Maid for the Single Dad (8 page)

 

Ellie took a step back, away from the powerful pull of him. She longed to run her fingers through his hair, touch his cheek, kiss his wonderful mouth. She told herself that he was off-limits. Yet for some reason or another, her body wasn't listening to her common sense tonight.

She took another step back. “Your ex-wife is Pamela Rose?”

He nodded.

“Wow.” She wasn't surprised by the fact that his ex-wife had been a starlet. He was the kind of guy who'd attract a starlet. What wowed her was that she was here—in his company, living in a mansion. Sometimes she forgot just how rich and powerful he was. And he was confiding in her.

“Now, do you see why we're in hiding?”

“I guess.”

He chuckled. “You guess?”

“Come on, Mac. A rich guy like you has to have an army of public relations people at your disposal. Surely, they could dispel a few rumors.”

“I'm not worried about rumors. I'm worried about pictures. Because of my family's money, I grew up with bodyguards, silent alarms and restrictions on where I could go and what I could do. But I still had a measure of privacy. Once I married Pam, everything changed. When your picture gets on the front page of enough tabloids, people start to recognize you. I don't want that to happen to my kids. So I have to keep them away from the paparazzi, so they're not recognizable, because that makes them targets for extortionists and kidnappers.”

She'd never thought of that. If no one knew what Mac's kids looked like, they could walk the streets or go to the beach, without anyone suspecting who they were and seeing potential ransom amounts instead of two beautiful children.

“True.”

“Which is why I don't want the kids off the grounds.”

She shook her head. “But that's exactly the opposite of what you're trying to accomplish.”

“Not really.”

“Yes.
Really
. You're supposed to be hiding in plain sight but in case you haven't noticed, you're a prisoner in your own house.”

“It's the price we pay for my stupidity in making such a poor choice for a mate.”

Her heart thumped at his admission that he'd made a bad choice in his first marriage. He really wasn't in love with his ex-wife anymore. And he really was attracted to her. So much so that he couldn't keep his eyes off her. They held her gaze when she stood close, followed her when she paced. And now he was confiding in her. Part of her longed to step closer to take what it seemed he was trying to offer. The other part knew they were a bad match. This very conversation proved it. He was a man who felt he needed to hide. She was a woman who'd only recently learned how to live without hiding.

She stepped away from him and focused on the kids. She knew what it was like to be a prisoner. She also knew that she'd gone overboard before Liz had talked her into getting out into the world beyond simply working. It had taken Liz an entire year to lure her into restaurants and help her to make friends at A Friend Indeed. And her life was better, richer for it.

She'd spent a lot of unnecessary time in her self-imposed prison. And perhaps he and his kids were too.

“I think you're crazy. Hiding in plain sight means you move to a place where no one expects you to be so that when they hear your name, even if they recognize it, they don't connect you to the ‘billionaire' Mac Carmichael because they expect the billionaire Mac Carmichael to be under lock and key, and certainly not out and about in their neighborhood.”

“That's ridiculous.”

“Really? Because the way I see it, if there have never been pictures of your kids, the average person couldn't possibly know who they are. It's not like they wear a sign that says, ‘My dad's a billionaire'.”

He laughed, so Ellie pressed her point home. “Even
your
face isn't that recognizable. Everyone knows who you are when you're connected to your companies, like giving a press conference. But put on a pair of shorts and a fishing hat and walk into the mall and I'll bet nobody knows you.”

 

At first Mac laughed, then he realized she wasn't kidding and his laughter stopped. “You're serious?”

“Yes. As long as no one knows what your kids look like there's no reason to hide them.”

He shook his head. “Going out hoping that no one knows who we are would be a dangerous way to live. All it takes is one person to recognize even one of us for pictures to be taken and the entire world to know.”

“I doubt it. Most people don't read
Forbes
or
Fortune
. And those are the only places your name and picture appear regularly.”

“Right. The second I pull out a credit card the clerk knows my name.”

“And you think a clerk at the mall is going to know who Mac Carmichael is?” She laughed gaily. “Come on. You're only famous in your own circle. Store clerks won't know you. Neither will the kid at the food court.”

He frowned, seeing her point.

Her eyes sparkled with mischief when she caught his gaze. “Let's do an experiment. Let's take the kids to the mall tomorrow night. We'll go to a fast food restaurant and walk through a few stores. Lacy will probably die of happiness and you'll see that you don't have to be a prisoner.”

With her voice light with merriment and her eyes shining, it was so tempting to Mac to lean into her, brush a kiss across her lips, tease her into taking his side. So he stepped back, away from temptation, into his comfort zone.

