The Nanny Proposition(16)

Jenna’s heart hurt. When she’d first left, she hadn’t considered how many people would be affected by her plan. “I’m so sorry to have put you in this position, Kristen.”

The other woman blew out a breath. “I don’t regret helping you, but I can’t hold your parents off forever. So far they’ve respected your request for privacy, but I think that won’t last too much longer. I wouldn’t be surprised if your father is already planning to have someone in the Patrol track you down.”

“Oh.” Seeing them again and telling them everything would be hard enough, but being confronted by surprise, when she didn’t have her thoughts in order, would be so much worse.

“You’ll have to reveal the secret sometime,” Kristen said.

“I know.” And, despite knowing how disappointed her parents would be in her, she still longed to hear her mother’s voice, to see her father’s face.

“What can I tell them this week?” Kristen asked, breaking into Jenna’s thoughts.

“Tell them...” What exactly? She chewed on her lip. That she was scared she was falling for the wrong man? That she wished she was a normal woman who could simply fall in love and not have to consider her duty in every situation, even when she was AWOL? “Tell them I’m fine,” she said wearily.

“You know they won’t be satisfied with that.”

“I’m sorry, but it’s the best I can do.” Without a doubt she was going to have to find a way to fix the situation she’d caused, and soon. “Kristen, I’m sorry again—”

“Don’t worry about it. I can handle this. It’s no worse than that day when we were eight and you pushed me into the mud. My mother was furious I’d ruined my dress before the party.”

Jenna laughed at the memory. “I was such a brat, even if you had just called my ringlets stupid. But you never told anyone it was me.”

“That’s not my way,” Kristen said in her trademark matter-of-fact tone.

A ball of emotion welled up in Jenna’s throat. “I miss you.”

“Then come home.” Jenna sensed an exasperated smile in Kristen’s voice.

“I will,” she promised, hoping to heaven that was true. “I just don’t know when.”

* * *

Liam walked through the back door and paused. Jenna was on her cell phone talking in her native language. The accent was light and musical, and without realizing it at first, he was smiling. The language suited her. Made him want to hear her whisper those musical words near his ear, to kiss the mouth that sang its sentences, to run his fingers through her blond hair as she spoke. He adjusted his collar, which was suddenly too tight.

Jenna looked up and saw him, and her face fell in unmistakable guilt. He stilled. Why? She was using her own phone, and he didn’t doubt Bonnie was sleeping or taken care of or she wouldn’t be relaxed and chatting. What else could she feel guilty about?

Was it a boyfriend? He shook his head as he dismissed the idea. One thing he knew—Jenna Peters wasn’t a woman who would kiss him if she was already involved with a man.

Jenna ended the call and smiled at him, but it was a thin mask. Perhaps it had been what she was discussing that made her feel guilty. Had she forgotten the conversation wasn’t in English so he had no idea what she’d said?

“Liam,” she said overly brightly. “I didn’t expect you home in the middle of the day.”

He watched her face for any telltale signs as he spoke. “I thought I’d take Bonnie for a walk in the baby carrier. Maybe keep her with me for a while.”

“That’s a great idea,” she said and slipped her cell phone into her pocket.

“Were you talking to someone from home? Your family?” He knew he had no right to pry, but still, he couldn’t resist prodding just a bit.

“Er, no.” Her eyes slid to the left. “Well, yes—a friend from home.”

He prowled a few steps closer. “Is your friend in America now? I don’t mind if you have visitors here at the house.”

“Um, no. She’s still in Larsland.” Her voice was even, but the pulse at the base of her throat was rapid, her pupils too large.

“Do your family ever come over?” he persisted. “You’re more than welcome to offer them the spare room next to Katherine’s.”

“Thank you, I’ll keep that in mind.” But her expression said she wouldn’t. “I’ll just get the baby carrier and Bonnie,” she said, edging out of the room.

