The Nanny Who Kissed Her Boss

“What about her?” Savannah didn’t want to even think about his wife. Ex-wife.

“We divorced before I started Murdock Sports. She left New York, but when she came back, she had Jacey. I really wanted to do the right thing by my daughter. It was a mistake from the beginning—except for Jacey. She’s been the light of my world for years. However, ever since the second divorce, this company’s really grown. Margo’s been haranguing me for more money. She wants a share. That’s the last thing I’ll agree to.” The hard edge of his tone reminded Savannah that as fascinating as she’d found him, he was still a hard-driven businessman.

“And she’s using your daughter as a weapon,” Savannah guessed. She’d dealt with other divorced parents in her job. Some could be so thoughtless around their children.

“Exactly. At least I have her for three months this summer. My hope is that we build some kind of relationship like we had a few years ago. That’s the reason I wanted to start with a couple of weeks in the wilderness. Cut off from outside influences, just focusing on rebuilding our relationship, maybe she’ll realize what’s important in life.”

There was definitely the chance to build something when it was only Jacey and her father, away from her mother, friends and cell phones.

Declan continued, “She used to love going on hikes, camping. We did a lot of it when she was younger. I’m hoping that enjoyment will surge forth again. The Sierras are the prettiest mountains in the west, I think. Clean, fresh air, beautiful country, wildlife. Perfection.”

If Savannah had a lick of sense, as her grandmother used to say, she’d turn down the job so fast it’d make Declan’s head swim. But she liked the outdoors. She liked to hike and camp and see nature’s beauty. And she’d never seen the Pacific Crest Trail.

She was intrigued and tempted.

Yet could she set aside her resentment of his daughter? Despite his cutting her out of his life when Margo had returned, he’d helped both her and her sister and the others who now worked for Vacation Nannies by fine-tuning her business plan with her. No one else might think so, but she owed him. She had a dream job, plenty of money for her chosen lifestyle, went on assignments to some of the world’s most beautiful and sought-after locations—all because Declan Murdock had taken time to teach a class.

She could handle anything for three weeks. As long as she remembered every day it was only temporary! She would be the most professional nanny in the world. And at the end of three weeks, she’d walk away without a backward look.

CHAPTER TWO

DECLAN stared at the doorway after Savannah left. He was surprised she’d agreed to proceed. He wouldn’t have blamed her if she’d refused outright.

Rubbing his hand on the back of his neck, he looked at the stack of reports in front of him. Not that he saw them. Instead, images of Savannah danced in front of his eyes. Her laughter that time they’d taken the paddle boat around the lake at St. Anne’s. The way her eyes grew a deeper blue when he kissed her. The evenings they’d made dinner together, stopping between tasks to kiss, touch, promise silently that even more would come later.

The worst mistake of his life had been turning his back on Savannah, thinking he and Margo could make a marriage just for Jacey’s sake.

He wasn’t sure what he’d expected when he saw Savannah again, but it hadn’t been that mature sophisticated businesswoman instead of the fun-loving student on the brink of life.

It looked as if she’d succeeded. He’d learned a lot about her business, but nothing about the woman. What had she been doing these past seven years beyond Vacation Nannies?

Did she have a boyfriend?

The thought twisted his gut.

He had no rights. Any he’d had years ago he’d forfeited when he’d told her goodbye.

“You need to do what you need to do and have no regrets,” she’d said at that coffee shop when he’d told her he was breaking it off with her to remarry Margo.

He wished he could have lived with no regrets.

The past was past. Now he needed her in a different way—to help with his daughter.

He remembered Vacation Nannies’ office manager telling him the nanny had to approve the children or they would not take the job.

He hoped Jacey would behave. He needed someone to be there for his daughter when he had to work. He’d know by tomorrow shortly after ten.

The next morning Declan was up early and back at work to finish up loose ends before the trip. His housekeeper was with Jacey. She herself would be taking a vacation while he was gone. Had she been a younger woman, he would have prevailed on her to go with them to California. But, in her late fifties, she was not interested in backpacking in the mountains.

His vice president would be in charge of the business for the next few weeks. Declan knew he’d do a good job. It was hard to leave with so many different irons in the fire, but he was determined that while Jacey was with him, he’d do what he could to get his daughter comfortable around him. He wanted his sweet little girl back.

