The Nanny's Secret by Elizabeth Lane Read Free Book Online Page B

impatient pout. “Where’s Daddy?” she demanded.
    “Home waiting for you.” Leigh fixed her face in a determined smile. “You’re all checked out. As soon as the nurse gets here with Mikey we’ll be on our way.”
    As if on cue, the nurse appeared with the baby, tightly wrapped in a new white blanket. Chloe brightened. “Put him down. I want to see him in his new outfit!”
    With her son on the bed, she unwrapped the blanket to reveal what looked like a puppy costume—a white stretch jumpsuit with brown spots and a matching hat that sported droopy brown ears. “Isn’t that precious?” she cooed. “My BFF Monique gave him that. Got to send pictures.” Fishing her cell phone out of her purse, she leaned over the baby and began snapping photos.
    Leigh took advantage of the delay to feast her gaze on her nephew. Even since yesterday he’d changed. His cheeks were rounder, his features more defined. Delicate golden lashes fringed his eyelids, framing dark blue eyes, like his grandfather’s. Baby expressions flickered across his face—a frown, a look of wide-eyed wonder, and then something that could almost have been a smile. Even in that silly dog costume, his beauty took Leigh’s breath away.
    While Chloe was busy texting, Leigh folded back the cuffs that covered his hands. They were oversized like Kevin’s, the digits long and thin. When she brushed his palm, his baby fist closed around her finger. She felt the strong clasp all the way to her heart.
    “Away we go!” The nurse, who’d left the room, returned with a wheelchair. Still texting, Chloe took her seat, leaving Leigh to wrap the baby and grab the take-home bag the hospital had provided.
    With a no-nonsense manner, the nurse picked up the baby and thrust him at Chloe. “Put away that phone, dearie, and take your little boy,” she snapped. Chloe did as she was told, though she stuck out her tongue when the nurse turned away. Watching, Leigh took a mental note. She had a lot to learn about the girl.
    Minutes later they were on their way, with Mikey in the backseat, buckled into his carrier. Chloe had chosen to sit in front with Leigh. She took her phone out of her purse and checked her messages.
    “Can we stop for a Coke?” she asked.
    Leigh kept her eyes on the road. “Your father wanted me to bring you straight back. There’ll be sodas in the fridge.”
    Chloe fell into a pouting silence, playing with her phone and finally putting it back in her purse. “What did Daddy say your name was?” she demanded.
    “It’s Leigh Foster. You can call me Leigh.”
    “Leigh Foster.” There was a long pause before she asked, “Are you by any chance related to a jerk named Kevin Foster?”
    Leigh’s pulse lurched. She took a few breaths to collect herself before she answered. “There are a lot of Fosters in Dutchman’s Creek. We take up half a page in the phone book.”
    The answer seemed to satisfy the girl—for now. But she was far from finished. “So what made you want to be a nanny? Why would anybody want a job changing poopy diapers?”
    Leigh feigned a shrug. “I needed the work. The pay is good. What’s more, I happen to like little babies, diapers and all.”
    “And my rich, handsome, single daddy had nothing to do with it?”
    “Nothing at all.” Like the rest of Leigh’s answers, that was—technically—true.
    “Plenty of women have tried to land him, even a couple of movie stars who came here. You’d recognize them if I told you who they were. They were pretty in person. A lot prettier than you.”
    Wyatt’s daughter was testing her, Leigh realized. She was probing for weak spots that could be exploited later to get what she wanted. It wasn’t going to work.
    “How are you feeling, Chloe?” she asked, changing the subject. “Still pretty sore, I imagine.”
    “Are you kidding? I hurt all over! Especially my boobs! The nurse said my milk was coming in. Gross! Don’t they have some pills I can take for that?”
    “They