“You work for me. That’s it.”

So why can’t she stay out of his bed?

She’d slept with Aaron Phillips before he became her boss. And Kasey Monroe had successfully avoided temptation ever since. But now the bachelor Texas tycoon demands she add temporary live-in nanny to her job description, to help with his niece. She’ll be “playing house” with the man she can’t resist. What could possibly go wrong with that arrangement?

JOSS WOOD loves books and traveling—especially to the wild places of Southern Africa. She has the domestic skills of a potted plant and drinks far too much coffee.

Joss has written for Mills & Boon Modern Romance and, most recently, the Mills & Boon Desire line. After a career in business, she now writes full-time. Joss is a member of the Romance Writers of America and Romance Writers of South Africa.

Also by Joss Wood

Convenient Cinderella Bride

His Ex’s Well-Kept Secret

The Ballantyne Billionaires

The CEO’s Nanny Affair

Little Secrets: Unexpectedly Pregnant

One Night to Forever

The Nanny Proposal

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

The Nanny Proposal

Joss Wood

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-07650-0

THE NANNY PROPOSAL

© 2018 Harlequin Books S.A.

Published in Great Britain 2018

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

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www.millsandboon.co.uk

Dedicated to Rebecca Crowley,

who is leaving SA and heading home.

I’m going to miss you.

ROSACON is not going to be

the same without you!

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Prologue

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Epilogue

Extract

About the Publisher

Prologue

Eight months ago

Standing in the shadows of the balcony encircling the ballroom of the Texas Cattleman’s Club, Kasey Monroe looked up at the clear night sky. Why had she thought attending a New Year’s Eve Ball in Royal, Texas, knowing no one but Aaron Phillips—who might, or might not, become her new boss—was a good idea?

Aaron, as a member of the Texas Cattleman’s Club, knew nearly everybody in the room. He’d introduced her to his gorgeous sister, Megan, and her equally good-looking husband, Will Sanders, CEO of Spark Energy Solutions. And while Aaron had made an effort to include her, she felt woefully out of place.

Even so, making small talk with strangers was still more fun than spending the night alone in her hotel room, obsessing about the party happening back in her home in Houston. Throwing a New Year’s Eve bash was a tradition she and Dale had started the year they’d gotten engaged and, for the first time in five years, she wouldn’t be playing hostess to their friends. Kasey couldn’t help wondering what Michelle was doing tonight. When last had she and her oldest friend spent the special evening apart? A decade? More years than that? Kasey rested her champagne glass on her cheek. It had been six months since she’d caught Dale and Michelle together in what was, as they’d explained, a drunken encounter that meant nothing. Pure sex, fueled by too much booze and a line of coke. Their combination of sex, drugs and rock and roll had broken her heart and, while she felt like her heart was slowly patching itself back together, she still felt like a fool.

Her husband and her oldest and best friend... In a million years, she would never have imagined that scenario. Would she ever be able to trust anyone again?

Five! Four! Three! Two! One...! Yeah, Happy New Year to me. Husband-less, friend-less, in a new town and among strangers.

Oh, boo-hoo, Kasey thought, irritated by her bout of self-pity and taking a defiant gulp of her champagne. The last six months had been tough, sure, but ending a marriage should never be fun. But there was light at the end of the tunnel: her divorce was final, she had money in the bank and options.

One of those options was Aaron Phillips’s intriguing proposal to become his executive assistant. Known as one of the most innovative and successful hedge fund managers in the country, Aaron didn’t have a large client base, but that didn’t matter because his clients were all mega wealthy. He worked out of his office within his palatial house on the outskirts of Royal and, as Aaron explained, thanks to the wonders of modern technology, she could do her job from either her home in Houston or here in Royal. He was demanding, Aaron told her, but he wasn’t a micromanager and as long as she produced the results, she could set her own hours.

Kasey felt a spurt of excitement; a hefty salary, flexible hours and working out of her own space would give her life structure and, hopefully, would stop her from dwelling on her failed marriage and the loss of a childhood friend.

Kasey lightly whistled to catch the attention of the waiter hovering by the ballroom entrance. She held up her empty flute and within a minute had a fresh glass of bubbly in her hand. This new year would be better, Kasey vowed. She was a strong woman and she was not going to allow the past to define her. No matter what it took, she was going to put this all behind her and get back to the person she used to be. Fun, happy, positive.

Change had to happen and she was the only one who could implement those changes. She could start by accepting the position at AP Investments and relocating to Royal. Even if she worked from home, a change of scenery, and leaving Houston, would be a good move. Tomorrow—today—was the start of a new year and a new life and, God knew, she desperately needed both.

Kasey looked into the ballroom and easily found Aaron’s tall frame. She tipped her head, studying him. He was so very smart, so very well built and, pre-Dale, exactly the type of guy she’d look at twice. Or six times. Early to mid-thirties, with chestnut-brown hair cut short to tame the curl, he had the broad shoulders, long and powerful legs and narrow hips of a competitive swimmer. Unfathomable green eyes under—kill me now—wire-rimmed glasses. And light scruff covered his impressive jaw.

Sexy could be such a tame word, Kasey mused, feeling her stomach squirm. Then her skin tingled and she felt a slow burn that sent heat to that long-dead space between her legs. Wow...

Well, hello, sexual attraction. It’s been a while.

In a room filled with some very fine eye candy, Aaron was handcrafted chocolate. Which meant, Kasey realized, the only way she could work for him would be virtually. There was no way she could spend eight or more hours a day with that gorgeous male specimen. At the very least, her keyboard would be perpetually covered in drool.

Kasey allowed a long slide of champagne to coat her throat and felt a small buzz. As if he could sense her eyes on him, Aaron slowly turned and scanned the ballroom. She really should look away, but Kasey, emboldened by the booze and the temptation of embarking on something different and a little bit wild, waited for his eyes to lock with hers. She’d met him twice before tonight and both times Aaron had been so professional and reticent, she’d found it impossible to read his emotions.

However, tonight there was desire and flat-out need in his eyes and on his face.

She turned around to check that there was no one behind her. No, she was alone and all that heat was for her. So...hot damn.

This certainly complicated the should-I-accept-his-job-offer question...

Kasey gripped the stem of her glass in a too tight grip and watched as Aaron walked, gracefully for such a big man, across the crowded floor. He was heading straight toward her, his eyes not leaving her face. Kasey swallowed and took another sip of champagne, hoping it would lubricate her dry mouth. One sip didn’t help, neither did two. Hell, nothing would because a lava-hot man was looking at her like she was a pretty package he couldn’t wait to unwrap.

Aaron stopped in front of her and lifted his hand. Kasey sucked in a breath, thinking he was about to touch her, then wrinkled her nose in disappointment when he plucked the champagne glass from her fingers and placed it on the edge of the railing. Aaron, still so close to her, looked down at her, his eyes drifting from her lips to her eyes.

“You look stunning, Kasey. Did I tell you that earlier?”

It had been so long since she’d been complimented on how she looked Kasey had no idea how to respond. When in doubt, and she was so in doubt, it was best to keep it simple.

“Thank you.”

Unnerved by the warm appreciation in his eyes Kasey looked down at her tangerine halter-neck dress skimming her curves. Her two-inch heels just took her past Aaron’s shoulder. He was a big man and his masculinity made her feel intensely feminine. Something else she was unfamiliar with.

“Happy New Year.”

Kasey murmured the words back as a haunting melody drifted from the ballroom onto the balcony and swirled around them. Aaron’s fingers touched her hip and Kasey felt heat pouring from him and burning through the thin fabric of her dress.

