The Nanny Who Kissed Her Boss

Praise for Barbara McMahon

“Barbara McMahon takes a simple love story—

employer falls for the employee—and turns it

into a tale filled with romance, heartache

and love. While the basis for this novel may

be timeless, the issues both Caitlin and Zack

face are enough to give this novel the feeling it

has never been done before. These two

characters rock!”

www.loveromancesandmore.webs.com on

Caitlin’s Cowboy

“A great story, The Tycoon Prince is fit for any woman (and perhaps a few men) who wished they kissed a few less frogs and had more princes to sweep them off their feet!” www.aromancereview.com

“A fresh spin on some tried-and-true plot

elements makes this story work beautifully—and

its outspoken, honest heroine is a delight.”

RT Book Reviews on The Daredevil Tycoon

Savannah felt a catch in her breath. He looked the same. She’d forgotten how tall he was.

Muscular and fit, Declan didn’t look a day older than when she’d last seen him. His hair was still dark, not a strand of grey she could find. His eyes were a rich chocolate brown, focused on her now. She could have stared back forever. For a moment she felt as tongue-tied as that college student who had been so in love. She nodded slightly, clinging to her composure with all she had. Wishing he’d aged, grown a pot belly and lost his hair.

“Hello, Declan.” Yippee, her voice hadn’t cracked. She hadn’t stuttered or slapped his face. She also hadn’t expected the jolt of awareness that spiked through her. Taking a slow breath she tried to relax, to treat him like any other prospective client. Wishing she could forget the past that seemed to spring to the forefront. Why did long-dormant emotions have to blossom now?

About the Author

BARBARA McMAHON was born and raised in the south USA, but settled in California after spending a year flying around the world for an international airline. After settling down to raise a family and work for a computer firm, she began writing when her children started school. Now, feeling fortunate in being able to realize a long-held dream of quitting her “day job” and writing full time, she and her husband have moved to the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, where she finds her desire to write is stronger than ever. With the beauty of the mountains visible from her windows, and the pace of life slower than the hectic San Francisco Bay Area where they previously resided, she finds more time than ever to think up stories and characters and share them with others through writing. Barbara loves to hear from readers. You can reach her at PO Box 977, Pioneer, CA 95666-0977, USA. Readers can also contact Barbara at her website: www.barbaramcmahon.com.

The Nanny who
Kissed her Boss
Barbara McMahon

www.millsandboon.co.uk

CHAPTER ONE

SAVANNAH Williams rolled over on her right side and pulled the covers over her head. It was morning, she could tell by the bright sunlight flooding her bedroom. But she was not ready to get up. She’d arrived home late last night after the airplane trip from hell. It had routed her all over the United States and got her to New York long after midnight when she’d been up before dawn on the west coast to make that first flight.

The apartment was quiet. Her sister was on assignment. She relaxed and tried to fall back asleep. Why hadn’t she put a blackout shade on the window? She just wanted a few more hours of rest.

The ring of the phone jarred.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake!” She threw back the sheet and stalked to the living room where the apartment phone was ringing. She’d turned off her cell, so naturally this phone had to ring.

“It better be good,” she snapped into the receiver when she snatched it up.

“Good morning, Savannah. It’s Stephanie. Did you have a good trip?” The cheerful voice was not what Savannah wanted to hear this early.

“The cruise was okay except it snowed two days. So much for lying on the deck while the children napped. And the two darling dears of Dr. and Mrs. Lightower were not the angels the parents purported them to be. I was never so thankful to end an assignment. Talk about spoiled brats! The flight home—or should I say the flights home—were horrible. I was routed from Alaska to LA to Dallas then Chicago, then I swear I thought I was going to be sent through Atlanta, but fortunately bad weather kept that airport off the schedule, so I got sent to Boston before ending up in New York at two o’clock in the morning!” She was practically yelling the last, but only heard Stephanie’s giggles in the background. So much for sympathy.

“I was trying to sleep in,” she grumbled.

“Oh, poor you. Go back to sleep in a minute. You have a new assignment and the client actually postponed his trip to make sure it coincided with your availability. This one’s right up your alley—one child, a teenager. Parents are divorced, mother has custody. However, the teen is with her father now and will be for the summer apparently. Could be a bonding experience for them, I suppose.”

