LITMIR.BIZ

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Drew’s father winked and flashed an engaging grin, then set little Jamey on his feet and ushered both boys through the door. Quincy the pit bull stood up, stretched lazily and followed the twins inside.

       Drew hesitated a moment, the corners of his lips once again curving down as his brow furrowed. He shoved his hands into his pockets and shifted uncomfortably from one foot to another, looking a great deal more like the staid, solemn school teacher Stephanie had initially imagined him to be. Something was definitely bothering him, and she wondered if it had anything to do with her. Why else would he be smiling one minute and frowning the next?

       Her apprehension hung almost palpably in the air, on her part, if not on his. He certainly wasn’t what she’d expected. Perhaps she wasn’t what he’d anticipated, either. Maybe he was wondering how to gently let her down, to send her packing again. But Drew obviously had some serious motivation in bringing her here to take care of his twins, something beyond what they’d discussed when she’d interviewed for the position.

       She had no clue why he had decided to look so far out of town to find someone to watch his children, and it was one of the first questions she planned to ask him when the opportunity presented itself. Granted, Serendipity was tiny, but it was hard to imagine there were no adequate forms of child care Drew could call upon in a pinch. At the very least, there must be a few teenagers who would be vying to earn a little extra spending money.

       So why her?

       It was a fair question, and one that she eventually meant to get to the bottom of, but in the end, she realized it didn’t matter to her all that much what his motivations were. The point of the matter was that she was here now, and this man had unknowingly offered her a way out of a really bad situation. He’d given her a place to hide from a spoiled, abusive boyfriend who didn’t know how to take no for an answer. Drew Spencer’s offer to hire her as a live-in nanny from now until the end of the school year was truly an answer to prayer—two months to heal her heart and get back on her feet, to give herself a fresh start.

       It wasn’t enough that her ex-boyfriend Ryan had torn her heart to shreds—he’d also ripped her home and her job right out from under her. She’d naively given up everything for him, only to find out he was playing her.

       She was proud of herself for finding the self-esteem to walk away from a toxic relationship, but that didn’t stop her from being a little bit anxious about the way it had ended—Ryan was used to getting his own way, and he was frighteningly possessive. He’d alienated her from everyone else in her life, wanting her all to himself—even though he never had any intention of putting a ring on her finger.

       How could she help but look over her shoulder, even knowing she was far away from New Jersey? Ryan had threatened to come after her, and he had power and money behind him to do it. She hoped she’d done enough to keep herself safe.

       She needed somewhere secluded and private to regroup and refocus her life, to make plans for her future, though at the moment, she had no idea what that would be—other than finding more permanent housing and a stable job.

       In the meantime, Serendipity was a good place to hide.

      * * *

       Drew wasn’t overly keen on having a nanny living in his house and getting under his feet. He was already so busy he barely had time to breathe, and he didn’t need the added complication of having someone in the way, especially a beautiful woman who smelled like orchids and jasmine.

       Unfortunately, he had little choice in the matter. Drew was working off the advice of his lawyer, who had strongly suggested he get someone to watch his boys full-time until the end of the school year, particularly since the custody mediation with his ex-wife wasn’t progressing well. His lawyer had called it making a good faith effort to show he was taking care of the boys.

       It had better be good. It was costing Drew a good part of his pension plan. And it was causing him a great deal of stress.

       Heather had recently been making all kinds of verbal threats about taking the boys away from him, and though none of them had yet come to fruition, Drew still felt as if she was holding him hostage where the kids were concerned.

       He knew full well that Heather didn’t have any intention of shouldering the responsibility of raising children. She probably planned to pawn them off on her parents, or worse yet, whatever boyfriend she was living with.

       Drew’s gut felt as if it was filled with molten lead, as it always did when he thought about the callous way Heather had left him—and even worse, how she had abandoned the twins. He prayed he could eventually find forgiveness in his heart for her, but he was human, and forgiveness was a long way off, especially now that she was locking him in a battle for custody of the children.

       For Heather, this wasn’t about what was best for Matty and Jamey. She was only interested in hitting Drew where it hurt. He couldn’t even imagine life without the twins. He would have no life without his sons.

       And Heather knew it.

       “Which name should I call you?”

       Stephanie’s golden voice slowly penetrated into his thoughts. She flashed him a dazzling smile that exposed both rows of straight, white teeth. “Do you have a preference?”

       “I’m sorry?” he asked. His eyebrows rose in confusion as he was mentally jerked into the present.

       “Shall I call you Drew or Spence? Your dad said the folks in town call you Spence.”

       “Oh, yeah. Right. No…Drew is fine.”

       He didn’t know why he was stammering, and he certainly had no clue why he’d just given her the answer he had. Only members of his immediate family called him Drew. The words had just slipped out before he’d had a chance to think about what he was saying, but he didn’t correct himself. As a live-in nanny, Stephanie was going to be a part of the family for a while, even if she was everything he didn’t want in a nanny.

       Not outwardly, anyway.

       What had happened to the peculiar cross between Mary Poppins and Nanny McPhee that he’d been expecting to show up at his door? Instead, Stephanie had soft, delicate features, high cheekbones, a pretty smile, wave upon wave of sun-drenched, fair hair and warm brown eyes that a man could easily get lost in.

       He didn’t feel like it sometimes, but he was still a living, breathing man. He was going to trip over Stephanie’s beauty every time he looked at her. He’d erroneously assumed, from her upside-down umbrella avatar on the Parents of Preschoolers classified board that she’d be…

       Plain?

       Homely?

       Truth be told, he didn’t know what he’d been expecting, only that the woman still waiting on his doorstep was not it.

       Emphasis on waiting. On his doorstep. He ought to kick himself for his discourtesy.

       Stepping aside, he gestured for her to go in ahead of him. He averted his gaze from her female sway, but he was unable to keep himself from inhaling the rich oriental fragrance that wafted over him as she swept by. She smelled every bit as good as she looked, which really wasn’t helping matters any. He was uncomfortable enough as it was.

       There was no sign of his father, but the twins were huddled around the toy box in the living room. They already had several trucks and trains on the floor and were reaching for more.

       “One toy at a time, boys,” Drew reminded them. “Remember our rule.” His gaze shifted to Stephanie. “I tidy up this place at least five times a day, and there are still toys scattered everywhere. They haven’t quite mastered the one-at-a-time rule yet, and they’re easily distracted.”

       Stephanie chuckled lightly. “Comes with the territory. I don’t mind at all. Preschoolers and messy go together like butter on toast.”

       “Right,” he agreed, noting that her expression softened and her shoulders lost their stiffness when her attention was directed at the children.

       Offering

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