Obviously thinking he'd stepped away because he disagreed, she caught his arm. “Please. Even if you never want to do it again, do it once. For Lacy. She'd love this.”

A storm of electricity burst through him, like lightning penetrating thick storm clouds. He stared into her wise brown eyes and didn't see the corresponding attraction he knew she felt. Instead, her earnest expression told him she really was bartering for the day out for his daughter. Appreciation rose up in him, battling the sexual needs coursing through him. He had a choice: say he'd think about it and run like hell to get away from temptation. Or stay. Take the conversation away from Lacy and to him. What he wanted from her. What he needed. What it could mean for them, if he were that free. That trusting.

He swallowed as intimate pictures formed in his brain, surprising him with their simplicity and intensity. He wanted this woman in a way he hadn't wanted a woman in a long, long time. Not just sexually, but intimately. There was definitely a difference. A frightening difference.

She gasped as if suddenly thinking of something. “You've probably never been to the mall.” She laughed merrily. “Trust me. Lacy will love it. And I swear I'll guide you along the whole way.”

Trust her.
That was the problem. He wanted to trust her. But he knew he couldn't. At least not with his heart. But maybe the best way to get over his desire would be to get to know her as a normal person. Take her up on her offer with Lacy. Not to acquiesce to what she wanted, but to put
her into the position of nanny more firmly. Surely he could risk one day. Especially if he stationed bodyguards in the mall.

“Should I come home early for this?”

Her eyes lit with joy. “Really? You're going to do it?”

“Sure.”

“You don't have to come home early. Just be ready to put on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt when you get home.” She headed for the house but faced him again and smiled. “And we'll take the suburban. That's the car that will attract the least attention.”

“If we really wanted to blend, we should take yours.”

That seemed to tickle her and she laughed with delight. “You probably couldn't fit into the front seat.”

Then she turned and walked up the stairs, into the house. Mac lowered himself to one of the chaise lounges. He couldn't believe he'd just agreed to a trip to the mall, but he had. Partially because she was right: Lacy would love it. Partially because it was simply fun to see Ellie so happy, so full of life. She was the kind of woman who would make a happy home. The kind of woman any man would want for a wife.

He ran his hand down his face again, wishing he'd met her before his ex-wife had destroyed his faith in people.

And before a former boss had destroyed hers.

S
ITTING
in the driver's seat of the suburban, wearing a yellow fishing hat, one of his golf shirts and cutoff jean shorts, Mac felt like a damned fool.

“This is a stupid idea.”

Ellie peeked over at him and, God help him, she couldn't stop her eyes from wandering up to the yellow hat. She giggled.

He scowled. “A
very
stupid idea.”

“Not really.”

Her voice was soft and placating, causing him to suspect she was lying. But she smiled, and even in the semi-dark garage, the car seemed to light up.

“The purpose of the hat is for you to blend in.”

“By looking like an idiot?”

“You look like an average guy going to the mall with his kids.”

“Average guys don't wear stupid hats and look ridiculous.”

“Of course they do.” She peeked over at him again. “How long has it been since you've been in the real world? Men wear baseball caps backwards and knit hats in the summer. Hats are the big way men make their fashion statements.”

He snatched the offending yellow hat off his head. “Rappers wear knit caps and goofballs wear their baseball caps backwards. Mostly to cover bald spots. But my hair is perfectly fine as it is.”

In the booster seat in the back Lacy giggled. “Not really, Daddy.”

He looked in the mirror. The hat had reshaped his hair so that portions were sticking out at odd angles. He flattened it down with his hand. “There. Now, let's go.”

He'd be canceling this trip right now if Lacy's eyes hadn't lit with absolute astonishment when Ellie announced that they were going to the mall. Hell, why not get to the real bottom line? They wouldn't be going to the mall at all if he didn't feel like hell for treating Ellie harshly when she'd already had a difficult enough life.

He was a goofball. And maybe he
should
put on the yellow hat.

Mostly because he knew this wasn't the end of it. He might not let Ellie taunt him into another foolish trip, but he would sometimes buckle under about stupid things for Lacy. She was a kid and he wanted her to have some semblance of a life. He most certainly wanted her to have fun. And going to the mall with her dad—as long as she stayed with her dad—wouldn't be dangerous. Particularly since he had called Phil and company and told them to be at the mall at seven o'clock. They weren't to wear dark suits with their shoulder harnesses exposed so everyone around could see they had a gun, but were to blend in.

He glanced at the offending yellow hat on the compartment between him and Ellie. If hats were a way to blend, then Phil should be the one wearing this one.