“Would you like to dance?” he asked, his deep voice raising goose bumps on her skin.

Aaron didn’t wait for her reply. His hand slid around to rest on her lower back and he curled his other hand around hers, lifting it to hold it against his chest. Kasey felt his lips on her temple and wondered why, even though they were dancing outside, there was no fresh air. He was so warm, so solid, she thought as they swayed in place. Then Aaron’s foot slid between hers and they were gliding across the empty balcony under the light of a Texas moon. The man sure could dance, Kasey mused as he spun her out and brought her back in, closer than before.

“You smell so good,” Aaron whispered into her hair.

Her mouth curved into a smile. “I’m glad you approve.”

Aaron pulled her hand up and raised her fingers to his mouth. His gentle kiss on the tips of her fingers sent heat skittering through her. “There’s much I approve of, Kasey, and we both know that I’m not talking about your résumé and your references.”

Kasey lifted her eyes to his face and saw his wry expression. She couldn’t help noticing the desire in his eyes. And in his pants.

Aaron flicked the end of her hair with his index finger. “Since your arrival I’ve spent far too much time thinking about whether you’d feel as good as you look or whether your hair is as soft as I thought.” He rubbed a strand of her shoulder-length hair between his fingers. “It is. And it’s a fascinating color... I can’t describe it. It’s brown but not, red but not.”

According to her stylist, her hair color was a rich, light auburn, but Michelle had always called it ginger spice. If all things were normal, if her best friend hadn’t slept with her husband, Michelle would be the person she’d confide in about dancing with this sexy guy under the midnight blue Texas winter sky.

Don’t think about her, them, the past!

Carpe diem, Monroe. Carpe diem...

Kasey laid her cheek on Aaron’s chest and swayed along with him. This is nice, she thought. She felt relaxed and comfortable, intensely aroused, and pretty. She hadn’t felt any of those things for a long time.

Aaron dropped her hand and his big arms pulled her closer. Every muscle in her body tensed as his hard length pushed into her stomach. Undeterred, he just gathered her against him, his hands flat against her lower back. “Relax, Kase, nothing is going to happen.”

Damn, Kasey thought. It was the start of a new year and she really wanted something magical to happen. She wanted to feel his mouth on hers, to see if he tasted as delicious as he looked. She wanted those big, warm hands skating across her skin, wanted his mouth on her breast, on her stomach, maybe lower. She sighed. She wanted to feel what Aaron-induced pleasure felt like.

Bottom line? She wanted him.

“What if I want something to happen?” Kasey blurted out the words. She considered taking them back and forced herself not to. Aaron was a grown man. If he didn’t want to get naked with her, he was adult enough to say so. But the action in his pants told her the thought had crossed his mind a time or two, as well.

This isn’t a good idea, her overcautious brain insisted. You want to work for him, you want to move to this festive town and to put some distance between you and your old life. Sleeping with your boss is not, on any planet or within any galaxy, a good idea. Besides, you’re still sad, a little broken, still bruised.Hopping into bed with Aaron, with anyone, wasn’t a good idea. Feeling the twin urges of defiance and recklessness, Kasey’s heart went to war with her head.

With Aaron, she didn’t feel like the discarded wife, the foolish, naïve friend. In his arms, she remembered the confident woman she used to be. She felt desired and alive.

And they hadn’t even got to the really good, rolling around naked, part yet.

Aaron put a little space between them. His expression turned contemplative, his eyes speculative. “What are you suggesting, Kasey?”

God, was he expecting her to draw him a picture? Suddenly feeling shy and out of her depth, Kasey placed her hands against his chest and tried to push him away, but he didn’t move an inch.

“No, don’t run away,” Aaron said, his deep, husky voice soothing her agitation. “I just want us to be clear on what we are doing here. I want you to work for me, Kasey, and I don’t want to lose you as an executive assistant because we want to scratch an itch.”

She wanted to take the job. She did. The enormous salary would allow her to rent that fairy-tale cottage she’d fallen in love with in downtown Royal and would pay for her shoe and book habit. She wouldn’t need to dip into her savings or the divorce settlement Dale agreed to pay for being a cheating douchebag dick. This job sounded interesting and challenging. But she really, really wanted to see what was under Aaron’s perfectly tailored suit and blindingly white shirt.

“That’s a sensible argument...” Kasey said, trailing off. Then she lifted her eyes to look into his. Be brave, Kasey, take a chance. Start off the new year with a bang. Metaphorically. And, maybe if the gods of good sex liked her, literally. “But on nights like these we aren’t supposed to be sensible.”

You’re making a mistake—remember you can’t trust your own judgment. You’ve made so many mistakes trusting men and people before.

Shut up, boring brain.

“One night, Kasey. A few hours to burn whatever we are feeling for each other out of our systems.” Aaron’s words echoed her thoughts. “I’m leaving for a skiing trip tomorrow and will only be back in Royal on the seventh. You can think about taking the job. If you do, this won’t happen again. Ever. We’ll be boss and employee.”

Boss and employee. Kasey leaned back, knowing he’d hold her as she forced herself to think. Difficult to do when she was so desperate to say “to hell with it” and feel.

But she was an adult and she had to walk into this situation, his arms and his bed, with her eyes wide open and her head on straight.

A week’s break would give them some time to clear their heads, to practice their “I’ve forgotten what you look like naked” attitude. They were adults, they could do this.

Kasey nibbled the inside of her cheek. She wanted to burn the memories of Dale away, to finally exorcise him from her life, and she wanted to do that with Aaron. He was fantastically good-looking, successful and smart. But, more than that, she instinctively liked him.

Consider him as a welcome-to-your-new-life gift to yourself, Monroe.

“You’re killing me here, Kasey,” Aaron muttered.

Kasey draped her arms over his shoulders as she eased closer to him. “One night, no expectations, and when we meet again, we’ll be all business?”

Aaron nodded. “That’s the way I’m looking at this.”

Kasey smiled. “One question?”

Aaron closed his eyes, exaggerating his anguish. “Did I mention that you are killing me here?”

Kasey’s laugh mingled with the music. “Your place or mine?”

One

Eight months later...

Aaron Phillips pulled up to the curb outside Kasey’s rental home and cut the engine to his luxury, German-engineered SUV. The car was fine but he missed driving his Vanquish with its bucket seats and a million horses under the hood. But he was, as of yesterday, Savannah’s guardian and that meant a solid, dependable, safe vehicle with a booster seat and top safety ratings.

God, what had Jason been drinking when he’d named him as Savannah’s guardian and not their younger sister, Megan? What did he know about raising a little girl? Zero. And that was why he was parked outside the house of the woman he’d tried, as much as possible, to avoid for most of this year.

They talked often during the day, their Skype connection was pretty much always open and emails constantly bounced between them. But despite living in the same town, he hadn’t laid eyes on her more than six times over the last eight months. Every one of those meetings had been an exercise in curtailing his impulse to scoop her up and carry her off to his bed.

That night, God, it was still burned into his brain. His memories of her were so strong that he could almost feel her endlessly, addictively soft and fragrant skin, hear the small murmurs of appreciation she made, taste the spicy sweetness of her mouth. As for those pretty, feminine places she hid from the world, they’d rocked his world.

She’d been so tight, warm...ridiculously responsive.

Aaron banged his forehead on the steering wheel, trying to push the image of Kasey, naked and wanton, whimpering with desire and begging for him to push her over the edge, from his brain.

