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Just then Mary’s cell phone pinged. She grabbed her phone from her dress pocket. “Text message from Audra.” She frowned. “It’s one of those auto things that must be going to a lot of people.” Her frown deepened. “She’s going out of town. To St. Thomas?”
“Great. My son is sobbing for her, and she’s going to play swimsuit model in the tropics.”
He stormed out of the room and back to the nursery. To his surprise Joshua was sleeping soundly. Belle, the sixty-something Southern-belle temporary nanny, smiled. “I have a way with babies.”
“Right. Or maybe he just settled down because I left the room.” He ran his hand along the back of his neck.
“Don’t think like that, sugar. He’s just cranky this morning, and I managed to get him to sleep. So why don’t you just go get some work done. I’m fine here.”
He sucked in a breath. “Okay.”
He left the nursery and walked to the den, where he intended to make a few calls, but as soon as he stepped into the room, he thought of Audra, because it was in this room that he’d planned their big dinner date.
He hadn’t staffed it out as he usually did. No. He’d planned it himself. Every damned detail—for all the good it had done him.
He frowned. He hadn’t done it for himself. Or to make points. He’d done it for her. He’d wanted to make her happy.
For all the good that had done him.
His frown deepened. Why did he keep doing that? Relating everything back to himself? He’d wanted to make Audra happy for her. Not for himself. He wasn’t selfish when it came to her. Not really. He liked having her around, but he also loved pleasing her. It always seemed to him that nobody ever went out of their way to please her. But to him, buying her things, teasing her, including her in his life had been fun. Even the smallest gesture had been a wonderful surprise to her.
She had been very easy to please. Except for one big thing. She wanted him to marry her. And he didn’t want to marry anybody.
The events of Monday morning were pretty much the same as Sunday’s. Joshua awoke screaming. Dominic and Belle soothed the baby somewhat but not completely. One of them had to pace the floor with him all morning.
When Joshua finally lay down for a nap, Belle also decided to take a nap, and Dominic went to his den to work.
When he finished, he returned to the nursery. Joshua, though not screaming, was still fussy despite being with cuddly Belle, who appeared to be the kind of person who could charm birds from the trees. Still, her magic wasn’t working on Joshua that morning.
“I have an idea,” Dominic said, taking the baby from Belle. “The first nanny we had—” Merely thinking of Audra made his throat close. Yesterday he’d been angry, today he was sad. He missed Audra so damned much he couldn’t even say her name, couldn’t think about her without an avalanche of misery falling on him. “Anyway, she had a CD made of Joshua’s parents.” Though he knew Joshua missed Audra, Dominic also realized it was counterproductive to bring her back to soothe him. She wouldn’t be in Joshua’s life permanently. When she returned from the tropics, if he coerced her into visiting to spend time with the baby, Joshua would go through withdrawal again.
And so would he.
“I’m going to take him to the entertainment room and let his parents soothe him.”
Belle smiled warmly. “That’s a great idea.”
Dominic headed for the door, but he stopped suddenly. “You wouldn’t happen to want this job permanently would you?”
“I sort of have a full-time job. I’m just here to help a friend.”
“But it’s Tuesday.”
Belle laughed. “I have a very flexible employer, so I can do this.”
“Story of my life. Am I ever going to find a nanny who actually wants the job?”
He walked the baby to the entertainment room and, still holding Joshua, rifled through the CDs one-handed. Finally he found one they hadn’t viewed the week before and he popped it into the CD drive.
Peter and Marsha suddenly appeared on the large screen. Dominic took a seat, settling Joshua on his lap. As soon as they sat, Joshua began to fuss.
“Shh. Look. There’s your mom and dad.”
Joshua screeched his unhappiness.
“Just give it a chance,” Dominic said, growing impatient. Having control of nothing in his life was beginning to wear on him. He could think of a thousand women who would kill to go out with him while the one woman he wanted to be with didn’t want to go out with him. Why? Because he wouldn’t marry her. They hardly knew each other. Hadn’t really dated. Hadn’t slept together. Yet he was supposed to know he wanted to marry her?
