The Dragon’s Brave Nanny (Mysteries of Dragon’s Island #4)

Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

***KEITH***

K eith followed Stella and Jordan back over to the shuttle stop, wondering why the woman seemed to bring out the worst in him, how she could make him act like a total ass, then quickly pushed the questions out of his mind, afraid of the answer. But watching her hips sway as she walked in front of him sent a thrill rushing through him, and he groaned with frustration, wondering when he’d lost control of his body.

Since trying to push her away wasn’t working, his only choice was going to be to avoid her as much as possible, keep his distance when he could, and try to wrestle his body into submission. She was his nanny and nothing more, couldn’t be anything more, even if he was interested, and he wasn’t. Romantic entanglement would only slow him down. He had plans for his life, and they didn’t include a family at that moment. Even if he was suddenly the father of a one-year-old, the business was too important to get tangled up with anyone right then.

Surprised at the path his thoughts had taken, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and began skimming through his emails, hoping to distract himself. The shuttle pulled up a few minutes later, and he helped the driver load their luggage. He was glad to think about something else besides the dark-haired beauty who was suddenly a part of his life. He let Stella climb on the bus first, helped her get the baby settled, then chose a seat behind her, sure that he couldn’t endure sitting so close that they were touching for the ride to the hotel.

He wasn’t surprised when the shuttle pulled up to one of the nicest hotels in town, and when two young men came rushing out to greet them, he groaned, wondering what the rooms for the night were going to cost him. They were led through the doors and into the luxurious surroundings and over to the front desk by one of the young men, and he stole a glance over at Stella to see how she was handling the opulence. After a quick glance around, she turned her attention to the baby as if she’d been in a million fancy hotels, and despite his vow not to think about her, he found himself trying to imagine her life back home.

“Good afternoon,” the man behind the desk greeted them, a smile on his face. “Do you have a reservation?”

“I’m afraid not,” he said. “We had an unexpected delay in our travel plans. A friend recommended we stay here. We’ll only need to stay for one night.”

“I’m sorry to hear about your troubles, that storm has caused a lot of delays,” the man said. “Let me take a peek and see if I can find a room for you and your wife.”

“Oh, she’s not my wife, she’s my nanny,” he quickly corrected the man, horrified by the assumption. “We’ll need two rooms, one for me and one for Stella and the baby.”

“Hold on a second,” Stella said, pulling him away from the desk. “You’re not ditching me with the kid. I’m supposed to have nights off. This isn’t a twenty-four-seven kind of deal. Did you even read the contract? ”

He had to battle through a burst of panic before he could speak. “But he hates me, he’ll cry the entire time,” he said. “Can’t you just make an exception just this once?”

She studied him for a second, “You and I need to have a long talk. There are a few things we need to get straightened out,” she said. “I’ll keep Jordan for tonight, but don’t start thinking I’m going to do it every night.”

“Sir, I’m afraid there’s a problem,” the man behind the desk interrupted. “We only have one room left. It is a double so you would both have your own bed, and we have a crib for the baby, of course.”

The thought of sleeping in the same room with Stella made his body begin to tingle, and he wanted to curse the weather, Max, and Melissa for the disaster his life had become. “Are you sure there’s nothing else? It doesn’t have to be anything fancy,” he said, sure that this was going to be his fault somehow. “We really need two rooms.”

“I’m sorry, we’re completely full except for that one room,” the man said. “I could recommend another hotel, but they might be full as well.”

He turned to look back at Stella, sure that the fireworks were about to start and wondering when he’d become slightly afraid of the woman. “We’re already here. The baby's needs have changed, and we still have to find him some baby food. Honestly, the thought of dragging everything to another hotel exhausts me,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “We’re both adults, and I’m sure we can manage to share a room for one night. We’ll just put the baby between us, a baby buffer.”

He realized that she was making a joke when a little smile appeared on her face, and he almost wished she’d been more unreasonable. “We’ll take the room,” he said, turning away from her to hide his amusement, determined not to like her even if his body did. “And the crib for the baby. ”

“Wonderful, there’s nothing we like more than a full house around here,” the man said. “Now we just need to do a little paperwork, and I’ll have someone show you to your room.”

“Could you arrange a ride to the marina for us?” he asked, pulling out his wallet and plunking down a credit card, pretending the money didn’t bother him. “We’re supposed to be there at ten tomorrow morning.”

“That’s no problem. I’ll arrange to have a car drop you off,” the man said, sliding the card back to him. “Thank you, Mr. Sanders. I hope you enjoy your stay with us.”

