Chapter Three

      For the second time since entering his office, Connor found himself rendered speechless. Had Olivia just offered to watch his daughters for the entire summer?

      He swept his gaze over her face, measuring, gauging. The teasing light had fled from her eyes, replaced by a look of unmistakable sincerity. There was also a twinge of excitement he didn’t understand.

      There had to be something he was missing.

      “Don’t you already have a job? In...” He tried to remember what she’d studied in college. Surely Ethan had told him. Marketing? Finance? “Banking?”

      She glanced away a moment and sighed. “That’s right. For a number of years I helped failing companies with debt consolidation and financial restructuring.”

      “Impressive.”

      She shrugged. “Mostly just a lot of number crunching.”

      “I’m sure there’s more to it than that.” He ran a thriving medical practice. He had a good idea what it took to keep afloat in a tight economy.

      “Anyway, I’m not doing that anymore. I’m looking into other options for the future. In the meantime, I’m free to help you out.”

      “Are you saying you’re unemployed?”

      “I’m saying I’m in Village Green while I consider my next career move.” She didn’t expand. Nor, Connor noted, had she addressed his question directly.

      Could this meeting get any more confusing?

      Her smile flashed again, quick and devastating. That smile, it made him think of silver linings at the end of a long, dark day.

      “This is a God thing, you know, my being available to watch your daughters like this.”

      Connor had no comment. He’d given up on God years ago. Or, more accurately, God had given up on him. It hadn’t mattered that he’d prayed nonstop for his wife’s return to health. Not only had she not gotten better; Sheila had died slowly, painfully. Even his efforts to provide her comfort at the end had failed.

      He did his best raising the twins on his own. But Molly and Megan needed a woman in their lives, one who would love them as much as Sheila did. That’s why he’d started dating, though he wasn’t really in the game, merely attempting to take the first step. A lunch every now and then when he had time, which was hardly ever.

      Olivia moved closer, the sound of her heels on the wood floor breaking through his thoughts. “I’ll take excellent care of your girls.”

      This seemed too good to be true.

      He opened his mouth to respond, but Olivia smiled at him again, a big toothy grin that gave him pause. Having her in his home every day might not be wise.

      He shoved his fingers through his hair and carefully stripped his voice of emotion. “Let’s say I agree to your offer. When would you be available to start work?”

      Her earnest gaze met his. “Immediately.”

      “What’s the rush?”

      “No rush.”

      He stared at her.

      She never blinked, not once. But he got the sense she wasn’t being completely candid with him.

      “What’s in it for you?”

      Now she blinked. Twice. Her hesitation was obvious. But then she looked at him again, smiled and said, “Let me take care of your daughters for you, Connor.”

      She grabbed his hand and a new kind of alertness took hold of him. “I promise to do right by them,” she whispered, releasing his hand. “And you.”

      He didn’t doubt her sincerity. But what did a bank exec know about kids?

      As if reading his mind, Olivia continued.

      “Back in high school I earned enough money babysitting to buy my first car. I love kids. Always have, especially girls around your daughters’ age. I—” She cut herself off and blinked slowly, as if the words were painful to say. “I really do love kids.”

      Her voice held a strange mix of sincerity and reserve, with a hint of hope underneath. Connor knew the feeling. He felt poised on the brink of something new himself, something life-altering.

      Some of the knots in his gut unraveled. Then he remembered that watching his daughters was only part of the job description. “You’ll have to take on Samson, too.”

      This seemed to amuse her. “How bad can one tiny puppy be?”

      “Bad enough to put my housekeeper in the hospital.”

      Olivia’s expression sobered. “Right.”

      Reaching out to him, she laid her hand on his arm. Something inside him shifted under her gentle touch.

      “Don’t worry, Connor.” She chuckled. “I know my way around dogs just as well as I do little girls.”

      The selfish part of him wanted to hire her on the spot. The wiser part of him whispered a warning to hold off making a final decision. She might have babysat in high school, but that was a decade ago.

      Even if she’d been a professional nanny all her adult life, something about Olivia Scott dug past the efficient facade he relied on to get him through the day. If he hired her, Connor could very well lose the fragile balance he’d carefully put in place.

      But he couldn’t deny the fact that his daughters liked Olivia. They’d made that perfectly clear after their time with her in the park yesterday. All things considered, her offer might be the perfect solution to his child-care problems.

      Still, Connor hesitated.

      “What if we do this on a trial basis?” she asked.

      “How would that work?”

      “I’ll watch the girls for a few days. At the end of that time we’ll reevaluate the situation.” She placed her hands on her hips. “If any of us aren’t happy with the arrangement, and that includes your daughters, then I’ll