Susan Crosby - The Single Dad's Virgin Wife

“I chauffeured. Valerie brought dinner,” David said. “She made everything.”

“Thanks,” Noah said, surprised. “But why?”

“To welcome your new nanny,” Valerie said.

“Teacher,” he corrected, looking over David’s head to try to see what was in the bowl, guessing it was salad. David had lucked out when he’d hired Valerie through At Your Service. She was the calm, competent woman Noah had been looking for, too. He didn’t think that description applied to Tricia. Well, competent, maybe. But calm? Probably not. Lively. That was a better word. “I hope you’re staying for dinner, too,” Noah said.

David made clucking sounds.

“What’s that for?” Noah asked. “I’m not a chicken.”

“You don’t want to make small talk with your help.”

“So? I’ve never liked to. It’s no different with Tricia.”

David stood. “She’s just your type.”

“She’s on the other side of the world from being my type.”

“Leave him alone,” Valerie said to her fiancé, slipping her hand into his, firing a heat-seeking caution look with her eyes. “Yes, we’ll stay for dinner. That was our goal, although David was supposed to call and alert you. I want to meet Tricia myself. I expect we’ll become friends.”

“She’s here!” came a shout from upstairs, followed by the rush of footfalls scurrying down the staircase. As a group they ran through the kitchen and out the back door, Hannah grinning as she came last—following just to follow, Noah supposed.

“That’s quite a reception,” David commented, wandering to the window to watch.

Noah went to take a look. Ashley and Zach got up close to her. Tricia hugged Ashley, her face alight with pleasure, and said something to Zach that caused him to smile then look down at the ground. Adam and Zoe didn’t allow her close enough to hug. She held out a hand to Hannah, an outgoing, happy girl who was just as caught up in Tricia’s arrival as the rest of them.

Tricia opened the back of her SUV and started passing things to each child, then they marched toward the house like safari porters, carrying bags, boxes and garments on hangers, with Tricia bringing up the rear with the largest box.

“Aren’t either of you big, strong men going to help her?” Valerie asked as the back door flew open and the children tramped through.

Criticized into action, Noah met Tricia at the back door and took the box from her.

“A welcoming committee. How fun,” she said. “Hi, Noah. I’m glad to see you again, David.”

“I’m more glad to see you,” he said with a grin. “Tricia McBride, this is my fiancée, Valerie Sinclair.”

The women shook hands. “Hannah must be yours. She looks just like you. She’s darling.”

“Thank you, yes, she’s mine.”

“They brought dinner,” Noah said, balancing the box on the edge of the counter.

“Oh, how nice of you. And since you’re not running off, would you mind if I excuse myself for a few minutes and go make sure the children haven’t just heaped all my clothes on the floor?”

David and Valerie encouraged Tricia to go.

“Be right back,” Noah said, then trailed her up the stairs. As he eyed her from behind he started to rethink the idea of putting in a pool, as Zoe requested. Getting a chance to see the teacher in a skimpy bikini—

“Maybe you should just come up beside me,” Tricia said, stopping and turning around.

He kept his expression blank. Okay, she’d caught him. He was a healthy male who’d been without female companionship for three years. So sue him for admiring her very sexy body.

“I got it!” a child yelled from down the hall.

“I brought it up here!”

“I think the troops need a mediator,” Noah said, hiding his surprise at the fact any of them were yelling, something that almost never happened. They all got along eerily well.

Tricia’s mouth tightened, but she continued up the stairs again, and he allowed himself the pleasure of watching her hips sway until they reached the landing.

She stopped there instead of heading toward the yelling down the hall. “Do we need to have a discussion?” she asked him.

“About what?”

“Appropriate employer/employee behavior.”

“I’m familiar with the laws,” he said. “But why do you ask?”

“You know why.”

“Enlighten me.” He figured she was only speculating that he’d been eyeing her rear as she climbed the stairs. He’d painted her into a corner. Either she had an accusation to make or she didn’t.

“I’m telling Father!” Zoe came charging out of the room. “Ashley won’t let anyone help.”

Noah moved past Tricia and Zoe. When he reached Tricia’s bedroom, he set the box on the floor and looked around. The closet door was open. Clothes hung neatly on the racks, with shoes lined up like little soldiers on the floor below. Ashley and Adam were elbowing each other trying to put books onto shelves. Zach was perched on the bed, thumbing through a photo album. Hannah sat cross-legged on the floor, out of the way, wide-eyed. As an only child, she hadn’t been exposed to sibling rivalry.

The tension was abnormally high, each child intending to make Tricia feel at home, but being pushy about it.

“Miss Tricia can put away her own things, and, in fact, probably prefers to. Everybody out,” Noah said.

“But thank you for your help,” Tricia added from the doorway.

Zach hadn’t lifted his head. Noah slid the photo album out of his son’s hands and pointed toward the door. Before Noah closed the album, he caught a glimpse of a photo of Tricia and a man wearing an army uniform, their arms around each other. She looked young and in love.

He set the album on the dresser. “I apologize for my children,” he said to her. “They’re trying to help. Obviously they went a little overboard.”

“It’s no problem.”

“It is as far as I’m concerned.”

She waited a beat. “You’re the boss.”

He remembered how Zach had told him to be nice, and how Ashley said he needed to smile. He wasn’t doing what he’d promised his children he would. And none of them could afford to lose Tricia.

“I apologize,” he said, purposely relaxing his shoulders, trying to seem more accessible. “I wanted them to be on their best behavior for you. All of us, actually. Myself included.”

“Why?”

“It’s your first day. We didn’t want to scare you off.”

She laughed. Her face lit up when she smiled. Green eyes sparkled. “I’m not easily intimidated.”

“Good. Is the room okay? Big enough?”

“It’s beautiful. Since my time here will be limited, it’ll do just fine.” She hitched a thumb toward the door. “The children have put most of my things away, so we can get back to your guests. How long has your brother been engaged?” she asked as they left the room.

“Less than a week. He hired Valerie through At Your Service as his housekeeper and administrative assistant about two months ago. He’s also adopting her daughter.”

“How nice for all of them.”

“Yes.”

She cocked her head. “I hear a but ….”

Should he voice his concerns out loud to someone he barely knew? Would she keep quiet about his reservations or tell David? Something about her invited trust. “They haven’t known each other long, that’s all. And David has said forever he wouldn’t get married, so it’s hard to feel comfortable about his decision.”

They’d almost reached the bottom of the stairs. Tricia leaned close to say, “But they’re just engaged, right? They’ll have more time before the wedding to learn more about each other. They could change their minds.”

He’d been prepared to hear her say the opposite—something about him being too jaded, or not a romantic or something. Instead she’d seen his point about how little David and Valerie knew about each other. He liked that she seemed practical.