Baby for the Billionaire(136)
“Poor baby.” Anne looked stricken. “He’s fortunate to have the two of you. But it’s not going to be easy for him as he grows up.”
“What do you mean?” Victoria asked first.
“He’ll always have questions—he’s not like other children now. His parents’ death has seen to that.”
“He’ll have us.”
Connor could feel Victoria’s growing tension.
“Yes, but you’re not his parents. You aren’t planning to adopt him—” She looked at them enquiringly.
Connor shook his head slowly.
“We haven’t discussed it,” Victoria said repressively.
After Anne had left, Connor said. “I like her. She’s perfect. We should offer her the position before someone else snaps her up.”
Victoria shook her head. “I don’t agree. And she’s very opinionated.”
But Anne had said spoken the truth. It was in Dylan’s interests for them to consider all points of view. But Connor bit his tongue. He should’ve expected this. When had Victoria ever agreed with him? Yet, instead of accusing her of merely trying to frustrate him, he drew a deep breath. “Her references are fantastic.”
“I still need to call and verify them. I can only do that tomorrow.” She glanced at him. “Anyway, we have to see the others. I’d like you to keep an open mind while we interview them.”
Before he could respond the next candidate had arrived. It didn’t take long for Connor to catch Victoria’s eye. She looked equally dubious.
He relaxed a little. His concerns that Victoria might oppose him simply for the hell of it evaporated.
They thanked the woman for coming and Connor saw her out.
When he returned to the study Victoria said, “She was awful.”
“Agreed.” That must be a first. He started to grin and Victoria smiled back, her mouth wide and luscious. Instantly, heat spread through him.
“I want someone older. Steadier.”
Connor forced his gaze away from her mouth and tried to focus on what she was saying. “Not too old.”
Victoria stuck her bottom lip out in that infuriating way that he’d come to recognize meant trouble.
“I can see you’ve already decided on Anne,” she said. “You should’ve waited until I came before you started the interview.”
The warmth and desire that had filled him evaporated. “Don’t be unreasonable. I didn’t start it alone by design. You were late.”
“Something came up.” But she looked abashed. “It won’t happen tomorrow.”
But when Victoria rushed home on Friday evening, it was to find that the third prospect had cancelled. And Connor had gone ahead and employed Anne.
“I called. You were in a meeting,” he said to her intense fury.
“You should’ve waited.”
“I didn’t want to mess around and lose Anne,” he said with patient logic that infuriated her further.
After giving Dylan his bottle that night, Victoria headed downstairs in her nightgown and dressing gown to make herself a cup of tea in the state-of-the-art kitchen, still annoyed at his take-charge actions.
She drank the hot tea, and thought how lovely it had been to come home to a hot meal that Connor’s housekeeper had prepared. Usually she was too tired at night to make much more than a sandwich for dinner.
When she’d finished her tea and rinsed out the cup, she felt much better, and wearily wound her way up the stairs to her room—suite of rooms, she amended. A large bathroom and two bedrooms led off the sitting room. The smaller of the bedrooms had been converted into a nursery—complete with pale-blue walls and bright-yellow ducks stenciled as a border.
She pushed open the nursery door. As her eyes adjusted to the dimness from the night-light she made out a big, bulky shadow beside the cot where the baby slept.
Connor.
She stilled. She hadn’t expected to find him here. Stupid. Of course he’d want to say good-night to the baby. Her anger at him was overtaken by the slow pound of her heart that was suddenly loud in her ears.
Connor turned his head. “The big guy is fast asleep.”
“I know, I put him down.” Victoria felt the smile tug at the corner of her lips. “Tonight was a struggle, he fought so hard against sleep.”
“Tough fellow.”
Stopping beside Connor, she said softly, “He’s so little.”