***Stella***

Stella followed Keith and the room attendant down the hallway, wondering how she was going to get through the night, but she was determined not to let him see how off-balance she was. The man had a way of getting under her skin like no one else, saying something stupid one second, making her want to smack him, then looking at her with those sparkling blue eyes the next, making her knees go weak and her heart skip a beat.

It was driving her crazy and now she was going to be stuck in a hotel room with him for the night, a prospect that filled her with both excitement and dread. She’d never been so conflicted about a man before, never felt both attraction and disgust at the same time. It was exhausting to never know exactly when the attraction was going to hit or what he might say next to piss her off. Standing up for herself was a lesson she’d long ago learned, being a woman in a man’s world had never been easy, but she’d learned how to handle men just like Keith. She just wished she wasn’t going to have to play that game for the next two weeks.

“Okay, here we are,” the room attendant said, unlocking the door to their room. “I’ll help you get your luggage inside, then I’ll come back with the crib. Is there anything else you need?”

“No, I think that will be fine,” Keith said, handing the young man a tip. “Thank you.”

While they waited for the crib, she set Jordan down on the floor, laughing when he started crawling to the bed and then pulled himself up. “Looks like someone is getting ready to take his first steps,” she said, pulling him away from the bed. “How about we play with something instead.”

Grabbing the diaper bag, she started rifling through it, expecting to find something for the baby to play with, but all she found was a small stack of diapers and a few pairs of pajamas. Confused, she looked around the room for the baby’s suitcase, but saw only her bag and what she assumed was Keith’s. A sinking feeling in her stomach, she looked over at Keith.

“Where’s the baby’s suitcase?” she asked. “There’s not much in the diaper bag.”

“He doesn’t have one,” Keith said, shrugging his shoulders. “I put everything in the diaper bag.”

“Wait, are you telling me that all you brought for Jordan is some pajamas and a few diapers?” she asked. “We’re going to be on the island for two weeks, he’s going to need way more than that.”

“That’s all he came with,” Keith said, a scowl on his face. “I’m not an idiot. I figured we’d just buy what we need when we get there.”

She could only stare at him for a second, wondering if he could really be that clueless. “You’re serious,” she said, then what he’d just said hit her. “Wait a second, what do you mean this is all he came with? Something isn’t right here; I think you’d better explain. I mean, Jordan is a year old, but you seem to know nothing about him or how to care for a child. ”

“That’s really none of your business,” Keith said, scowling at her. “All you need to worry about is taking care of Jordan. If he needs stuff, we’ll go buy it.”

“No way, that’s not good enough,” she said, shaking her head. “Whatever is going on here, it affects Jordan; if I’m going to take care of him, I need to know what’s going on; I need to understand what his life has been like before now. I’m not trying to be nosy; the truth is I don’t care about your personal life, but if I’m going to be a part of this child’s life, I have to be informed.”

Keith looked like he was going to fight her for a second, then let out a long sigh and sat down on one of the beds. “I couldn’t tell you what his life has been like up to now, I didn’t even know about him until three days ago,” he said. “His mother showed up at my door, more or less shoved him into my arms, told me that he was mine and that she couldn’t handle raising him anymore. She said something about needing a break and ran away before I could stop her, I’ve got people looking for her, but it’s like she just disappeared.”

“Oh, wow, no wonder you’re having so much trouble,” she said, plopping down next to him. “I guess that was quite a shock.”

“You have no idea. One minute I’m working on the plans for Max’s expansion, and the next, I’m holding a screaming baby,” he said, shaking his head. “It’s embarrassing, but it had been almost two years since I’d seen Melissa last. It took me a few minutes to even remember who she was. We met at a friend’s wedding. It was just supposed to be a weekend fling, some innocent fun to make the time go faster, no strings attached. You know how it works.”

She looked over at him. “I’ve never been the weekend fling kind of girl myself, but I understand,” she said. “Are you sure that he’s yours? I don’t mean to sound……well, you know what I mean. ”

Keith sighed again. “That was the first thing I did. He’s mine,” he said, then looked over at the baby playing happily on the floor. “I’m not sure that I’m ready to be a parent. I always figured that I’d have kids down the road, but way down the road, I don’t know what to do now; this definitely wasn’t in my plans. I’m trying to build my business, make a name for myself. I wasn’t ready for this, at all.”

“That much is clear,” she said, shaking her head. “I guess the question is, are you going to step up and be a father to Jordan or treat him like an inconvenience in your life?”