Page 44 of The Boss's Baby Affair

In the farthest corner a table had been cleared, and a waitress descended on them, brandishing menus. Nick’s hand released Candace, and he drew out a chair for her and then parked the stroller with a suddenly heavy-eyed Jennie in the corner beside them.

“There are pony rides and more booths down by the lake—even a kissing booth,” said Nick.

Candace sat, determined not be drawn into a discussion about kissing. The lingering sizzle from where his hand had rested was more than enough. She didn’t need any mention of kissing to heighten the constant warmth that enveloped her whenever Nick was nearby. So she changed the subject. “It’s all too much for Jennie to take in. Look, all the excitement, and she’s almost asleep!”

Nick laughed, then greeted the waitress by name, took the menus and passed one to Candace. “What would you like? I recommend the berry smoothies.”

“A smoothie sounds lovely.” Candace was relieved that Nick hadn’t pursued the topic of kissing booths.

The waitress gathered up the menus and departed. Candace glanced around. A little way off, an old-fashioned gazebo swayed with a trio of musicians. Plenty of older customers—and some younger couples—sat on the benches scattered throughout the carnival scene, enjoying the music. Her mother would’ve loved this…

But the days for this kind of pleasure were past for Catherine Morrison. “You’ve catered to everyone—all ages,” she said, trying not to let regret take hold at the thought of what her mother had lost.

Nick nodded. “Our Valentine’s Sunday carnival is part of the annual social calendar for many of our customers. Some have been coming for years. Old couples. Young families. At the heart of it all, everyone wants love…a family…and a home.”

She liked him in this gentler mood. It wasn’t the controlled—and controlling—Nick Valentine he usually presented to the world. This was a different Nick—nothing like the uncaring businessman she’d pegged him to be.

A much more likable Nick.

Fixing her attention on his face, she said, “You sound like you believe in that, too.”

“Of course I do. Our centers provide a chance for people to build fantastic gardens they and their families can enjoy—irrespective of age…or of how many people are in their families.”

The passion Nick was talking about was absent from the soulless perfection of the sculpted pool deck, flat lawns and clipped boxwood hedging of his own home. Candace couldn’t keep from saying, “But what about your own garden?”

“What do you mea—”

“Nick! I almost didn’t spot you hiding back there in the corner.” A stooping, angular woman with salt-and-pepper hair and a weather-beaten face stopped beside their table.

He got to his feet and gave her a great bear hug. “Bertha.”

Once Nick had pulled away from her embrace, the old lady’s sharp green eyes inspected Candace, then dropped to Jennie sleeping in the stroller. “This is that newborn baby I came to your house to see?”

“This is Jennie.”

Could that be pride in Nick’s voice?

“My, but she’s grown.” The woman fixed an accusing stare on Nick. “I can’t even pick her up because that would waken her. I keep telling you to bring her to work so I can see her.”

“I’m sorry.”

Nick Valentine actually sounded humble. Who was this woman?

Candace realized she was attracting equal interest. “I’m Candace.” She hesitated, then added, “Jennie’s nanny.”

Not the whole truth, but a version she could live with.

For now.

“Candace, meet Bertha Williams.”

“This young man used to mow my lawns.”

“Bertha and Henry gave me a job in their garden center and taught me to grow vegetables, generate cuttings. They ignited my love of gardening and then convinced me that my dream to enroll in a landscaping course at night school could be turned into reality.”

“We owned it for forty years, before losing it. Nick had to wrest the center away from the businessman who was ready to build houses on the property. Henry and I might have been fine gardeners but we couldn’t keep the money straight.” Bertha’s brutally honest account made no apologies for their shortcomings. “Nick set it right.” The old woman gave him a fond smile. “So after Nick moved us back into the manager’s house seven years ago, I insisted that he hire me.”

Nick grinned at her. “It was a good investment.”

“Good for us, too. Since you took over the business it’s given Henry and I time together. Even despite his heart attack, freed from the strain of running the business, the years have been wonderful.”

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