“What could?” Savannah asked. She was growing wider awake the longer Stephanie kept her on the phone. For what? She was off the clock and wanted to catch up on sleep and fun before taking another assignment from Vacation Nannies.

“Backpacking in the High Sierras,” Stephanie said.

Savannah stared out the window to the sliver of a view of the Hudson River she and her sister enjoyed from their apartment. Glass and concrete and that tiny sliver compared to endless vistas of mountain ranges? Clear blue sky instead of the heavy layer of smog over New York?

But backpacking?

“How come Stacey gets to lounge around at the beach on the Med and I’m stuck lugging a heavy backpack on a trail where there won’t even be hot and cold running water?”

“Luck of the draw. Plus you’re our resident expert on troublesome teens.”

“Oh, joy, another challenge. When do we meet?” she asked. Rule number one of Vacation Nannies was that both parties had to agree to the assignment. Which usually worked to make sure the match between nanny and children was harmonious, but she had seriously been off with the Lightower children. Who expected them to behave so nicely at the initial meeting and then turn into terrors? Not that she hadn’t been able to cope, but the carefree cruise she’d anticipated had not been the case.

“Friday. If everything goes okay, you’ll depart next week and be gone three weeks.”

“How old’s the teen?” Savannah had specialized in adolescent behavior when getting her degree in education. She had a special bond for children who had reached the whacked-out stage of teenagedom, which included recalcitrant and defiant behavior.

“She’s fourteen. Lives here in New York.”

Savannah could hear papers being turned over, Stephanie was obviously referring to interview notes. She plopped down on the sofa, giving up any thought of going back to sleep until later. “Never mind giving me all the info. I’ll be by later to look at the file. Anything else I should know?”

“Do you have hiking boots?”

“Of course, remember my trip to the Adirondacks last fall? It was a glorious week tramping round the forest and enjoying at all the colorful foliage. The pair I got then are well worn in. How cold is it in the High Sierras in June?”

“Check the national weather outlook. I’ll confirm you’ll be there on Friday at eleven. Oh, and, Savannah …” Stephanie sounded hesitant.

Savannah sat up at her tone.

“What?”

“The dad is Declan Murdock.”

Savannah frowned, almost hearing Stephanie holding her breath after delivering that bombshell.

“I’m not going,” she said. Declan Murdock. It had been seven years since she’d seen him. Seven lonely years of trying to forget the man she’d loved with all the fresh bright hope of first love—and who had dumped her so unceremoniously.

“He asked especially for you.”

“That’s hard to believe.” And was like a knife twisting in her. He’d left her because of Jacey. Now he wanted her to watch her while he was off doing what—oh yeah, backpacking. What had happened to Jacey’s mother? They were divorced—again?

“Why backpacking in the mountains? Why isn’t he just sticking around New York while he has Jacey? They could see shows, visit museums, go to the shore. Bond in New York.”

“I don’t inquire as to why our clients do things. Friday morning at his office. I think you know where.” Stephanie hung up before Savannah could utter another word.

She slammed down the phone. “For this I had to get up early?”

Declan Murdock. She hadn’t seen him in years, hadn’t thought about him in—well, at least maybe one year. She wished she could say she’d forgotten him as fast as he’d probably forgotten her. But she’d been incredibly hurt by their parting. She’d been dreaming of a wedding and he’d been lured back to his ex-wife because of a daughter he hadn’t known existed.

For the longest time she’d gone over everything, replaying in her mind every word he’d uttered at that final meeting, trying to see where things could have gone differently.

“Water long under the bridge,” she muttered, going to get coffee to jump-start her brain. Did Stephanie really think she’d take the job? Be alone with Declan and his daughter for three weeks?

“Why not ask me to plunge a knife into my heart to begin with. It would be just as painful,” she mumbled, watching the coffeemaker drizzle the brew into the carafe. Divorced, Stephanie had said. So when had that happened? What about Declan’s determination to make a go of his marriage for the sake of a daughter he’d just discovered?

