Page 8 of Baby Bodyguard

For some odd reason it took her a minute to gather herself. Why? The question nagged at him. He had the unsettling impression that something wasn’t quite right and he’d learned long ago to listen to his instincts. Though he’d have sooner cut out his tongue than admit that’s what they were. Instead, he called them logical deductions based on a subconscious awareness of facts not immediately in evidence. And sitting here, listening to her, made profoundly aware that a slew of facts weren’t immediately in evidence. Sami’s reaction to their interview struck him as too extreme.

Oh, yeah. She was trouble, no doubt aboutit.

“How old are you?” she finally asked.

“Thirty-five.”

“Are you married?”

“No.”

“Do you have any children?”

“No.”

“What do you do for a living?”

Aw, hell. He hadn’t expected that question. If he came here to work as her man Friday, what he did for a living should be self-evident. “Do you mean before this?”

“Mr. Hawke—”

“Noah.”

“Noah, then. It’s not like this is a full-time position.”

“It’s not?”

“After… after your—” She waved a hand in the air. “—duties are through for the day, you’re free to go about your business. In fact, Idon’t expect you to spend much of your day here at all. If you wish to seek employment in addition to this, that’s perfectly acceptable.”

That wouldn’t do. If he had a hope in hell of finding out who’d sent Sami that note, he’d have to be with her as close to twenty-four hours a day as possible. Maybe he’d give her a little nudge in the appropriate direction. “I was instructed to be at your disposal at all times. Since I’m being paid—and paid well—to take care of your needs, that’s what I intend to do. Tell me how, when, and where, and I’m on top of it.”

“How?” she repeated faintly. “You need to know… how?”

What the hell was her problem? He regarded her with ill-disguised impatience. “You’ll give me instructions, right? Or do you expect me to guess the way you want things done?”

“Oh, dear heaven.” She buried her face in her hands. “I can’t believe this. Ishould have gone to the clinic. It would have been easier. But did I? Oh, no. Ijust had to do this my way. Ihad to take care of matters personally.”

Clinic? Did they have clinics for hiring employees? It was a new one for him. Perhaps she meant an employment agency. And why overreact to everything he said? It seemed so out of character for someone like Sami. He’d always been extraordinarily accurate at summing up people, an occupational hazard, he supposed. From the start, she’d struck him as capable, extroverted, and even aggressive. So why did she find the process of hiring a man for general household duties so difficult? Hadn’t she done this before? She acted as though she’d find giving orders an impossibletask.

Enough was enough. “Is something wrong?” he asked.

“I just didn’t expect…” She peeked at him from between her fingers. “You said you were thirty-five. Don’t you know what to do?”

“Sure, in general. But I prefer specific instructions on the wayyouwant things done. Most people have particular requirements. I’ll need some idea of how to best accommodate your preferences.”

That seemed to relieve her a bit. Her hands dropped to her lap, though her cheeks remained on the rosy side. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Look… Babe has already arranged this as your birthday present. Why don’t you give me a trial run? We can set a time limit of say a month or six weeks. If I don’t perform to expectations, we’ll call it quits. If you’re happy with the arrangement, we’ll keep going the full three months she’s paid for. Satisfaction guaranteed. How does that sound?”

“Perform to expectations?” she repeated, appearing a bit stunned.

Okay. Maybe she was on the slow side. Flamboyant, but slow. Maybe Babe had a serious case of butterfingers and as an infant Sami’s little head had been dribbled like a basketball. He should be gentle. Kind. Understanding. “If you like what I do, you can keep me,” he said, sticking to a single-syllable explanation.

It didn’t seem to help. Her eyes darkened a shade. “No way. Once you’ve… you’ve—how did you put it? Oh, right. Once you’ve performed to expectation and guaranteed my satisfaction, you’re out of here. Got that?”

No. Not even a little. Not that he had the chance to say asmuch.

“Wait a minute! Iunderstand now.” She exploded from the chair, pacing in front of him. She ticked off on her fingers. “You’re a man. You’re single. You’re thirty-five. And you’re suggesting this might turn into a long-term commitment. Babe wants you to marry me, doesn’t she?”

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