“The first thing we're going to do is go to the food court,” Ellie said, turning on the front seat of the Suburban so she could speak to Lacy and Henry.

Mac hid a grin. He had to admit he loved the way she kept Henry in the loop. The baby probably didn't understand much beyond Daddy, eat and nap, but when Ellie spoke he stared at her with rapt fascination.

“We'll eat a hamburger and fries and then I understand there are three children's stores on the first level.”

Lacy gasped. “Can I get a princess dress?”

Ellie glanced at him and he caught Lacy's gaze in the rearview mirror. “Let's wait and see what's in the store.”

“Ah, Dad!”

“Princess dresses are typically found in toy stores,” Ellie jumped in, saving him. “They aren't normal clothes. They're special. When you put on a princess dress your imagination soars and you become anyone you want. At school, you have to be yourself so that you remember everything you learn and some of the things we might buy tonight would be for school.”

Lacy nodded sagely as Mac drove them to the mall. Hundreds of multicolored cars were parked in long, rather organized rows. At first glance, he didn't see an empty space. And he hadn't instructed Phil to arrange for one.

Of course, that would have defeated the purpose of the entire trip. If a bodyguard arranges with mall management to have orange cones in a front row spot until you arrive so you can be hustled in, everybody pretty much knows you're somebody important. Pamela had loved that.

But this trip was about seeing if they could blend, seeing if they could every once in a while take Lacy out into the world and let her observe how real people lived. It was about seeing if maybe—if they kept her profile low-key enough and if he secretly placed bodyguards inconspicuously around her—maybe she could go to the mall with her friends when she was in her teens. “Where to?”

“Just drive around until we find an open space.”

He nodded and they circled the mall twice, not finding a space close enough that they didn't have to walk a distance to get into an entrance. By the fourth pass, he decided he would carry Lacy and Ellie could carry Henry, because they weren't going to find a closer spot.

They stepped into the noisy mall and Ellie directed him to the right. “It's a bit of a walk, but the food court is this way.”

Mac couldn't help it; his head twisted from side to side, taking in the people as well as the building. Ellie was right. Real people did sometimes dress like goofballs. The atmosphere was almost like that of a carnival. They found the food court where Mac took a quick look around and saw Phil and three of his employees milling about. Phil wore a suit, but it was older and he let his jacket hang off the back of a white plastic chair where he sat eating a hamburger. Two of the other guards wore jeans and T-shirts. The third guy wore shorts and by damned if he wasn't wearing a khaki fishing hat.

Okay, so maybe Ellie hadn't been too far off the mark about the ugly hat.

Lacy ordered something called a “happy meal” and Mac and Ellie ordered salads. Then Ellie added a small order of fries for Henry.

Though he'd never been to a mall, Mac had eaten fast food before. He hadn't been particularly impressed, but for some reason or another, the scents from the food in this mall were amazing. Everything smelled delicious. When his stomach rumbled, he quickly added two hamburgers to his salad.

When they were finished eating, Ellie directed them to the three stores stocked with children's clothing. Lacy ran in, her mouth open with shock, her face registering pure, unadulterated feminine pleasure.

He leaned over to Ellie and said, “This is going to cost me a pretty penny.”

Ellie gaped in horror. “No! You don't let her buy everything she wants. You tell her she can have two things.”

Mac frowned. “Two things? There are hundreds of things in here.”

“And she'll never possibly be able to use them all. She already has a closet full of clothes. Plus, if you buy her everything she wants, she'll have too much to appreciate it.”

“But she's never shopped on her own before.”

“Which makes this a perfect time for her to learn to shop with care. Not to be greedy. To appreciate what she has.”

“She's only six.”

Ellie shook her head and laughed. “Yes. Old enough to understand the lesson and young enough that you can still have the hope that the lesson will stick.”

Mac pulled in a doubtful breath. “Okay. We'll play it your way.”

He turned to catch up with Lacy, who was skipping up the aisle of the colorful specialty shop, but Ellie caught his arm. Pinpricks of awareness raced to his shoulder, across his chest and down to his stomach. She looked beautiful in her light blue T-shirt and white shorts. Her legs were long and tan, her golden hair bouncy and shiny.

“She'll thank you for this when she's older. She won't see the world as a place to take. And if we carry this lesson a bit further we might also teach her that she should also give, not always get.”

He caught the gaze of his housekeeper, knowing she'd been a foster kid, knowing someone had abused her, knowing she'd worked her way from nothing and still she had the common sense and intelligence of a true lady.