No one would blame her for turning down a request for an assignment from the man who had broken her heart. The man against whom she had judged all other men ever since—and had usually found them lacking.

Maybe she should have asked the Lightowers to extend her services—even the horrible brats looked better than facing Declan again.

Taking her coffee, she went back to the sofa and gazed out the window. She wondered if he’d aged much. She’d learned how successful his sporting goods chain had become. Everything he touched seemed golden.

Divorced. Her curiosity got the better of her. Dare she risk her peace of mind by seeing him again? Any feelings she’d had for him seven years ago had evaporated. She’d become much more wary, much more cynical about men’s intentions.

And how could she watch his daughter—the reason he’d left her. She’d been so in love, and she’d thought he had, as well. How could he so easily have tossed that love aside to marry Margo—or rather to remarry her when she’d shown up years after their divorce saying Declan was a father. He’d had the paternity tests done and had then been convinced he needed to marry Jacey’s mother again and build a strong family unit.

Forget about the college student who had adored him. Forget about the plans and dreams they’d had. Once he’d uttered the fateful words, Savannah had wished him well and left the coffee shop, tears not falling until she was home.

So what had happened to his precious plans that had brought him full circle back into her life?

Curiosity won. She’d go to the interview. It wouldn’t go well, she already knew that. But the reputation of Vacation Nannies was on the line. She didn’t want him bad-mouthing the company because of personal feelings. Feelings that should have died seven years ago.

“That did die seven years ago!” she repeated aloud. “I’m so over you, Declan Murdock.”

Friday, Savannah dressed with care. She was no longer the college student dating an up-and-coming businessman. She went with the most trendy outfit she had, and spiked her short hair the way she liked it. Her outfit was the fourth she’d tried on this morning, wanting to get just the right look of successful businesswoman and capable nanny. The navy slacks, white blouse and sassy scarf declared her achievement.

He’d done well, she’d learned a couple of years ago. Well, so had she and her sister. Maybe not on the scale he’d reached, but wildly prosperous. She and Stacey had planned their business long before they were able to start it. The one course she especially wanted to take in her senior year in college was Start-ups on a Shoestring—taught by visiting guest lecturer Declan Murdock shortly after he began his sporting goods company. She’d hung on his every word. First for what she could learn about business, then for what she could learn about the man himself. When he’d asked her out, she’d gone. There were rules at the college against faculty dating students but as a guest lecturer, he wasn’t really faculty.

Only a few years older than she, he’d captured her imagination and fired her enthusiasm about her business model for Vacation Nannies. Before long the business talk had turned personal and by Christmas that year she’d fallen in love. She remembered their talk about surfing together off the coast of Maine, the fun she’d had slugging a softball out of the park to his wild cheering, the thrill of rollerblading in Central Park together. Visiting museums and art galleries when the weather was bad, lost in a world of two despite the crowded places.

She shook off the memories. She was an accomplished businesswoman in her own right. She would see him, refuse the job and that would be that.

She gave the cabdriver the address. Savannah knew exactly where the company headquarters was for Murdock Sports. She’d met him there many evenings, to give them more time together. She didn’t want to remember, but ever since Stephanie’s call the memories had flooded in.

At least she had the teensy consolation that she wasn’t still some lovestruck idiot pining for a man who’d married a woman he didn’t love for the sake of a daughter who had been kept from him the first seven years of her life.

Maybe he’d say or do something so outlandish at the interview she could instantly say no. Highly unlikely, but she lived in hope. Truth was, she could turn down the assignment for no reason at all. She didn’t answer to him.

But Vacation Nannies thrived on referrals. He probably moved in such rarified air these days he could give their company a big boost.

Three weeks was a mere twenty-one days. She could do anything for a short time.

The first thing Savannah noticed when she stepped into the building was the major renovations since she’d last been there. The reception area was larger and very upscale. Most suitable to the image of a very successful company. Let the public believe you’re highly successful, and you’ll be highly successful, had been one of his axioms. So his business instincts had been right on. He was a huge success. Despite her heartbreak, she’d picked up some information over the years from the local business news. If nothing else, she’d learned solid business techniques and how to focus on the main goal from Declan’s class.

