Page 24 of The Cowboy Takes a Nanny
All he had to do was man up and get over this insane reaction he had every time he was in her presence.
Like now, when she was standing before him almost naked.
Right. Easy.
Leo clamped his jaw hard. He could do it. Would do it. Ignoring the irritating voice in his head that laughed hysterically at his delusional declarations.
His eyes flicked briefly to hers, the rosy flush now staining her cheeks told him she noticed his perusal. That didn’t help, and he was almost grateful when, as soon as the exchange was made, she crossed her arms, covering her chest. “I—I, um … I’ll come and see her wh—”
Deliberately turning away from her, he shook his head. “Stay there, and dial up the water temperature, you need to warm up. I’ll fix Mia and check on Benny. Make sure this hasn’t disturbed him.”
“Oh.” There was a tremor in her voice as she responded, and he doggedly put that down to her body temperature. “Okay, that would be great. I won’t be long. Thank you.” Perhaps she turned back, he wasn’t game to look in her direction when she added, “Oh Leo? Don’t dress her too warmly.”
Having quickly checked on Benny, who appeared to be sleeping soundly, Leo was just fastening the last of the snaps on Mia’s onsie when he felt Ella beside him. Hair caught up in a towel and wrapped in one of the outsize toweling robes his mom had insisted he needed for the guest bathrooms; she was almost luminous in the dim light.
Perfume from her body wash or some kind of lotion wafted over him—sweet and fragrant, reminding him of his mother’s spring garden—as she leaned in to place her fingers once more on Mia’s forehead. Nodding she turned to face him. “It could return. Ruby had rolling fevers so Mia might be in for the same. Did you check Benny?”
It was his turn to nod. “He seemed fine. No fever.”
He felt as much as saw her shoulders drop in relief. “Good. Thank you.” Twisting back to Mia, she added, “I’ll go and get a bottle made up for her. Hopefully it’ll help her get back to sleep.”
Quickly fastening the safety belt across Mia to prevent her rolling or trying to sit up, Leo reached out to snag Ella’s thickly padded arm as she made to leave. “Why didn’t you wake me?”
She shrugged, and the overly generous robe moved, baring one slender shoulder. She quickly covered again. “You were beat. And …” she hesitated. “I wasn’t really sleeping so it was no bother.” Another flush stained her face at the admission, and he wondered if her reason for restlessness was the same as his own. A flash of hot need that he immediately clamped down came on the heels of that thought, and he was grateful when she rushed on, getting them both past the moment. “I tried medicine first, but she was upset and spat most of it out, and when I tried the tepid bath, she clung and cried, so it made sense to take her into the shower. I had to get her temperature down.”
She finished on another shrug, this time holding the gown close, staring up at him with eyes so wide and clear he felt he could drown in them; wanted to drown in them.
Leo cleared his throat. “Thank you, Ella. I mean that … Of course, I always mean it but tonight, what you did for Mia … I’m very grateful.”
“It’s what anyone would do, Leo.” Their eyes held for a moment longer before she broke the hold. “I’ll get that bottle.”
“No. I’ll get it. You go and try to get some rest. I’ll take Mia back with me, that way I’ll be on it in case the fever takes hold again.”
He blamed everything for what came next. The warm, dimly lit room, their whispered conversation, her perfume, their combined relief that Mia was okay … Wouldn’t any man reach for the woman sharing such an ordeal with him? He reached for her; held her tight against him, inhaled the essence of her—felt her soften into him.
He was reaching for her chin, about to lift her face to his when sanity returned in the form of a grizzle.
Mia.
And his hand fell away.
Chapter Seven
Much to her dismay, Ella’s prediction had played out just as she’d hoped it wouldn’t. Mia had been hit by the rolling fevers, the same as Ruby, and unfortunately Benny didn’t miss out either. Both of them finally succumbing to several bouts of throwing up.
Ella had managed about an hour’s rest—her body too wired for sleep—before Benny’s hoarse cry had woken her. Thankfully, he’d been slightly easier to reason with and had at least accepted the medicine without too much protest.
She’d just been changing him when Leo came to her door. He’d knocked lightly first, calling to her softly before his head appeared in the sliver of light from the corridor, one hand waving the monitor that had obviously picked up Benny’s cry. “How’s Benny? Are you okay? Need anything? I can race downstairs for you—”
“Thank you, but we’re okay. He’s had medication and some water. The fever should drop soon. I’ll just sit and hold him for a while. Mia?”
“Asleep for now.” He seemed to be lost for a moment before simply shrugging. “Call me if you need me. Okay?”
In the end, it had been a night of tag-teaming. Both children went down to the virus, and one adult was often with the two children while the other ran and fetched. And then switching roles. There’d been no plan, and they’d needed little communication. They each just seemed to seamlessly work together to get through a rough night.
What had touched her most during the early hours had been Leo’s consideration of both Benny and herself, in addition to his concern for Mia. One of her nannies had called those hours the witching hours, a time for bewitching and bewitchment—and part of her was bewitched not only by Leo’s total dedication to his daughter, but his kindness and compassion to Benny—and to her.
Comparisons were something Ella tried to avoid; they rarely helped, and this was no exception, but she couldn’t help but wonder how Emile would have handled a night such as she and Leo had endured.
