Her Not-So-Secret Diary(19)

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!