LITMIR.BIZ

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of the candidates were mere children themselves, just teenagers, really. Two others were in the U.S. only temporarily, one with only weeks left on her visa, and the last thing Logan wanted to do was let Amanda Sue get emotionally attached to someone guaranteed to leave her soon. One woman, while a citizen, didn’t speak English well enough to properly interview. Given the circumstances, he felt Amanda Sue would be too confused to respond well. Another woman had seemed mildly impaired mentally. She was very pleasant, and he liked her a great deal, but he felt uncomfortable leaving her alone with Amanda Sue for days at a time when he was traveling. This last one was the topper on the cake, however, a real brute in support hose.

      Emily steered the woman out of his office and her own, then returned, closing the door behind her. “Charles Dickens wrote books about idiots like her,” she said, dropping down onto the corner of his desk. Amanda Sue started crawling up onto the desk to get to her.

      Logan let her go. What could it hurt with him and Emily sitting right there? Emily seemed to agree. She reached out and took Amanda Sue’s hands in hers, helping her stand from a crouch, then drawing her forward carefully. “Maybe I should call another agency,” she said, fingering a curl on top of the baby’s head.

      “Do that,” he agreed, smoothing a grossly wet, rumpled tie. “This one sure didn’t send over any winners.”

      “Still want to schedule the interviews here?” Emily asked, and he sighed. Interviewing nannies wasn’t exactly conducive to business, but he didn’t want any strangers knowing where he lived. The kidnapping of his cousin’s infant son Bryan had taught them all the folly of not taking every precaution. He nodded.

      “Yeah. I don’t want anyone I don’t completely trust in my house.”

      “I understand,” Emily said. “So tomorrow we start over. Now what?”

      He looked around him, wondering if he could keep Amanda Sue here and actually get anything done, but he knew the answer to that. “Why don’t you take her on home,” he said finally. “I’ll try to get through early here so you can get home at a decent hour. Uh, unless I can persuade you to spend the night?”

      She sent him a look that said, Please don’t ask. He ignored it.

      “I could really use a good night’s sleep myself,” he went on, “and I have so much work to do. And you wouldn’t have to cook or anything. I’ll pick up something.”

      “I don’t know. I really prefer—”

      “I understand,” he said, “but I’m desperate here. I haven’t even checked my voice mail today.”

      “All right,” she said, capitulating reluctantly, “but just tonight.”

      He nodded, deeply relieved. “Surely we’ll find someone tomorrow.”

      If the smile she gave him wasn’t quite as hopeful as it might have been, he chose not to think about it. He was covered for a few precious hours, and that was enough for the moment. Tomorrow would come soon enough, too soon probably, but he’d cross that bridge when he came to it. Meanwhile, he had a lot of work to do and a little time to do it in. But at least he wouldn’t have to worry about his daughter while he was doing it, and that, he was discovering, was more important than anything else.

      What a day it had been, Emily mused, wrestling Amanda Sue into her sweater. She had worked closely with Logan Fortune for two years now, but never like this. It was as if they were a couple, rather than simply a good business team, and such illusions were terribly dangerous given the way she felt about him. She’d held the attraction at bay for such a long time, but she wasn’t superhuman.

      She had known from the beginning of her employment with him that any personal involvement would be sheer folly. Logan was a real player in the field of romance, and Emily was anything but. Dalliance with the likes of him could only lead her to a broken heart, but here she was about to spend the night at his house. Still, what else could she do? He and Amanda Sue both were obviously exhausted, and how could she not allow him the benefit of her experience when he was trying so very hard? One night, she told herself, and tomorrow would be a better day for everyone.

      Finally getting Amanda Sue properly attired, Emily began to gather their things, all the while balancing the child on one hip. Amanda Sue helped out by grasping handfuls of her blouse, front and back, and hanging on. It was awkward, but it beat setting her down and then trying to keep her from looting the desk while gathering everything. She was heading toward the door, laden with baby, purse and bulging diaper bag, when she called out, “We’re going now.”

      To her surprise, Logan got up from his desk and hurried out to send them off. “Wait. Amanda Sue can’t go without telling Daddy ’bye-bye.” He waved at his daughter and pretended to blow a kiss, as before. His daughter, however, had other ideas. She puckered her lips and leaned so far forward that Emily had trouble holding her up. Logan laughed. “What’s she doing now?”

      Emily smiled. “I think she wants a real kiss.”

      He all but recoiled. “A real kiss?”

      “It won’t kill you, Fortune, and my arm’s weakening.”

      He bent and quickly smacked Amanda Sue on the cheek, but the baby objected, wiping it away with a flat wipe of her hand and puckering up again. Logan looked to Emily for help, and it was all she could do to keep from laughing. Finally, he pursed his lips and gave Amanda Sue a dry, fleeting peck on the mouth. Satisfied, Amanda Sue grinned and settled back, her arm looping around Emily’s neck. Logan colored, but the eyes with which he gazed at his daughter were very nearly worshipful.

      “See you later,” he said nonchalantly, but he wasn’t fooling Emily. That first real kiss from his daughter had tied his heart into knots.

      He turned away, but a sudden thought occurred to Emily. “Oh, wait,” she said. “What about the safety seat? I can’t take her in my car without it.”

      “You’re right. Here, take my keys.” He dug into his pants’ pocket. “Better yet, just take my car. Otherwise, I’ll have to walk down with you.”

      “True. If you’re sure that’s how you want to handle it, though, we’d better trade. Otherwise, how will you get home?”

      “Good point.”

      She dug in her purse for her own keys and handed them over, then thought better of it. “Uh, actually, I have to stop to get some overnight things and feed my cat, so I’d better take my apartment key.”

      “Right.”

      She pointed out the key, and he worked it off the ring, handing it over with his own.

      “This thing just keeps getting more and more complicated, doesn’t it?” she said, putting the keys into her bag.

      Logan sighed. “To tell you the truth, I guess I’m still reeling from the news. It’s like this whirlwind blew into my life and hasn’t slowed down yet. I keep hoping that when it does, it’ll leave behind some semblance of order, but what are the chances of that?”

      “Not much, I’d warrant,” she admitted sympathetically, “but it’ll get better eventually.”

      He sighed. “At least I have you until it does,” he said softly. “God help me if I didn’t.”

      Emily felt a strange heat blossom in her chest. She quickly turned away before it could spread to her cheeks. “Better get going,” she said briskly.

      “Remember,” he called as she pushed through the door, “dinner’s on me.”

      She nodded and kept moving, afraid to look back for fear of what she might see in his eyes. Simple gratitude or a certain sensual warmth? The problem was, she wasn’t sure which would frighten her more.

      The little car chugged into the driveway and promptly died. Logan pulled the emergency brake, removed the key from the ignition switch and grabbed the bag of Tex-Mex on the passenger seat. The clutch in Emily’s inexpensive car definitely needed an adjustment,

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