Page 26 of Baby Bodyguard

“I remember.” He captured her hand in his, ending her tactile exploration. “I gather that means you don’t go around kissing all of your employees?”

“Not all. Not even some. It’s a definite no-no, I’m afraid.”

“But it would have been okay to kiss me if I’d answered your newspaper advertisement?”

“Yes, though that’s different.”

“Because I’d be your… your baby-maker, for want of a better term? You’d be paying me for a different kind of service, is that it?”

Why did he have to make it sound so darned sleazy? She scowled. “That’s about the size of it.”

“And you don’t see anything wrong with that? You’re paying a man to have sex with you.”

“I’m not paying for the sex. I’m paying for the same end product I’d receive at a fertility clinic. There’s no difference.”

“There’s a big difference and you know it. I’m not even sure what you’re doing is legal.”

“You’re being rude.”

He lifted his eyebrow at that. “Try honest. Frank. Blunt. It’s an outsider’s take on the situation.”

“I want a child.”

“Try marriage.”

She freed her hand from his grasp and folded her arms across her chest. “I don’t want to marry. Not ever. I’ve explained that to you.”

“Then try adoption.”

“If I don’t find the right man, Ijust might. Not that it’s any of your business.”

“It is when you proposition me.”

Her brow crinkled in confusion. “When I…?”

“You asked if I was a full-service employee, remember?”

Oh. He must mean when she’d asked him if he wanted to help with her baby dilemma. Maybe one of these days she’d learn not to say the first thing that popped into her head. It had gotten her into trouble more times than she could count.

“I wasn’t serious!” she protested. “It came out that way because you offered to give me anything I want.”

To her disappointment, he’d regained control of both himself and the conversation. “Perhaps we should discuss my duties and not veer off course into more dangerous waters.”

She recovered her poise enough to smile. “It would certainly be safer.”

He stepped back, giving her some breathing space. It only helped a little. He filled the room with the sheer force of his personality. If he’d actually shown up for her baby interview, she’d have chosen him on the spot, no matter how dangerous she suspected he’d be to her emotional stability. No doubt he’d make magnificent babies. And no doubt he’d be quite magnificent in all he did leading up to those babies. Not that she’d ever find out. Heck, no. From this moment on, Noah Hawke remained strictly off-limits.

The next time they kissed, she’d tell him that,too.

“I have a suggestion,” Noahsaid.

“A suggestion. Excellent. What is it?”

“It’s about work. You do recall that’s why I’m here?”

“Right. Work.” She fought to focus. Why the heck did he have to be so darned distracting? “What’s your suggestion?”

“How about I stick by your side for the next week or so. That should give us both a feel for where I’ll fit in. Until we come up with a specific list of duties, I’ll pitch in wherever I can.”

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