Husband by the Hour (18 page)

Hannah glanced to her left and saw Kyle and Jordan hovering in the doorway, trying to watch what was going on in the living room. Kyle waved when she saw him, obviously unrepentant at being caught.

She returned her attention to her mother. Hannah felt drawn to this woman, drawn to the family. As far as she could tell, all they wanted was to care about her and have her care about them. She wanted to jump to her feet and call out that she was willing to take a chance. But she knew it wasn't true. The fear was stronger than the desire to belong. Then she felt Nick's hand on her own. He understood what she was thinking because she'd come to realize he understood everything about her.

* * *

Hannah lay on her solitary bed and listened to the silence. She stared into the darkness and wondered what she should do. Nick hadn't pretended to get a phone call. He really wasn't leaving. So what were her options?

She could protest his high-handedness and force him to go. Or she could give in graciously. Or she could tell the truth.

She didn't want to even think about the latter, so she rolled onto her stomach and punched her pillow. "Stupid man," she muttered. "Trying to complicate everything."

Had he been telling the truth? Was he really trying to help her because he cared? She really, really wanted to believe that. Of course, if it
was
true, she would be terrified. If he cared about her and she started to care about him a little, then they might actually have the beginnings of a relationship. She didn't think she could handle that.

With a heavy sigh, she got out of bed and walked into the dark living room. She could make out Nick on his side on the sofa. He pushed himself halfway up.

"What's wrong, Hannah?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to make sure. You're not going to leave, are you?"

"Nope. You're stuck with me for the next two weeks."

"I…" The words lodged in her throat. She tried again. "I think you are trying to help me."

"Don't sound so surprised. Why wouldn't I want to make it easy for you?"

"Because I haven't been very friendly."

He lay back down on the sofa and chuckled. "You are a little on the prickly side, aren't you?"

"I don't mean to be. It just happens."

"I know, honey. I even know why you do it. You're afraid. But now there's nothing to worry about. I'll be here and I'll make everything perfect. Go on back to bed."

She stood there for a couple of minutes, then did as he requested. As she stretched out on the mattress, she pictured him lying only a few feet away. Judging from the clean line of his silhouette, he hadn't been wearing anything above the waist. What did he wear below?

The question made her fingers tingle. What would it be like to make love with a man like him? She had a feeling he would make good on his word. That everything about the experience would be perfect.

Two weeks together. How was she going to resist him? And what would happen if she threw up her hands and gave in?

* * *

"This is what I like to see," Nick said as he leaned back in the kitchen chair. "My woman working hard to feed me."

Hannah gave him a mock glare. "My goodness. I married a chauvinist pig and I never knew it before." She pulled a bit of cookie dough from the bowl and tossed it at him.

He caught it in midflight and popped it in his mouth. "Delicious. Louise, you're a great cook. Have you ever thought about opening your own restaurant?"

She laughed. "Don't think that by being charming you'll get a larger share of the cookies."

"I'm serious." He licked the batter from his fingers. Hannah spooned dough onto cookie sheets, but the recipe had come from Louise.

The older woman wiped her hands on her apron. The broad white cloth covered her from shoulders to knees but didn't conceal her bright orange sleeves or cobalt blue pant legs.

"I've actually thought about opening my own place," she admitted slowly.

"Really?" Hannah set down her spoon. "You'd be great. Nick is right. Your cooking is wonderful. And with this family, you're certainly used to cooking for large groups of people."

Louise nodded, her spiky blond hair making the trip a half second after her head. "I've thought about a specialty place. You know, only breakfasts. Or maybe muffins. Or tea. I've always wanted to do a high tea. But I don't have a lot of money for start-up capital, and I don't have a head for business."

"You could learn," Nick said. "You're going back to college."

She wrinkled her nose. "I don't think I have the math background. I wasn't very good with numbers in high school and that was nearly thirty years ago. Oh, my. Thirty years. I can't believe it."

Hannah grabbed one of the full cookie sheets and started toward the oven. "Don't worry about it, Louise. You don't look your age, nor do you act it."

Hannah slipped past him and slid the tray into the oven. Before she could get around him again, he reached out and placed his hands on her hips, then moved, his legs so she was trapped between them.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I would have thought that was obvious."

"It is from here," Louise said. "Give him a kiss, Hannah, so he'll let you go back to work. We've got a lot of cookies to bake before the kids get home from school."

Hannah stared at him. He held in a grin. He'd trapped her neatly, and not just with his legs. She couldn't very well protest what he was doing in front of her mother. Stealing kisses under false pretenses was pretty low, but she hadn't given him a whole lot of choice.

He tugged on the waistband of her jeans, pulling her closer. She bent forward and braced her hands on his shoulders. Their faces were inches apart. He couldn't move closer, so the kiss was up to her.

Interesting. Would she or wouldn't she?

"You want to," he murmured so only she could hear.

A light flared in her eyes. "In your dreams, buster."

"You've been there lots of times. Want to know what we were doing?"

"Shut up."

"Make me."

She pressed her mouth to his.

Heat flared between them hot enough to bake the cookies. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and haul her against him, but that wasn't an option. Not with Louise watching.

Their kiss was brief, chaste, yet it made him want more. It made him want all of her. Next to him, under him, naked, willing, wanting. His arousal was instant and painful, a throbbing need against the fly of his jeans.

