Free When She's Bad by Leanne Banks Page A

the baby, but I don’t cook dinners or clean houses. And I start charging extra if you’re five minutes late.”
    Your man stopped her brain flat for several seconds. Benjamin wasn’t her man . She shook her head. She was desperate for a nanny. For a sliver of a moment, she wondered if Willy would mind the facial hair all that much. She inhaled and caught a strong whiff of garlic. She couldn’t force that combination of sight and smell on Willy. She bit back a sigh of disappointment. “Thank you for letting me know. Can you tell me about your experience?”
    “I did baby sitting for ten years for my next-door neighbors.”
    “Did you keep the children on an ongoing basis?”
    “No, I helped out in case of emergencies, but now I need a full-time job. I can start tomorrow.”
    “The agency told you that we’ll be using cloth diapers with the baby, didn’t they?” Delilah asked.
    Complete silence followed.
    “Why don’t you use disposables?” Ms. Cannady asked warily.
    “The baby is allergic to them.”
    “Oh.”
    The woman cleared her throat and rose. “Well, uh, I might have to think about this. It’s not good for my, uh, skin to be in water a lot of the time.”
    “That’s certainly understandable,” Delilah said, heading for the door. “Thank you for dropping by.” She closed the door and looked at Benjamin, wanting to kiss him for being there. She restrained herself. “She was from Nanny Finders ?”
    Setting Willy into the playpen, Benjamin shook his head. “I was just as surprised as you were.”
    “Do you think they’re all going to be like this?” she asked, horrified at the prospect.
    Benjamin met her gaze. “Delilah, how many women, and I use the term loosely, have you seen who look and smell like that?”
    “True. Not many,” she conceded.
    “The percentages are on our side. It may take more than a few interviews, but eventually a good nanny will walk through that door.”
    Stuck on his use of the word our , she blinked. Our , as if he was in this with her. As if she weren’t alone. As if she could count on him. Dangerous thought, she told herself.
    She pulled herself together. “I can only hope.”
    He pointed at her suit. “Looks like you’ve been busy this morning. You went to work?”
    She nodded. “Business emergency. I also went to Wal-mart. I bought all their diapers and some other things. Speaking of which, would you mind bringing them up from my car? I’ll wait here with Willy, but the swing is poking out of one of my windows and it looks like rain.”
    He chuckled and nodded. “No problem. How bad was the business emergency?”
    “On a scale of one to ten?” she asked. “Fifty.”
    He lifted an eyebrow. “What could be that bad at a spa? Did someone fry somebody’s hair?”
    She shook her head, not wanting to reveal the fact that Benjamin’s brother was dating her business partner. The connection was sure to provoke a sticky discussion. “I’m not sure I have the words for it. I don’t want to swear in front of the baby. Bad habit of mine,” she said, feeling oddly nervous as he moved closer to her. “One of many.”
    “You’re a woman of many bad habits?” he asked.
    Her silly heart went pitter-patter. His eyes were too sexy. “Many,” she repeated. “Swearing, eating M&Ms, drinking coffee, drinking champagne cocktails.”
    “Saving lives and taking responsibility for babies.”
    “Baby,” she quickly corrected breathlessly. She could smell his aftershave. He was way too close. He should move back five feet. Fifty feet. “ One baby .”
    “I haven’t figured you out. Half the time you come off like you’re a hard-hearted, superficial—”
    He broke off and she filled in the blank for him. “Bitch,” she said. “I believe the word you’re looking for is bitch.”
    “I think that’s just a cover.”
    Oops. A little too close. “No it’s not. I’m actually a bitch.”
    He shook his head slightly, studying her. “No. And the bad-girl