How bizarre it was that the hottest sexual experience of his life had been with his executive assistant at the start of the year. His best and last sexual experience...

Eight. Months. God, he really needed to get laid.

But finding a date and some bedroom action was the last thing on his mind.

Aaron glared at Kasey’s pretty cottage, with its pitched roof, pale green cladding and bright pink front door. The house stood in the shade of two live oaks and was enclosed by a whimsical wrought iron fence. He didn’t want to do this, Aaron thought. He didn’t want to walk up that path and pound on her door. He didn’t want his brother, Jason, to be missing, presumed kidnapped, possibly dead.

From the moment he first held his hours-old niece he’d been wrapped around her now over developed baby finger. But he was the fun uncle, the rule breaker in contrast to Jason being the rule enforcer. He was the stay up late and eat sweets before bedtime guy, Jason was her brush your teeth, chase away the monsters and eat your vegetables dad. Now he had to assume—please God, only temporarily—the responsibility of this precious little person and he felt utterly out of his depth. And soul deep scared.

What the hell did he know about raising a girl? Precisely nothing.

Damn, he wanted life to roll back eight months, to be the man he was before that New Year’s Eve ball when life was relatively simple and not the complicated crap storm it was at the moment.

Whining and wishing isn’t going to get this done, Phillips. Neither is it going to change a damn thing. And you’ve survived life’s crappy upheavals before...

Slamming the heavy car door, his long legs ate up the distance between his vehicle and Kasey’s front door. At the entrance he hesitated, his fist hovering as he was slapped, again, by the images of his assistant, naked and sprawled across his bed, her amber eyes foggy with desire.

With her reddish-brown hair spread across his pillow, and her slim legs trembling with need—for him—she’d looked at him like he was the fulfillment of every fantasy she’d ever had. Then she’d whimpered and moaned, screamed his name, completely caught up in the throes of pleasure. They’d spent most of the night together and Kasey had been a full-fledged participant who gave as good as she got.

When he woke the next day, the start of a new year, she was gone, leaving nothing behind but her lingering scent in the air. Ten days later she’d walked back into his life as his executive assistant and neither of them ever made the smallest reference to that wonderful, crazy, sensation-soaked evening.

Didn’t mean he didn’t think about it. Often.

Aaron rested his forehead on the ridiculously pink door. He couldn’t think about that night now, shouldn’t be thinking about it all. He had a favor to ask of Kasey, and remembering her lusciously scented, velvety-soft skin and made-for-sin mouth was not helping matters.

Aaron ordered his junk to stand down, quickly adjusted himself and gave himself ten seconds to regain control. When he thought he was winning that battle, he rapped his fist against the door.

A minute passed and then another. Aaron glanced at his high-tech watch, his gift to himself for his thirty-third birthday, and frowned. It was after 9:00 a.m. Kasey should be up. His Saturday morning had already been jam-packed: he’d met with his lawyer, gathered the documentation to prove he was Savannah’s legal guardian and filled Megan in on the big news.

It had been a brutal morning but, hell, that wasn’t anything new. The past few months had been more of the same. It had started with the note Jason sent to Megan—accompanied by the urn containing Will’s ashes—saying that he’d been with Will during the airplane crash and he needed time to grieve Will’s death before returning home, something neither of them understood. Jason would never put his friend’s death between him and his daughter, no matter how gutted he might be. Then Jason had stayed away, supposedly on business trips, and had failed time and time again to FaceTime with Savannah. As his frequent, albeit odd, emails had trickled to a stop, Aaron’s and Megan’s concern had mushroomed into genuine fear that something was horribly wrong.

Since Jason’s disappearance—it had been too long to call it anything else—Savannah had been splitting her time between Aaron’s and Megan’s places. But they both agreed, with school starting soon, that Savannah needed permanence in her life. Megan was going through her own special type of hell—the man she’d married, and buried, was not actually the person she had thought he was. So until Jason came back, Savvie’s place was with Aaron. If Jason came back...

His brother had to come back. He loved and adored his niece but Aaron wasn’t ready to be a father to an almost-six-year-old girl who’d experienced more upheaval than any child should.

Jay, where the hell are you?

The front door opened and Aaron looked down into Kasey’s heart-shaped, makeup-free face and, for an instant, he forgot how to breathe. She was dressed in a tank top, through which he could see the faint outline of her nipples, and the smallest pair of sleep shorts that skimmed the top of her thighs. His gaze drifted back up, drinking in those high cheekbones, that array of messy hair just grazing her shoulders, and those stunningly beautiful whiskey eyes groggy with sleep.

God, he wanted her. Still. Eight months of working with her hadn’t cured him of that little affliction. He hadn’t been so attracted to—obsessed with—a woman since Kate. And look how well that had turned out. His infatuation with Kate had had enormous consequences and was, in a roundabout way, responsible for his parents’ death. His lack of a college degree, inability to trust and his emotional unavailability could also be traced back to that woman.

And here he was falling down that rabbit hole again, desperate to make Kasey his.

Your brother is in trouble. Your sister is heartbroken and confused. Your niece is a basket case and your world is falling apart. Is sex really what you should be thinking about, Phillips?

“Aaron...hi. Uh, what are you doing here?” Kasey asked, rubbing her fist in her eye.

Going slowly mad, Aaron silently answered. He looked over her head, easy to do since he was nearly a foot taller than her, into her sunny, colorful abode. “I need to talk to you.”

Kasey pushed her fingers through her hair and Aaron noticed the way her breasts rose and fell with the movement. And a part of him rose...sheesh.

“Can it wait until Monday?”

“I wouldn’t be here at nine on a Saturday morning if it could,” Aaron retorted.

Kasey narrowed her eyes at his bark and he recognized her play-nice expression. Kasey was tough and strong-willed, and never hesitated to put him in his place if she felt he was being too pushy. He disliked doormats and her unwillingness to take crap from a work-obsessed, demanding boss was one of the things he liked best about her.

Sighing, he softened his tone. “Let me in, Kasey. Please.”

She stepped back, and Aaron walked into her bright, airy cottage. After closing the front door behind him, he jammed his hands into the back pockets of his jeans. Her furniture looked used but comfortable, covered in checks and stripes in shades of the sea. Yellow and orange cushions and vibrant vases of flowers created splashes of color in the sunny room.

“Kitchen’s that way.” Kasey’s bare arm brushed his as she pointed to a door behind him. “Make coffee, will you?”

“Where are you going?”

Kasey glanced down and Aaron noticed her flushed face. She gestured to her clothing. “Not exactly the outfit I need my boss to see me in.”

Aaron started to remind her that he’d seen her in much less but at the last minute pulled the words back. For eight months they’d pretended that night had never happened and mentioning it now, when she was halfway to naked, wasn’t appropriate.

His brother was missing and his niece needed him. He was also one of the few people who knew that the man he’d thought was his old friend and brother-in-law was an impostor. Plus, he was trying to support his sister, whose life was even more of a tangled mess than his.

Which meant sex with Kasey should be the last thing on his mind.

Aaron swore and scrubbed his hands over his face. When he opened them again, Kasey was walking away from him. He ordered himself not to follow her—but, hot damn, those shorts did not cover her butt cheeks.

Coffee, Aaron thought. Coffee was the only thing that made sense right now. He slipped into Kasey’s tiny kitchen, thinking he was far too big for this dollhouse. His house was huge—eight thousand square feet and seven bedrooms—but as he’d told Jason, who’d sarcastically called his house “the Shack,” at six-three he was a big guy and he liked a lot of space.

