Belinda (9 page)

What was happening to him? Business had
always been the easiest part of his life. Why was he hesitating
about taking care of business with Belinda Diamond?

He looked down at his hands, still tightly
entwined in a steeple. A little while longer, he said to himself.
He would indulge his foolish need to keep her in his office a
little while longer.

“It’s almost dark outside,” he said.

“I know.”

“I believe our original bargain was that I
would drive you to Main Street and leave you.”

“That’s what we said.”

“Naturally I can’t leave you on Main Street
in the dark.”

“You can take me to a motel.”

Was she that eager to leave him? Was he such
a bear that she couldn’t wait to be out of his sight? She had said
the past few days were one of the best times of her life, but that
had nothing to do with him. She had specifically mentioned his
house and his children.

Had he been fantasizing out in San Francisco?
Had he imagined the magic that happened every time he called home
and heard her voice? Men under pressure had done worse things.

His hand shot out and grabbed his checkbook.
There was no need to prolong this parting. He wrote her check with
a sure firm hand and slid it to her across the desk.

“I hope this proves satisfactory.”

She read the amount, then quietly folded it
and tucked it into her skirt pocket.

“Quite. Thank you,” she said, then stood
up.

She
was ending their meeting. Reeve
had to admire her style. He pushed back his chair and came around
the desk. It was one of the few times in his life he was at a loss
for words.

Belinda gazed steadily at him, her dark eyes
luminous. “I’ll get my suitcase.” She moved toward the door.

“Wait.”

She turned slowly around and stood watching
him. He shoved his hands into pockets.

“There’s no need for you to leave
tonight.”

“You’ve paid me. My work here is
finished.”

“Would you allow me a small gesture of
thanks? Will you spend one more night under my roof?”

Belinda didn’t believe in long goodbyes. They
hurt too much. Best to pack up and get out while the going was
good, so to speak. But there was something in him that seemed to be
crying out to her. She knew, though, that she didn’t need to start
off her new life by mixing herself up with somebody who needed as
much fixing as Reeve Lawrence.

Still, he was giving her a chance to dream
just a little while longer. Oh, she did love his house so!

“Yes. Thank you,” she finally said. “But if
you don’t mind, I’m a little tired. I think I’ll spend the evening
in my room. I’ll say goodbye to Betsy and Mark, then grab a bite in
the kitchen before I go upstairs.”

“As you wish.”

She left the room, and Reeve stood a long
time watching the closed door. He didn’t know what he was
expecting. Perhaps that Belinda would come back into the room,
laughing and talking about life being grand, running her hands over
the back of his chair and sending his pulse racing. She had claimed
to be tired. How could that be? Once she had told him life was too
exciting to get tired and miss any of it.

The minutes ticked by and still the door to
his office stayed closed. In his soundproof house, there was not
even the murmur of voices to tell him he was not alone. He might
have been the only person on the planet.

Suddenly he turned and slammed his palm down
on his desk. The quick jolt of pain brought him back to his
senses.

“Don’t be a fool,” he muttered, then strode
from his office to spend some time with his children.

o0o

Belinda sat in the middle of Reeve’s fancy
guest bed, the only light in the room coming from the glow of the
screen on her laptop.

From: Belinda

To: Catherine, Molly, Joanna, Clemmie, Janet,
Bea

Re: My job

I didn’t tell you this job was only
temporary. Pride, I guess. But now I’m back where I started. Well,
almost. Now I’ve got two little children wrapped around my heart,
and their daddy, besides.

Janet, I know you cautioned me about not
going gaga over Reeve, but I reckon the heart doesn’t pay the least
bit of attention to reason.

The good thing is that I now have enough
money to last till I can find a really great job. I’m staying here,
though. I like it in Tupelo.

Xoxox

Belinda

From: Molly

To: Belinda, Janet, Clemmie, Joanna, Bea,
Catherine

Re: McDreamy

OMG, I’m crying! I need to get home and give
you a big hug. Those poor little children, and poor you! Call
Daddy. He has friends all over town. He’ll help you find a job.

