Free Daddy's Double Duty by Stella Bagwell

women have your own ideas about things,” he said. “I can accept that.”
    Even though her sigh was barely discernible, he heard it. The sound put a faint frown between his brows as he wondered why anything she was thinking and feeling about him should matter. Hell, she was just his secretary. Just because she’d become the sudden mother of twin infants didn’t make her any different than the woman who’d worked in his office for the past two months, he reasoned with himself.
    Yet this whole thing with the babies had forced Conall to see Vanessa in a more personal way. And last night, when he’d succumbed to his urges and kissed her, something had clicked inside him. Suddenly he’d been feeling, wanting, needing. All at once he’d felt the dead parts of him waking and bursting to life again.
    Conall realized it was stupid of him to hang so much importance on one kiss. But he couldn’t put it or her out of his mind.
    â€œI’m glad,” she said, “because I don’t want to appear ungrateful.”
    He smiled at her. “Good. Because I have another offer for you. Especially since you turned the last one down,” he added.
    Her brows lifted with faint curiosity and Conall couldn’t help but notice how the early morning sun was kissing her pearly skin and bathing it with a golden sheen. Last night, when he’d touched her face and laid his cheek against hers, he’d been overwhelmed at the softness and even now a part of him longed to reach across the table and trail his fingers across her skin, her lips.
    â€œDon’t you think you’ve already offered me enough?” she asked dryly.
    Reaching for his coffee, he tried to sound like he was discussing business with a client. “Not yet. This is something essential to you and to me. I don’t want to lose you as a secretary, so while you’re at work you’re going to need child care services. I insist that the ranch provide you with a nanny. Two, if need be.”
    She fell back against her chair and Conall could see he’d shocked her. Clearly, she’d not been expecting him to offer her any sort of amenities simply because she was a Diamond D employee. In fact, she acted as though it would be wrong for her to accept anything from him. Which was quite a contrast to his ex-wife, who’d grabbed and snatched anything and everything she could, then expected more.
    â€œDon’t you think you’re going a little overboard?” she asked after a long moment.
    â€œNot really. When I think back through some of the secretaries I’ve endured in the past, hiring a nanny to keep a good one like you is nothing more than smart business sense.”
    Actually, there was nothing businesslike goingthrough Conall’s mind at the moment, yet he was playing it that way. Otherwise, he knew Vanessa would balk like a stubborn mule at his suggestion.
    â€œThings have happened so quickly I’ve not yet had time to think of day care for the babies. There might be someone in Hondo to care for the twins while I’m at work,” she said a bit tentatively. “Or Lincoln.”
    He smiled to himself. “Vanessa, we both know you’d be lucky to find a babysitter in either community. And making such a long drive every morning and evening with the babies wouldn’t be practical.”
    She absently pushed at the egg on her plate. “Sometimes a person has to do things that are…well, not the most convenient.”
    â€œWhy would you need to do that when I can hire someone to watch the babies right in your home? You wouldn’t have to disturb them or drag them in and out in the weather. As far as I can see, it’s the perfect solution.”
    She nodded briefly and he could see a range of emotions sweeping across her face. She clearly wanted to resist his help and Conall couldn’t understand why. If he’d ever been harsh or cold with the woman, he