A few minutes later Aaron saw Kasey standing in the doorway, wearing a pair of knee-length, cut-off denim shorts and a blue, white and red striped top. She was shoeless, her toes ending in slashes of hot pink. She’d brushed her hair, washed her face and, judging by the peppermint smell, brushed her teeth. Her face was still free of makeup, but she rarely wore much: her eyelashes were long and thick and her mouth a natural, deep pink. As always, she took his breath away.

“I need your help,” Aaron stated, trying to get his mind off the bed down her hall.

Kasey picked up her mug, sipped and lifted her finely arched, dark eyebrows. “Okay.” She glanced down at her clothes and grimaced. “Do we need to go to the office? Must I change?”

“Not necessary,” Aaron told her. “You’re fine as you are.”

Kasey waved her coffee cup in a silent gesture for him to continue.

Should he tell her? Was he doing the right thing? Aaron wrestled with his doubt. He didn’t trust anyone, not fully, but he needed Kasey’s help and that meant sharing classified information, something he wasn’t comfortable doing. He’d learned, the hard way, to keep his secrets, both business and personal, close to his chest.

“I’m trusting you not to repeat this, Kasey.”

She nodded and Aaron continued. “It’s a long, tangled story. You met Will at the ball. How much do you know about him?”

Kasey replied immediately, her business brain moving into high gear. “CEO of Spark Energy Solutions, a company with ties to oil, gas and solar. Recently passed away?”

“Yeah. A while ago, Will and Rich Lowell, his best friend, were in Mexico and they got caught up in a boating accident. Long story short, the boat exploded and we were told Rich died. Except that wasn’t what happened. Rich escaped the brunt of the blast and Will’s body was never recovered.”

Kasey waited for him to continue.

“This is where it gets odd... Rich presumed Will died in that blast and he returned to Royal—but he returned as Will. Acting as Will, Rich took over Will’s life and his business. Married my sister. Then, a few months back, Rich, still pretending to be Will, faked his own death... Following me so far?”

Kasey looked dazed. He didn’t blame her; it was a hell of a story. “Meanwhile, the real Will also did not perish in that boat explosion.”

“Seriously? So where was he while Rich was assuming his identity?”

“He was in Mexico, recovering from his injuries. He’s now back in town, laying low and quietly trying to unravel the mess.” Aaron released a breath. “My brother, Jason, is Will’s good friend and worked closely with him at Will’s energy company, SES.”

“Your brother didn’t notice the difference between the real and the fake Will?” Kasey asked, sounding skeptical.

“Remember that boating accident? Acting as Will, Rich claimed he’d been badly injured, that he’d needed reconstructive surgery to both his face and vocal chords. Jason took his words at face value. Will and Rich had the same coloring and build, and they looked a lot alike, so none of us ever thought, not for a minute, that Rich wasn’t who he said he was.”

Kasey looked puzzled. “Okay, but I still don’t understand how this relates to me doing a favor for you.”

“Getting there... As I said, Jason worked for Will and he’s gone missing. It’s been two months since anyone has spoken to, or seen, him.”

Sympathy crossed Kasey’s lovely face. “I’m so sorry, Aaron. That must be awful.”

That was one word for it. “My sister received a letter from him saying that he needed time away to recover from Will’s death. But that letter was fake—it definitely wasn’t his handwriting. Besides, no matter how upset Jason was, he would never abandon his little girl.”

Aaron heard the harsh note in his voice and tried to tone it down, to find his control. “He’s a devoted dad and he’d never neglect Savannah for this long. There have been emails, but on other trips Jason never connected with Savvie through emails—she’s too little—he always FaceTimed with her.” Aaron tossed his cold coffee into her sink and linked his hands around the back of his neck. “In short, Jason is officially missing, presumed kidnapped.” He forced the words out. “It’s possible that he’s dead.”

Kasey lifted her fist to her mouth, her eyes wide with shock mixed with horror. “God, Aaron.”

He imagined himself in her arms, soaking in her strength, leaning on her, emotionally, for a minute, maybe two. But that wasn’t what he allowed himself—he didn’t fall apart, he couldn’t. He had to be strong. For Jason. For Megan. For Savannah.

“Savvie is five, nearly six, and has been bouncing between Megan, my sister’s house and mine. I remember Jason naming me as her guardian after her mom died a year or so back but I never expected to have to take full responsibility for her.” First her mom, then her dad. No wonder Savannah looked and sounded shell-shocked. “I’m picking her up from my sister Megan’s soon, but, while I can handle the occasional sleepover or a weekend here and there, she’s going to be with me full-time.”

Well, here went nothing. “I need reinforcements and I was hoping that you would, um, lend me a hand with her.”

Kasey looked like he’d asked her to play with acid-covered playing cards. “Aaron, I’m your executive assistant, not a babysitter. You have an enormous disposable income, hire a nanny!”

A stranger in his house? No. Aaron folded his arms, prepared to argue. “On your résumé, you said that you spent a year in France as an au pair. And I’ll double your salary if you take on the extra workload.”

Kasey still looked doubtful.

“Yeah, I could hire a nanny but you’re young, warm, and I think she’d relate to you better. I just need to get through the next couple of weeks, someone to help me until she goes to school. Then I’ll make another plan,” Aaron added.

“What about your sister? Can’t she help you?”

Megan was trying to unravel her own messy life and while he knew that she could occasionally help out, she wasn’t available on a continual basis. “Megan has her own issues she’s dealing with.”

Aaron looked at Kasey, almost prepared to grovel. “I trust you, Kasey. I trust you with my business.” Okay, that was a small lie. He trusted her as much as he could and only with parts of his business.

“The hell of it is that I need you. So, will you help me?”

* * *

I need you...

Kasey was still trying to make sense of his words when her cell phone buzzed with an incoming call. Seeing Michelle’s name on her screen brought the usual wave of longing and disgust, regret and anger, so she did what she always did and let the call go to voice mail. She couldn’t deal with her former best friend right now. She wasn’t sure whether she ever could.

Kasey looked at Aaron, who dominated her small kitchen. She could see the worry in his deep green eyes; it was also etched into the grooves edging his masculine but still sexy mouth, painted in the dark circles under his eyes. He also looked like he’d lost weight, which in Aaron’s case meant that he’d dropped muscle since there wasn’t an inch of fat on him. She’d checked.

Despite working virtually and only seeing him within the confines of a computer monitor, she’d noticed that he was worried and, day-by-day, she saw his tension levels ratcheting up. Thanks to that amazing, glorious night that could not be mentioned, they were very careful to keep their relationship strictly professional, so she’d avoided asking him what was wrong and whether she could help.

And that raised the question, did she want to help? Should she help? She rather liked being on the outside looking in; it felt safer that way. But lately she’d started to think that maybe it was time to come out of her self-imposed hermit lifestyle, to start engaging with the world again. Meet some new people and, maybe, make a friend or two.

She wasn’t looking for a new best friend or a new lover—she didn’t trust herself or her judgment to go that far—but sharing a meal with a nice man or a cup of coffee with a girlfriend might be fun. But, God, she was so out of practice. She needed to dust off her social skills; Aaron was the only person she spoke to on a regular basis and that was all about business.

Looking after Savannah would pull her out of her rut and make her interact with someone new, even if she was only five years old. But she had to be careful, she’d made a promise to herself to protect what was left of her heart and she couldn’t afford to become emotionally attached to anyone, let alone a little girl who’d lost her mom and maybe—God, she prayed not—her dad.