Liam watched her go, his gut in knots. Obviously more was going on with Jenna’s family and homeland than she was prepared to admit. It shouldn’t feel like a slap in the face that she hadn’t shared that with him—she was under no obligation to tell him her life story.

But it felt uneven somehow.

He’d trusted her by letting his guard down and being open with her on more than one occasion—about Rebecca, about his fears of being a father, even about work and the Midnight Lily, which was still a secret from most people. Yet Jenna hadn’t let him in on pretty much any level in return. Meg was the only person in her life that she talked about. Why was that?

And why did it sting like hell?

He raked his hands through his hair, swore under his breath and followed her up to Bonnie’s room. Maybe they’d both be better off if he stopped obsessing about his nanny and let her have her damn secrets.

From this moment on, Jenna Peters was an employee, no more.

* * *

Two days later, Liam pushed away from his desk and pocketed his cell. His parents were about to board a flight that would take them to Oslo—the first leg of their journey home. He’d managed to track them down a day ago in the Faroe Islands to tell them about their new grandchild and they’d immediately cancelled the rest of their trip and bought new plane tickets. They were thrilled with the news and his mother was already planning presents and a belated baby shower.

He walked out of his office building into the sun and through the garden beds, on his way up to the house. Jenna would want to know that his parents were planning to visit as soon as they’d landed and been home to drop their bags and freshen up. He could have rung up to the house, but he was happy for the excuse to see his daughter.

As he walked across the back patio and neared the door, he could hear Jenna’s clear, sweet voice; she was singing in her own language. When he reached the doorway, he could see her in the living room, sitting on the floor in front of both babies, who were propped up on the sofa, so their faces were all at the same height. And she was singing something enchanting.

Jenna glanced up, paused in her song and smiled. “Hello, Liam. There’s a little girl over here who will be delighted to see you.”

Unable to resist either his daughter or her nanny—despite his promise to himself only two days earlier—he ambled over to the little group, picked Bonnie up and sat on the sofa with her on his lap. He’d done so well for those two days, keeping things professional with Jenna—though part of him had suspected he was only fooling himself, and any semblance of control would snap with one little crook of her finger. Still, another part of him clung to the belief that he was one hundred percent in control.

Jenna followed his lead, sitting beside him on the couch with Meg in her lap.

“Well, we’re lucky, aren’t we, girls?” she said, her voice playful. “A visit from Bonnie’s dad during the day.”

“Don’t let me interrupt what you were doing with them,” he said, putting his fingers out for Bonnie to grab with her little fists. “I only dropped by to tell you that my parents will be coming by tomorrow to visit.”

Her eyebrows lifted in surprise. “I thought they were in Europe.”

“They have been. It’s taken me a while to track them down because they’ve been moving around so much, but they’re coming home early to meet their first grandchild.” He’d told them he didn’t mind if they wanted to finish their trip, but they wouldn’t hear of it. They could visit Europe again, they said, but only see Bonnie at this age once.

“Oh, that’s lovely.” Jenna smiled broadly. “And you weren’t interrupting—I was just singing them a lullaby from Larsland.”

Something deep inside him wanted to hear her sing again...whether he was happy about that or not. He’d been charmed by her Scandinavian accent from the start, but hearing her sing had now taken his fascination with her voice to another level.

“Don’t mind me,” he said as mildly as he could. “Feel free to do whatever you’d be doing with them if I weren’t here.”

“All right then.” She looked from Bonnie to Meg. “Where were we?”

As Jenna crooned the lullaby again, the babies stilled, transfixed. And Liam was just as affected. She smiled softly as she sang, looking at each girl in turn. And when she finished, she kissed each baby on the cheek.

“That was beautiful,” he said once he could get his voice to work again.

She turned her bright smile—as dazzling as spring’s first blossom—to him. “They like to hear singing, especially if it’s our voices. You should try it.”

He shifted in his seat. Her expression was so earnest that he hated to disappoint. “I don’t know any lullabies. Well, I know fragments, but I can’t say I remember any the whole way through.”