Page 9 of Baby Bodyguard

“What the hell are you—”

She cut him off with a sweep of her hand. “Don’t bother denying it. My mother has been trying to marry me off for the past decade.” As though aware she’d given away too much information, she added, “For the past decade since I was under twenty, that is. Well under.”

“I am not interested in marriage.”

Sami dismissed his comment with an indelicate snort. “It doesn’t matter what either of us is interested in. It’s Babe. She’s trying her hand at matchmaking. Again.”

Noah stood and grasped Sami’s shoulders, planting her back into the chair she’d vacated. “No,” he stated in his most forcible tone. “She is not.”

“Ha! You don’t know, Babe.”

“Yes, Ido know Babe.” To his relief, that managed to shut her up. “Now pay attention, sweetheart. For your information, I’m not here to marry you. I’m here in response to your ad. That’s it. I’m a birthday present, not a potential husband. Are we clear on that point?”

“Then why do you want to stay longer than three months?” she asked, suspicion clear in her voice.

“I didn’t know how long you’d need me. Satisfaction guaranteed, remember?”

“Oh.” She took a minute to ponder that. “You’re sure Babe isn’t trying to marry us off?”

“Positive.” At least, he hoped not. That angle hadn’t occurred to him before. Now that Sami mentioned it, he’d be on his guard.

“I’m holding you to that promise,” she warned.

A second possibility occurred, afar more probable one. Sami was a nutcase. Now that he thought about it, it seemed like more than a possibility and closer to a fact of nature. It would also explain why someone had decided to blackmail her. He could only guess what sort of trouble she’d stirred up to prompt such a threat. Time to move the interview along. The sooner he took on this job, the sooner it wouldend.

“Once you hire me, you can hold me to whatever promises you want. Idon’t mind.”

She studied him for a moment, before nodding in satisfaction. “Okay, fine. Next issue. If I decide to accept your application, you’ll need to have a physical exam.”

What the hell for?He restrained himself from asking quite that bluntly. If her stubborn chin was any indication, she’d balk if he pushed too hard. He attempted to soft-pedal his demand. “Mind telling me why I need a physical?”

“I’d think that was obvious.”

Aw, hell. “Maybe we should agree right now not to assume what should be obvious to the other. I’ve found it’s usually best to spell things out so there aren’t any misunderstandings.”

“That sounds reasonable.”

She’d recovered her equilibrium, though she still struck him as being about as far from an employer as anyone could possiblyget. Good thing he’d arrived when he had or she’d have hired the first person shrewd enough to realize she was a few nuts short of a full can and bulldoze over any and all objections.

“I need you to have an exam to make sure there aren’t any physical defects that would prevent you from fulfilling your part of our agreement. In this day and age it’s only sensible to be cautious.”

He fought down a sense of outrage. “Are you afraid I’m going to give you some sort of disease?”

She stilled, ararity for her, he’d bet. Even her bracelets fell silent. She studied him intently, as though attempting to gauge his emotional state. “Did my mother already have you examined?” she asked cautiously.

“No! Why would she do that?”

She folded her arms across her chest. “In that case, I’m afraid I’ll have to insist. I’ll also have to insist on complete references and a résumé. Then there’s the contract.”

“Contract?”

“You realize you’ll have to relinquish all responsibility and control once our—” Her hand flitted through the air again, her bracelets repeating their enthusiastic jangling. “—our association ends? When you leave here, I’ll expect you to stay out of my life forever.”

“Don’t you consider that a bit extreme?”

“Not even a little,” she retorted defensively. “Look, Icould have gone to a clinic, you know.”

She’d mentioned that before. This time he decided to follow up on it. “A clinic? Don’t you mean a referral service or agency?”

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