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      A Nanny Under the Mistletoe

      BY

      Dear Reader,

      It’s December!

      That’s exclamation-point-worthy, since I live in Las Vegas and triple-digit heat is just a bad memory. Last year, ten days before Christmas, we actually had snow. Honest. I took pictures, because it felt like a little miracle.

      Now the holidays are here again!

      This time of year teases our senses with food, decorations, lights, the fragrance of pine. Some of my favourite movies, books and stories are about Christmas. It’s a Wonderful Life. Miracle on 34th Street. Like the themes of Cherish™, love and family are at the heart of these tales. They leave us smiling and possibly reaching for a tissue—in a good way.

      So, with 2010 drawing to a close, I hope all of you have a very happy ending to this year. May your December include mistletoe, magic and miracles.

      Happy holidays!

       Teresa Southwick

      About the Author

      TERESA SOUTHWICK lives with her husband in Las Vegas, the city that reinvents itself every day. An avid fan of romance novels, she is delighted to be living out her dream of writing for Mills & Boon.

      To my friend Mary Karlik, a talented writer and extraordinarily strong woman. You’re proof that the best things do come in small packages. I hope 2010 brings you nothing but good things.

      Chapter One

      Until now, Libby Bradford had never understood how it felt to be so angry you couldn’t see straight. At least being this furious kept the grief at bay. Or maybe her fear was so big there was no room for the sadness.

      She stared across the utilitarian oak desk in her boss’s office. “I really need to talk to someone.”

      Probably it was the thread of desperation in her voice that made Ginger Davis shut off the computer. “Just a guess, but you didn’t come to see me just to discuss the newest show at the Hard Rock Hotel. I’m listening.”

      Humor normally took the edge off Libby’s intensity, but not this time. “Jess Donnelly is going to take Morgan Rose away from me.”

      “The Jess Donnelly?”

      “Is there another one?” Libby couldn’t imagine the world was big enough for two of him. At least not in his world. “I’m talking about Las Vegas’s most eligible and obscenely rich bachelor.”

      It wasn’t often Ginger looked surprised, but she did now. An attractive, brown-eyed brunette somewhere near fifty, she could pass for twenty years younger and it would be pathetically easy for her. Maybe because she loved what she did. As president and CEO of The Nanny Network, she placed thoroughly vetted nannies with famous and wealthy families who cherished competence and confidentiality in equal parts. She had also opened Nooks and Nannies, a preschool that included child care as well as parent and caregiver enrichment classes. Libby was a teacher here.

      “Now it makes sense.”

      Huh?

      “What makes sense?” Libby asked her boss. “His attorney called and said that when Jess has child care in place he will take custody of Morgan.”

      “Mr. Donnelly contacted me about hiring a live-in nanny.”

      “He did?” Fear balled in Libby’s belly.

      “Yes. I explained that I recently had two of my employees leave the agency to get married.” Ginger removed her glasses. “But you didn’t come by my office to hear that I’m shorthanded.”

      “Not really. It’s Morgan I’m concerned about.”

      “Since Mr. Donnelly didn’t share details, I had no idea that he was looking for a nanny for your Morgan. I had the impression that your friend Charity left her daughter to you.”

      Hearing her best friend’s name brought a fresh wave of sorrow that hurt Libby’s heart. Charity and her husband, Ben, had been in Africa for ten months on a humanitarian mission. They’d been killed by a rebel faction in a raid on the village where they were working.

      “No one thought they wouldn’t come home.” Libby’s voice broke and she stopped, trying to manage the unmanageable emotions.

      “Apparently someone thought about it. Otherwise Mr. Donnelly wouldn’t be making inquiries about child care,” Ginger gently reminded her.

      If Libby had been less emotional and more rational she would have commended Morgan’s parents for taking care of the details. Except she’d fallen in love with the child she was caring for and giving her up to a man like Jess Donnelly seemed wrong on so many levels.

      “Jess was named Morgan’s guardian in her parents’ will,” she finally admitted.

      “I see.”

      “I don’t,” Libby said, squeezing her hands together in her lap. She’d always thought this office a warm place, what with its friendly oak desk and orange and yellow wall prints. But today everything felt cold.

      “Why do you question their decision?”

      Libby slid forward to the edge of her chair. “Because Charity and Ben trusted me with their child when they went halfway around the world.”

      Ginger’s voice was full of gentle sympathy when she asked, “Are you angry because they put a humanitarian effort ahead of their daughter’s well-being? Or because they died?”

      “Both,” Libby said without thinking.

      Ginger nodded. “You grew up with Charity and were best friends. You told me that her primary goal in life was to make the world a better place.”

      “And isn’t that ironic? Because the world is so much worse for her not being in it.”

      Libby had spent more time at Charity’s house than with her own messed-up family because there wasn’t any tension there and everyone was welcomed with open arms, accepted in a way Libby would never be where she lived. Her friend’s folks took the girls to nursing homes, hospitals and women’s shelters to give back to their community and make a difference.

      “Charity