie made a valiant attempt to lose the melancholy.
Jared was leaning over the bassinet, stroking the infant's cheek. And he was the one making goo-goo noises. He turned when they entered, his expression full of pride and pleasure. 'She's just waking up.' He looked to his sister. 'May I?'
Crystal set a pile of baby clothes on the blanket box. 'Go right ahead. Just remember the clean nappy by your left arm's included in part of the picking-up ritual.'
'Fine by me.'
Somewhere a phone rang. 'I'll just get that,' she said and left the room.
Sophie watched Jared pick his niece up with infinite tenderness and care, cradling her fuzzy-topped head in his palm. The rest of her fitted snug along the length of his forearm.
'There you are, princess.' There was a smile and love in his voice as he tucked her closer. 'Uncle Jared's got you, you lucky girl, you.' Princess chewed on her fist while unfocused eyes of an indefinable colour stared up at him.
Sophie had never seen anything more beautiful or more powerful than the sight of this tiny fragile infant against Jared's tanned, hard and muscular arms. It was one of those life-affirming moments and the pity of it was that she didn't think uncle noticed.
Made for fatherhood. The fleeting thought skimmed the edge of her consciousness. She'd heard people talking about a woman being made to be a mother but had never applied the parenthood tag to a male. But yes, she thought, watching the muscles in his arms twist and bunch as he adjusted his hold, that was what he was. His arms were as capable of holding babies as they'd be accomplished at holding a woman.
Her heart swelled and blossomed and seemed to open up like the petals of a flower.
Because right here, right now, she was falling for him.
It wasn't his looks or wealth or charm, they were just side benefits. No, it was much more basic and simple than that. It was his underlying goodness, his empathy for others, his honesty. Core values she shared.
One day he'd make some woman very happy. His wife, the mother of his children would never want for anything. But it wouldn't be Sophie. It couldn't be Sophie.
His eyes looked unexpectedly her way, catching her watching him. Catching her thoughts? She hoped not, and drew herself up, eyeballing him boldly, daring him to take issue with them.
But he only said, 'Want a hold?'
At first she was afraid her voice wouldn't work, but luckily her 'not today,' didn't carry the emotion she held inside. She forced a laugh to cover the wretched awkwardness. 'I'd probably drop her or something.'
'No, you wouldn't.' He stared at her a moment, eyes slightly narrowed. She could see the questions shuffling behind his eyes.
'Babies and I don't hit it off.' She shrugged carelessly. 'They take one look at me and it's waterworks.'
'Not with Arabella, she's too young yet.' He kissed her nose. 'Aren't you, sweetheart?' But to Sophie's relief he didn't pursue her protest, preferring to talk some more ga-ga to his niece. He lowered the infant onto the change table and managed the nappy-change process with the same skill and confidence he used to conduct a business meeting.
And, oh … Rather than detract from Jared's powerful masculinity, the child he tended simply added another dimension to the already multifaceted man she was coming to know. Her legs almost sagged beneath her and something rolled over in her chest. She was, without a doubt, looking at a picture-perfect poster for the sexiest man alive.
She turned away.
She needed to remember a couple of important things. One. Jared wasn't a one-woman man. Second, she was leaving Australia. And top of the list, she reminded herself a man who loved kids this much could never be the man for her.
No man could.
CHAPTER NINE
SINCE Sophie had never travelled up this way and seemed so enraptured with the passing scenery, Jared let her indulge in relative silence, pointing out places of interest on the way.
One thing was certain, she wasn't looking for home and family. He'd seen the almost panicked look in her eyes when he'd asked her if she wanted to hold Arabella. He drummed his fingers lightly on the steering wheel as Brisbane's hazy skyline came into view in the distance.
She was the most skittish woman around babies he'd ever seen. She'd shown zero interest in the baby shop in Coolangatta. Too much so, in fact. Had only met Arabella because basic courtesy required it. She'd admitted she had no interest in tying herself down with kids.
Like someone else he'd known. Bianca had kept her no-kids policy to herself until she'd discovered Jared intended Melissa to be a part of their lives after they married. Bianca might have reconsidered his proposal but he knew it would never have worked in the long run. He'd counted himself lucky he'd found out before he'd made a commitment. No second chances.
At least with Sophie he knew everything up front. Short term was all they were looking for. When it happened, his children would be wanted and loved by both parents. But settling down was years into the future. The years he should have been out drinking till dawn and getting laid had been spent being a responsible guardian to his sisters, and he had some catching up to do.
He was looking forward to doing some of that catching up with Sophie these next couple of days.
'Spectacular, don't you agree?'
Jared's voice somewhere behind her, plush velvet stroking over her shoulders and down her back.
'Very.' Sophie stood in the middle of the room, not knowing where to look first. This palatial riverfront home was their home for the next couple of days. And nights.
It was the ever-present thoughts about those nights that had her nerves twitching and her hormones bouncing like lottery balls on a Saturday night. She quashed them quickly, focusing on the here and now. It was more than spectacular, it was over-the-top dazzling.
White-tiled flooring and furniture flowed outwards in all directions, giving the impression it went on for ever. A few touches of blue and lime green in the cushions or decorative art invoked a cool sense of peace and tranquillity. Extending out from the patio was a private jetty where one could moor their luxury yacht, and on the other side of the river in the reddening haze of sunset she could see other multimillion-dollar homes.
Turn to the right and she could see the master bedroom and its snowy white king-size bed reflected in the turquoise infinity pool off the main living area. Floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors in both rooms virtually allowed one to swim to the bedroom if one so desired.
Of course they'd taken separate bedrooms. One had to act the part of a PA to begin with at least and she still needed some privacy at this point in their relationship.
Right now her thoughts were on the upcoming business dinner in a little over an hour and she needed to turn herself into the professional Jared expected. She didn't have time for the heat she saw in his eyes that promised to make them late.
'I'm … ah … going to jump in the shower.'
His eyes darkened. 'Do you need your back scrubbed?'
Her blood warmed, her skin tingled. He hadn't moved a muscle but Sophie had the impression he'd come closer. She had no doubt he was well skilled in scrubbing backs, making fast, furious love and getting to his meetings on time.
Not her … At least she didn't think so. 'Do you want this new client on your books?' she said, turning away before she decided to test the theory for herself. She headed for the refuge of her en-suite bathroom.
She felt the smile in his voice when, from behind her, he said, 'If you change your mind just give a yell.'
Her lips curved. 'If you hear me yell you have my full permission to come right on in and to hell with being professionally punctual,' she tossed over her shoulder as she walked away.
As refuges went it was a marble palace-all white with gold fittings, fernery spilling from hanging pots and warm down-lights that turned her paler-than-average skin colour-especially the parts not normally exposed-a flattering honey tone. She twisted her hair up and clasped it on top of her head.
Setting the water to moderately hot, she stepped beneath the spray. Under the circumstances she really didn't need hot, but when it came to her shower she was a creature of habit …
A squelchy squirming sensation beneath her toes had her jumping back and glancing down. She saw a centipede-longer and thicker than her middle finger-its hideous body writhing in the shower stall at her feet. And they bite …
But it was the way it thrashed about that had the blood-curdling scream springing from her lips while her fingers scrabbled for the shower-screen door. Get out! Get out!