Epilogue

EPILOGUE

K eith paced back and forth in the waiting area, the baby on his hip, wondering if he was crazy flying all the way to Bermuda with a one-year-old and beginning to lose his patience with the new nanny he'd hired. Everything about the trip that could go wrong had, and a late nanny was just the topping on the cake. Without the woman, he wouldn't be able to go. It didn't help that he hadn't met her in person, but he'd been so rushed to find someone, and she had come very highly recommended.

Just as the first call for boarding came over the loudspeaker, he saw a blonde woman rushing toward him, her coat half off, several bags thrown over her shoulder. She was looking at a paper in her hand and almost collided with another passenger, but didn't even notice. She started for him, and he let out a groan, but it was soon followed by a little gasp when their eyes met across the crowded space, and for a moment, he couldn't breathe.

Desire thundered through him, his body began to tingle and a surge of warmth shot through him, he was still trying to recover when the woman stopped in front of him. "You must be Mr. Sanders," she said. "I'm Stella Morgan, I'm so sorry that I'm late. Is this Jordan? He sure is a handsome little thing."

For several long seconds, he could only stare at the woman, wondering what was wrong with him. "You're late," he finally said. "The plane is already boarding. You almost missed it."

The smile disappeared from her face. "I'm sorry," she said again. "But you didn't give me much time to pack, I did the best I could."

The baby started fussing in his arms, then began to cry, "Oh, great, once he gets started, he never stops," he said, letting out a frustrated sigh. "I think he misses his mother."

"Here, let me take him," Stella said. "I'm good with kids."

"I certainly hope so," he said, handing over the screaming baby. "You are a nanny, after all."

She gave him a dirty look and turned to Jordan. "It's okay, little man," she soothed. "We're going to go on an airplane ride. It's going to be so much fun; you'll see."

Jordan instantly stopped crying and looked at Stella. Then, he reached out and patted her face, a smile spread across his face, and Keith sighed with relief. "That was impressive," he said. "You'll do. Come on let's go."

Stella opened her mouth to say something, then closed it and, without a word, followed him over to where a stroller was parked; she needed the job too much to argue with her new boss. Hiking the baby up on her hip, she followed him to the gate, wishing he wasn't quite so handsome and didn't make her heart pound a bit faster when she looked into his eyes .