Add the fact that the address of Vacation Nannies made a major impression on clients, also thanks to Declan. Granted she sometimes thought they paid way too much for the tiny offices they had, but the clientele they drew demanded the very best.

Savannah gave her name to the receptionist and was asked to wait. No hardship since she’d put off the interview entirely if she could. But there was no other nanny as suitable from their company so Stephanie had explained to her when she’d showed up at the office to read the file before the interview. The most important thing was to keep up the reputation of Vacation Nannies.

The concept—provide short-term, temporary nannies to watch children while the family was on vacation—had proven surprisingly popular. Savannah and Stacey had begun the business because of their own desire to travel and see the world. With the little money they had that would be unlikely. So they’d found a way to travel on someone else’s dime.

After a degree in education, plus some business courses at NYU, Savannah had been instrumental in getting the business going. Soon there were more requests than she and Stacey could handle, so Stephanie had been hired to handle the scheduling aspect. Other nannies, trained at the prestigious Miss Pritchard’s School for Nannies, were carefully vetted and hired. Now they had a dozen others on the payroll, and during the summer months everyone was fully booked.

To ensure the nannies weren’t stuck for weeks with horrendous children or parents, the interview aspect went both ways. Either the prospective client could decline after meeting the nanny or the nanny could refuse to take the assignment.

So far there had only been a handful of refusals. She winced, thinking she’d make this another one.

She grew more nervous the longer she waited. What was she doing coming here? She didn’t want to spend three weeks with Declan. Or with his daughter.

“Mr. Murdock can see you now,” the receptionist said, rising and heading for the hall on the left. Her sleek toned looks gave mute testimony to the healthy lifestyle a sports aficionado could expect—especially if they used Murdock equipment.

Savannah wished she could have checked her makeup and hair one more time. It would never do not to be immaculately turned out and polished-looking. She hoped Declan didn’t remember the casual clothes she’d worn in college. Money had always been tight in her family. After the first six months with their new venture, however, that had changed. Now she and her sister enjoyed high-end fashionable clothing, makeup and a professional hair stylist. No more letting her hair grow long like Stacey. Savannah liked it short and spiky. And the kids usually liked it, too. It was easy to care for. And if she were in the sun for long, the blond bleached out to almost white. Which was always a startling contrast to her tanned skin.

The receptionist handed her off to a personal assistant who took her to Declan’s office—still located in the back corner of the warehouse-converted-to-offices. But the extremely modern look of chrome, leather and fine woods was a huge step up from when she’d visited before. His business model had obviously propelled his own firm into the stratosphere.

“Savannah,” he said when the PA opened the door to usher her in. He stood behind the desk, studying her as she stepped into the office.

Savannah felt a catch in her breath. He looked the same. She’d forgotten how tall he was. While she was only five foot four when she stretched, Declan had to be close to six feet. Muscular and fit, he didn’t look a day older than when she’d last seen him. His hair was still dark, not a strand of gray could she find. His eyes were a rich chocolate-brown, focused on her now. She could have stared back forever. For a moment she felt as tongue-tied as that college student who had been so in love. She nodded slightly, clinging to her composure with all she had. Wishing he’d aged, grown a pot belly and lost his hair.

“Hello, Declan.” Yippee, her voice hadn’t cracked. She hadn’t stuttered or slapped his face. She also hadn’t expected the jolt of awareness that spiked through her. Taking a slow breath she tried to relax, to treat him like any other prospective client. She wished she could forget the past that seemed to spring to the forefront. Why did long-dormant emotions have to blossom now?

“Connie, coffee for us both.” He said to his PA, then looked at Savannah with an eyebrow raised in silent question.

“Thank you, that would be nice.” They both had shared a love of strong coffee. Their final meeting had been at a coffee shop. She’d often wondered if he’d done that deliberately to make sure she didn’t cause a scene in public.

“Thanks for coming. This is a bit awkward.”

“You need a professional nanny for a trip you’re taking. That’s what our company specializes in. The past is dead, Declan.”

