The Christmas Baby (17 page)

“Brian, stop it.”

He turned to Faith and gave her a cynical smile. “Why? It’s the truth. You’re all about truth, aren’t you, Faith?”

He turned back to the nanny applicant and gave her his best lecherous smile. The woman stared at him with her mouth open, then looked at Faith. “I…see.”

“I think that concludes this interview, don’t you?” he said genially to the woman. He took Will from her and handed him to Faith, who was shooting death rays from her eyes. “Let me show you to the door.”

When he came back a short time later the babies were nowhere to be seen. Faith was waiting for him and she looked loaded for bear. Which was just dandy with him.

“I put the children in their rooms. I thought this discussion would be better done in private.”

“Works for me. What did you want to discuss?”

“As if you didn’t know.” She parked her hands on her hips and glared at him. “That little demonstration was completely unnecessary. You should be ashamed of yourself. If you didn’t want to hire the woman you could have just told me.”

“Fine. I don’t want to hire her.”

“Or anyone else you’ve interviewed. You’ve found something wrong with every one of them. My personal favorite, until today, that is, was the one you asked the completely esoteric computer question to and, when she didn’t know the answer, you told me she was too stupid to be Will’s nanny. I suppose I should just be grateful you didn’t say it to her face.”

“Intelligence is important in my child’s caretaker.”

“Give me a break. You could care less about that woman’s intelligence. You don’t intend to hire anyone I find for the job, do you?”

In two strides he reached her. Took her arms and jerked her to him. “I don’t want another nanny, damn it. I want you.” He bent his head and covered her mouth with his, feasting on her. His hands speared through her hair to tilt her head back and give him better access. He felt her response, felt her quiver in his arms and melt against him. Her tongue answered his and he wanted to consume her. Wanted to lay her down and make love to her until she screamed his name.

She shoved him away, stood breathing heavily, her lips swollen from his kiss, her hair messy from his hands. “Don’t do that again.”

What in the hell was he doing manhandling her like that? He’d never treated a woman that way. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—Damn it, Faith, I’m sorry.”

“You have to hire someone else, Brian. You have to let me leave.”

“It’s killing me to think about you leaving.”

“Why?”

He couldn’t say the words. Why was she being so stubborn?

Faith sighed. “It’s killing me to stay. Let me go, Brian. Just let me go.”

They’d spent only one night together. Faith wanted him to commit himself to her on the basis of one night. One incredible, amazing night. It was too soon to be thinking of love. Too soon to be thinking of anything permanent. Except she was. But he still didn’t believe that love was possible for him.

T
HE NEXT DAY
Brian went over to Ava’s to work on a home network for their computers. Cole had gotten a new one for Christmas and Ava and Jack wanted to have all three computers networked and wireless. Since Cole was a computer geek, as well, he had already made a lot of headway by the time Brian got there, so it didn’t take long to finish setting up the network.

Brian had brought Will along, and Ava had watched him while he and Cole worked on the computers. Faith had called and told him she was job hunting, so she wouldn’t be in that morning, but she would be there that afternoon. She’d scheduled another damn interview.

He didn’t want to think about her having another job. What if she decided to move out of the area entirely? What would he do then, knowing he’d never see her again? He pinched the bridge of his nose. His head was killing him and had been since the moment Faith had left, it seemed to him.

He went to tell Ava they’d finished and he had to head home.

“Let me feed you a sandwich. I have some ham and cheese,” Ava said. “I know it’s early, but it seems like the least I can do. Unless you need to get home.”

“Not until one. Faith has another interview set up.” How the hell did she keep coming up with more people? He’d surely already interviewed every damn possible nanny in Aransas City. No, in the entire county.

“So she’s really quitting?”

He followed Ava into the kitchen with Will on his hip, although he had no appetite. “Yeah. As soon as I hire a new nanny.” Or before that if he didn’t hire one.

“Do you want her to quit, Brian?”

He put Will in the high chair someone had given Ava for when one of her numerous nieces or nephews came to visit. So far Ava and Jack hadn’t heard from the adoption agency, but Ava had said it could take a while.

Brian gave Will a spoon to bang on the tray, then sat at the table and scowled at his sister. “Of course I don’t want her to quit. But she’s made up her mind. Hell, she’s already moved out of the house. If it wasn’t for Will she’d have been long gone by now.”

Ava pulled out lunch meat, cheese and bread for sandwiches, then broke a slice of cheese into smaller pieces and put them on the high chair tray for Will. “Convince her to change her mind. Convince her to stay. You know you want to.”

Brian watched Will happily munching on bits of cheese, banging away and babbling. Funny, he hardly noticed the noise anymore. “The only way I can change Faith’s mind is to tell her I love her.”

