Big-city Bachelor

“I guess that means she actually did quit?”

“Yes. I’ll have the rest of her things sent to her. She didn’t want to use her suitcase.”

The suitcase. Lizzie pressed her lips together to keep her smile to herself. She was sure Mrs. Gray hadn’t seen much humor in those worms. And it didn’t seem as if Alex had, either.

Sympathy coursed through her as she took in his appearance. Poor Alex. He looked more like a harried father than a suave businessman. He’d discarded his jacket and loosened his tie. The top button of his shirt was undone and his hair was rumpled into uneven furrows, as if he’d been raking his fingers through it.

Yet to Lizzie’s eyes, he didn’t look disheveled, he looked adorable. And he also looked more…approachable than he ever had before.

“I’m sorry to have left you on your own for so long like this, Lizzie,” he said, coming over to stand in front of her.

“That’s okay. Are the boys in bed?”

“As far as I know. They appeared to be asleep when I left them.”

“I’m sure they’ve had enough excitement for one day.”

“I hope so,” he muttered.

“They’re all right now, aren’t they?”

“They weren’t hurt. Thank God the car wasn’t going fast.”

She tilted her head, noticing the fine lines that radiated from the corners of his eyes and the tension that tightened his jaw. “What about you?” she asked.

“Me?”

She dropped her gaze. Beneath the fine cotton of his white shirt, his shoulders were stiff with the same tension she saw in his face. “I’ve been through my share of accidents with the children at my day care,” she said. “Mishaps like swallowed buttons or bumps from swings, and it’s been my experience that kids are a lot more resilient than their parents.”

“I’m fine,” he said. “It’s Jason and Daniel I’m concerned about.”

“Of course, you’re concerned.”

“They had no idea how dangerous their latest stunt could have been.”

“I’m sure they didn’t.”

“I still don’t understand how Mrs. Gray could have been so negligent as to let this happen.”

“It isn’t easy to keep track of two active boys, especially a pair who are as resourceful as your twins,” she said, although she didn’t know why she would be trying to make excuses for his housekeeper. The woman had looked like a humorless disciplinarian.

“The job should be simple enough,” Alex said. “I’ll have to make sure the next person I hire is more capable.”

Lizzie ignored the twinge of irritation she felt at his dismissive tone. He didn’t really think that taking care of children was simple, did he? He seemed too intelligent to make a dumb statement like that—it must be his lingering anxiety over the twins’ close call. “They seem like great kids,” she said.

“They’re the reason for everything I do,” he said softly, seeming to talk more to himself than to her. As if realizing his lapse, he cleared his throat and attempted a smile. “I’m afraid we missed the curtain.”

“What curtain?”

“The play I promised you.”

She couldn’t very well tell him that she’d found this glimpse into his home and his emotions much more fascinating than any Broadway play. “It’s okay. But I guess I’d better get back to the hotel,” she said, taking a step backward.

“I’d drive you myself, but now that Mrs. Gray isn’t here, I can’t leave the boys.”

“No, of course not. I’ll call a taxi,” she said, taking another step.

Afterward, she was never sure exactly how it happened. Undoubtedly, the chain of events was triggered by the chunks of dirt from the flower bed that had been trailed inside by Alex’s sons. Lizzie’s heel came down on a pebble, causing her shoe to slide across the floor unexpectedly. Normally, it wouldn’t have been difficult to regain her balance, but because her attention was still focused on Alex, she was slow to react. By the time she did, Alex had already caught hold of her arms to steady her.

Her hands flattened against his chest. “Oh!” she gasped. “Sorry.”

“No, it’s my fault. I should have warned you about the dirt on the floor.”

She shook her head. This was just like what he’d done when she’d spilled her wine at dinner. They both knew that it was her own clumsiness that was responsible for her stumble. He was still trying to be a…prince. Her lips twitched.

His clasp on her arms loosened, but he didn’t let her go. “Are you all right?”

She nodded, splaying her fingers over the front of his shirt, feeling a jolt of pleasure from the warmth that rose from his body. And she had a sudden greedy urge to discover what his skin would feel like under her palms…and to see how his chest would look all naked and sweaty…

“It’s been a long day. You must be exhausted.”

Oh, did he have to use that love-potion voice? How was she supposed to get a grip on her imagination when he merely had to open his mouth to make her start fantasizing again? She lifted her gaze to his lips. And speaking of mouths, she doubted whether the dollar-a-mouthful wine she’d been enjoying at dinner would be able to compare to a taste of Alex—

“Lizzie?”

And his kiss would probably be a lot more potent than Bobby’s cordial. Then again, she suspected that just about anything of Alex’s would be more potent than something of Bobby’s. “Mmm?”

“I may have to delay our tour of the city tomorrow until I arrange a replacement for Mrs. Gray. And then there are a few things I need to take care of at the office before I pick you up.”

“I don’t mind waiting,” she said. “And if you can’t find a baby-sitter, you could always bring the boys with you. It wouldn’t be so bad, as long as you check their pockets for worms, and keep them away from the car keys, and don’t let them near any purple paint.”

“What?”

She glanced up at him and smiled. “I couldn’t help noticing what they did to your housekeeper’s cat. I hope you took a picture.”

It began at the corners of his eyes, as the lines that had been etched with tension started to crinkle with amusement. It spread to the narrow dimples that appeared in his lean cheeks, then finally to his lips as they stretched into an answering smile that wasn’t perfect or controlled or charming. Instead, it was real.

And just as Lizzie was trying to absorb the impact of the first genuine smile she’d seen Alex give, he did something that stole her breath altogether. He laughed.

It was brief, and it seemed to surprise him as much as it surprised her, yet it surrounded her with the sudden warmth of sunshine breaking through a cloud. It made her think of hazy August afternoons and skinny-dipping in the pond, of dust motes in the hayloft and sweet kisses trailing down her neck….