“It’s a temporary gig, Kasey. Just until we find our feet,” Aaron said.

Kasey tapped her nails against her fake granite countertop, fighting the urge to say no, to crawl back into the security of her quiet and lonely life. If she kept to herself, then no one could hurt her...

But they were talking about a little girl. What harm could she do?

Kasey thought she could handle Savannah but she had to remember that she came as a package deal with Aaron. And she definitely couldn’t handle him!

To give herself some time to think, Kasey lifted her phone to her ear to listen to Michelle’s message. “So, I know you’re not too happy with me at the moment but it’s been a while since we spoke. Kasey, we need to resolve our issues. I need to say sorry for my oops and you need to forgive me.”

Oops? That was what her childhood friend was calling sleeping with her husband? An oops? Holy hell, now she’d heard it all.

“Anyway, I’ve tracked you down and I’m driving to Royal to see you. I should be there later this morning. And we’re going to talk, Kasey. You can’t keep running from me. I’m staying for the weekend, possibly longer if I can’t get through to you, and we’re going to thrash this out.”

Like hell she was. Kasey’s eyes flew to the clock on the wall—it was already ten and Michelle was super punctual. In fact, she was often early. She bit her lip and thought fast. “Would me helping you with Savannah mean me moving into your house?”

“It would make sense,” Aaron replied, his voice as neutral as Switzerland.

Two hours ago the thought of sleeping down the hall from the hottest man in Royal would’ve sent her running for the hills. But dealing with Michelle, rehashing their torrid past, was more terrifying than dealing with a little girl and Kasey’s raging but hopefully well-hidden lust for her boss.

Sold, Kasey thought. Michelle would arrive in Royal, not find her at home and, after a day, maybe two—because she had a low attention span and was easily bored—she’d hightail it back to Houston.

“I’ll help you with Savannah this weekend, as a trial run,” Kasey said. Not giving Aaron time to respond, she whipped around and headed down the hallway to her bedroom. Stepping into her tiny walk-in closet, she stood on her tiptoes and lunged for the suitcase on the highest shelf. A big, burly man from the moving company had placed it there for her; she’d thought it would be months before she needed it again.

Kasey jumped, her fingers grazing the edge of the suitcase, which wobbled and stayed put. Dammit, she hated being short. Kasey took a step back and hit a solid wall of muscle. She tensed and her brain ordered her traitorous body not to push her butt into his groin.

Aaron’s chest connected with her back as his arm reached for the suitcase, easily lifting the case off the shelf. His muscles bulged as he held it in the air and Kasey felt his hard body press up against her back, thought she felt his warm breath fanning her neck. Kasey stared at a pile of her T-shirts, telling herself that she couldn’t—shouldn’t—turn around. That it wasn’t a good idea to rise to her toes and slam her mouth against his.

Kasey heard Aaron’s muffled curse in her ear, heard the suitcase hit the floor and then Aaron’s big hands were on her shoulders and he spun her around to face him. She caught a glimpse of green fire in his eyes before he abruptly stepped back, holding up his hands, broad palms facing her, his chest heaving.

“Kasey.” Her name was both a warning and a plea. As her boss he wouldn’t initiate anything but she could, she had to. Kasey placed her fingers on his jaw and reached up to touch her mouth to his.

They both needed this connection...

Aaron made an appreciative sound in the back of his throat as his tongue slipped past her teeth to slide against hers, long, sexy strokes that heated her skin and made her head swim.

She’d missed this. She’d missed being the object of a man’s desire, of being held and kissed, of feeling feminine and powerful and so, so sexy. Despite only sharing a few, pleasure-saturated hours with him, she’d missed Aaron. When she thought of pleasure and sex and desire, his was the face that came to mind, his hands, his kisses, his touch. And hadn’t that been the point of that night so long ago?

She shouldn’t be enjoying his kiss so much, her hands shouldn’t be exploring the hard muscles under his bare skin. She shouldn’t be pressing her breasts into his chest. And she most certainly should not be twisting her tongue around his, making those sounds of appreciation low in her throat.

My God. What was she thinking? Rationality filtered in as she remembered that he was her boss. What they’d had was a onetime thing. She was moving into his house to avoid Michelle, to help him with his niece, not to warm his bed. Pull away, Kasey. Now.

Just five minutes more...

Aaron jerked his mouth off hers, his fingers digging into her hips. He rested his forehead against hers and she was pleased to see that his face was flushed, that he, also, was short of breath. That they were both struggling for control. At least she wasn’t alone in this madness.

“Kase—”

Kasey yanked her hands out from underneath his shirt and pushed the heels of her hands in her eye sockets. This man had the ability to shut down her synapses, to trip the power supply to her brain.

Kasey looked down at her bare toes, noticed a small chip in the nail polish on her middle toe. She didn’t want to have this conversation but she needed to make sure of what she was walking into. “I’m going to be living and working in your house, Aaron. For a couple of nights at the very least.”

She lifted her head to see Aaron’s “Yeah, so?” look.

Man, this was embarrassing, but because her entire marriage had been based on lies, Kasey chose honesty over embarrassment. “Are you expecting more when I move in with you? Because that’s not going to happen.”

Irritation flickered in his eyes. “I never, for one moment, thought it would. You’re still my employee and I’m still your boss.”

“I initiated that kiss but you were as into it as I was, Aaron.”

Irritation morphed into frustration and his muttered curse bounced off the walls of her bedroom. “I know. But we had an agreement and that agreement still stands.”

“Then why didn’t we stop?” Why was she pushing him on this? What did she want from him? Kasey didn’t know. What she should be doing is laughing it off, ignoring buzz of sexual attraction between them. This was akin to poking a bear with a stick...

“I don’t know what your excuse is but I had five feet plus of pure perfection pressed up against me. When you haven’t been laid for eight long months, temptation is hard to resist!”

Kasey stared at him, trying to process his words. He thought she was perfect? He hadn’t had sex since her? He was gorgeous and ripped, and she knew that when he walked down the street women stared at him, lust and appreciation in their eyes.

Aaron cursed again and started to walk away. At the door, he turned and those piercing green eyes pinned her to the floor. “My life is a mess, Kasey, and I don’t need any more complications.”

Kasey and reality collided with a hard thump and she nodded, embarrassed. “I shouldn’t have kissed you. I’m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable.”

Aaron looked down at his tented pants and lifted an eyebrow. “In more ways than one.” He then released a heavy sigh. “You started it but I got into it so we’re both, equally, at fault and I apologize.”

Aaron placed his hands on his hips. “Can we keep it simple? You’re my assistant and temporary nanny, that’s it.”

Yeah, that was it. That was all it could be. It didn’t matter that they had enough sexual chemistry to ignite the room, they needed to keep their distance. She respected Aaron’s big brain—and, because she was still a woman, she also appreciated his very excellent body—but she was not prepared to jeopardize her job or to allow her heart to hope.

“So you’re with me on this? From this moment on, our relationship stays strictly professional?” Aaron was giving her that steely eyed, hard-ass look he frequently used when dealing with a complicated work issue.

He was right. It was essential that they didn’t make this situation any more complicated than it needed to be. Kasey capitulated to common sense. “It’s a deal.”

