She looked at her mother. “Just to make my life interesting, we’re supposed to start interviewing permanent nannies soon. I got a call from his secretary this morning arranging our schedules so we could coordinate everything. I wanted to scream at her that losing Colton would hurt too much, but I can’t. I have to be a professional.”

The pain from that conversation returned. “I don’t know what to do,” she admitted in a quiet voice. “I’m not sure how to survive losing them both.”

Her mother slid toward her and gathered her close. “I know. I wish I could say or do something to make it better, but I can’t. You’re going to have to see this to the end.” She touched Cynthia’s face. “However this turns out, you know I’m here for you, don’t you?”

Cynthia nodded. She knew she was too old to need her mother’s approval or embrace to make her feel better, but she couldn’t deny the comfort the hug brought her.

Betsy slid back to her side of the sofa. “It might all work out,” she said. “You can’t be sure yet. And if it doesn’t, you’ll get through what you have to. I’ve learned that lesson myself.”

Cynthia thought about all her mother had been through-being thrown out by her parents when she was only eighteen and the mother of a three-year-old, the loss of her husband-and knew that having her relationship with Jonathan fail wasn’t even close.

“You’re right, of course,” she said, feeling slightly ashamed. “I couldn’t miss Jonathan as much as you have missed Frank.”

“Why not?” her mother asked. Betsy smiled sadly. “If you love him as much as I loved Frank, then you’ll miss him as much. I wish you wouldn’t, but those kinds of feelings don’t die easily.”

Returning footsteps interrupted them. Cynthia forced herself to smile pleasantly at Jonathan so he wouldn’t suspect that they’d been talking about anything important. Fortunately he didn’t seem to notice the charged atmosphere in the room.

He stood behind the sofa across from them and shifted his weight from foot to foot. “Here’s the thing,” he said. “I was wondering if there was a reason the boys didn’t have a video-game player at home. I mean do you think it’s a bad thing, that it will keep them from their homework or playing outside?”

He swallowed and avoided both their gazes. “It’s just that they’re really having a good time and I’m getting rid of it anyway and I thought maybe if you didn’t mind, they could take it home with them. It has a really nice carrying case and lots of games. Oh, and a Mute button.”

Betsy laughed. She tucked her short blond curls behind her ears. “I don’t have any moral opposition to video games,” she said. “Brad and Brett aren’t the type of kids to sit in front of the television all day. They have too much energy. You’re very kind and we appreciate that.”

He grinned. “Great. Can I tell them? Or do you want to?”

“Go ahead.”

“Thanks.” He turned on his heel and left the room.

Betsy gazed after him and sighed. “They already look up to him,” she said. “This is going to give him God-like stature in their eyes. I can’t decide if that’s good or bad.”

Cynthia was pleased that Jonathan seemed to be getting along so well with her brothers. “He’s a terrific role model for them. He’s honest and smart and he’ll never lead them astray. I know he’s not Frank, Mom, but no one would be.”

Betsy didn’t look convinced. “You’re seeing him through love’s eyes. That gives everyone a glow. I’m not so convinced. Of course if he breaks your heart, I’ll have to hate him on general principle.”

Cynthia appreciated that her mother was worried about her, but she didn’t think it was going to help. Either she and Jonathan could work things out or they couldn’t. “I believe in him,” she said firmly, but as she spoke the words she wasn’t sure if she was convincing her mother, or herself.

Jonathan glanced in his rearview mirror. “You all right back there?”

There wasn’t a reply. Not a big surprise, he told himself. After all, Colton’s verbal abilities barely stretched to gurgling. Still the baby waved his arms in excitement, as if the thought of being in Jonathan’s car was a treat beyond measure.

“Just wait a few years until you’re big enough to sit in the front seat,” he said. “That’ll be even better.”

Colton grinned, then turned away as a large truck caught his attention. He pointed and made his favorite raspberry sound. Jonathan turned right at the corner and pulled into the parking lot.

Jonathan found himself driving more slowly than usual as he maneuvered through the maze of cars, just as he’d been extra careful on the twenty-minute drive from his house to Cynthia’s office. He’d always considered himself an excellent driver, but having a baby in the back seat had made him more cautious than usual.

“Next thing you know I’ll have one of those stupid Baby On Board stickers on the back window,” he muttered to himself as he turned off the ignition and got out of the car. He could only imagine the expression on his Mercedes dealer’s face when he drove in for his yearly service. Jonathan Steele, a father? Not likely.

“That’s why we’re getting you a nanny,” he told Colton when he opened the back door and reached in to unfasten the infant from his car seat. “We’re going to find a nice lady to come live in the house and take care of you. Like Cynthia has been, but this will be a more permanent arrangement. Sort of a mom for hire.”

Colton seemed more interested in the pen in his jacket pocket than by the conversation. Jonathan pulled the writing instrument from harm’s way, then tucked the baby securely in his arms. “It’s up here,” he said, walking toward the four-storey building.

Mother’s Helper had a good-size office suite on the third floor of the building. He entered the reception area. A young woman behind a counter looked up and smiled.

“You must be Mr. Steele. Cynthia is expecting you. If you’ll follow me?”

Jonathan glanced at the five women seated in the waiting area. They were probably the candidates for the job. None of them especially appealed to him, but then he reminded himself that good looks weren’t important. What he wanted was a trained professional who would provide consistent, loving care for his nephew. Still there weren’t even any warm grandmother-types. Just four straight-backed older women in dark dresses and a younger woman who barely looked out of her teens. She caught Jonathan’s glance and smiled welcomingly. His brain screamed trouble.

