SUSAN MEIER - The Nanny Solution

** Конец ознакомительного фрагмента. Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес». Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес. Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом. The Tycoon’s Double Trouble #1650

** Конец ознакомительного фрагмента. Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес». Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес. Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом. The Nanny Solution #1662

Silhouette Desire

Take the Risk #567

SUSAN MEIER

is one of eleven children, and though she has yet to write a book about a big family, many of her books explore the dynamics of “unusual” family situations such as large work “families,” bosses who behave like overprotective fathers, or “sister” bonds created between friends. Because she has more than twenty nieces and nephews, children also are always popping up in her stories. Many of the funny scenes in her books are based on experiences raising her own children or interacting with her nieces and nephews.

She was born and raised in western Pennsylvania and continues to live in Pennsylvania.

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

“Can I have this dance?”

Hannah Evans faced Jake Malloy and his mouth fell open slightly. He had been expecting shyness and freckles from the baby sister of his best friend. Instead he found a woman’s smile and skin as perfect as a sun-washed June morning. With her big green eyes, blond hair and shapely mouth, she was as classically beautiful as Lauren Bacall or Cybill Shepard.

His gaze involuntarily slid from her face, down the long column of her slender neck and to her breasts. The back of her black gown might have been the simple fare he expected from the former tomboy, but the front was not. Black lace cruised an enticing strip of white cleavage.

Something twisted in Jake’s gut. When in the hell had Luke Evans’s little sister grown up?

Jake’s birthday guests mingled around them. The swish and rustle of satins and silks punctuated everyone’s movements. Hannah smiled shakily. “I’m not much of a dancer…”

“Oh, that’s all right.” Jake took her hand, leading her onto the dance floor—which was really the living room of his huge home with all the furniture pushed back against the walls. The slide of her palm against his sent a frisson of awareness through him, and though this was his best friend’s little sister, Jake didn’t stop himself from enjoying it.

Besides, this was business. He hadn’t asked Hannah to dance out of romantic interest, but because she was talking to Jake’s former college roommate and current CIA contact, preventing him from leaving. While Jake and Hannah danced, Edgar Downing would slip out of the party unnoticed.

Just as they found a clear spot on the dance floor, the fast music stopped and the DJ shifted to a slow, romantic tune. Again, Jake ignored the twinge of conscience that this was Luke’s baby sister. He wasn’t interested in Hannah, only doing his job. He took her right hand in his and slid his left hand around her waist, pulling her close enough to make sure he kept her attention off Edgar and on him. The material of her silky slip dress felt soft and feminine against his fingers. He could smell her hair.

“So you’re a teacher?”

She peeked up at him. Her long, straight locks shifted, slipped off her shoulder and cascaded down her back. They grazed the top of his hand. “I was.”

He grimaced. “Sorry. I forgot Luke told me you got laid off. I didn’t mean to bring up something unpleasant.”

“Oh, that’s all right.”

Jake noticed that though she was talking and dancing, her eyes had begun to move again. He didn’t think she was looking for Edgar. He believed it was a coincidence that she’d engaged his CIA boss in conversation the very minute Edgar needed to leave for another appointment. He suspected Hannah’s lack of eye contact was the shyness he had been expecting to find when he’d first tapped her on the shoulder.

Not only had she always been a bit timid, but Jake was also nine years older than Hannah. Plus, he was quarterback of the football team that had won the state championship fifteen years ago. No team had ever come close to their record. Jake himself got a college scholarship out of it. When he graduated, he talked Troy Cramer, owner of one of the biggest software companies in the world, into forming an investment partnership. Troy put up the money and Jake investigated and chose the investments. Now Jake was also rich.

He was older, wiser, sophisticated, and in the small town of Wilburn, Pennsylvania, he was a legend. To a woman like Hannah, who hadn’t even left home for college, dancing with him could be as intimidating as being asked to dance by Brad Pitt. Especially when her own life was in such a downturn.

“There’s little point in trying to run from the truth,” Hannah continued. “I got laid off thanks to some cutbacks. And I’m not the only one to get the ax, so everyone in town knows.” She met his gaze. “Wil-burn is too small of a place to run from things like that.”

He wasn’t prepared for the impact of staring directly into her pretty green eyes and didn’t have time to brace for the bolt of lightning that sizzled through him. He hid his reaction with a grimace. “I’m still sorry for bringing it up.”

As if dismissing the topic, she returned her gaze to Jake’s party guests. Her eyes once again surveyed the crowd. “I suppose I should tell you happy birthday.”

“If you bought me a gift, that’s happy birthday enough.”

Just as Jake had hoped, his silly remark brought her attention back to him. “Very funny.”

He smiled, continuing the teasing because he hated that she seemed so dejected. “It wasn’t intended to be. I like presents.”

“Right. I get it now. That’s why you gave yourself a party.”

“It didn’t seem as if anyone else was going to give me one.”

She laughed. “Then everything Luke told me about your vanity must be true.”

“Absolutely,” Jake agreed, tightening his hold on her waist, thrilled he had made her laugh. He knew he couldn’t have her. He absolutely, definitely would not date the little sister of a man who knew the sordid details of Jake’s love life. But that didn’t mean they couldn’t enjoy dancing.

Though the song was slow, he spun them around as if they were waltzing. He felt alive and wonderful and though he knew dancing with Hannah was part of the reason, the other part had more to do with Edgar recruiting him to work full-time for the CIA.