Hugs,

Molly

From: Catherine

To: Belinda, Clemmie, Janet, Joanna, Bea,
Molly

Re: New Situation

Hang in there, sweetie, and take Molly’s
advice. First, though, why don’t you come down to New Orleans? My
little apartment off campus is just a street car ride from Bourbon
Street. We can have a few beers, listen to great jazz, and
chill.

Xoxo

Catherine

From: Janet

To: Belinda, Clemmie, Catherine, Bea, Molly,
Joanna

Re: New Orleans

New Orleans is a great idea, Belinda. Tulane
is a gorgeous campus! You might like it so much, you decide to
stay. You can make lots more money with a college degree. Love you
a bunch, kiddo.

Xo

Janet

From: Clemmie

To: Belinda, Janet, Catherine, Joanna, Molly,
Bea

Re: Reeve and the children

I’m crying, too! Let me drive over there and
get you. We can sit in the gazebo and talk and cry and laugh and
maybe even come up with a wonderful plan. Say yes!

Hugs,

Clemmie

From: Joanna

To: Belinda, Janet, Catherine, Molly, Bea,
Clemmie

Re: Fight!

You fell in love with McDreamy and you’re
LETTING HIM GO??? If I ever fell in love, I’d take somebody to the
mat before I’d give up!!!!

Big Hugs!!!!

Joanna

From: Bea

To: Belinda, Janet, Clemmie, Molly,
Catherine, Joanna

Re: Headache

McDreamy, my butt. Just thinking about going
to the mat for a man gives me a headache. If a guy hasn’t got
enough balls to fight for my scintillating self, he can take his
toys and go somewhere else; I don’t care if they are
gold-plated.

Dang, I got on my high horse and forgot the
main purpose of this email. COME TO TEXAS. Everything’s big out
here, including the job market. Besides finding you a job, we’ll
kick up our heels and yell
Yee Haw!!!

Hugs,

Bea

Belinda was smiling when she shut off the
computer. Girl power. You couldn’t beat it.

She brushed her teeth then climbed into a
bed. But who could sleep with Reeve in the next room?

o0o

That night Reeve’s dreams were haunted by a
pair of bow-shaped lips and a sassy pair of legs. Belinda Diamond
was running down the staircase to meet him, her arms outstretched.
Then the staircase dissolved and she was in a flaming sports car,
plunging to the bottom of a ravine.

Reeve awoke in a sweat. He threw the covers
back and walked to his bedroom window. There was a faint tinge of
pink in the east. Soon it would be morning. He stood at his window
until sunrise, and then he dressed quickly and went downstairs.

He didn’t see Belinda at first. She was
sitting in a chair drawn close to the staircase, her face in
shadow. His shoes clicked on the marble tile as he passed her.

“Good morning, Reeve.”

At the sound of her voice, he whirled around.
She was sitting with her feet together and her hands folded on her
lap. A spray of artificial flowers decorated her left shoulder, and
her cardboard suitcase sat at her feet. Even from the short
distance that separated them, she looked small and faraway, as if
she had already left his house and was rapidly disappearing from
sight.

“I see you’re packed and ready to go.”

“Yes.”

His footsteps sounded loud as he strode
toward her. When he was even with her chair, he stopped.

“Belinda, I don’t want you to go,” he said
simply.

She tipped her face up to him and gave him
that steady head-on look he so admired.

“And what would I be doing if I stayed? My
temporary job is over.” She rose with great dignity, standing tall
in her red spike-heeled shoes. “I don’t plan to loll around this
fancy house taking your charity.”

The beautiful simplicity of the plan that had
come to him in the wee hours suddenly made Reeve laugh. She looked
at him as if he had gone crazy, and he supposed he had. Or maybe he
was just coming to his senses.

“Come with me,” he said, taking her arm and
hauling her unceremoniously down the hall to his office. He left
her cardboard suitcase sitting in the hall.

“Where are you taking me?”

“I don’t conduct business standing in the
hallway.”

“Business?”

He looked down at her, smiling. Why he hadn’t
seen the obvious sooner was beyond him. The thing he had been
searching for was right under his nose. Forget a nanny well versed
in the arts; what he needed was a reliable kindhearted nanny with
common sense.

“Yes, business. Miss Belinda Diamond, we’re
going to draw up your contract as my permanent nanny.”

