Maid for the Single Dad. Susan Meier

to care for your kids?”

      “Yes, you are. But,” he said, keeping his gaze and attention on Henry as he removed his diaper, “as I’ve already mentioned, I’ll care for the children while I’m here.”

      “Okay.”

      She didn’t sound at all understanding of his position that he’d be caring for his own kids. But Mac didn’t feel the need to explain that he had to make up for his ex-wife’s neglect by being available to his kids as much as he could be. Through his peripheral vision he saw that she stood off to the side, watching him, making Mac nervous until he realized she was waiting for instructions.

      Mac glanced up at her. “Why don’t you go to your room and unpack your bag? When I’m done with Henry, I’ll give you the rest of the tour of the house.”

      Ten minutes later, Mac knocked on her bedroom door and stepped inside, a clean and happy Henry on his arm.

      Closing the closet door where she’d stowed her suitcase, Ellie faced him. “Ready for the tour?”

      “Yes.” Mac led her out of her suite and to the right. He pointed at the door beside the nursery door. “This leads to my suite.”

      “Okay.”

      She didn’t like the warmth that bubbled in her middle with the realization that their bedrooms were so close. Fear or apprehension wouldn’t have surprised her. But anticipation? That was ridiculous and wrong. She’d sworn off men forever. The proximity of their bedrooms shouldn’t matter. Plus, her suite had its own bathroom. She wouldn’t be venturing into the hall in her night-clothes or wrapped in a towel before or after a shower—neither would he. She had nothing to fear and nothing to worry about—except maybe this crazy attraction which seemed to have a life of its own.

      Mac opened the next door. With a motion of his hand he invited her to peek into the pink-and-white room. “And this is Lacy’s room. Also close enough for you to hear her if something happens.”

      Glad to have her mind moving off his master suite and to the kids, Ellie said, “Good.”

      Walking again, they passed eye-popping red statues and etchings done in cocoa-brown ink. Behind a curving cherrywood staircase, a wall of windows displayed a panoramic view of the canal. Sharp, contemporary accent chairs with chrome arms and legs and nubby yellow fabric backs and seats sat by tall, thin chrome lamps. The floor was a warm honey-colored hardwood. Once again she thought of a museum.

      “These two doors,” Mac said, pointing to the right and then the left, “lead to two guest suites.”

      They turned a corner. Mac pointed at two doors on opposite sides of the hall. “Two more guest suites.”

      “Of course.”

      “I don’t have guests often,” Mac continued, leading her down the hall. Over his shoulder, blue-eyed Henry grinned toothlessly at Ellie.

      She smiled and waved.

      “And won’t be having any guests at all until I’ve hired a permanent maid.” He paused at a set of double doors. After shifting Henry on his forearm, he opened them, revealing a laundry room complete with a bright red washer and dryer, a folding table, carts, baskets and cherry wood cabinets that she assumed held laundry detergent and the like.

      Smiling her professional household employee smile, Ellie said, “Okay.”

      “You can easily gather everyone’s laundry, wash it, dry it, press it in here and return it to the proper room.”

      With that he closed the doors and directed her back down another hall.

      “As you can see, we’re making a full circle. These steps,” Mac said as they approached the set of back stairs, “are the same ones we used to get up here.”

      They started down the wooden steps and at the bottom turned left to enter the kitchen.

      “We have a very simple floor plan.”

      Glancing around the kitchen, Ellie said, “Yes.”

      “Okay, now for the first floor.”

      Mac led her out of the kitchen, down a short hall and turned right into a room that had to be the playroom. The back wall held cherrywood bookcases and built-in cupboards, probably for storing toys, and a wide-screen TV. A thick brown-and-red print rug sat in the middle of the hardwood floor. Otherwise, the room was without furniture. Unless you counted the bright blue plastic table and chairs with accompanying yellow plastic dishes and cups where Lacy sat—probably having an imaginary tea party—and the beige plastic stove, refrigerator and sink that Ellie recognized from her last trip to a toy store.

      Looking up from her tea party, Lacy said, “Hi, Daddy.”

      “Hi, sweetie. You remember Ellie.”

      She nodded enthusiastically, her fine blond hair bobbed around her.

      “Hi, Lacy. I like your playroom.”

      Lacy only grinned and nodded again.

      Mac walked over to his daughter, who tugged on his pant leg to get his attention.

      “Daddy, I’m hungry.”

      Though Lacy tried to whisper, her voice came out loud and clear.

      “Okay.” Mac faced Ellie. “Can we finish our tour later?”

      She nodded. “Sure.”

      Mac said, “Great,” and headed for the doorway on the right. “Let’s go make something for lunch.”

      Lacy’s face brightened as Ellie’s stomach fell to the floor. She hadn’t had time to get the cookbook yet! What would she do if Mac asked for something Ellie had no idea how to prepare?

      Before she could panic Lacy said, “Can we have peanut butter sandwiches and ice cream?”

      Walking into the hall, Mac laughed. “We’ll negotiate the ice cream after you’ve eaten the sandwich.”

      Still carrying Henry, Mac left the room with happy Lacy skipping behind him. Ellie took a minute to breathe a sigh of relief before she bounded out of the room. She caught up with them in the kitchen.

      Sliding Henry into a highchair, Mac said, “Now that I think about it, Ellie, you could actually finish the tour of the rest of the house by yourself. Dining room and living room are at the front of the house. Over there is the family room.” He pointed at the area beside the kitchen with the leather furniture and big-screen TV. “My office is above the garage, but there’s no reason for you to go there.”

      He straightened away from the highchair. “While I feed the kids, you can make a list of what needs to be done cleaningwise. Then when the children and I are done, you can clean the kitchen and get started with supper.”

      “Okay.”

      He smiled patiently. “Okay.”

      Not exactly sure what happened with lunch and feeling oddly dismissed, Ellie turned and walked out of the kitchen. It wasn’t that she had a burning need to make peanut butter sandwiches. She felt unnecessary. He’d insisted that she start today, yet she wasn’t doing any of the things he’d hired her to do. No. He wouldn’t let her do any of the things he’d hired her to do.

      Her intuition tried to tell her that something was wrong with this situation, but she ignored it, as she intended to do for the rest of her stay here. After all, her intuition had already steered her wrong about taking this job. She wasn’t letting it in on any more decision making.

      And she certainly wasn’t about to let it spark her imagination. That would only result in her becoming too curious about this man and his adorable children and asking some very inappropriate questions. Like what kind of woman would leave such wonderful kids and such a handsome, courteous husband?

      Unless Mac had only been putting on a good front for her?

      Because