Marrying the Millionaire (8 page)

BACK AT HIS ESTATE, RICHMOND jabbed
the key into the lock of his front door to unlock it.

“
Come in,” he welcomed
Kayla, pushing open the heavy wooden door, then stepping to the
side.

“
Thanks,” Kayla said,
stepping over the threshold.

Richmond’s gaze transferred from Kayla
to Isabelle as she sat rocking in the chair on the porch.
“Isabelle, darling, that’s enough playing in the rocking chair.
It’s time for your lunch.”

Isabelle’s legs kicked back and forth
as she sat rocking in the red chair on the porch. “But Daddy,
please let me rock one more time.”

“
No, Pumpkin. You’ve played
enough for today.”

“
But I didn’t get to play
in the chair.”

Kayla smiled at the fine, gorgeous
specimen standing close to her. Brown, smooth skin, chestnut brown
eyes, and black hair cut close to his scalp, Richmond Spaulding
made her sex clench. The tall, hot man had broad shoulders. A
perfect pert nose. Dimples buried deep in both his cheeks,
too.

“
If you’re okay with it,
I’ll stay out here and watch her until she’s finished playing,”
Kayla offered.

The tight expression on his face
relaxed. “You sure you don’t mind?”

“
I’m positive,” Kayla
admitted, still unable to get over how much Richmond looked like
the guy named Russell in the photo her grandfather had hidden
inside the picture frame. Could Richmond and Russell be related? No
way, that’d be too big of a coincidence. Their meeting at the
cemetery, and then again two years later, was already too big of a
coincidence for her to believe.

“
Thanks.” Richmond came and
stood in front of Isabelle. “Ms. Kayla is going to watch you while
I change her tire. But after I’m done, you’re going to eat lunch
and take a nap.”

Isabelle smiled, then nodded. “Okay,
Daddy.”

At the sound of the front door
closing, Kayla took a seat in the chair next to Isabelle. Inhaling
the scent of peppery fall leaves while rocking, Kayla’s eyes
traveled over the many acreages of land. Colorful fall leaves
sporadically scattered over the grounds of the property. Thick,
burly trees rooted deeply into the front yard. Dense, wooded
forestry situated across the street and for many miles down the
road. A stone white, Audi R8 convertible was parked right next to
Richmond’s Range Rover.

Releasing a sigh, Kayla looked
sideways at Isabelle.

Dear God, was Richmond at
his wife’s funeral the day we first met? Is your mother deceased?
No child should have to live without a mother.

Kayla brought her wrists up to her
eyes to spy the time on the clock. Jeez, she hated she’d had to
bother her neighbor Betsie Mae about keeping CJ for her, especially
considering she wasn’t even going to get the job. Talk about bad
luck. She had the worst.

“
How come you so dirty?”
Isabelle asked, breaking into Kayla’s thoughts.

Kayla smiled. “Well, because I
fell.”

Isabelle stopped rocking. “Me, too.”
She touched a scar on her knee. “That’s how come I got this. Did
you get a boo-boo, too?”

Ah, she’s too cute.
“No. I didn’t.”

The front door cracked
open, and Richmond emerged wearing a Nike T-shirt and a pair of
sweatpants.
He changed clothes.

“
Where are the keys to your
car?”

He extended his open hand to her.
Kayla reached into her purse, pulled out her keys, and when she
placed them in his big hand, their fingers touched. A spark of
electricity zapped up the length of her arm, igniting her insides,
tingling her nipples. The chemical reaction stemming from his
magical touch made her mouth slightly part.

“
Something’s
wrong?”

Kayla snapped her lips shut and shook
her head. “No.”

“
Daddy, can I go inside
now? Can I please show Ms. Kayla my new doll house?”

“
Ms. Kayla may not want to
see your doll house, pumpkin.”

Don’t tell me what I’d like
to see or not see, Mr. ‘can’t deal with late people’.
“I’d love to see your doll house,
Isabelle.”

Isabelle hopped out of the rocking
chair. “Yes!”

He looked at her with amused wonder.
“Well, if it’s okay with Kayla, then it’s fine with me. Make
yourself at home. It shouldn’t take me too long to fix your
tire.”

Richmond clambered down the steep
steps, walked down the long driveway, and headed down the street
towards Kayla’s raggedy red truck.

“
Come this way.” Isabelle
wrapped her tiny fingers around Kayla’s hand and led her inside the
house.

When Kayla entered the mansion, she
felt as if she were seeing the breathtaking structure for the very
first time. Comprised of tan marble floors, the spacious home had a
huge living room and a breathtaking dining room, which was equipped
with a long rectangular table and French chairs. The exquisite
mansion looked like something you’d see in a Parade of Homes
magazine.

Leading the way, Isabelle walked up a
flight of stairs to the second floor. Skipping along the plush
carpet, she rounded into the second room on the right, and Kayla
followed her. Isabelle’s room looked made for a little princess. A
pastel pink color coated the walls. A small, sparkling chandelier
hung over her white canopy bed, draped with sheer scarves. White,
long drapery with pink circles covered the windows overlooking the
marsh in the back yard.

Isabelle stood proud in the center of
the room, with her hands on her hips. “This is my room.” She
pointed to the corner. “And that’s my doll house. My daddy bought
me it for my birthday when I was a little girl. Want to
play?”

You’re still a little
girl
, Kayla thought, snickering
inwardly.

Isabelle picked up a tiny doll
sporting a yellow dress, then sat Indian style on the
floor.

