5 Minutes to Marriage

“Bedtime?” Memories of the visions he’d had of her the night before in his sleep exploded in his head, and he felt a warm wave seep through his veins.

“Do the boys have a regular bedtime?”

He shoved the visions away. “It’s regular in that their bedtime is whenever they fall asleep.”

“And they fall asleep in their beds?”

“They sleep wherever they happen to fall,” he replied.

“They’re bright, beautiful boys,” she said.

Her words swelled a ball of pride in his chest. “Thanks. I just want them to be good boys as well.”

“Good boys,” David quipped and nodded his head with an angelic smile, then threw a potato chip in Jack’s direction.

After lunch the boys played for a little while, then both of them fell asleep on the floor. Jack carried each of them into their room, put them in bed for their afternoon nap and then returned to where Marisa sat on the sofa.

He sat on the opposite end from her, close enough that he could smell the enticing scent of her perfume. “They should sleep for about an hour,” he said.

“What’s in the barn?”

He blinked at the question that seemed to come out of nowhere. “What?”

“Both times David got out of the house he was heading for the barn. What’s inside?”

“A small recording studio, memorabilia from my old band, my drum set.” He shrugged. “My past.”

“You miss it?” she asked.

He considered the question before immediately replying. “Some of it,” he admitted. “I miss making music, but I don’t miss everything that came with it. Why do you ask?”

Her dark eyes considered him thoughtfully. “I need to know that you’re in this for the long haul, that the number one priority in your life is your boys. I don’t want to spend a month or two of my time helping you here only to have you decide fatherhood is too boring and you’d rather be out on the road making music.”

There was a touch of censure in her voice that stirred a hint of irritation inside him. “Nothing in my life means more to me than David and Mick. When Candace and I divorced I rarely got to see the boys. Usually the only time I saw them or heard about them was if they were mentioned in an article in a tabloid.” He exhaled sharply. “I’m sorry Candace is dead, but I’m glad the boys are with me now—and I intend to do right by them not just for a month or two but for the rest of their lives.”

Warmth leaped into her eyes, and that warmth shot straight into the pit of his stomach. He couldn’t remember the last time a woman had affected him so intensely. He wanted to reach out and tangle his hands in her long hair. He wanted to press his lips against hers and taste her.

“It’s not going to be easy to turn things around here,” she warned.

He smiled. “Over the past couple of years I’ve fought some pretty strong personal demons. Two little boys aren’t going to get the best of me.”

“‘Bad Jack.’ Where did they learn that?”

Jack’s smile fell and he frowned instead. “I suppose from Candace. They refuse to call me anything but that.”

She leaned back against the cushion. “I hate to tell you this, Jack, but what we need to work on most is your behavior. Those boys are crying out for positive attention and boundaries.”

“I’m game,” he replied.

“Good.” She stood. “I’m going to go unload some things from my car.”

He jumped up. “Need help?”

“No, I can handle it.” Her eyes twinkled with humor. “Besides, you’d better save your strength. You’re going to need it.”

He followed her to the front door and watched as she went down the stairs, her hips swaying invitingly beneath the navy slacks she wore.

The background check he’d done on her had told him a lot of things about her, but it hadn’t told him what he wanted to know at this moment.

Did she have a boyfriend? Was she in some kind of a committed relationship? Would he be a total fool to get involved with the woman he’d hired as a nanny?

He scoffed at his own thoughts. He’d be a real fool to think that a woman like Marisa would have any interest in a man like him. He was nothing but a washed-up rocker who she’d already seen as useless and ineffectual.

She was bright and beautiful and he could want her, but it was a desire he didn’t intend to follow through on. She was here for his boys and that was enough for him…it had to be enough.

Chapter 3 (#ulink_5ae1c75b-88b1-594e-8b33-da0cb87e605e)

As the day wore on Marisa told herself again and again that she was here for David and Mick and nothing more.

She could not allow herself to get caught up in her overwhelming attraction to Jack. She refused to allow herself to admit that she liked him. Still, she could admire the man he was now despite the fact that she had a feeling she would have disrespected the man he had once been.

During the afternoon she met Kent Goodall, who was one of Jack’s closest friends. He was a tall, blond man who told her he used to play bass in a band with Jack when they’d been teenagers. He was affable but didn’t stay long.

She also met the two ranch hands who worked for Jack. Sam and Max Burrow were brothers who had the dark leathery skin of men who had spent their entire lives out in the elements. They appeared quiet and uncomfortable as they stepped into the kitchen through the back door.

Sam had been sent to town to pick up childproof locks for the windows and doors in the house. Once he gave them to Jack the two disappeared back outside.

As Jack put them on, Marisa sat with the boys on the sofa and read them a story. David snuggled next to her on one side and Mick on the other. She had already lost her heart to the boys, who were definitely rambunctious but also responding to her gentle guidance.

It was at bedtime that things got wild as Marisa instructed Jack to put the boys to bed in their room. Every few minutes the boys came out of the bedroom and Jack carried them back in and tucked them in once again.

The boys screamed and cried, and Jack shot Marisa frustrated looks as he carried them back to their beds. It was after one in the morning when he returned from their bedroom and flopped on the sofa. Silence reigned.

“It will be easier tomorrow night,” she said.

He scowled at her. “I hope that’s a promise.”

She smiled. “I forgot to mention that there are going to be moments in this process when you’ll probably hate me.”

His scowl lifted, and he offered her a sexy half grin that ripped at her heart. “I’m not mad at you. I’m mad at myself for not doing this when I first got them here.” His smile fell, and he gazed at her curiously. “Why aren’t you married with a dozen kids of your own? It’s obvious you love children.”

The question pierced through her, bringing forth a longing that she knew would never really be satisfied. “I’m young. I have plenty of time for all that in the future,” she replied airily.

“Are you seeing somebody?”

She nodded. “Yes, I have somebody I’m seeing.” She needed to let him know that, but she also needed to remind herself. Patrick. Patrick was the man in her life at the moment and she definitely needed to remember that.

She stood, suddenly needing to escape from Jack. “Time to call it a night,” she said. “Tomorrow is a brand-new day.”