Renee Roszel - The Billionaire Daddy

She decided to take her niece out onto the acres of redwood deck that surrounded the ocean side of the house. Not necessarily because the day was balmy, but because she thought she would have more privacy to make any blunders in feeding a baby.

The sun shone pleasantly, not overly warm, but Lauren decided a tiny person’s skin might be pretty sensitive, so she settled with Tina in a shaded, cushioned lounge chair. To Lauren’s surprise and pleasure, the chair rocked.

She managed to get Tina to take the bottle without much problem. Luckily Tina seemed to be a good eater. Relieved, Lauren breathed deeply of the ocean-scented air. How pleasant it was there, with a picture-book view and gentle breeze. The only sounds were the distant sough of the ocean, and the cry of gulls as they swooped and soared.

In such vast, idyllic privacy, Lauren decided to try out a lullaby. After all, she was a music appreciation teacher. She should know lullabies. She began to sing and rock as Tina contentedly took her bottle. After Lauren sang the only verse she knew of “Rock-a-bye Baby” twelve times, she began to get a little sick of it. Besides, who in her right mind would rock a baby in a treetop!

She began to hum one of her favorite compositions by Debussy. Lauren had never considered herself much of a singer, but she could carry a tune. She figured at just under six months of age Tina wouldn’t be too picky.

The baby appeared fascinated by Lauren’s face and the sound of her voice. Lauren grinned. Something about the sight of those big blue eyes, so wide and rapt, sparked a creative bent in her soul, and she started ad-libbing lyrics. “Oh—Oh, no—not a tree! We don’t want to be hauled up in a tree! We’re tired of falling—out of treeeeeeees.”

“I didn’t realize Clair de lune had words.”

Lauren jerked around to see Mr. Delacourte framed in the open door to the living room. He’d changed into blue shorts, deck shoes and a white polo shirt. He was marvelous looking, breathtakingly so, from a great pair of legs to his masterfully chiseled face. A smile lurked in dazzling smoky-gray eyes. Once again he was laughing at her.

She hid her embarrassment at being caught spouting such an inane song, and returned her gaze to Tina. She was surprised that he recognized Clair de lune. But since it was a sensual melody, she supposed he’d used it for a few seductions in his time. “I—I made up the words.”

“Really?” The smile spread to his voice. “Sounds like some of my college roommate’s stuff.”

“Thank you.” She had a feeling his remark wasn’t a wholehearted compliment, but she didn’t intend to let him know. “Your roommate was a musical genius, I gather.”

He grinned. “My roommate thought so.”

She peered his way, telling herself his dimpled smile had no effect on her. “Actually there’s a school of thought—that babies should hear the classics early and often.” She didn’t know if there was such a school, but if there wasn’t, there should be.

She stroked Tina’s downy hair as the baby sucked out the last of her formula. Lifting the empty bottle away, Lauren placed it on a small, glass-topped table beside her chair. “Tina’s encouraging expression got the better of me,” she added honestly. “I felt the urge to combat any negative suggestions that she allow herself to be—”

“Dropped from a tree?”

Lauren eyed him again, exasperated by his obvious mirth. “Well, if you ask me, it’s a stupid lullaby.”

“It always seemed stupid to me.” He moved to the railing and gazed out to sea. Lauren’s glance trailed over him. Being a pragmatic woman, she told herself Dade Delacourte looked exactly like any other man in his mid-thirties. Well, perhaps any other really good-looking man in his mid-thirties.

His dark hair fluttered in the breeze, shiny-clean and soft. It was only hair, she reminded herself. And he was only a man, like billions of others. Broader around the shoulders, squarer of jaw and appealingly tall, a wayward imp in her brain taunted. With to-diefor legs and drool-worthy dimples. Not to mention, he’s richer than practically any man in the country! She shook her head to squelch the disturbing imp.

Mr. Delacourte didn’t look like a heartless womanizer. Maybe that was the problem with heartless womanizers. They didn’t wear warning signs, and their claws didn’t show. All one actually saw was the pleasant manly trappings.

Much later than she should have, Lauren tugged her attention away from his broad back. It was a shame she couldn’t see his claws, even sadder that there were no outward signs of his negligent heart.

How unfair!

Lauren frowned as she lifted Tina to her shoulder and began to pat. She knew this was how one burped a baby. A person couldn’t make it into her mid-twenties without at least seeing a baby being burped. “Okay, Tina. Do it for Aun—” She cut herself off. How could she have started to say Auntie Lauren, with Dade Delacourte right there! Was she going noodley in the head? She coughed to cover her mistake. “…for Quinn.”

She patted and patted. After a minute, a very un-ladylike trumpet bellowed out of the infant. The deep belch took Lauren so by surprise, she burst out laughing.

Dade turned, looking puzzled. “What’s funny?”

Lauren pursed her lips and shook her head. No nanny worth her salt would laugh at a burp, no matter how much it sounded like an off-key toot of a French horn. “Nothing.” She swallowed a giggle, making sure her features registered businesslike reserve. “Her burp—is quite—musical.”

“Is that what you’d call it?” He flashed a grin and her pulse grew fitful. He shifted around to face her, and leaned against the rail. “Are you saying she has talent, Miss Quinn?”

“I’d give that burp an A-plus—for volume, anyway.” Lauren batted down an urge to smile at him, reminding herself why she was here and exactly who and what this man was. “Does she get her burping talent from you?”

His amusement vanished. For an instant his gaze rested on the child, his features vaguely troubled; then he turned away.

His reaction startled Lauren. “Uh, I didn’t mean to offend you.” Good grief, didn’t the man have a sense of humor? Apparently he could laugh at her, but woe be it to anybody who dared joke about him!

“Did you find everything satisfactory in your rooms, Quinn?” he asked, his voice low and controlled.

She absently patted Tina’s back, watching him. Evidently there were rules about nanniness she needed to commit to memory. Like, “Don’t kid with your employer.” Well, that was fine with her. The less casual chatting between them, the better. “The rooms are fine, sir.”

“Good.” He didn’t turn.

Beeeerrrrrtttthhhh!

Tina’s second showy belch made Lauren jump. She experienced another titter of laughter, but hid it under a manufactured coughing fit. She repositioned Tina into the crook of her arm, smiled at the baby and began to rock. “Where did you learn your manners, sweetie?” she whispered.

Something flitted into Lauren’s peripheral vision. Even before she registered what she saw, her adrenaline surged. She snapped her gaze up to fasten on the flitting thing. A wasp! Her sister, Millie, was terribly allergic to wasp stings, and at four-years-old had almost died from a sting. What if Tina had inherited the same allergic reaction?

The wasp swooped too near the baby. Lauren bent forward to protect Tina with her body. “No!” She swatted at the insect. “Get out of here you devil!”

“Excuse me?”

Lauren didn’t have the time to concern herself with Mr. Delacourte’s sensibilities. Let him think she’d called him a devil. It wasn’t as though the thought had never crossed her mind. She crouched over Tina, peeking around to see where the wasp was. She whacked at it, but missed again. “Get away!”