He followed the receptionist down a carpeted hall. The office décor was understated and elegant, done in various shades of green. At the end of the hall the receptionist paused, knocked on a closed door, then pushed it open to admit him.

Jonathan stepped into Cynthia’s office. He hadn’t known what to expect. The large room had a view of the rear parking lot and several trees. There was a fabric-covered sofa to the left, three bookcases and a big L-shaped desk in front of the window. Cynthia sat behind the latter. She scribbled something on a pad of paper while she talked on the telephone. She glanced up briefly, smiled at both him and Colton, then returned her attention to the call.

“I’m afraid I have to go now, Mrs. Beech, but someone from the office will be in touch by the end of the day.” She listened. “Yes. I understand completely. Goodbye.”

As she hung up, she rose to her feet. “Hi. How are my two favorite guys?”

Before Jonathan could speak, Colton caught sight of her. Or maybe it had been the sound of her voice. Either way the baby went crazy, cooing and wriggling and holding out his arms in obvious delight.

Cynthia came around the desk and took Colton from him. “Goodness. I’ve only been gone a few hours. Did you really miss me that much?”

Apparently Colton had because he giggled as soon as Cynthia cuddled him close. She kissed the top of his head, then looked at Jonathan. “You found your way here all right?”

“Sure. It was easy.” He glanced around her office, then motioned at the framed McKnight prints on her walls. “Very nice.”

She laughed and led the way to her sofa. “I doubt that it comes close to anything in your office, but it works for me.” She set Colton on her lap. “I’m sure you noticed the candidates in the waiting area. There are five altogether. Today’s interviews are preliminary. Our goal is to try to weed out the ones that aren’t going to work and to get to know the ‘possibles.”

She continued to talk about interview questions and technique, but he wasn’t listening. He found his attention captured by the way Colton relaxed in her arms and gazed up at her with adoration.

“How is he going to react to all this?” he asked, interrupting her and pointing at the baby. “Hasn’t he already had too many changes in his life?”

Cynthia glanced down at his nephew and smiled. Her expression softened and her gaze took on a loving, maternal look he’d never noticed before.

“Colton is a sweetheart,” she said. “He’s had a lot of traumas in his life, but he’s basically a happy, affectionate child. That means he’ll probably accept the new nanny easily and that she’d quickly adore him. There is always a time of transition. The way we handle it here is that the temporary nanny continues to spend time with the baby during a transitionary period, easing in the permanent caregiver. I thought that’s how you and I would handle this. That is if you don’t object.”

“Sounds like you’ve thought of everything,” he said truthfully.

She grinned. “Hey, that’s part of my job.”

In these surroundings, Cynthia was in charge. This was her business, her turf. Although he’d known in his head that she owned a company, he’d never thought about her in those terms. In his mind she’d been the too-young woman who had invaded his life and tempted him beyond reason. But she was much more than that. How come he’d never noticed before?

“I didn’t mean to keep you from your work,” he said. “You’ve been trapped in my house for several weeks when you should have been here.”

“I’ve come in a few times,” she said. “I’ll admit that I take less in-home assignments now than I did when I was just starting, which is too bad. I really enjoy working with the babies. So this has been a lot of fun for me. Please don’t worry that my company has suffered. I have an excellent staff who have kept things running smoothly.” She glanced at her watch. “Speaking of which, are you ready to start the interviews?”

He nodded, even though he hated the idea of speaking to all those people about his nephew. He didn’t want anyone in his house but Cynthia. However that wasn’t an option. Obviously Cynthia wasn’t broken up about leaving his employ, so why should he think he’d miss her? He could play the game as well as anyone. In fact, he could play it better.

The last candidate stepped out of the office and closed the door behind her. Cynthia leaned back in her seat and sighed. She felt as if she’d run a marathon. “That’s the last of them,” she said.

“I would say we have two serious possibilities,” Jonathan said, staring at his pad of notes. “I hadn’t thought we’d get so far on the first round, but I’m impressed by the people you brought me and their qualifications.”

Cynthia nodded with an enthusiasm she didn’t feel. Any one of the six nannies would have been fine. As Jonathan said, two of them had been excellent matches. Between their qualifications and their immediate rapport with Colton, they were obvious front-runners. Which should have made her very happy. After all, that meant her work at the Steele house was nearly complete. She could start thinking about getting back to her own life.

Except nothing about this afternoon felt right. She hated the thought of someone else living in her room, taking care of Colton and being with Jonathan. Intellectually she knew that he wasn’t going to start an affair with the new nanny. The fact that the two he liked best were at least fifteen years older than he was the least of it. He didn’t go around preying on the hired help. Their relationship was a quirk of fate or something. But she hated the thought that she was so very replaceable.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

She shook her head even as she had the silliest urge to burst into tears. Over the past week or so she’d spent a lot of time searching her heart to define her feelings about Jonathan. She accepted that she loved him, but she’d wanted to explore his accusation that she’d been willing to leave her career in Chicago to come home because she was afraid.

What she’d decided was he was wrong. She’d enjoyed her job and her life in the city. When her mother had needed her, she’d come back without a second thought because it was the right thing to do and because she wanted to be close to her family. But none of it had been about running away.