The trip was not all about bonding with Jacey. He was interested in adding an entirely new direction to the company. The fact he was combining business with their time away was prudent. He’d show his daughter some of what he did for a living, thus correlating work with earning money. Her mother was filling her head with an entitlement attitude that drove him crazy. Nothing in life came free.

Some things came with a steep price. He thought about Savannah and couldn’t help but feel a stirring of anticipation. He’d see her soon. He had told Jacey about hiring a nanny and hoped she’d behave.

He’d forgotten over the past seven years how pretty Savannah was. Or had he deliberately suppressed the memory? He’d genuinely tried to make the marriage work. It took two, however, and Margo’s agenda had been different from his.

Marrying Margo a second time had been a huge mistake almost from the beginning. Granted, she was stunning. Long dark hair, mysterious eyes, a sly, catlike smile. He’d been captivated the first time around. If she’d told him she was pregnant before they’d divorced, he might have stayed in the marriage. She was high maintenance from the get-go, always wanting to party, to be seen in all the trendy places, to acquire clothes and jewelry and anything else that could be construed as a status symbol. Nothing had changed the second time they married. She’d hired a housekeeper and fobbed Jacey’s care off on her.

But she hadn’t told him. They’d divorced and he’d met Savannah.

She’d been a small-town girl, new to New York and focused on the business idea she and her sister had of nannies for vacations only. He’d never felt so young and carefree as he had in the months they were together. That time still remained a special memory.

She’d been the first person he’d thought about when he decided to take Jacey backpacking in the wilderness. Savannah was no longer a shy country mouse. From her hair to her attire to her attitude, she was just what he wanted Jacey to be like when she grew up. Trendy without being over the top. Confident, assured, pleasant.

And she probably hated his guts.

He stared at the numbers in the reports he was skimming. None of them made any sense. All he could see was the cool manner in which Savannah had deliberated before giving him an answer. Her final agreement was predicated on her meeting with Jacey going well.

He checked his watch. Time to head for home. What wasn’t done wouldn’t get done. The world wouldn’t end.

Jacey was watching television when he entered his flat a short time later. Mrs. Harris, his housekeeper, was sitting with his daughter, crocheting. Jacey looked up and then deliberately looked back at the television without any greeting.

He had to admit the all-black attire, the dark circles around her eyes and the straight, flat black hair had taken him aback when Margo had brought her by unexpectedly a week ago. Where was the sunny smile Jacey had had when she was younger? The enthusiasm she’d evidenced when she saw him? She used to run to hug him.

“Hi, Jacey,” he greeted her, going across the room to give her a kiss on her cheek.

She pulled back and glared at him. “When’s the babysitter coming? I called Mom. She’ll want to know you plan to pawn me off on some stranger.”

“Since your mother didn’t consult me at all about this summer, I suspect she’ll be happy enough to go along with what I have planned. I thought she was in the Hamptons.”

Mrs. Harris, his housekeeper, rose and smiled at her employer. “I’ll just finish up in the kitchen,” she said and took off without even a glance at Jacey. She did not like confrontations and there’d already been a couple of major storms since the evening Margo had arrived unexpectedly with Jacey, announcing she had plans for the summer and Declan could take a turn with his daughter.

Declan rarely saw Jacey. While he had visitation rights, Margo had demanded full custody. And many of the times he’d planned to see his daughter, Margo had had other plans and couldn’t have Jacey spend time with him.

“She has a life, too, you know,” Jacey said. “She has a hard time making ends meet. She’s going to petition for more child support. And I think you could help out your only child. It’s tough living in New York on a small salary.”

He looked at her, hearing Margo’s voice in his child’s words.

“I send more than adequate child support. If she wishes to challenge it in court, maybe we should consider you coming to live with me. That way all her money could go straight to her own needs.”

“I don’t want to live with you. I’m stuck here this summer when I could be going to the Hamptons with Mom’s friends.”

He smiled without humor. “Yet your mother brought you here.”

Jacey frowned. The fact was she was as angry with her mother as much as with Declan. He was angry with Margo for putting such ideas in his daughter’s head. If he could audit his ex-wife’s finances, he knew he’d find more of the support money was spent on Margo than on his daughter. He knew how much he sent each month. He doubted Jacey saw much of it, however. Margo had always been high maintenance.

Jacey pouted and looked away, studying the toes of her black shoes. “I wish I was at home.”