As she was about to pull back, he gently caught her bottom lip in his teeth. A shudder rippled through her. She stared at him and he saw the fire of her desire.

In that moment, he wanted to make it all real and not just pretend. He wanted to be everything they said he was – her husband of several years, a successful real-estate mogul. He wanted them to be in love.

Hannah broke free and straightened. He glanced to his left. Louise was spooning out cookie dough as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. In her eyes, it hadn't.

"
Elizabeth
says it's tacky, but I want to make my own birthday cake," Louise said.

"You shouldn't have to do the work," Hannah said breathlessly, moving away from him.

"That's what she tells me, but I don't want any of you girls worrying about it, and I don't want something store-bought."

Hannah walked over and touched her arm. "But it's no bother at all. I've already talked to Sandy and Elizabeth about it. We've got plans. Please let us do this."

Louise shrugged. "If it means so much to you."

"It does. Thank you."

Louise smiled. "While we're being honest, I want to know what you really think about Richard."

Hannah frowned and glanced at Nick as if asking what her mother was talking about. "We think he's fine, why?"

"Well, he is eleven years younger."

"I think it's great," Nick said. "If Hannah here ever gives me any trouble, I'm going to take up with a younger woman."

Hannah rolled her eyes. He could imagine what she was thinking but couldn't say. Of course, she would probably give him an earful later.

Louise dismissed him with a wave. "I'm being serious. It's different with men. People don't notice that kind of thing. But with a woman it's different."

"Louise, if you care about him, what does his age matter?"

"Maybe. I just hate not knowing for sure."

"What is it about the women in your family?" Nick asked. "You make it so hard on the guy. How long did you resist before finally going out with him?"

"A couple of months."

"Hannah ignored me for nearly a year."

Hannah snapped her head up and stared at Nick. What on earth was he going to say now? It wasn't enough that she was still ready to explode from the passion he'd ignited a few minutes before. Now he had to set her nerves on edge with one of his stories.

"A year?" Louise looked at her. "How could you do that?"

"I, ah—"

Nick cut her off. "After the cruise, I asked her out every week for a year. She never said yes. It nearly drove me crazy."

"How could you have turned him down?" Louise asked. "He's so good-looking and charming."

Nick preened.

Hannah was so impressed with his believable combination of truth and lies that she almost didn't notice the question.

"I didn't think he was serious." She realized it was the truth. Nick had been asking her out on dates, for drinks, to run away with him, issuing any number of invitations, but she hadn't believed he meant any of them.

She was still confused. The more she got to know Nick Archer, the more she liked him. There was no way for her to reconcile the generous, funny, caring man she'd brought on this trip with the criminal she knew from Southport Beach. Which Nick was real?

She kept trying to tell herself he was an awful person. Her head might still be convinced, but her heart wasn't buying the story. Liking was uncomfortable but still safe. What if her affections deepened? What if she gave in to the desire?

Louise gave her a quick hug. "At least you worked it out in the end. That's what's important. It doesn't matter if we grow older as long as we also grow smarter."

Nick grinned.

Hannah suspected he was thinking she hadn't gotten any smarter at all.

"Go check the cookies," Louise said.

Hannah crossed the kitchen floor and opened the oven door. "They need a couple more minutes."

Before she could return to the counter, Nick grabbed her again, this time pulling her onto his lap. She went willingly. It was just for show, she told herself as she snuggled close. In the safety of his arms, feeling welcome and secure for the first time in years, she let go of that lie and admitted the truth. She wanted to be exactly where she was. And she was very, very glad he was staying.

Chapter 10

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"
W
hy do you look so terrified?" Hannah asked.

Nick shifted his weight and rolled his shoulders. "I'm fine."

She grinned. "Don't worry. It's not contagious."

"I'm just wondering if babies really need all this stuff."

He glanced around at the baby boutique. The large, well-stocked shop had a mezzanine level just for clothing. On the main floor, small rooms had been set up displaying several styles of cribs, rocking chairs, changing tables and an assortment of items at whose function he could only guess. Strollers and car seats lined one entire wall.

"You're asking the wrong person," she said and headed for a counter in the center of the room. "I have limited experience with babies. I like holding them, but I don't know anything about day-to-day child care. Louise said that Jill had picked out a few things here, and if we wanted to get a gift, this would be the best place."

He followed her, stepping around boxes, toys and bags of diapers. He hadn't felt this uncomfortable since he'd tried to buy something sexy for a woman he'd been seeing. All those feminine frills, lace and silk had sent him racing back into the safety of the mall.

"I just want to get out of here," he muttered.

She ignored him and approached the counter.

"May I help you?" the clerk asked. She was putting price tags on fluffy white bears.

Hannah nodded. "My sister-in-law is expecting a baby. I was told she'd picked out a few things from this store."

The clerk smiled and tucked her short red hair behind her ears. "We have everything on our computer. What's the last name?"

"Haynes."

The woman tapped a few keys on the computer, then glanced at Hannah, her eyes wide. "I guess I'm going to need a first name. There are four Hayneses listed here."

"It's Jill."

She tapped again, then the printer on her left began to spit out paper.

"There've been a lot of babies in your family," the clerk remarked.