Page 8 of One More Baby for the Boss

“Well, I’m willing to try anything,” Alex admitted. “I can’t promise you I’ll be great at this, but I do like Jack a lot already. I’ll give it my best.”

“So you’ll take the job?”

She chuckled. “Why not? I don’t have anything else lined up, and it sounds like it could be an adventure. If you’re willing to take a chance on me, I’m willing to take a chance on the two of you.”

Elijah took her outstretched hand and shook it to seal the deal, wondering whether he had any idea what he was doing. She did seem like she would be good for Jack. But at the same time, he hardly knew her.

Had he jumped the gun on this because he found her so attractive? He had to hope he knew better than that.

But it had been a long time since any woman had made him feel this way.

CHAPTER 4

ALEX

Oh my God, what am I doing?

Alex looked down at the address Elijah had given her and then back up at the huge ranch house in front of her. She’d been expecting big, of course — knowing that he was a wealthy ranch manager, she would have been a fool not to expect that. But there was big and then there wasthis.

I’m completely out of my league here. I never should have agreed to take this job.

Alex closed her eyes and forced herself to breathe in and out slowly. She knew she was good with children. She would be able to handle this.

She pulled the car into the little port on the side of the turnaround and got out slowly, looking around. Elijah had told her this would be a live-in job — this was going to be her home for the next little while. That was hard to believe. In all her years of wandering, she had never lived somewhere so nice before.

Where was Elijah, anyway? She looked around. He had known to expect her at this time. Unless she was early? She checked herphone — no, it was noon on the dot, just like they’d discussed. Wasn’t he going to meet her?

As she thought that, the door to the house opened. For a moment she was sure that she would see him coming down to meet her — but it wasn’t him. Instead, she found herself face-to-face with a woman she’d never met before.

“Are you the new nanny?” the woman wanted to know.

“I think so. This is Elijah Trenton’s ranch?”

“Yes, you’re in the right place. My name is Dora. I’m the housekeeper here.”

“I think I’m supposed to be meeting with Elijah,” Alex said.

“Mr. Trenton is at work right now. He asked me to get you settled in,” Dora said. “I’ll show you to your room.”

“I should grab my luggage.” Alex started back toward the car.

“Leave it,” Dora said. “The valet will bring it up for you. Give me your car key and I’ll pass it to him so that he can get everything for you.”

“Valet?” Alex frowned. “How many people work here?”

“Well, there’s you and me, of course,” Dora said, taking the key from Alex’s hand. “And then there’s the valet, the chef, the cleaners, Mr. Trenton’s personal valet — which is different from the house valet, and the gardener.”

“I can’t believe it,” Alex murmured. “I had no idea he kept such a big staff. And does everyone live on the property?”

“Oh, no, not at all.” Dora said. “Only Mr. Trenton’s personal valet lives on the grounds, but he stays in the guest cottage, rightover there.” She pointed it out. “As for you, you’ll be in the room that adjoins Jack’s. His wing of the house is this way.”

“He’s got his ownwing?”

“Oh, Jack Trenton has the best of everything. You’ll get used to that quickly enough.”

“But what happens if he needs his father in the middle of the night? He has to go wandering all through this big house to get to him?”

“Jack Trenton wouldn’t get up and go looking for his father in the middle of the night,” Dora said. “To tell you the truth, I don’t think the two of them have that kind of relationship.”

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