Impossible Dreams by Patricia Rice

control.
    He clenched his fists and took a deep breath before meeting
her gaze. “I love Constance enough to do what’s best for
her.”
    “Which is why you’re here,” she prodded.
    Right, he’d forgotten. He’d had an ulterior
motive in coming here. He didn’t hold out much hope of achieving it, but
desperation led a man to do things he wouldn’t do otherwise. He had to at
least try to find some means of keeping Constance home. Logic said his
mother-in-law would be a much better parent for Constance than he was. But
dammit, his daughter belonged with him.
    He didn’t operate just on protective instinct though.
If Constance’s reaction this morning was anything to judge by, she
didn’t want to go with Sandra any more than he wanted her to go. If
Sandra wasn’t the best path to Constance’s happiness, then he had
to find another one.
    Axell dropped his gaze to the unappealing cup of tea and
forced out his plea. “I don’t suppose you would have any interest
in taking on the job of nanny?”
    A gurgle of laughter reached his ears, and he looked up in
suspicion. Maya beamed from ear to ear, presenting him with the picture of soft
pink lips and a slightly tilted tooth. She had a mole the size of a speck just
on the edge of her delicate chin. Fascinated, his gaze lingered there, blocking
out his hearing and probably his brain. He didn’t recover until she
tapped his hands.
    “Don’t you think I’m just a trifle
overqualified?” she asked in amusement.
    Groggy from the spell she cast, he didn’t respond
immediately. His gaze drifted downward to her creamy skin above the
lace-trimmed, collarless pullover she wore beneath her jumper today. He thought
maybe it was the same iridescent reddish-brownish-purple dress she’d worn
the other day, only with a different blouse, but that didn’t lessen her
potent feminine allure. A little voice in the back of his mind told him she
probably didn’t have money for clothes. He clung to that thought as he
finally met her gaze again.
    “Can you afford to turn down the offer of free room
and board and handsome salary?” he asked blandly.
    She blinked, disconcerted. For a change , he thought
maliciously. The woman had kept him unbalanced since their first meeting. He
was older and considerably more experienced. It was time he took charge of
matters around here. From the looks of things, she needed someone to take
charge. Which made him wonder how she’d formed the school so quickly
after arriving here, but that was a matter to be pondered another time.
    “As long as the shop makes enough money to pay the
rent, I have my own apartment, Mr. Holm. If I’m to pay off my
sister’s bills, I need to keep the shop open. And the school is a dream
of a lifetime. I’ll not trade it for the offer of comfort. I’m
aware I do not appear to be the most ambitious person in the world, but
I’m capable of supporting myself.”
    He nodded. He hadn’t held out much hope that
she’d accept his offer. “Then I don’t have much choice, do I?
Unless you happen to know someone who can give Constance the mother figure she
needs, I’ll have to send her home with Sandra.”
    “That child needs you .” Rage quivered in
her voice again. “Do you have any idea at all how it feels to be
abandoned? To feel unloved, unwanted, shoved from place to place, never knowing
the rules, never knowing where you belong? It’s hell , Mr. Holm.
I’ll do whatever I can to prevent that happening to another child within
my reach. Bring her here after dinner in the evenings. I’ll be her
mother. It’s scarcely a palace, but I can offer her a home and the love
she needs while you polish your bar and pat the backs of strangers.”
    She may as well have smacked him. Trembling with fury, Axell
stood up. He’d had this or a similar argument once too many times with
his wife. He had no good reason to listen to it from this woman who meant
nothing to him.
    “I’m not abandoning my child, Miss Alyssum. I
love