Something warm squeezed his heart. Not only was she a lady, but she wanted his daughter to be a lady too. That was all any father really wanted. A daughter who appreciated what she had, gave as much as she got and acted like a lady.

“Have I told you thank you for the suggestion to come to the mall?”

“Mostly you groused about the hat.”

“Well, thank you.” A sudden instinct to lean in and kiss her rose up in him. It was so strong that if they hadn't been in a public place he sincerely doubted he would have been able to resist it.

But they were in a public place and she was his employee. And she'd been abused by a former boss. She'd trusted an employer and he'd hurt her in the worst possible way. No matter what Mac wanted, no matter how tempted, no matter how much he told himself he would be different, he couldn't forget her needs, her fear. He had to squelch any romantic urges.

After ten minutes of Lacy rummaging through the racks, Ellie broke the news that she could choose two things.

Lacy turned her pretty blue eyes up to her father. “Can't I have more?”

“Why do you need more?” Mac asked, taking his cue from Ellie who had told him that Lacy probably wouldn't use everything she'd want to buy.

“Because they're all so pretty.”

“And you already have lots of pretty clothes.”

She stuck out her lower lip. “But I want these!”

Mac's heart rate sped up. His soul filled with remorse. He wanted to give Lacy everything she wanted. He knew it was wrong. He knew everything Ellie said was right. But, damn it, Lacy was his little girl. He was rich. She
should
have everything she wanted!

“Lacy?” Ellie called to the little girl who looked on the verge of tears. “You don't want to buy everything here. You might not want to buy anything here at all. We have two other stores to go to. What if the dresses in those stores are prettier?”

Lacy's face transformed from sulking to confusion. “There are more stores?”

“Three. Remember?” She put her hand on Lacy's shoulder and guided her out of the store. “You don't simply want to buy everything. You want to buy the best, the prettiest. In the next store, I'll show you how to look for something that suits the color of your eyes. We're also going to think about where you'll wear what you buy. You may see that you actually have nowhere to wear some things.” She shrugged. “So there's no point to buying them.”

Lacy's face brightened with understanding. “Okay.”

She skipped toward the entrance where two of Phil's guys sat on a bench pretending to be holding a conversation. Knowing Lacy was safe, Mac turned to Ellie. “There's some secret woman code in what you told her, right?”

She laughed. “No. Just common sense.”

They trooped to the second store. Lacy checked out the racks in a more judicious way. Mac had taken the baby so Ellie could help her, and he strolled down a nearby aisle.

He'd never considered the time or money that went into purchasing things for his children. Mrs. Devlin had done all that. But now he didn't have a nanny and he seriously wondered if there weren't things he should be buying.

After a few minutes, they found the third store. Lacy and Ellie went their way and Mac walked the aisles, looking at clothes for Henry, wondering if he needed new things and even what size he wore. Lacy chose a pair of capris with a new blouse and a brightly colored sundress.

“Two outfits,” Ellie explained, telling Mac with her expression that he shouldn't question that.

“That's great. They're very… pretty,” he said at the last second because he wasn't sure what to say.

Ellie laughed. “We might want to pick up a pack or two of diapers,” she said as they approached the checkout lane.

Mac pulled in a breath. “I wondered. We've been without a nanny for a while. You've worked for us almost two weeks and Mrs. Devlin left the week before that. Even if we had a stockpile of diapers, Henry has to be going through them fairly quickly.”

Ellie chose the diapers and put them on the counter with Lacy's things.

“Does he need any clothes?”

Ellie shook her head. “No, he's fine for a few months. Then you may have to shop.”

“By then I hope to have a real nanny.”

A shadow passed over Ellie's face and Mac instantly regretted his comment. “I didn't mean to sound as if we'll be relieved when you go. It's more about getting our lives back to normal.”

She glanced away. “I understand.”

But he didn't think she did understand. Her voice was soft, sad, as if she was accustomed to being unwanted, asked to leave. She turned and walked out of the store, Lacy chattering happily on her heels.

Mac hung back, cursing in his head for his stupidity. He didn't want her to leave. He wanted to keep her. But how
could he? How could he ask her to give up a life she was building as an executive in a new company to become his permanent nanny? Worse, if she stayed too long, he knew he wouldn't be able to resist her. Some moonlit night or sunny afternoon he'd kiss her…and he'd be no better than the boss who seduced her and then abused her.

So she couldn't stay.

But he also wouldn't let her spend the night feeling badly. As soon as the kids were in bed, Mac intended to explain how much he appreciated her, how much he wished he could keep her and maybe even why he couldn't.