She stopped making the sandwich and looked at him. “Don’t you? You certainly act as if you love her.”

He put his head in his hands. He’d been so sure he knew the answer to that. But now…He looked at his sister. “I don’t know. I didn’t think I loved her. I didn’t think I knew how to love. I’ve never been in love with a woman. That’s not how I operate.”

“In the past. But what about now?”

“Now…everything’s different with Faith. Ever since she told me she’s quitting, I’ve been going crazy. It makes me sick to think I’ll never see her again. I’ll never see Lily again.”

“I can see that. No offense, but you look terrible.”

“Thanks. I don’t feel so hot, either.” He couldn’t sleep, he hardly ate. Every night he dreamed about Faith. Every morning he woke missing her. Was the rest of his life going to be more of the same?

“What do you want, Brian?” Ava set a ham sandwich in front of him and took the chair beside his.

What
did
he want? Hadn’t he asked himself that a thousand times since she’d left? And he always came back to the simple fact that he wanted Faith. “I want Faith to forget this stupid-ass idea that she has to leave. I want her and Lily to stay with me and Will and be happy. Together.” He wanted to come home to Faith and the kids every night. He wanted to make love to her, to hold her in his arms all night long. He wanted to have more children with her.

He wanted her for always.

“Sounds a lot like love to me,” Ava said. She patted his arm. “Brian, just because you’ve never been in love before doesn’t mean you can’t ever fall in love.”

“I’m in love with Faith,” he said, stunned at the realization.

Ava laughed. “That’s what I said.”

I’ll be damned,
he thought. He’d gone and fallen in love with Faith. He’d just been too dense to see the truth until she was gone.

“What are you going to do?”

“Do? I’m going to ask Faith to marry me. On New Year’s Eve. And you, Gail, Roxy and Cat are going to help me set it up.”

“I
DON
’
T UNDERSTAND
why we had to look at apartments on New Year’s Eve,” Faith said for the third time. “No one wants to show one today. And it’s getting late. I should be getting home to the children. I mean—to Lily.” Yet late as it was, somehow Gail had bullied four apartment managers into showing them apartments. This was number five.

Faith was tired. She hadn’t been sleeping well since Christmas. Then yesterday Brian had cancelled the interview she’d set up and told her Ava had found a nanny for Will and she didn’t need to worry about it anymore. He didn’t need her help, she realized. He didn’t need her.

The next thing she knew, Gail was on the phone offering to help her find an apartment. And Brian was practically shoving her out the door, offering to keep the kids so she could go with Gail.

Well, she hoped he’d be very happy with his new perfect nanny. Belinda Cramer was her name. He’d come home from Ava’s full of Belinda said this and Belinda thinks that and how much Will had liked her and how great he thought she would be. He’d talked so damn much it was a miracle she hadn’t punched him in that gorgeous mouth of his.

“New Year’s Eve is a work day just like any other,” Gail said. “But I’m off today, and next week I have to go back to work.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful. I do appreciate you taking the time to go apartment hunting with me. It can’t be very fun for you.”

“Don’t be silly, Faith. I’m happy to do it.”

“I know I’ve been…cranky. I guess I’m worried.”

“About finding a job? Something will turn up, I’m sure. I’ll ask at my office again when I go back to work. And Jay’s asking around, too.”

Faith didn’t answer. Even though nothing had panned out so far, she knew she would find work. It wouldn’t be perfect, but she would be able to support herself and Lily. But she’d almost certainly have to put Lily back in day care. And while Lily was older now and might not get sick as often, Faith had grown accustomed to being with her all day. And with Will, she thought with a now familiar pang of despair.

She’d had the perfect job. If only she hadn’t fallen in love with her boss. Her boss who hadn’t fallen in love with her. Her soon to be ex-boss who had shoved her out the door this afternoon.

Finally, the manager finished showing them his last vacant apartment. Gail looked at her expectantly. “Well, what do you think?”

“I thought Aransas City was too small to have this many apartments.”

“We’ve had a growth spurt and a building boom recently. You’re lucky to have so many to choose from. Once upon a time we had only one complex.”

“I’ll have to think about it. I don’t want to make this sort of decision on the spur of the moment.”

“That’s a good idea.” Gail studied her a moment. “Are you having second thoughts about quitting?”

“No,” she said morosely. “It’s the right thing to do. Besides, Brian’s already found someone else.” Someone else to be Will’s nanny. Someone else to be his lover?

“Then that’s a good thing, isn’t it?” Gail asked reasonably.

A good thing to have another woman take care of Will? Was she crazy? Another woman to see Brian every day and every night. Another woman to feed Will, bathe Will, love Will.

An even more horrible thought occurred to her. What if the new nanny didn’t love Will? What if Will was just a job to her? That would be worse. The precious little boy needed a woman’s love. A mother’s love.