Isabelle is so
precious.
“Sure, Isabelle. I’d love to
play with you.” Kayla flopped down to the floor in front of the
doll house beside Isabelle. She hefted one of the tiny doll
figurines in her hand. Using a squeaky voice, Kayla said to
Isabelle’s doll, “May I have some lemonade, please?”

Isabelle burst into laughter. “He, he.
He, he. You sound silly. Like a mouse. Do it again.”

Kayla put her fist on her hip. “What’s
your doll’s name?” she asked in the squeaky mouse voice.

“
Gracie. What kind of
lemonade do you want? Uh-oh.” Isabelle shrugged. She pointed to
Kayla’s doll. “Her name is Keisha.”

Kayla made her doll march up to
Isabelle’s doll. “Hi, Gracie. My name is Keisha, and I’d like some
strawberry lemonade.”

“
Okay. I’ll get you some.
But only if you be my friend.” Isabelle hefted a tiny cup in her
hand.

“
Of course I’m your friend.
We’ll always be friends. You—”

Richmond entered the room with a big
smile on his face. “I see you two are having fun.”

Loads. I’d love taking care
of this wonderful child. If only I’d been on time.
Kayla rose to her feet. “She’s such a precious
little girl.”

“
Daddy. I like Ms. Kayla.
She’s fun. Can she be my nanny, Daddy? Please?” Isabelle
begged.

“
I don’t know about that,
Pumpkin.” Love shone in Richmond’s brown eyes as he looked down at
his daughter while she continued playing on the floor. “I have some
bad news.”

“
What?” Kayla didn’t like
the sound of his voice.

“
Your spare tire isn’t any
good. You need a new one. In fact, you need four new
tires.”

Dead broke, Kayla became upset. “Mr.
Spaulding. I know—”

“
Richmond. Call me
Richmond.”

Four new tires. He’s just
going to have to hire me, and that’s that.
“Richmond. I know I was late for the interview. But I really
need this job. Can’t you find it in your heart to at least give me
an interview?”

Richmond’s gaze fell to Isabelle’s,
then back up to Kayla’s face. Folding his arms across his thick,
muscular chest, he strode over to the window and gazed out at the
brown marsh nestled behind his home, which merged into a shimmering
blue river.

Breathing a deep breath, Richmond
turned away from the breathtaking view and walked back over to
where Kayla stood. Gazing into her eyes, his expression remained
serious.

One moment you look so
warm, and the next so cold.

He cleared his throat. “You’re
hired.”

Kayla gasped. She covered her heart
with her hand. Disbelieving of her ears, she put her hands in a
prayer position over her lips. “Did you just say I’m
hired?”

Richmond’s brown lips pulled into a
sexy smile. Seeing his dimples, her nipples tingled. Gosh, he was
so freaking good looking.

“
Yes, Kayla. You heard me
right. I said you’re hired. That’s under three conditions,
though.”

Just name it. I’ll do
anything
. Exhilaration jittered her belly.
“What are the three conditions?”

“
One—your references check
out. Two—you officially start tomorrow. And three—I have an
important business meeting this evening, so I need you to watch
Isabelle for me until I get back.”

Confusion jumbled Kayla’s thoughts. If
she accepted this job, what on Earth was she going to do with CJ?
Who was going to keep him while she watched Isabelle? Richmond
didn’t seem like the type of man that’d allow her to tag her son
along, like she’d initially planned on doing. No. He’d never go
along with that. Not sure how she was going to handle the situation
with CJ just yet, Kayla’s mouth curled upward into a smile.
“Richmond, I can meet those requirements with no problem, and I
gladly accept the job.”

Richmond clasped his hands together.
“That’s great. If you can wait here a while, I’m going to check
your references right now. If everything checks out fine, I’ll
expect you to report to work tomorrow at 7 a.m. sharp. In the
meanwhile, I’ll have my estate manager, Chelsey, to call a tow
company and have four new tires put on your truck. Unless it’s a
problem, the cost to do so will come out of your first
paycheck.”

Kayla’s head shook
profusely. “No. It’s no problem at all.”
Yes! I got the job! I don’t have to depend on that jerk
Carson all the time anymore. Thank you, Jesus.
“I promise I won’t disappointment you, Richmond. I’m going to
take great care of your daughter, Isabelle.”

Isabelle jumped to her feet. “You gon’
be my nanny?”

Richmond threw his head back on a
chuckle. “Yes, Pumpkin. Kayla’s going to be your new
nanny.”

“
Yes!” Isabelle’s stomach
growled.

Remembering Richmond had stated it was
Isabelle’s lunch time, Kayla crouched down in front of her. “Are
you hungry, little one?”

Nodding her head, Isabelle rubbed
circles on her belly. “Uh huh.”

Richmond put a finger to Isabelle’s
chin and tilted her head back. “Isabelle, what did Daddy tell you
about your manners? How do you respond to adults?”

Isabelle glanced at Kayla. “She’s a
girl, so I say,” she looked back at her father, “yes,
ma’am.”

“
That’s correct.” Richmond
patted her shoulder. “I have some important phone calls to make, so
I need you to show Kayla where the kitchen is so she can make you a
sandwich.”

Isabelle said, “Okay.”

Kayla cupped Isabelle’s small hand and
began heading out of the room. “Come on. Show me where the kitchen
is so I can fix you some lunch.”

When she reached the doorway, Richmond
stated, “Oh yeah. Kayla.” She paused in her tracks and glanced back
over her shoulder at him. “There’s one more thing I forgot to tell
you.”

“
What’s that?”

“
No one is allowed in my
deceased wife’s bedroom. She was murdered inside her bedroom, so
the door must remain closed at all times.”

Murdered!
Kayla’s heart dropped.