Page 59 of Marrying the Nanny

Ugh. Why did this have to be so agonizing? Better to get it over with, she supposed. She felt horribly self-conscious as she walked through the humid bathroom to the other room where he was zipping Storm into her pj’s.

He picked up the baby and handed her over, not quite meeting her eyes before he turned away to gather the wet towel.

“A freshly bathed baby? For me?” She snuggled the damp and rosy, sweet-smelling Storm. “It’s not even my birthday.” She rubbed her lips against the fine hair Reid had thoroughly dried with a towel, but made no effort to brush smooth—which only made Storm’s baby curls frizz up even cuter.

Storm curled her arm around Emma’s neck and bounced her bottom on her arm, cuddling better than any teddy bear ever invented. Seriously, was there anything more joyful than holding a warm, squeaky-clean baby in fuzzy pajamas?

“What did you want to talk about?” she asked Reid.

“A couple of things.” He was all business as he threw damp towels and dirty babywear into the hamper. “First”—he shot her a grave look—“still really sorry about this afternoon.”

“Forgotten,” she said primly and took Storm to the bed where she could lay her down and growl against her stomach. She got a hair pull and a kick in the head for her trouble, but it didn’t hurt. Storm let out her baby giggle, so it was a huge win.

“Also, I’m sleeping in here tonight.”

“Oh?” She lifted her head. Logan and Trystan used this bed when they were on nights. It had never bothered her. Not that she was bothered. Was she?

“Yeah. Uh…” He scratched the back of his head. “That patter outside? That’s the waterbed draining. Might go all night. Apologies for that as well.”

“Oh.” She was full of profundity, wasn’t she? “I guess that has to happen so you can start the renovations in your room. How, um… How long will that take?”

“How long is a string?” he muttered. “We’ll rotate through here on the night schedule, but Trystan is helping Logan at the marina for the next few days. He’ll have to start focusing full-time on the fishing and touring side of things in a week or so. I would send a crew up here if I could, but the lodges have bookings. We need those rooms finished. And I just found out the roof over the pub needs attention. There’s still some exterior work around the windows here that takes priority so the renovation upstairs will happen piecemeal as we have time. Which brings me to the third item I want to discuss.”

Emma let Storm grip her thumbs and gently pulled her up so she was sitting. “Yes?”

“How do you feel about boxing up Dad’s and Tiffany’s things? We’ve put the valuables in the safe at the office, but now it’s…a lot of decisions. My instincts are to clear-cut. You probably have a better sense of what might have meaning to Storm later.”

“I could do that.” At fourteen, she had accompanied her mother to England to go through her grandmother’s house. It was an emotional, sobering task. Intrusive, but for Storm’s sake, she relished the opportunity to find items that would preserve Wilf and Tiffany’s memory for her.

“Great. I’ll bring you some empty boxes from the store.”

“Okay. Um, I mentioned to Trystan earlier… The health nurse called. Storm is due for her six-month checkup next week. I’m happy to take her across unless one of you wants to? She’ll get shots,” she warned.

“If you’re volunteering, by all means, let her hate you.”

“You’re not going to hate me, are you?” She gently tipped Storm onto her back and stayed leaning over her so her loose hair drifted across Storm’s face.

Storm shivered and caught her breath, but grinned and lifted her arms, inviting Emma to do it again. They played the game a few times, both laughing, until Emma realized that Reid was standing there watching.

“Sorry,” she said, straightening. “You probably want to get her fed and down for the night.”

“No, it’s”—he cleared his throat—“I was just finishing…”

He glanced around, but the laundry was stowed and the diaper set out so it would be handy in the night, just as she’d shown him that first night. She had heard him empty the tub so everything was done.

Emma drew Storm to stand on her thighs. “You want to go have your bottle with Reid?”

Storm looked to him and grinned.

“Come on, you.” He scooped her up. “Bath, bottle, book, bed. Gotta stick to routine so you feel safe. Or so I’m told.” He sent a dry look toward Emma.

For a timeless millisecond, his gaze searched hers. He saw me naked, she thought, but she didn’t recoil. Maybe she would have if she’d felt threatened or demeaned. Instead, his glance contained a gentle check-in. Are we okay?

She found a small smile, rueful and more shy than shamed.

A very brief, very scant flick of his gaze at her mouth stirred a nervous flutter in her belly and lower.

Then he was talking to Storm. “Let’s take a quick peek at the bed, make sure it’s draining properly.” When he looked back at Emma, he was all business again. “I can shower upstairs until the bathroom is torn out. After that, do you mind if I use this one?”

---