The Nanny and The Sheikh

“Ladies first. Besides, if they fall asleep on your watch, I don’t have to read.”

She laughed. “Very well.”

His strategy worked. Before Melissa finished the book she’d selected, both children were fast asleep.

“Tomorrow night, you can read the first book,” Melissa whispered as they left the bedroom.

“I would never be able to put as much enthusiasm into reading. Nor come up with different voices for the different characters. You have a talent for working with children.”

“I should, it’s my job.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m a nanny by profession.”

He paused at the top of the stairs. “I thought you were a translator.”

“Max very kindly found me some work between jobs—at my mother’s insistence, I’m sure. She recently married Max’s father, you know.”

Surim nodded.

“Anyway, I finished my last job before Christmas and my next one doesn’t start until February, so I’m helping out at Bella Lucia. They obviously knew I had no experience in anything except childcare, so Max found this job for me. I speak French and Italian and a smattering of German. I needed it when I lived in Switzerland.”

“Where is your next job?”

“In Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States.”

“I’m familiar with Boston,” he said dryly. “Quite a change from Switzerland.”

“And from what I’ve been doing. Until now, I worked at a childcare facility at one of the resorts in Switzerland. You know, come for a week and let us take care of your children so you can enjoy all the amenities. It was great fun, but now I want to try working for a family. When the McDonalds asked me, I jumped at the chance. It’s what I was trained for.” She had no intention of letting anyone know part of the reason for her desire for change was a love affair gone bad. So far she’d kept that secret.

“Perhaps you can offer me some insights into these children before you leave,” Surim said, continuing down the stairs.

Melissa walked beside him, wondering how much she had to offer in the few days remaining. Still, if she could get them all comfortable around each other, that would go a long way.

“Perhaps,” she said at last.

When they reached the door to her bedroom, he paused. She reached to open it. Surim stopped her, turning her to face him.

“Thank you for your help. The children seemed happier tonight than they have since they arrived.”

To her surprise, he kissed her. His lips touched hers lightly, then he stood back. “Don’t tell Max I’m taking advantage of his new stepsister. He’d have my head.”

He turned and walked down the hall.

Melissa blinked, still not sure of what had happened. Her lips still felt the brief warmth of Surim’s. Her head was spinning. And the way her heart pounded, she couldn’t have imagined it.

Yet how astonishing.

In a haze, she entered her bedroom.

Surim continued down the hall, wondering what had come over him. He had dated some beautiful, sophisticated women. Enjoyed their company, their sparkling repartee. But he’d never kissed them on such short provocation. Melissa was kissable. He’d wanted to kiss her since he saw her laughing on the beach that afternoon.