He cleared his throat. “So you have everything you need for Colby?”
“Yes,” Lil said slowly.
“And the pantry is properly stocked?”
Lil shook her head in confusion. What was he doing? She defaulted to sarcasm. “I have no idea. I haven’t gotten much farther than the couch.”
His face reddened ever so slightly, but he didn’t counter. Instead, he stood and crossed to the refrigerator and then the cabinets, opening and closing each. “Your books will arrive in twenty minutes along with some clothes, but the rest of your things will be delivered tomorrow so you won’t be disturbed tonight.”
“Thank you?” The stilted and superficial conversation between them felt a bit surreal. Where was the man who had torn her shirt off with one lustful move?
He returned to the living room area, looking unsure if he wanted to sit down or pace the room. “Your car is still valet parked in the garage. You’ll have a choice tomorrow morning of taking it or calling for a driver. I left the number with the front desk. They know to have a car seat for you.”
“It wasn’t necessary…”
“It’s what I came here for.”
Well, that stung.
Lil stood and took a step toward the door. “Of course. Well, then, thank you and I’m fine now. You can go back and tell Dominic that you fulfilled your task.”
Instead of responding to her jab, he said, “So, you have an exam tomorrow morning?”
“Yes,” she replied, wondering where this conversation was going.
“I contacted the nanny you’ve used before. She should be here in an hour. That should allow you to study tonight.” Wow, Jake thought of everything. Too bad leaving so she could start pretending today had never happened had not yet occurred to him.
She had to admit that getting her a babysitter for the night was thoughtful. Not that she wanted to see him as anything but an arrogant, controlling ass, but having someone there that night would help her. Wait. “And she was available? She was good; I would have thought she’d have another position.”
“She did, but she was willing to leave it. The service found a replacement for her.”
“Just like that?” Did anyone say no to Jake?
“Everyone has a price.”
What an awful and absolutely untrue way to view people.
She put her hands on her hips. “I don’t and I’m not comfortable with a nanny who can be bought, either.”
His eyebrows rose in recognition of her point. “I’ll cancel her and have the service send someone else.” He took out his phone.
Lil shook her head and reached out to stop him, pulling back just before she touched him. “No, I’ll see who I can find. I might have to drop Colby off, but I have friends who will help me on short notice.”
“I’ll watch her.”
Whoa. Just whoa. “What?”
One of his eyebrows rose as if to say that she had heard him perfectly well and he didn’t appreciate repeating himself. “I’m already here; it makes sense for me to do it-unless you’re not comfortable with me watching her either.”
“You’re serious.”
“I don’t joke much.”
No kidding.
He couldn’t seriously be offering to watch her daughter while she studied, could he? He was a billionaire, a man in charge of countless companies. He didn’t get to where he was by hanging around. Was he hoping she’d sleep with him again? If so, he was sure going about it in an odd way.
“Colby is going to wake up hungry,” she said, testing his offer.
“I’m sure you can direct me to the necessary supplies.”
“And wet.” When he said nothing, she added, “You might have to change her diaper.”
The frustratingly even tempered Jake had returned. He didn’t so much as bat an eyelash at the possibility. “You’ll be here. Shown once, I’m sure I’ll be able to handle subsequent changes. How old is she?”
“Six months old.”
He typed something into his phone.
“Are you looking up how to care for a six month old?”
A slight flush spread across his cheeks. He sounded a bit defensive when he said, “Information gleaned from the Internet has a high reliability of accuracy if cross-referenced with at least three reputable sites.” He paused his search for a moment. “How much longer do you think she will sleep?”
“Maybe twenty minutes more? Her normal nap is two hours.”
“Great,” he said, throwing his jacket across the back of the couch and settling himself back onto its thick cushions. “By then I’ll be a pro. Set up her things over here and you can use that table.” He pointed to the one in the adjoining dining area.
“Sure,” Lil said and felt a bit like she must be dreaming. She gathered Colby’s toss blanket and a few of her toys and set up an area on the floor near Jakes feet. She also readied a bottle. The main desk rang up to say that a few boxes were being sent up. Lil spread her books across the table and looked across the room at Jake who was still reading something on his phone.
A wail from the bedroom announced the end of Colby’s nap and the smell that assailed Lil’s nostrils when she entered the room almost convinced her to change Colby in the bedroom, but then a wicked thought came to her and she brought the diaper bag and changing pad with her to the living room instead.
Let’s see what Jake is really made of.
She chose an area on the floor just past the blanket she’d put down earlier for her daughter. Lil positioned herself on the opposite side of Colby.
Jake put his phone down, his expression devoid of the distaste she’d expected.
Taking nothing for granted, she explained each step from wipe to paste, periodically peering up expecting a reaction that never came.
He simply asked, “Do you use the paste every time?”
Lil closed adjusted the new diaper and placed the soiled one in a sealable, disposable baggie. “She is just starting with cereal and snacks, so I do right now. I didn’t have to as much when she was only on formula.”
Positioning Colby in the middle of the blanket with some toys, Lil gathered up the supplies and went to wash her hands in the pantry.
On her return, she saw Jake lean down and move a toy just beyond Colby’s reach. He must have seen the question in her eyes, because he said, “Research says that if you place things just out of a baby’s reach, they are more motivated to move. It also lays a foundation for problem solving.”
Emotion constricted Lil’s vocal cords, making a nod her only response. She wanted to hate Jake or at least to find a reason to dislike him. Dear Universe, you already tempted me with him and I failed your test-must you rub it in?
Lil returned from the kitchen with a bottle and a towel for Jake’s shoulder. She was going to hand Colby to him, but he moved down onto the floor and rested his back against the front of the couch. He lifted Colby easily until she was eye to eye with him and said, “I will pay you a thousand dollars if you don’t spit up on me.”
Colby grabbed his nose and pulled. He smiled and said, “You’re a hard bargainer, but you won’t get a penny more.” He settled her into the crook of one arm and held up a hand to receive the bottle from Lil.
Lil knew her mouth was open in the most unflattering way, but she couldn’t help it. She handed him both the bottle and the towel. He placed the towel over one shoulder like he’d done it a hundred times before.
“Do you have children?” she asked.
He shook his head and looked down at Colby who was now happily guzzling her formula. “No, but I have friends who do.”
“And you babysat for them?”
He shuddered. “God no, I don’t like children.”
Colby twisted his bottom lip between her little fingers. He pulled back to escape the pinch, but didn’t look bothered. When Lil continued to stand over him-staring, he said, “Go study.”