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“Come on in,” a soft voice called.
He pushed open the door. Heather sat in the rocking chair with Diane in her arms. The baby was upright against her shoulder, her plump pink fists resting on a towel that protected Heather’s light green dress.
“We just finished our snack,” Heather said with a smile.
She looked great. He’d seen her dozens of times in the past month, but this was the first time she’d been dressed in something more formal than leggings and a baggy T-shirt. The soft fabric of her dress draped over her body, showing the fullness of her breasts and the narrowness of her hips. She wore makeup that emphasized her green eyes and made her mouth look all pouty and tempting.
His gaze roamed over her familiar features, visiting his favorite places—her mouth, the sweep of her eyebrows, the way her hair—
“You cut your hair,” he blurted out, noticing for the first time that the blond strands fell just to her shoulder instead of a little way down her back. She still had her bangs, but now her hair had a little wave to it as it drifted around her face. She looked mature and sophisticated in a soft and sexy kind of way.
“Do you like it?” she asked, self-consciously touching the ends. “I treated myself to a cut yesterday. Sort of a confidence booster before starting my new job.”
“You’re beautiful,” he said sincerely.
He told himself he wasn’t supposed to notice things like that. She worked for him, they’d agreed to just be friends, and he wasn’t looking to get involved. He could come up with a dozen reasons, but none of them mattered. The more time he spent with her, the more he liked her…and wanted her. Thoughts of her slender body touching his, under his and welcoming him home had kept him up for more than one night.
“Thanks.”
Diane gave a very unladylike burp, then cooed with contentment.
Heather chuckled. “Better, sweetie? You ready to say hi to your uncle Jim?” She stood up and settled the baby into his arms.
He adjusted her with an ease born of practice, then touched her soft nose. “How’s my best girl?” Bright blue eyes stared up at him. He tickled her tummy. “Are you happy? Do you like coming to work with your mom?”
“How could she not?” Heather asked. “If I’d known this was what you planned when you said I could bring Diane with me—”
“What would you have done?” he asked, interrupting her. “I want you to be comfortable here.”
“You went overboard.”
“Don’t look at me. Flo did most of the work.”
“Then she did too much and you paid too much.”
“When Diane doesn’t need it anymore, I’ll donate it to a women’s shelter. Don’t worry about it.” He saw the questions in her eyes, questions and concerns about his real motives. He wanted to reassure her. “I did this because I wanted to. It makes me happy,” he said.
“Why don’t I believe you?”
“Because you’re naturally suspicious. I, on the other hand, am an open and trusting person.”
She smiled. “Yeah, right. We all believe that.”
“My other employees would. Just ask them.”
She gave him a skeptical glance but didn’t pursue the subject.
“Are you getting settled?” he asked. “Finding everything?”
“Yes. Flo’s been very helpful.”
Jim nodded. “I knew she would be. My accountant should be here in about an hour. He’ll go over the computer system with you and explain how he wants things done. You should be up and running with the books fairly quickly.” He glanced down at Diane. “I’ll be in the office for the rest of the afternoon so don’t worry about this one. If she gets fussy, I’ll take care of her.”
“Gee, Flo said the same thing. I guess the two of you are going to have to fight over who will be looking after Diane.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m beginning to think she’s the real reason you hired me.”
He took a step back in mock dismay. “Oh, no. You’ve found me out.”
“I thought as much.” Heather then went on to make a comment about already having started reading the book on the computer program.