Two

From the balcony off his office on the second floor of his house, Aaron watched Kasey pull to a stop at the back entrance. Jumping out of her SUV, Kasey shoved her sunglasses to the top of her head and opened the back door. Aaron watched his niece leave the vehicle, all dark hair, sad eyes and long legs. So young, she’d experienced more upheaval than most people would in a lifetime. Aaron felt his stomach cramp and closed his eyes. Crap, Jay, where the hell are you? What more can I do to find you?

Look after Savvie, bro, he heard Jason’s voice say in his head. If you want to do right by me, look after my precious, precious daughter.

I am. She’s in my care until you come home, just as you wanted.

“I left a snack on the kitchen counter for you, Savannah.” Kasey’s voice floated up to him and Aaron opened his eyes to see her place her hand on Savannah’s shoulder. “Then you can have a quick swim before your ballet lessons. That work?”

It was Wednesday and Kasey, without further discussion, was still here and doing a fabulous job with his niece. Her natural warmth and her non-pushy attitude endeared her to Savannah. They’d clicked the moment they’d met.

He tended to avoid talking to Savannah about Jason but Kasey faced that issue head-on, allowing the little girl to express her fears, holding her when she cried and answering her many questions about where her dad could be. Kasey answered Savannah as honestly as she could, never giving the child false hope or making any promises that no one could fulfill.

Savannah wasn’t happy, far from it, but when she was around Kasey, she was more cheerful than he’d seen her in weeks. Both Savannah and Kasey were now living with him on a full-time basis. Sure, Savvie had been a frequent visitor to his house but it still felt strange to share his space with a woman and a girl, to find hair ties on his kitchen table and dolls on the floor. Kasey’s perfume floated through the house and there were flowers on the dining table and on the desk she used in the corner of his office. Music filled his house and his fridge was filled with girlie foods like low fat yogurt, frilly lettuce and hummus.

“Will you swim with me, Kasey?” Savannah asked, and Aaron tuned back into their conversation.

“Sure thing, sweetheart. I just need to check in with Aaron to see if he has any work for me,” Kasey replied.

Aaron saw the flash of disappointment cross Savannah’s face. With her dark brown hair and green eyes, she was going to be beautiful. Hell, if he discounted the fear and sadness, she already was.

“Nothing that can’t wait. Maybe I’ll join you two,” Aaron said, resting his arms on the railing of the balcony. Savannah’s head shot up and she managed a small smile before running into the house. Kasey stood in place, her arms folded across the cotton fabric of her sleeveless sundress. He could see the concern in her eyes, could read her thoughts as easily as he could the stock market.

“You don’t have to join us,” Kasey said.

“It’s fine. I’m hot and I need a break.” Aaron knew she worried that shedding most of their clothes would crack open the door that kept their mutual attraction under lock and key.

It was a swim, he wanted to tell Kasey. They’d have an almost-six-year-old to chaperone them. Aaron ran his hand across his face, reluctantly admitting that if he and Kasey found themselves in a pool alone, their clothes would be shed in world-record-breaking speed. They were that combustible.

Despite it only being a couple of days, living together in the same house was torture. They shared his office. They shared their meals. They were constantly in close proximity and, when he went to bed, he was deeply conscious that Kasey was across the hall in the bedroom next to Savannah’s. Every night he needed to talk himself out of slipping into her bed, of losing himself in her for an hour or two or most of the night.

He tried, he really did, not to think about her like that but at night, when the lights were off, he was ambushed by memories of how she felt...

God. Boss of the Year he was not.

Really, didn’t he have better things to do than fantasize about his employee? Aaron turned away and walked back into his cool study, dropping into his leather chair. He had too many responsibilities to allow himself to be distracted by Kasey with her endless curves and catlike amber eyes.

First and foremost, he needed to find out what the hell had happened to Jason. His gaze drifted to the silver frame on his desk: two little boys held fish up to the camera, their toothy grins wide and free. He and Jason were only a year apart and nobody knew his brother better than he did. Yeah, they’d fought and they’d competed—girls, sports, business—but they were brothers, and blood always, always, came first. He’d been Jason’s best man at his wedding, had handed him cigars and gotten him drunk when he’d become a dad. He’d kept his hand on his back and been a pillar of strength for him when he’d buried Ruth.

It had been more than two months since he’d heard from Jay and Aaron knew in his gut that something was wrong. Desperately wrong.

His brother was work obsessed but he’d never neglected Savannah. He was a good dad and, if Savannah was staying with Aaron or with Megan while Jay traveled, he made it a point to connect with his daughter every day, morning and night. Something terrible had to have happened because Aaron knew Jason would move heaven and earth to speak to his child.

Cole Sullivan, the PI his friend Will had hired, also believed that Jason was in deep crap. The note Megan had received—supposedly from Jason, stating he needed space to deal with Will’s death—had been proved, through handwriting analysis, not to be Jason’s.

Aaron could’ve told them that. Jason was a Phillips. They didn’t run away from their responsibilities. His brother would never turn his back on his daughter. He wouldn’t ignore his family’s entreaties to get in touch just so he could wallow in his own pain.

No, something was very, very wrong.

Aaron heard the door to his study open and Kasey walked in, heading for her desk in the corner. Instead of taking a seat, she bent from the waist down to peer at her monitor, her sundress perfectly delineating her heart-shaped ass, the same ass he’d slid his hands under to haul her against him as he’d lost himself in her eight months ago. He couldn’t help his eyes traveling down as her short dress rode up in the back, allowing him a look at her slim, tanned thighs. Those spectacular legs had encircled his hips, had been draped over his shoulders as he’d—

God, he needed to get laid. Eight months was far too damn long, but whenever he considered finding a date, Kasey’s face popped into his head. He didn’t want sex with some random female. He wanted Kasey. Which posed a problem, because the woman worked for him and was helping him, temporarily, to raise his niece. He couldn’t jeopardize either situation, or his honor, for sex. His neglected junk violently disagreed.

There was something—damn, what was the word?—homey about having his house and life invaded by two intensely girlie girls. Savvie’s occasional visits didn’t carry the same punch as having them here 24/7. The dolls and smells and music were comforting, and hearing feminine voices and the occasional trill of laughter made his house feel more like a home than the huge tomb he usually inhabited.

Aaron rubbed the back of his neck and reminded himself that this wasn’t normal. Normal was Jay back at home with Savvie, Kasey in her house, he in his. He couldn’t afford to get attached. All his relationships, romantic or not, tended to be messy and, as an added bonus, the people he loved tended to leave him. Sometimes both at the same time. No, it was better to stay emotionally detached.

But that resolve didn’t help him with his need-to-get-laid problem.

Kasey stood straight and Aaron quickly looked up, glad that his desk hid his arousal. There were certain things Kasey did not need to know and his craving for her was one of them. “Aaron, I’m falling behind.”

“How can I help?”

“Can you do Savvie’s ballet run? I could use that time to catch up here.”

Aaron nodded. It would do him good to get out of the house, away from the monitors and making financial decisions involving hundreds of millions of dollars. That took its toll and he could feel a stress headache building between his eyes.

Kasey opened the right-hand drawer to his desk and lobbed him a bottle of aspirin. “Take two and come for a swim, it’ll help you unwind.”

Aaron opened the bottle, shook the pills into his hand and tossed them into his mouth. He dry-swallowed the pills and ignored Kasey’s wince. “How did Savvie do at day camp today?”

Kasey picked up a pen and threaded it through her fingers, something she often did. “She was better, I think. She told me that some boy brought in his guinea pig and that some of the girls were scared of it, but she’d loved it.” Kasey sent him a look and he knew that something big was coming his way, something he might not like. “I think you should buy her a puppy.”