He sat after she did and glanced away. Was he remembering their time together, their last meeting? She hoped he found this meeting extremely awkward. She would do nothing to ease the situation. After a long moment, she broke the silence.

“Do you still guest-lecture?” she asked.

He shook his head. “No time now. The business grew faster than I expected. The spring class that year was the last one I did. We’ve expanded to major markets around the country—which is the reason for the trip. I’m exploring the possibility of opening boutique stores in some resorts. So I’m combining business with pleasure. I want to spend a day or two at the San Francisco facility. It’s fairly new. Then on to the mountains to test some new equipment. Then to one of the resorts in California that wants to discuss opening a boutique outlet there, offering only the sporting goods suitable for their resort.”

She listened, but kept her expression impassive. So he was doing well, good for him. She was here merely to talk about the proposed trip.

He waited a moment and then cleared his throat. Was he as nervous as she felt? She hoped so. And hoped he rued the day he’d dumped her for Margo—daughter or not.

“I hear your company’s doing well.”

She nodded.

“I don’t think I’d have pegged a firm like yours as a contender for growth, which shows how wrong I’d have been. I have friends who had one of your nannies for their trip to South America last year, the Spencers?”

“I think Stacey had that assignment. They visited Machu Picchu,” Savannah said.

“Right. They highly recommend the agency to anyone who listens. And as many of us who socialize together have children, we all listened.”

Connie brought in a tray with a carafe of coffee, sugar and cream and two mugs.

“Thanks,” Declan said. She nodded, smiled at Savannah and left, closing the door behind her.

Once they both had their coffee, Declan leaned back and studied her for a moment. “So tell me how this works.”

“Stephanie didn’t explain?” Savannah asked. Usually the prospective client got the complete rundown. Fees, limitations, expectations—the works.

“Mainly what I took away from meeting her was we both have to suit each other. I know you’d suit, what do you want to know about Jacey?”

“I need to meet your daughter,” Savannah said. He’d been divorced when she’d known him before. Now according to the interview at the office, he was divorced again. What had happened to that second go-round of marriage? Had he ended up dumping Margo as he had her?

“So your office manager said. Jacey will be with me all summer. So if you come by the apartment tomorrow you can meet her. I want to fly to San Francisco on Monday. If you two don’t suit, I haven’t a clue what I’ll do. I heard you specialize in teenagers.”

“I do. Is she a problem?”

“I rarely see her. Now I have her for the summer and am not sure what to do with her.”

Savannah’s attention was caught by his comment. Why didn’t he see his daughter? He’d said he wanted to make a good family life with her. What had happened?

“What time?” she asked. Maybe she’d learn a bit more once she met Jacey.

“Say tenish?” His home address was on the questionnaire he’d filled out at the office. She knew the general area—affluent, but not outrageously so. Close to work and other amenities of downtown Manhattan. Was she seriously considering taking the assignment?

She hesitated a moment, still unable to make up her mind. She hadn’t expected to be so drawn to him. They’d been lovers, always touching, kissing, delighting in just being with each other. Now it was awkward, as he’d said, to sit opposite him and pretend he was merely a client. To ignore the past, the heartache that threatened again. To refrain from demanding he tell her he’d been wrong to lose the best thing that ever happened to him.

She blinked. She was over this man!

“Tell me about the trip,” she said, stalling before making up her mind. One part wanted to learn more about what he was like now. Another wanted to run as fast as she could.

“A couple of days in San Francisco, then we’ll head for the Sierra Nevada mountains in California. We’ll hike part of the Pacific Crest Trail for a few days to test a new tent and camping gear. Also I want to get Jacey away from New York. Her mother’s made other plans this summer and she’s sulking about it. The sweet little girl I knew is long gone. Now it’s a phone glued to her ear, clothing that’s totally inappropriate for her age and makeup that could clog a sewer pipe. All part of growing up, so Margo says, but I don’t like it.”

Savannah said nothing, but to her Jacey sounded like a normal teenager, maybe carrying things a bit to the extreme, but that was teenagers. And ones with divorced parents often went to the edge for attention, reassurance, love.

