When he looked at her the way he was doing now, Heather was lucky to remember her own name, let alone what he’d asked. “No. I’m fine with the way things are.”
“I could get up with her while you sleep,” he pressed.
The heat from his touch branded her and the scent of his aftershave made her want him to hold her, kiss her and…She swallowed hard. She needed to escape his presence before her traitorous body had her agreeing to go along with what he wanted.
“I—I don’t mind at all being solely responsible for Mandy,” she insisted.
“But you don’t have to be, honey. Not anymore.” He moved his hands down to her waist, then pulled her into his arms. “I’m here now and you don’t have to do everything alone.”
“Please, Jake,” she interrupted. “Don’t.” Pulling from his arms, she somehow found the strength to back away from him. “I won’t try to stop you from being part of Mandy’s life. But I want you to keep a couple of things in mind before you take that step. First and foremost, it’s all or nothing. You’re either her father for life or not at all. I don’t want her becoming attached to you, then you walk away when you get tired of playing daddy. And second, count me out. I’m not part of the package.”
He stared at her for several long moments before he slowly shook his head. “You have my word that I will never do anything that isn’t in her best interest or yours.”
“Good. Because hurt my daughter and you’ll have me to deal with.” She could tell from his expression that he meant what he said—now. The only problem was, whether they intended to or not, people sometimes broke their promises and others ended up getting hurt.
“Now that we have your main concern out in the open and settled, are you and the baby going to stay here in the mansion?” he asked, seating himself back behind the desk.
“Jake, I don’t think—”
“I’ve missed out on a lot with her already, Heather.” His chest rose and fell as he took a deep breath. “All I’m asking is that you give me a chance to get to know my daughter and build a relationship with her.”
She knew if she and the baby did stay in the mansion with him, she would be taking a huge risk for both Mandy and herself. If she hadn’t known that before he kissed her last night, she did now. No matter how much he’d hurt her or how hard she tried to resist his charm, she still found Jake to be six feet two inches of pure temptation. And that could very well prove to be disastrous for her if she didn’t keep her wits about her.
But she’d told him she wouldn’t stop him from trying to bond with Mandy and she couldn’t, in good conscience, deny either of them the right to get acquainted. And while he was getting to know their daughter, she intended to learn more about him, his family and where he grew up. After all, she had the right to know about her daughter’s father.
Heather sighed heavily. Unfortunately, now wasn’t the time to put him through the third degree. Aside from the fact that she’d already put in a grueling day, she was still too angry. She wanted to be calm, rational and in complete control when she talked to him.
“We’ll stay in the mansion as long as you’re here at Hickory Hills. But only on one condition.”
His eyes narrowed ever so slightly before he asked, “And what would that be?”
Walking to the door, she turned back. “I meant what I said about not being part of the equation, Jake. Don’t count on me to be one of your…diversions when you get bored.”
Chapter Three
Jake frowned as he watched Heather place their sleeping daughter into the small baby bed that he and Daily had set up earlier in the day. “Is that thing full size? It looks awfully small.”
When she placed her finger to her lips, it was all he could do not to groan. He couldn’t forget the kiss they’d shared the night before and wanted to once again taste her sweetness and feel the softness of her perfect mouth beneath his own. But he knew better than to push. She’d outlined her conditions and he had to admit it was probably for the best. It wouldn’t be long before they had to address some very sensitive issues concerning shared custody and how they were going to raise Mandy. If they became involved, it could make doing that a lot more difficult. He just wished that the attraction between them wasn’t as powerful now as it had been when they first met. That would certainly make things a lot easier.
“It’s a mini crib,” she whispered, drawing his attention back to his question.
He waited until she turned on the baby monitor, clipped one of the receivers to her belt and they’d both stepped out into the hall before he asked, “Why didn’t you get a regular size bed for her?”
“The room I turned into the nursery at the carriage house is small and I wanted to save space,” she answered as they started downstairs.
“What about when she gets a little older?” he asked, following her. He didn’t like the idea of his child being in a room that was too small when she had every right to live in the mansion and enjoy the spaciousness of any one of the spare bedrooms. “How will you fit a regular size bed into that room and still have enough space for her to play?”
“When the time comes, I’ll convert the room I use for a study into another bedroom.” At the bottom of the steps, she turned to face him. “Why are you asking about this now? It won’t be an issue for another year or two.”
He smiled as the germ of an idea took root. “I was thinking that the two of you could live here in the mansion even after I go back to L.A.”
“No. That’s not an option,” she said, shaking her head until her ponytail swayed back and forth.
“Why not?”
She started toward the hall leading to the kitchen. “Because it’s not my home.”
Reaching out, he took hold of her arm and the feel of her soft skin beneath his palm sent heat straight to the pit of his belly. He did his best to ignore it. “This is my house now and Mandy is my daughter. She has every right to live here.”
Heather gave him a look that stated in no uncertain terms that she didn’t like his idea one damned bit. “But it’s not mine, Jake.”
He knew as surely as he knew his own name that there was a good deal of pride holding her back from accepting his offer. “I’m telling you it can be, Heather.”
“I work for you and living in the carriage house is part of my contract.”