perfect for her, she just wasn’t perfect for him. If she admitted either of those things, her sisters wouldn’t stop with their matchmaking efforts. “And I really feel strongly about leaving town so I can get some life experience.”
Aunt Sadie said, “Good for you.” Then, after nuzzling Dixon’s cheek, she handed him to Caro again and left to check on the other children.
The second she was out of earshot, Maria grabbed Hannah’s forearm to get her attention. “I don’t mean to be the party pooper here, but I think your plan is all wrong.”
“Why?”
“Hannah,” Caro said, picking up where Maria left off. “You were the girl who didn’t even leave town to go to college.”
“That’s my point…”
Sadie spun Hannah away from Caro. “But you love it here! And Jake is obviously attracted to you. You can’t say you didn’t notice the way he was looking at you at his birthday party.”
“I didn’t notice.”
“Well, I did!” Maria said.
“So did I,” Caro seconded.
“And I already said I saw it,” Sadie said. “I think the guy is ready to settle down and I think that’s why he kept looking at you Friday night. You’re the kind of woman he could marry.”
“You’re thinking about leaving town because you want another teaching job,” Maria said, taking Dixon from Caro. “But next year when the new budget is passed or when a few of the older teachers retire, you could get your job back. Until then,” she said, placing a soft kiss on Dixon’s cheek, “what if your job is here? What if Dixon is the reason Jake is ready to settle down? What if he’s looking for someone to help him raise his son?”
Looking at adorable Dixon, something soft and warm floated through Hannah’s heart. Just thinking about helping to raise the little boy gave her a fluttery feeling in the pit of her stomach.
“Yeah, and what if Jake’s tired of slick women and is looking for a small-town girl?” Caro asked.
“I doubt that someone like Jake is interested in me…”
Caro chuckled. “I would have never dreamed I would end up marrying Max Riley…Yet here we are.”
“Yeah, and me with Troy Cramer!” Sadie said then laughed. “The last I had heard he was a computer nerd. He surprised the hell out of me, and Jake might just surprise the hell out of you.”
Hannah licked her suddenly dry lips.
Sadie caught her forearm and squeezed lightly. “Hannah, if you’re attracted to him, you can’t leave town without trying.”
All right. So Hannah agreed with them. Sort of. Somewhat. It did seem possible that after fifteen years of running around, and also because he now had a baby, Jake might be ready to settle down. She could buy that.
Over the course of the three days Jake was away, Hannah also admitted to herself that she really didn’t want to leave Wilburn. She never had. She liked it here. She liked the simple, quiet life. She liked kids. And, yes, damn it, she also liked Jake. If her sisters saw a spark of interest in his eyes then Hannah would be a fool to leave town without at least attempting a relationship with him.
After the cleaning lady had gone Thursday afternoon, Hannah popped a casserole into the oven, set Jake’s dining room table with good china and waited for his return. The itinerary his secretary had given Hannah said that he would arrive in Pittsburgh at four and take Troy’s private plane to the airstrip behind Troy’s estate. Adding a twenty-minute drive from the airstrip, Jake would arrive a little before six.
But he wasn’t home by a quarter to six as she believed. He didn’t even make it home by six. Unfortunately, six turned into seven, which turned into eight, and Hannah had no choice but to put Dixon to bed. She lowered the temperature of the oven for her casserole and then began to pace the foyer. She considered calling the Sunbright offices to see if he had stopped there before coming home, but didn’t feel right about that.
When another half hour ticked off the clock without Jake, Hannah began to worry in earnest. Troy had built the Sunbright Solutions complex in a wooded area. He’d wanted space to expand and plenty of land for employees to walk the grounds as they thought through complicated problems. But that also meant the road that led to the offices was twisty and windy. Jake could have been in an accident. He could have driven off the side of the road, rolled down a hill, landed in the thick forest and not be discovered for days!
She was just about to panic when the front door opened. Jake stepped inside as if nothing had happened and Hannah threw herself into his arms. “Oh, my gosh! I was so worried about you!”
For the briefest of seconds Hannah thought she felt his arms tighten around her, and she realized she was pressed against his chest. The stretch of her arms around his neck proved he was a good six inches taller than she was. She could smell the faint scent of the aftershave he had put on that morning.
Her breathing stopped. Every cell in her body sprang to life with awareness of him. And all she wanted at that moment was to snuggle against him and to bury her face in his neck.
But just as quickly as she had gotten the impression that his arms were around her, the feeling was gone. She realized that holding a briefcase and a suitcase made it impossible for him to hold her, yet she was clinging to his neck like an idiot.
She jumped away. Though her face flamed with embarrassment, she decided to use her brother’s friendship with Jake to make hugging him seem reasonable. “Sorry. It’s just that we never know about Luke. We’re always pacing the floor, thinking the worst. I expected you at six and started to worry at eight. For the past half hour I’ve been pacing.”
“I stopped at the office.” Jake dropped his suitcase and pocketed his keys and, as if nothing had happened, turned toward the hallway that led to his office. “I work late a lot.”
The completely neutral tone of his voice made Hannah swallow. Good Lord, she’d really made a fool of herself this time. She was such an idiot! Sadie would have never lost control and shown her emotions that way. Caro would have died first. Even Maria would have been cooler, calmer.
Hannah swallowed hard. “I made a casserole, if you’re hungry.”
He shrugged. “No. Not really.” He began to walk down the corridor, paused, and faced her again. “You do know you’re only here to care for the baby.”
She swallowed, then nodded.
“You don’t need to make me supper, wait for me, or anything like a regular housekeeper would do.” He held her gaze. “You just take care of Dixon.”
She nodded again. Jake smiled and resumed his trip to his office.
But tears stung Hannah’s eyes. She was an idiot. A big, fat, stupid idiot! And if she didn’t learn some sophistication soon and get the hell out of this town, she was going to die of embarrassment.
Chapter Three
Absolutely positive he was going to be punched out by his best friend in the very near future, Jake arrived at the Sunbright Solutions complex early the next morning. He had ducked out of his kitchen before Hannah had awakened and stopped at a convenience store for his morning coffee rather than drink it at home while he waited to say hello to Dixon. He was, admittedly, avoiding his new nanny until he figured out how to handle this mess.
He couldn’t believe that Hannah had thrown herself into his arms the night before and all but wept with relief. Worse, he couldn’t believe how elated he was to see her and how his arms had instinctively wrapped around her, even though he was holding a briefcase and a suitcase…. But she had leaped into his arms and he had wrapped his arms around her, and both had shocked him.
No. They had scared him. Sexually, he and Hannah were on the same