“Then we’ll spend a few days at a resort in the mountains. It’s an exclusive destination resort with hiking trails, some white-water rafting nearby and all the amenities you’d expect to find at a five-star resort.” He shrugged. “I think the trip will be good for Jacey.”

“Sounds like you would be with her most of the time. Why a nanny?”

“There will be times when I won’t be with her. She’s too young to leave on her own in San Francisco or the resort. While we’re on the trail, it’ll be just the three of us.”

She slammed the door shut on the image that immediately sprang to mind—starlit nights, quiet conversation, kisses in the dark.

“San Francisco’s a favorite city of mine,” she murmured. She loved the crisp breeze from the Pacific, the dazzling white buildings against the deep blue sky. The excitement unlike New York’s but special in its own way. “Has Jacey been before?”

“No. And I’m not getting an enthusiastic response when I bring it up. I’m hoping she’ll come around.”

He hesitated a moment, then said slowly, “There’s one small thing, though.” He narrowed his eyes slightly as he watched her.

Savannah’s instincts clamored for caution. Something about his change in tone suggested this could be a deal breaker. Was his daughter more of a problem than a typical teenager?

“I, ah, need you to keep the past in the past. She need not know we once—” He floundered for the word, his expression one of regret.

Savannah stared at him. That was the absolutely last thing she expected. And the last thing she’d ever do—tell anyone how he’d chosen someone else over her.

“I assure you, I keep my private life my own with all my clients. I would never tell your daughter—” Never tell her of her heartbreak. Never tell her how she had so loved her father and been devastated when he’d chosen Jacey and Margo over her.

The feelings of the past threatened to swamp her. She drew a deep breath. Things changed in seven years. She was a bit disconcerted to discover she was still very aware of him as a man. But she had a life she loved, friends and a work ethic she’d spent years developing. And a definite hands-off attitude for any of her employers. She would never risk her heart a second time with a man who threw her love back in her face.

“Say something,” he urged softly. “Will you take this job?”

“Why me? Surely there are others in the field you could find to accompany you two.” There were other nannies in her own firm who could have gone.

“Stephanie said you had the most experience with teenagers. That you have a way with them. I need someone who will help Jacey. I think she’s long overdue for some good moral values and—”

“I still have to meet her before making a decision,” Savannah said. Sure, she was good enough to hire to watch his daughter for three weeks, but not good enough to marry and present as a stepmother back in the day?

“Give her a fair shot, Savannah. It wasn’t her fault what happened.”

She looked up and was met with steady brown eyes. What if she fell for him again?

Never! The trust they’d shared had been shattered. She would not make that mistake a second time.

For three weeks she’d have be around Declan—some of that time 24/7. She’d have to keep all thoughts of the past from mingling with the present. And she’d have to look after his daughter by another woman. She didn’t know if she wanted that. It was like lemon juice hitting a cut. Sharp and painful.

Carefully putting down her cup, she prepared to leave. “I have your address from the application. We’ll meet at your flat tomorrow at ten.” She had to think this through. Maybe talk to Stacey or Stephanie to get an impartial view. Maybe have her head examined that she was even considering it.

“You’d need to understand about Margo, as well.”

“What about her?” Savannah didn’t want to even think about his wife. Ex-wife.

“We divorced before I started Murdock Sports. She left New York, but when she came back, she had Jacey. I really wanted to do the right thing by my daughter. It was a mistake from the beginning—except for Jacey. She’s been the light of my world for years. However, ever since the second divorce, this company’s really grown. Margo’s been haranguing me for more money. She wants a share. That’s the last thing I’ll agree to.” The hard edge of his tone reminded Savannah that as fascinating as she’d found him, he was still a hard-driven businessman.

“And she’s using your daughter as a weapon,” Savannah guessed. She’d dealt with other divorced parents in her job. Some could be so thoughtless around their children.

“Exactly. At least I have her for three months this summer. My hope is that we build some kind of relationship like we had a few years ago. That’s the reason I wanted to start with a couple of weeks in the wilderness. Cut off from outside influences, just focusing on rebuilding our relationship, maybe she’ll realize what’s important in life.”

There was definitely the chance to build something when it was only Jacey and her father, away from her mother, friends and cell phones.