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

So they had lived here together. How painful this must be for him. “She had incomparable taste.”

He took the baby from her and fastened him in the seat. “Let’s see if he likes this.” When he pressed the button, it started to swing and played “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush.” Jamie looked at his father. The baby acted happy and it brought a ghost of a smile to his father’s lips.

Mr. Wainwright’s eyes unexpectedly narrowed on her features. “Your contribution to the room keeps it from feeling like a museum. Shall we eat?”

Reese could imagine the apartment felt that way to him with his other half gone out of his life. But he had his adorable son staring up at him in wonder, as if his father was the whole world to him. That had to compensate for his loss.

Leaving him to sit at the head of the table, she took her place at the side just as the song changed to another nursery rhyme. It played a medley of ten tunes.

He removed the covers from their plates, sending a mouthwatering aroma through the room. “Help yourself to coffee or tea.”

“Thank you, but I’ll just have water.” She poured herself a glass from the pitcher and drank a little before starting in on her food. “This roast chicken is delicious.”

“I’ll tell the chef. He was plucked from a five-star hotel in Paris.”

“The chicken or the chef?”

His deep laugh disarmed her. “Touché.”

She laughed with him. “It explains the buttery taste I love. I’m afraid I’m as bad as Julia Child. We think alike. Butter is the building block for good food.”

His dark eyes flicked to hers. The candlelight reflecting in them made the irises look more brown than black. Until now she hadn’t been able to decide their exact shade. “You eat a lot of it out in Nebraska, do you?”

“We Cornhuskers never heard of cholesterol,” she teased, laying it on a little thick. “In truth, all of us healthy farm girls thrive on it.”

One dark brow shot up. “If I offended you, I didn’t mean to.”

She smiled. “I know you didn’t. I was just having fun.”

“That’s a refreshing quality of yours, Reese. Mind if I call you that?”

His genuine warmth came as a surprise. She hadn’t expected a truly successful, wealthy CEO like him to be so well-rounded. It was probably that quality as much as his brilliant mind that drew people to him and made him such a paragon.

“To be honest, I hate being called Ms. Chamberlain, Mr. Wainwright.”

He smiled. “If that was more funning on your part, I still get the hint. Call me Nick.”

“Thank you. I was afraid it wouldn’t happen for a while.”

Another chuckle ensued. “Am I that impossible?”

Reese was already too addicted to his potent charisma. “Not at all, but I’d like Jamie to know I have a first name. Ms. Chamberlain is kind of heavy for a ten-week-old.” She put her fork down. “Speaking of the baby, I know it looks like I bought out the store, but everything I purchased was for a reason. Of course I’ll take anything back you don’t like or find necessary.”

“I’ll reserve judgment until tomorrow. We’ve worked hard enough today and need an early night.”

“The only thing we ought to do before turning in is to fix up Jamie’s crib.”

“What’s wrong with it?”

“Nothing, but it needs a mattress cover under the fitted sheet and a bumper pad to go around the edges so he won’t hurt his head against the bars. And I bought a cute little mobile with farm animals that plays tunes. Anything with bright colors and he’ll reach for it.”

He glanced down at Jamie. “You know what, sport? I have a feeling Reese is going to spoil you rotten.”

“That’s the plan,” she interjected. “You can’t spoil babies enough because they’re too cute.” She leaned over to cup his cheek.

“Would you like dessert?” he murmured.

She felt his dark gaze on her, making her so aware of him, it sent heat to her face. “I don’t think I have room for any, thank you. The dinner was wonderful.”

Reese started to get up from the table, ready to take the dishes into the kitchen. She assumed it lay beyond the door at the other end of the dining room. But he said, “Leave everything for the waiter. He lets himself in and out. So do the maids.”

“I didn’t realize.” She remained in place.

“When you need a wash done for you or the baby, just put it in a laundry bag on the counter in your bathroom. You’ll find them in the cupboard beneath the sinks. If you need pressing or tailoring done, phone them to indicate what you want.”

She left her napkin next to her plate. “Do you always have your meals brought up?”

“No. Most of the time I eat out. Occasionally I fix something in the kitchen and sit at the island. While you’re here, feel free to order whatever you want from downstairs. All you have to do is pick up the house phone and dial one for the chef’s office, or two for maid service. They come in every morning. Your job is to take care of Jamie, nothing else.”

“Understood.”

“You’re welcome to fix your own meals whether I’m home or not. Tomorrow there’ll be time for you to look around the pantry and compile a list of groceries you’d like to have on hand. Dial three for the concierge. Give him the list and he’ll see they’re delivered.”

He pushed himself away from the table and stood up to take the baby out of the swing. “Come on, Jamie. Let’s see how long it takes your old man to put that mobile together.”

“You’ve been given a reprieve on that one,” Reese said, bringing up the rear. “The only thing you have to do is fasten it to the end of the crib and turn on the music. There’s a small sack of batteries somewhere, but give me a minute to make up the crib first.”

He moved fast on those long, powerful legs. She had to hurry to keep up with him. When they reached the nursery, she found the item for him, then quickly got busy. After she’d tied the last part of the bumper pad, she reached for Jamie.

“I’ll feed him while you set up the mobile.”

She darted into Nick’s bedroom and got a bottle of formula out of the diaper bag, sat down on the end of his bed and fed Jamie.

“You’re a hungry boy.” He drank noisily. His burps were noisy, too, making her laugh. When he’d drained his bottle, she wandered back into the nursery where she found Nick watching the mobile turn while it played a song.

He glanced at her as she walked in. “I know I didn’t have one of these when I was growing up.”

She nuzzled Jamie’s neck. “I think you’re going to like what your daddy just put up.” When she lowered him to the mattress, the tune drew his attention, as did the plush animals going around and around.

“Look, Nick—his cute little body is squiggling with excitement. He loves it!”

“I think you’re right.” When she looked up, their eyes caught and held. The intensity of his gaze made it difficult to breathe. “If you want to call it an early night, go ahead. I’ll get up with him during the night. Tomorrow will be soon enough to take care of everything else and set up a schedule.”

Then he looked back at Jamie with so much love, Reese was spellbound. She got the hint. He wanted time alone with his son. Nothing could be more natural or more reassuring to Jamie who, would be spending tonight in brand-new surroundings.

“I’ll say good-night then and see both of you in the morning.” As she reached the door, she turned around. “Thank you for giving me this opportunity. I’m very grateful. He’s a precious boy.”

Without waiting for a response, Reese slipped out of the nursery to the bedroom across the hall. After taking a shower and getting ready for bed, she climbed under the covers and reached for her cell phone to call her parents. It was an hour earlier in Lincoln.