He was so pleased with himself that he didn’t
notice his slip of the tongue; but Belinda did. In amongst her
visions of living in her dream house for the next ten years or so
and having her very own room and lots of security and maybe a
chance to put geraniums on the front porch, even if it wasn’t
really her porch, came a vision of herself as
Reeve’s
nanny. Now there was a thought.

She turned her head sideways and grinned at
him. “I accept the job.” In between caring for the children and
helping Quincy, she would have plenty of time left over to work on
Reeve Lawrence.

The first thing she thought she’d fix was his
social life. All he ever did was work. It was high time the man
started having a little fun.

From: Belinda

To: Clemmie, Joanna, Molly, Janet, Catherine,
Bea

Re: My Permanent Job

I’ve been Reeve’s nanny for two weeks, and
you wouldn’t believe the changes I’ve made. There’s music all the
time now. Reeve has a wonderful collection of CDs, and the kids and
I have such fun deciding whether to play classical or jazz. Joanna,
you’ll be glad to hear that I now know the difference between Bach
and Beethoven. That fancy school in Madrid has nothing on Reeve’s
house.

His library is fantastic! I can read anything
I want, anytime and he never considers it slacking. “I love to see
you spending time in the library with the children,” he says. See,
Janet and Catherine, I don’t need to go to college to learn! And
Molly, Reeve’s collection of art would have you swooning. Not to
mention his looks. He’s a bit older, thirtyish, I’d guess, but he’s
much more handsome than McDreamy!

Quincy’s a lot of fun, and Bea, you’d approve
of the way she runs this house.

Oh, and did I mention that Reeve is old
fashioned, like me? He had this courtly way about him that reminds
me of Prince Charming in the Disney movies. He’s kind and generous
and thoughtful. My paycheck is so big I sometimes feel like a
downright thief taking all that money.

Joanna, I might not be going to the mat for
him – I’m not as feisty as you – but I’m making doggone sure he
knows that Belinda Diamond is putting her stamp on this house.

Xoxoxo

Belinda

From: Catherine

To: Belinda, Janet, Bea, Molly, Joanna,
Clemmie

Re: Diamond

OMG, sweetie! Did you say
Diamond?
How’s he going to report Social Security?

Catherine

From: Janet

To: Belinda, Catherine, Bea, Molly, Joanna,
Clemmie

Re: Your Name

Cat’s right. Don’t you
dare
let this
man get by without paying Social Security on you. What about health
insurance? He ought to be paying that for you and Quincy both.
Nobody
can ever afford hospital care without it!

Janet

From: Clemmie

To: Belinda, Janet, Catherine, Joanna, Molly,
Bea

Re: Records

Oh, Belinda, do set the record straight.
Reeve Lawrence sounds amazing and you don’t want the IRS breathing
down his neck. Still, I really like the name Diamond. It sounds
incredible, exactly like you!

Clemmie

From: Joanna

To: Belinda, Janet, Catherine, Clemmie,
Molly, Bea

Re: Reeve Lawrence

I can’t wait to get home and meet this man!
He sounds as awesome as Kirk!!!! I don’t know why I’ve never heard
of him.

Joanna

From: Molly

To: Joanna, Belinda, Janet, Catherine,
Clemmie, Bea

Re: Fabulous news!

Daddy says Tupelo’s growing by leaps and
bounds. That’s probably why you never heard of him, Joanna. Oh,
Belinda, I don’t care what you call yourself! I’m so happy for
you!!!

Molly

From: Bea

To: Joanna, Molly, Belinda, Janet, Catherine,
Clemmie

Re: I’m gonna puke

Belinda, if I hear how wonderful this man is
one more time I’m gonna puke! You barely
know him
!
Straighten out that mess about your legal name, then just sit back
and breathe. If this Lawrence character is all that wonderful,
he’ll see what a treasure you are, and he won’t waste a minute
heaping accolades on
you!!!
Remember what Mother said.
Let a man chase you until you catch him.
Of course, what
do I know about men? With my track record, my Virginia is going to
bald and gray before anybody ever gets near it!

Bea

o0o

Although Reeve hadn’t seen much of Belinda
except at the dinner table, he had been keeping close tabs on her
through Quincy and the children. He received daily glowing reports
from both his housekeeper and his children about Belinda’s magical
powers as a nanny.