Out of Hours...Enticing the Nanny: The Nanny and the CEO / Nanny to the Billionaire's Son / Not Just the Nanny

“I appreciate you telling me that.”

“This part of the hospital has been redone for the comfort of the parents.”

“Whoever planned it must have had a baby here at one time.”

“No doubt.”

“For your information, my wife has passed away. Reese is the nanny.”

Nick had to give Dr. Marsh credit for not reacting the way he probably would have under other circumstances. “You’re lucky to have found someone who has a strong mothering instinct. That’s going to help your son.”

“I agree.”

Reese returned soon after the doctor had left and washed her hands. “Do you know anything yet?”

He told her what he’d learned. She finished tying the mask and walked over to the crib. “I should think sleep is the very best thing for him.”

“We’re going to need it, too. It’s after eleven.” He went to the closet and pulled out the made-up cots, placing them end to end. There was enough room for the staff to move back and forth changing the IV while they did vitals and programmed their notes into the computer.

He heard a sigh. “Bed sounds good. Thank you for setting them up.” She removed her sandals and slipped under the covers with her head at the far end. Maybe she’d done it on purpose so their heads couldn’t possibly be close to each other. He was sorry about that, but at least they’d be spending the night in the same room with Jamie.

Nick shut off the overhead light. After studying his son for another few minutes, he took off his shoes and lay down on top of the cot, putting his hand behind his head. From his vantage point he could see her lying there on her side toward Jamie.

“Reese? Are you asleep yet?”

He watched her shift in the cot. “No. I know you’re worried about Jamie, but he’s getting the best care possible.”

“I believe that, too. I just wanted to say that the reason I was so long was that I had to let Jamie’s grandparents know he wouldn’t be coming to White Plains in the morning.”

“I’m sure they were upset.”

Reese didn’t know the half of it.

“Don’t be surprised if they show up tomorrow.”

“That would only be normal. In my family if anyone were in the hospital, a whole crowd would descend.” Nick couldn’t imagine what that would be like. “Too bad your parents are away and don’t know he’s ill.”

“Actually they got back from Cannes today. I listened to my father’s message on my voice mail.”

“Are they coming over here tonight?”

“No. I didn’t call him back.”

A long silence ensued. “I see.”

“You don’t see at all, but you’re so polite, you would never pry.”

“Your personal life is none of my business.”

“That’s an excellent response.”

“What do you mean?” She shot straight up in the cot. “I don’t understand.”

Just then one of the staff came in to check on Jamie. “How’s he doing?” Nick asked as the nurse finished on the computer.

“His temp is up a little from before, but these things take time. Try to get some sleep while he’s quiet.”

Nick’s stomach clenched. There was no way he could do that right now. He got up from the cot and walked over to the crib. At this point Reese joined him.

“He’s got to be all right, Nick!” He heard tears in her voice.

Without conscious thought he put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his side. After dancing with her last week, he needed her warm, curvaceous body next to his. Though she’d told him no more repeats, the fact that she didn’t fight him right now revealed her deep need for comfort, too.

“What you said earlier,” she whispered. “If I—”

“Forget it,” he broke in. “I’m afraid I’m not myself tonight. We may be employer and nanny, but sometimes the lines get blurred. We’ve lived under the same roof for two weeks now. I find myself wanting to ask you questions I have no right to ask.”

“I know what you mean.” The tremor in her voice made its way through to his insides.

“So you admit you’re a little curious about me.”

“Of course.” He noticed her hands cling to the edge of the crib. “I wouldn’t be human otherwise.”

“Go ahead and ask me why I haven’t told my parents about Jamie being sick.”

She bowed her head. “Not if you don’t want to talk about it.”

“Actually I do. You recall our conversation about my family being blue bloods? Well, I made a vow that Jamie’s life is going to be different. Yes, he’s a Hirst and a Wainwright, but I won’t let him grow up under a system where appearances count for everything. That kind of life might be desirable at first, but it ends up destroying you.”

“You feel like that’s what happened to you?” she asked quietly.

“Our whole families have been destroying themselves for generations to the point that they don’t have that human quality of giving and receiving affection. They don’t feel it.”

She looked up at him with eyes that were suspiciously bright. “But you’re nothing like that!”

The impulse to crush her in his arms was so strong, he forced himself to let go of her altogether. “I was on my way to being exactly like that until a client made a chance remark three weeks ago that opened my eyes.”

“What did he say?”

“He’d been offering his condolences and said there was nothing like a child to help you get over your loss. He obviously assumed I was the typical new father having to get up with him in the night for his feedings. But he didn’t realize he was talking to a Wainwright who’d come from a cloistered, upper-class aristocracy.

“You can’t imagine how I felt at that moment knowing Jamie was at my in-laws’ being taken care of by their staff and I’d let it happen. Worse, my own parents saw nothing wrong with it. But the real crime was the one I’d committed by letting him go home with them in the first place. By turning over my son’s life to the hired help, I’d virtually abandoned him.”

“But if you hated what your parents had done to you, then—”

“I know.” He raked a hand through his hair. “It’s complicated. At the time of Erica’s death, everything was murky. But standing here now next to my son, I see things so clearly it terrifies me that I was once that other man.

“The truth is, I could have called my father back tonight and told my parents about Jamie, but they wouldn’t have cared, and it wouldn’t have occurred to them to come to the hospital. They’ve been emotionally absent from my life for thirty-four years. That’s never going to change. My uncles, my cousins, they’ll never change, either.”