Leigh Michaels - Assignment - Twins

“Congratulations, Ms. Marshall—you have just hit the jackpot. You are the lucky winner of twins.”

Nikki stared at Seth, certain she couldn’t be hearing correctly. “What do you mean I won them?” she croaked finally.

Seth shrugged. “I could have said you lost the lottery, but I thought it would make you feel better if I put a positive spin on it. What it comes down to is, you get to keep the twins a while longer.”

Nikki’s head was spinning. “Oh, no.”

“You’re the one who volunteered for this responsibility,” Seth pointed out.

“I said I’d take care of the babies for three days. Count them—Friday, Saturday, Sunday!”

“Or until Laura gets home.”

And Laura didn’t expect to be hit by a virus, any more than I would expect to get struck by lightning…But what was she going to do about it?

Couldn’t Seth help…?

Leigh Michaels has always been a writer, composing dreadful poetry when she was just four years old and dictating it to her long-suffering older sister. She started writing romance in her teens and burned six full manuscripts before submitting her work to a publisher. Now, with more than 75 novels to her credit, she also teaches romance writing seminars at universities, writers’ conferences and on the Internet.

Leigh loves to hear from readers. You may contact her at:

PO Box 935, Ottumwa, Iowa 52501, U.S.A. or visit her Web site at www.leighmichaels.com

Books by Leigh Michaels

HARLEQUIN ROMANCE®

3783—PART-TIME FIANCÉ

3800—THE TAKEOVER BID

www.millsandboon.co.uk

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

NIKKI plunged her hands into the hot, soapy water for the last time and pulled the plug out of the drain. “There, that’s the last of the dishes.” She picked up a baby bottle which had tipped over and set it upside down to drain on one of the towels which lined the small counter.

From the dining nook just outside the galley kitchen, Laura called, “Washing three days’ worth of my dirty dishes wins you the friendship service medal, you know.”

Nikki dried her hands, rolled down the sleeves of her silky blouse, and buttoned her cuffs. “Is that all I did?” She kept her voice light. “From the size of the pile, I expected it had taken a week to build up.”

“For the average family of four, perhaps. But when you have two kids this size, dirty stuff collects in a hurry.”

Nikki paused in the doorway. Laura was sitting with her back to the kitchen, facing a pair of high chairs. In each chair was a dark-haired child, not quite a year old, each armed with a small, soft-tipped spoon and a plastic bowl. The thick, gooey, grayish, slimy-looking substance which had once been in the bowls was now spread liberally over the high-chair trays as well as the two cherubic faces, and a few lumps had landed on the plastic mat which covered the floor.

All things considered, Nikki thought, I got the best end of the deal by doing the dishes.

Laura’s babies were adorable, no question about it. But fond as Nikki was of Zack and Anna, she didn’t regret that her life had taken a different channel from Laura’s. At least, not very often.

“What is that stuff they’re eating, really?” Nikki asked.

“Rice cereal mixed with mashed pears.”

Nikki wrinkled her nose. “It looks like library paste that’s been left out to mildew.”

“Shh. They’re very sensitive to other people’s reactions to food. I mashed up some squash for them to try the other night. Stephen took one look at it and made gagging noises—and the twins spit out every bite after that.”

“You’re certain it was because of their dad? I mean, honestly, Laura—squash? They’re only eleven months old. Not liking squash seems to be part of the deal.”

“It’s an excellent source of Vitamin A,” Laura said firmly.

“I’m sure it is.” Nikki nodded toward the twins. Zack had cereal in his left eyebrow. Anna’s chin was covered with half-dried paste. “Are they actually getting any of that stuff inside where it counts?”

“Well, Anna’s better at it than Zack is,” Laura admitted. “But Zack’s more determined to do it himself, so I have to sneak in an extra bite when he’s not paying attention.” She dipped a spoon into one of the bowls and inserted it into the boy twin’s mouth while he was inspecting a lump of cereal that had stuck to his smallest finger. He swallowed absent-mindedly and opened his mouth again.

“Want me to help?”

Laura smiled. “You don’t really mean that. If you got cereal all over that suit right before you go meet an important client, I’d feel awful. You’ve already done enough for one day, anyway, clearing up my dishes. Having a broken dishwasher and two babies does make life a little difficult.”

Nikki pulled up a chair. “I know finances have been a bit tight lately for you and Stephen,” she said gently. “But it will have to be fixed before you can list the house for sale.”

Laura nodded. “Seth’s going to tear it apart when he has time and see if he can get the parts so he and Stephen can get it running again.”

“When he has time? I see.” Nikki was proud of herself; her voice sounded absolutely neutral. “How’s The Lone Repairer doing these days?”

Laura shot her a suspicious look. “Since when do you want to chat about Seth?”

“I was just making conversation. But if you don’t want to talk about your husband’s brother—”

“I thought you might have run into him recently. He’s working on a house up in the Rockhurst neighborhood, one of those huge mansions near the art museum. It’s a big job.”

“And that—plus all the blond fashion-model lookalikes who require his attention—is why your dishwasher is still broken.”

“Well, I do wish he’d date someone whose IQ is larger than her dress size,” Laura said. “But to be perfectly fair, my dishwasher isn’t Seth’s responsibility. He has his own place to keep up.”

“I suppose when it’s your full-time job to fix things, it’s not much fun to do it on your day off, too.”

“It would be sort of like asking you to go on a tour of homes for fun, after you’ve shown houses all week long.”

“I happen to love home tours, but I see what you mean. It’s too bad Stephen wasn’t the brother who inherited the handyman genes.”

Laura sighed. “The poor guy tries. He put up a towel rack in the bathroom last week.”

“Without Seth supervising? I’m amazed.”

“Of course, it fell off three days later and tore a chunk out of the tile wall.”

Nikki winced.

“At the rate we’re going, we’ll never get this house in shape to sell. Of course, if we can put it off till the kids go to college, we won’t need to buy a bigger house at all. The next eighteen years will be something of a challenge, in a two-bedroom house with no playroom and a kitchen the size of a postage stamp, but—”

“This is a darling house, Laura.”

“That’s the real-estate person inside you talking.”

“It’s a cute little cottage with an efficient floor plan. Perfect starter home for a young couple.”

“Until they unexpectedly have twins.” Laura spooned cereal into Anna’s mouth. “Stephen wanted me to ask you something. A favor.”

Surprise tingled through Nikki’s veins. It wasn’t that she and Stephen never talked, but it was generally Laura who issued invitations and arranged plans for the couple, while her husband was the quiet, always-agreeable one. For Stephen to specifically ask Nikki for a favor…