Free Naughty Nanny Series-Stay by Reana Malori Page A

surprise—stemmed from the Gorgeous man who’d opened the door, and she did mean Gorgeous with a capital G. She’d lost all ability to speak and her mouth had gone as dry as cotton when he’d turned his piercing blue eyes on her.
    “Yes? May I help you?” She could see the look of desperation in his eyes and heard the stress in his voice.
“I’m Cherie Gilbert. The agency sent me to interview for the nanny position.” Looking past him to the wreck of the house, she’d given him another look and tried not to smile. “Is this a bad time?”
“No, no, come on in. I was expecting you, but things got a little hectic around here.” Opening the door wider and motioning for her to come in, he’d run his hand through his dark-chestnut hair. Trying not to look at him, but knowing she couldn’t resist, Cherie had allowed herself an excuse to get an eyeful by pretending to look around the foyer. Seeing he’d stretched out his hand in a gesture of greeting, she’d given him her most dazzling smile and reached out her own hand to grasp his. When he’d spoken again, his smooth voice had pulled her in even more, “I’m Rick Harper. Nice to meet you, Ms. Gilbert. Please come in and have a seat.”
“Thank you. Very nice to meet you as well. So, I understand that you have two children. Twins?”
“Yes, Sean and Christina are both 2½ years old.” Running his hand through his mussed hair again, he’d continued, “Once they became mobile, I couldn’t keep up with them, no matter what I tried. The last nanny left about one month ago to relocate with her husband to the UK.” Looking away from her, she could see the haggard look in his eyes and it had almost broken her heart. “She did wonders for us after Susan died. We were so lost and I didn’t know what to do with two small babies. She was a godsend.”
Motioning for her to sit down on the nearest couch, he’d left the room with a brief, “I’ll be right back.” Looking around, she noticed there were still traces of a woman’s touch. It hadn’t seemed as if much had changed since his wife had died, or maybe there had been another female presence around the home. She’d been curious about the circumstances surrounding this family, but she wouldn’t put her foot in her mouth to ask. Noticing some photographs on the mantle, Cherie couldn’t resist her curiosity and had gone to take a look.
Several photos were lined up side by side showing different stages of life for the home’s family. A beautiful woman with honey-blonde hair was dressed in a stunning wedding gown in one picture. In another was a beautiful couple, a woman that she’d assumed to be Susan Harper alongside Rick Harper, smiling at each other as if no one else existed in the world.
Several other pictures were of a pregnant but glowing Susan. Others reflected Rick Harper in various poses and positions, always with a smile on his handsome face. There were no pictures of Susan and the two children, but there were plenty of Rick and the children. And there were other pictures of other family members experiencing various stages of fun with Rick and the two kids. The one thing she’d noticed was their father no longer had the same aura of happiness he’d displayed in the earlier photographs.
Cherie had realized his wife must have died during childbirth or shortly thereafter and couldn’t help but hurt for him. No husband expected his wife not to be around to help raise their children. Heart hurting for the pain he’d endured, she’d started to slowly turn around when she’d heard that darn stampede coming her way again. These two kids were definitely mobile and it had sounded as if they were on the run from the law.
Ah, yep, on the run from the law, all right. Daddy Law. What had greeted her had made her heart stop beating and swell with love. Right then and there, she’d known she would do everything in her power to stay here and raise these two beautiful children.
They’d skidded to a stop at