Yep, there it was. “Kasey, do we not have enough on our hands without adding a puppy to the craziness?”

“She loves animals, Aaron, and she needs something to love.”

“She has me and Megan.”

“Her mom and dad have both left her, so she doesn’t trust other adults not to do the same,” Kasey argued, stubbornness settling into her expression.

She was not going to let this go. Damn, they were going to get a puppy, sometime soon.

He thought he should at least try to change her mind. “She’s not old enough to handle the responsibility of looking after a dog, Kasey.”

“This isn’t about being responsible, Aaron. It’s about her having something in her life she can hold on to,” she reiterated. “Having something to love. Everyone needs someone or something to love and, God knows, dogs are a hundred times more reliable than humans.”

And didn’t that statement, Aaron thought as she walked out of the room, give him a glimpse into her soul.

* * *

Kasey stomped down the hallway and ducked into her room. Kicking off her sandals, she immediately walked over to the French doors and flung them open, allowing the heat of the hot Texas day to slide into her bedroom. For the last year or so she’d felt perpetually cold—a physical reaction to emotional pain—so she didn’t mind a little heat.

Kasey rested her head against the door frame and closed her eyes. She was exhausted, which was the only reason she’d allowed those revealing words to leave her lips. Everyone needs someone or something to love and, God knows, dogs are a hundred times more reliable than humans...

And wasn’t that the truth. Kasey looked at the small picture on her bedside table, her gaze focusing on the mixed breed she held in her arms. She’d found Rufus in Cleveland, the puppy half-starved, for food and affection. Because her parents were generally oblivious, she’d managed to keep him hidden until they moved to... God, what city came after Cleveland? Cincinnati? Boston? It was all a blur. But she did remember the screaming fight she’d had with her parents, that if they insisted on lugging her from place to place, school to school, then the least they could do was let her have one friend, even if it was a canine. Ru, like her, had endured the moves and loved the summer holidays at her grandparents’ house in Houston. All she’d wanted was a stable home life, a place to settle down in, and she’d found that for three months of the year, in Houston.

Years later she’d believed that she’d found her place, her permanent home with Dale. Yeah, that hadn’t turned out the way she expected it to.

Kasey walked over to the king-size bed covered in expensive, white Egyptian cotton and picked up her phone. There were two missed calls from Michelle, one from Dale. Knowing it was more of the same old, same old, she blew out a frustrated breath and tossed her phone back onto the bed.

Dale and Michelle were in a race to win her back. Both wanted to be the first to earn her forgiveness. They were both sorry...they’d made a mistake...could she forgive them?

Hell, no.

Their infidelity had not only left her unable to fathom being in a relationship again, but also riddled her with insane trust issues. She’d spent the last eight months rebuilding her life. She was starting to feel vaguely normal and she was so much stronger. She liked her job, she liked Royal and she liked not having to deal with their neediness and drama. At some point she’d have to meet with them, face them, but today wasn’t that day. Tomorrow wasn’t looking good for them, either.

“I’m ready, Kasey.”

Kasey turned and smiled at Savannah, who stood in her open doorway, dressed in a pink-and-purple swimsuit, her swimming goggles high on her head.

Savannah noticed that Kasey was still wearing her sundress and her expression turned to resignation, her face crumpling. “Okay, well...if you’re not going to swim, then I’ll just go to my room.”

So much pain, Kasey thought, her heart flipping over. Savannah was nearly six but she expected adults to disappoint her.

“Honey, I was just woolgathering. Of course I’m going to swim with you.” Kasey walked over to the dresser and pulled open the top drawer. Yanking out her swimsuits, she held them up. “The blue racer or the orange bikini?”

Savannah, because she was a mini fashionista, tipped her head, giving the question her complete attention. “The orange bikini.”

Damn, Kasey silently thought. The bikini was modest, but it was still four triangles and she didn’t feel comfortable showing Aaron that much skin.

A little too late, Monroe, considering the man once managed to kiss every inch of your skin.

But she wasn’t thinking about that, about him, about how his touch made her combust from the inside out... She remembered the taste of his mouth, his skin, how his fingers trailed over her—

No! Stop!

Enough. They’d had their one insanely hot night together and, as mind-blowing as it had been, it could never be repeated again.

She was permanently unavailable and he was her super-professional boss, so getting worked up about showing a little flesh was just...stupid. Apart from that kiss in her house days ago, Aaron never made any reference to what they’d done, how they’d done it and how hot it had been. He was so inscrutable that some days she even doubted that night had ever happened and she sometimes wondered whether Aaron naked was a very erotic, very sexy, figment of her imagination.

“Kasey!”

Kasey blinked and looked at Savannah, hands on her tiny hips, her green eyes frustrated. She clapped her hands and made a shooing motion. “You are wool-grabbing again.”

Kasey started to correct her but smiled instead. “You’re right, I am.”

God, she really, really liked this kid. She had to be careful. After her marriage imploded, she’d promised herself she wasn’t going to form emotional attachments again. She didn’t trust herself enough to do that. Because trust and attachment led to a shattered heart and hers was only just starting to heal.

* * *

Aaron sat on a pool lounger a few yards from the pool. Kasey and Savannah were sitting in the water, on the wide, first step of the massive pool. Nearly every doll Savannah owned was in the pool with them and Kasey was helping Savannah to teach them to swim.

Kasey, long-limbed and slim, flipped a chubby plastic doll onto its back to make it float. Savannah, sitting between Kasey’s legs, guided the doll through the water, her one hand on Kasey’s thigh. They were lost in their own conversation, oblivious to his presence.

At one point in his life, while he’d still been at college, he’d dreamed of this: a big house, money in the bank, a hot wife and a cute kid. He’d been happy to play the field, but in the back of his mind he’d always been on the lookout for “the One.” His perfect match. Instant recognition of his soul mate. God, for a guy who’d always had nerves of steel when it came to finance, he’d been such a damn romantic.

There was nothing romantic about being the direct cause of his parents’ car accident or having his fiancée run off with his client list six months after opening their investment firm together, nearly bankrupting him in the process. Kate had been six years older than him, sophisticated, and he’d hung on her every word. He’d believed her when she’d insisted he was bright enough to make it without completing his last semester of college, that he didn’t need his degree in finance and that he needed to concentrate on their business. So in love with her, he’d dropped out of college, breaking his parents’ hearts and ultimately causing their deaths.

Afterward he’d flung himself into their business, working crazy hours to get their company off the ground, to distance himself from the grief. How had Kate repaid him? The month after he’d made his first five-million trade, she’d visited every one of their clients and told them that she was the one reading the markets, that she was concerned about his emotional health, his youth. His clients, scared to risk their money on such a young trader, had moved their portfolios to Kate. He’d been left with the three clients she hadn’t been brave enough to approach: his brother, Will Sanders and Megan. He’d taken his life savings, Megan’s and Jason’s modest investments and Will’s larger investment, and made them all a damned fortune. His former clients, who had lost money with Kate, had reached out to him, asking him to manage their money again.

Because loyalty was everything to him, Aaron had refused. Besides, by that point—and thanks to Will’s word-of-mouth advertising—he had more, far richer, clients than he could handle.

God, if only his parents had trusted his decision. If only they hadn’t freaked and jumped into that car ten minutes after he’d told them he was dropping out of school. If only they hadn’t driven through the night to confront him at Berkeley. If they had trusted him, just a little...