Faith bit her cheek to stop herself from yelling at her friend. Gail was trying to help. She didn’t mean to be insensitive. But for God’s sake, couldn’t she see it was killing Faith to leave Brian and Will?

“I hope you don’t mind, but I have to stop by the Scarlet Parrot on the way home,” Gail said, referring to her brother Cameron’s waterfront restaurant and bar. “Don’t worry, I’m sure it won’t take long. My sister-in-law Delilah has something she needs to show me. And then we can have a drink. It’s been a long day.”

Endless. Her heart sank. She wasn’t in the mood to go out, even just for a drink. But she couldn’t say that without sounding rude, so instead she said, “I’m not sure Brian wants to keep the kids that long. He’s had them several hours now.”

“Oh, pooh.” Gail waved a hand in the air. “I’m sure he’s not going out until much later. You’ll be back in plenty of time.”

So he had a date. She’d wondered, but since he hadn’t asked her to babysit Will she’d thought he might be staying home. He must have gotten someone else to look after Will. Maybe Belinda.

G
AIL WENT OFF
with her sister-in-law, and Faith took a seat at the bar to wait for her to come back. She let Cam talk her into a glass of wine and sat watching all the couples eating dinner and having drinks. The families with their children having an early dinner before going out to celebrate the new year. Or staying home to celebrate.

Oh, get over it. Stop moping like a loser and feeling sorry for yourself. Pull yourself together and have a little pride.
But it was hard to care about pride when your heart was broken.

Just when she was beginning to think Gail was never coming back, her friend slid into the seat beside her. “I’m sorry, but Delilah was having a crisis about whether they should move away from the restaurant now that they have a baby. They live in the apartment upstairs, you know. According to Delilah, Cam won’t make up his mind and she doesn’t know what to do.”

“I thought you said she had something to show you.”

“Did I? Are you sure? I don’t remember saying that.” Before Faith could respond, Gail called her brother over and ordered a glass of wine for herself. Faith resigned herself to an even longer wait. Although why she was in a hurry to get back to Brian’s, she didn’t know.

“Hey, Cam, do you know of any jobs available?” Gail said when he returned. “Faith is looking for something around here. She doesn’t want to commute to Corpus Christi.”

“I thought you were Brian Kincaid’s nanny?” He slid a coaster and glass of white wine in front of his sister.

“I was. I quit.” She took another sip of her wine. She was nearly finished but she didn’t want to order another in case Gail finished hers quickly.

“I haven’t heard of anything, but I’ll keep my ears open. Let you know if I do hear something.”

“What about waiting tables, Faith? Cam, don’t you have a waitress job open?”

“Filled it last week. But if she doesn’t work out you can have the job,” he told Faith.

“Thank you.” She eyed Gail’s glass but it didn’t look as if she’d taken even one sip out of it.

Gail plunged into a long discussion with her brother about his and Delilah’s plans to move. Or not move. The fact that Cam told her to mind her own business and clearly didn’t want to talk about it didn’t seem to faze Gail a bit. She continued nagging him about it until he left to wait on someone else. And then when he came back she picked up the conversation again.

Faith ground her teeth and prayed Gail would finish her wine soon, but that hope was squashed like a bug on a windshield. She’d never in her life seen a woman take longer to drink one lousy glass of wine.

Gail’s cell phone rang. “Sorry.” She checked it and said to Faith. “I have to take this. It’s the kids.” She flipped open her phone and left the bar.

Mercifully, Gail came back a short time later. But she still didn’t seem in any hurry to leave. Surreptitiously, Faith checked her watch. Gail’s “little while” had already lasted more than an hour.

Gail took her time finishing her wine and paying the bill, and then on the way out, she stopped to chat with Ava and Jack. Faith said hello, hoping Gail would make it brief, but having a sick feeling she wouldn’t.

“Gail, Faith looks like she wants to go,” Ava said after ten interminable minutes of pointless chitchat.

Gail turned a surprised face to her. “Were you in a hurry to get home, Faith?”

“Not at all,” Faith lied.

She thought she heard Gail giggle but since she turned back to Ava immediately, Faith couldn’t be sure. Besides, why would she giggle?

Oh, my God
, she thought, trying not to tap her toe.
Why have I never realized before that Gail can be so annoying?

Finally, they left the restaurant and Gail drove to Brian’s. Just before she turned onto the street, she got out her cell phone and speed dialed a number. “Tell Roxy to meet me out front.” She laughed. “Consider it my gift,” she said, and hung up.

“Is Roxy sitting the kids?”

“Not exactly. She went over to help Brian out.”

“But…who’s staying with Will tonight if Roxy’s going home?”