Lynne Marshall - Spellbound By The Single Dad

“She’s great,” Jenna said brightly. “We had our meeting while I changed diapers and carted babies around. She didn’t flinch or lose her train of thought once.”

Liam was pleased but not surprised. Hawke’s Blooms was known for paying its staff well, but in return, they had high expectations of every employee. “Did you get far with the plans?”

“We made a list of what needs to be done in the next week, and she’s going to liaise with people in Adam’s and Dylan’s offices. She’s already booked The Gold Palm as the venue and they’re talking about the guest list. I think everything’s on track.”

“Thank you again for agreeing to help with this. I appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome,” she said, smiling. “It’s actually been fun.”

From the expression on her face, he didn’t doubt that, but she was still doing him a favor. “I’ve been thinking, since you’re handling this on top of your nanny duties, you should be compensated accordingly.”

She held up a hand, her eyes suddenly serious. “I couldn’t take more money. I’m barely doing anything—Danielle is doing most of the work.”

“I’m not comfortable with you getting nothing. If you won’t take extra money, then what?” He settled his gaze on her, wishing he could see inside her mind. “Tell me what you want, Jenna.”

* * *

Jenna couldn’t catch her breath. With his dark green eyes on her like that, her body quivered. What did she want? Him. No question. Just him.

But that wasn’t what he meant. She bit down on her lip and looked away. “I can’t think of anything.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Then you’re a rare person. Everyone wants something. What about a trip home to Larsland? We could wait until Bonnie’s a bit older and get someone to fill in here for you for a couple of weeks.”

Jenna stroked Meg’s head as the baby’s eyes grew heavy. “I’m not ready to go home just yet.”

“Well, a trip somewhere else. Or if you don’t want to travel, then perhaps a night out. Dylan’s always getting tickets to Hollywood premieres and offering them to me. Fancy a night on the red carpet?”

An event swarming with media? She suppressed a shiver. The very last thing she needed was to be snapped in the background of a celebrity shot by a paparazzo and have the photo beamed around the world.

“I’ll just take Meg next door,” she said, glad her daughter had fallen asleep. She needed a moment to think of something to distract Liam.

After laying her daughter in her crib and kissing the top of her head, she went back to Liam and Bonnie. “The only thing I can think of is a puppy. Bonnie could have her own dog to grow up with her, and the puppy would be another constant in her life.”

The royal court had several dogs, and one of the happiest memories of her childhood was when her parents had let her have a puppy of her own. The only stipulation had been on the dog’s size. Because it would be living in a palace, it needed to be small and easily controlled. Her little Sigrid had been white, fluffy and her best friend. One day she hoped to be settled enough to get a dog for Meg, but there was no reason Bonnie couldn’t have a little puppy soon—they’d just need to carefully supervise their interactions while Bonnie was so small.

Liam’s gaze told her he hadn’t been fooled for a second. “I have no problem with Bonnie having a puppy, but that’s not something for you.”

“I’d love a dog,” she said earnestly, “so having one for Bonnie would be like having one for me too.”

The corners of his mouth twitched. “Still not good enough. It has to be something else.”

She released a breath and put up her hands. “Liam, honestly, this job is like a godsend to me. I have a home for my daughter and can spend all day with her.” She looked down at the precious baby cradled in his arm. “Bonnie is the icing on the cake. I truly love her, and so does Meg.”

Liam lifted the empty bottle from Bonnie’s lips. “You’ll have to teach me to burp her now, but—” he looked up at her, eyebrows raised “—we haven’t finished on this topic yet.”

“Noted,” she said, hoping she’d have worked out what to say by the time they got back to it. She took the bottle from him and set it on the table, then grabbed a little towel. “Here, put this over your shoulder, then lift her so it’s in front of her mouth.”

He lifted Bonnie very carefully and positioned her. “Okay, now what?”

“Tap her back lightly, so she can bring up any air bubbles that went down with the milk.”

The towel wasn’t sitting quite in the middle of his shoulder and her fingers itched to smooth it out, but she knew he wanted to do this completely on his own, so she left it.

After a few taps, Bonnie brought up a small amount of white liquid, which, unfortunately, landed squarely on Liam’s shirt. Jenna smothered a laugh as she said, “Don’t worry, it’s happened to me more times than I can count.”

He turned his head to try and see the damage. “We might have to work on your aim, Bonnie Hawke. Or more likely, on my towel placement skills.”

Jenna chuckled. “Here, let me take Bonnie so you can get that shirt off.”

“Thanks,” he said, passing his daughter. “She’s one wink away from sleep anyway.”

Jenna took the baby, whose eyes were already closed, rocked her a few times to make sure, then laid her in the crib. “Good night, beautiful,” she whispered.

When she turned around, she was confronted by Liam’s bare chest. He was standing several feet away, but he was all she could see, and a tiny spark of electricity shot straight through her. He was balling the shirt in his hands and looking around the room, probably for the dirty clothes basket, which gave her precious moments to observe him unnoticed. She took advantage of them without thinking.

His chest was solid with faint lines of definition and a sprinkling of dark hair. Her fingers itched to test the strength of the muscles there, to feel the crispness of the hair. Then she realized he’d stilled. She raised her gaze to his face only to find he was watching her. Her stomach fluttered. He took an infinitesimal step forward, as he reached out to stroke the side of her face then cup her cheek. His gaze fell to her mouth, and the nerve endings in her lips sprang to life, tingling. Yearning.

This was wrong, she knew it was wrong, yet in this moment she couldn’t bring herself to care. All that mattered was Liam, and he was close, so close that her heart battered against her ribs.

He lowered his head, ever so slowly, until his lips brushed hers. Delicious warmth spread through her body and she couldn’t contain the moan that escaped her throat. When his mouth settled more firmly and his tongue touched hers, she knew she’d reached heaven.

She fell into the kiss—into Liam. His heat and scent. Sensation danced across every nerve in her body. She reached up, touching his bare chest with her fingertips, and she felt a shudder rip through him. The shirt he’d been holding fell to the floor as one of his hands snaked out to press her fingers more firmly against his skin, the other to wrap around behind her, hauling her against him.

This kiss was more than anything she’d ever experienced—more intense, more uncontrollable, more glorious. Just more. And she’d never get enough. Of the kiss. Of Liam. He sucked her bottom lip into his mouth and she would have melted into the floor if he hadn’t been holding her up.

And then he wrenched away, breathing heavily but with his gaze still locked on her. The air was cold on her chest where he’d been pressed only seconds before. The sudden absence of a kiss that had felt like her whole world caused her head to spin, and to stop herself reaching for him again, she rubbed her fingertips over her still tingling lips.