His heart had splintered into a million pieces when his parents died and what was left had been decimated by Kate’s deceit. He would’ve given Kate everything. But she’d screwed him over, big-time, and, ten years later, his heart still wasn’t capable of giving or receiving love.

Did Savannah sense that? Was that why she was so reserved around him? Did she subconsciously realize that he had nothing to give? God, he hoped not. If Jason—God...if his brother didn’t come back, could he love Savannah the way she deserved to be loved, the way a little girl needed to be loved? He wasn’t so sure...

Dammit, Jay, you’d better be doing everything you can to get yourself back here! I can’t do this... Savvie needs you. She needs her dad.

And, hell, I need my brother.

He should be working, Aaron thought. There were markets to check, decisions to make. But he could take another five minutes to sit in the afternoon sun and soak up some rays. He tried to sit still but, feeling antsy, he reached for his cell and dialed Cole Sullivan’s number.

The private investigator had assured him that he was doing everything he could to find Jason. But surely there was something Aaron could do, as well? Because, sure as hell, sitting around in the sun while his brother was missing wasn’t it. Guilt, acidic and bitter, burned his tongue and the roof of his mouth.

“Sullivan.”

Aaron asked whether Cole had any news.

“Nothing concrete since the last time we spoke, Aaron.”

Nothing concrete... Did that mean Cole had found something? “Do you have a hunch about what happened?”

“I have nothing concrete, Aaron,” Cole repeated. “I make it a policy not to share my hunches or suppositions without anything to back them up.”

Crap. Aaron gripped the bridge of his nose and ignored the burning in his eyes. “What can I do, Cole? Just tell me. I need to do something...the waiting is killing me.”

“If there is anything, I’ll let you know. Hang tough, Aaron. I’m hoping to have some solid answers for you soon.”

“Okay. Keep me updated.”

“You will be the second person I call,” Cole promised him.

Aaron wanted to protest but remembered that Cole was working for Will. He wasn’t calling the shots, wasn’t Cole’s client, and that burned him. He liked being in charge, but he was somewhat pacified by the knowledge that he was in the loop, that he’d get the information as soon as Will did. Besides, he instinctively trusted Cole. He knew he was doing everything he could to track down Jason.

Aaron saw the tiny feet next to his size thirteens and slowly lifted his head to look into Savannah’s worried face. They shared the same green eyes, he thought, the Phillips chin.

“Were you talking to someone about my daddy?” Savannah demanded, fear and worry in her eyes.

Aaron felt like he was looking into his own soul. He thought about lying, then decided she deserved, and needed, the truth. “Yeah, Savvie, I was.”

“Is he coming home soon?” Savannah asked, her bottom lip wobbling.

Aaron took her hand in his and sat straighter. His gut clenched at the mixture of hope and fear he saw in her eyes. “I don’t know, honey. We’re trying to find him.”

“Something’s wrong, Uncle Aaron. Daddy always calls me and it’s been so long.”

Tears just made the green of her eyes more brilliant.

Aaron reached up and touched her cheek with the back of his knuckle. “I know, honey. I’m worried, too.” He gestured to his phone, conscious of Kasey standing a few feet behind Savannah, her body stiff with tension. Did she think he should be more upbeat? That he should be more optimistic? Was this one of those times when he should be lying his ass off?

He met her eyes and saw her concern for Savvie. She was clearly holding herself back, resisting the urge to sweep the little girl into her arms and soothe away her pain.

Aaron was grateful for her reticence. This conversation, as hard as it was, was the first real conversation he’d had with Savannah since she’d moved in full-time.

He picked up his phone and tossed it from one hand to another. “The man I was just talking to? His name is Mr. Sullivan, and his job is to find people who have gone missing.”

“Will he find my daddy?”

Aaron lifted his broad shoulders in a weary shrug. “He’s trying, honey. I just called him to ask him if I could help him, but there’s nothing I can do. I would if I could, but this is his job.”

Savannah moved so that she was standing between his legs. Aaron slid his arm around her, being careful to keep his touch gentle. His eyes burned when she laid her head on his shoulder. “Your job is to look after me... I heard you saying that to Kasey.”

“It is my job. Nobody is more important to your dad than you and he’d want me to make sure that you are safe.”

Savannah pushed her face into his neck and he felt her warm breath on his skin. “I miss him, Uncle Aaron.”

“I do, too, Savvie.” Aaron rested his cheek against her head and closed his eyes. God, Jay, where the hell are you?

He heard Kasey’s footsteps and lifted his head to look at her. Her expression was pure sympathy and he managed a quick, half-baked smile.

Kasey placed a hand on Savvie’s shoulder. “Hey, sweet pea, if you don’t run upstairs now to change, you’re going to be late for your ballet lesson.”

Savannah pulled back and her eyes widened. “And if anyone is late, Mrs. Pitman goes red and her mouth goes all funny.” Savannah made a face and both he and Kasey laughed at her squinty eyes and pursed lips. “I’m going to change real fast, Kasey.”

“You do that, Savvie. Aaron is going to take you to your lesson and he’ll pick you up, okay?”

Savannah looked at Aaron and, for a long moment, he thought she might demand that Kasey take her. “’Kay,” she said before running across the outdoor living area and into the house.

Aaron stood and looked at Kasey, who was wrapping a piece of gauzy fabric around her hips and looking thoughtful.

“Should I have patted her on the head and told her that everything is going to be okay?” he demanded as Kasey pulled a strapless T-shirt over her bikini top.

He was annoyed to find himself holding his breath, waiting for her answer. He didn’t want to mess this up and he didn’t want Kasey to think that he had. Why was he concerned about her opinion? He didn’t, generally, give a rat’s ass about what people thought about him. But he respected Kasey...

“I think you did the right thing,” Kasey said softly and his stomach unraveled an inch or two. “I’d far prefer that you hurt me with the truth rather than comfort me with a lie.”

Aaron sent a glance to the empty house. “But she’s so little...”

“Kids respect honesty, Aaron. You made progress with her by telling her the truth.”

“Honesty is a big deal for me,” Aaron said, looking into her lovely face.

“It’s a big deal for me, too,” Kasey replied, picking up the towel Savvie had left on the patio floor. When she straightened, Aaron caught the flash of deep-seated pain in her eyes, in the way her lips thinned, and wondered who’d lied to her and why. He opened his mouth to ask her but then remembered he had no right to go digging into her life. For eight months he’d managed—just barely—not to cross that line from business to personal, but since he’d kissed her in her bedroom, that line was out of focus and fuzzy.

Aaron picked up his T-shirt and pulled it over his head. “I’d better change.”

Kasey folded the towels she was holding, paying the menial task much more attention than it deserved. “And I need to catch up on my day job.” She turned away but Aaron caught her elbow and sighed at her soft skin, the scent of her perfume mingling with the chlorine smell of the pool. “Kase?”

Whiskey-honeyed eyes threatened to buckle his knees. “Yeah?”

He wanted to kiss her, to yank her to him, to plunder her sexy mouth and fill his hands with her plump breasts. He wanted to strip her out of her clothes and lay her down on that lounger and make love to her in the afternoon sun. Then he wanted to take her into the pool to see if pool sex was as good as he remembered.

Aaron noticed the tremble in Kasey’s fingers, the way her pulse fluttered in her neck. She’d let him. He knew this as well as he knew his own handwriting. It was a fantastic fantasy but it was a crap idea. “Nothing. I’d better go.”

Kasey nodded, started to speak, but then gave the tiniest shake of her head, clamped her lips shut and headed into the house without saying another word.

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