closed.
“See you in the morning, Tate.”
* * *
“You need a what?” Regan uncrossed her long legs and leaned forward in the guest chair in Sean’s office the next morning.
“A babysitter. I need one of you to babysit for me,” he repeated himself even though he knew damned well she’d heard him the first time. Both of them had, but Lyra was staring at him quizzically as well. They were acting as if he’d spoken a foreign language.
“Just exactly who do you need a babysitter for?” Lyra asked next. Her voice was measurably lower than Regan’s, as her personality wasn’t as boisterous as his cousin’s.
He’d called them both to his office after he’d arrived, an hour late. It had taken him much longer than he’d anticipated to find a baby store and then to decide on which model car seat to purchase—despite Tate’s insistence that it wasn’t necessary. He’d had a courier pick the seat up about twenty minutes ago and take it to the garage where her car windows were being repaired. When she picked up Briana after work she’d have a brand new car seat and Briana would have a new stuffed animal. Sean wasn’t sure how pleased she’d be at his sneakiness, but he was feeling pretty damned good about it himself.
“I’m taking a woman out to dinner, and she’ll need a babysitter for her daughter,” he said quickly, so as not to give either of them time to interrupt.
As it was, both of them only stared at him. Regan began rubbing a finger over her chin, her slanted eyes becoming mere slits. Lyra had leaned forward, and two silver bangles slid down her slim arm as she lifted them and propped her chin on her fists.
“What? You’re looking at me like I’m some stranger,” he said when the staring thing was becoming beyond odd.
“We’re trying to figure out who you are and what you’ve done to the Sean we know and love,” Lyra said.
Regan shook her head, and hoop earrings the size of his hand smacked her cheeks. “No. I’m wondering who this woman is who has a child and can’t find her own babysitter.”
“She’s the staff writer who does the ‘Ask Jenny’ column. And the reason she’s not getting her own babysitter is because I told her I’d take care of it.”
“You, who does not have any children, will take care of finding a babysitter?” Regan asked. “And just how did you expect to do that?”
Lyra chuckled. “By calling us.”
Sean nodded to his sister-in-law and smiled. “Now, which one of you would like to help me out?”
“That depends,” Lyra said, sitting back in the chair and crossing her legs. “Is this a business dinner or a personal one?”
He’d known that was coming and was prepared to deal with it appropriately. “I want to talk to her about doing the television spot. I think my presentation will go over a lot better if we’re in a more comfortable setting.” He prayed they didn’t see through the lie. It wasn’t often that he lied to women, and lying to his family was even less frequent.
“You know there are babysitting services,” Regan offered.
“I don’t have time to research them and do background checks. Look, can I count on either one of you to help? Think of it as doing a favor for the company,” he implored.
He could have called his cousin, Trent Donovan, who was an ex–Navy SEAL and now owned his own private investigation agency, which did quick background checks. But that’s not what he wanted for Briana, not tonight. Sean wasn’t sure why it was so important that a member of his family keep her. He’d worry about that later.
Lyra gave Regan a knowing look. “We’ll both do it. What time?” she asked
“What?” Regan asked, turning to Lyra, who only continued to nod her head. Then, as if Regan finally caught on, she said, “Yeah, we’ll do it.”
“Great,” was Sean’s reply, even though he knew there was something behind their looks that he probably wasn’t going to like. Again, he’d deal with that later.
“See you in the morning, Tate.”
* * *
“You need a what?” Regan uncrossed her long legs and leaned forward in the guest chair in Sean’s office the next morning.
“A babysitter. I need one of you to babysit for me,” he repeated himself even though he knew damned well she’d heard him the first time. Both of them had, but Lyra was staring at him quizzically as well. They were acting as if he’d spoken a foreign language.
“Just exactly who do you need a babysitter for?” Lyra asked next. Her voice was measurably lower than Regan’s, as her personality wasn’t as boisterous as his cousin’s.
He’d called them both to his office after he’d arrived, an hour late. It had taken him much longer than he’d anticipated to find a baby store and then to decide on which model car seat to purchase—despite Tate’s insistence that it wasn’t necessary. He’d had a courier pick the seat up about twenty minutes ago and take it to the garage where her car windows were being repaired. When she picked up Briana after work she’d have a brand new car seat and Briana would have a new stuffed animal. Sean wasn’t sure how pleased she’d be at his sneakiness, but he was feeling pretty damned good about it himself.
“I’m taking a woman out to dinner, and she’ll need a babysitter for her daughter,” he said quickly, so as not to give either of them time to interrupt.
As it was, both of them only stared at him. Regan began rubbing a finger over her chin, her slanted eyes becoming mere slits. Lyra had leaned forward, and two silver bangles slid down her slim arm as she lifted them and propped her chin on her fists.
“What? You’re looking at me like I’m some stranger,” he said when the staring thing was becoming beyond odd.
“We’re trying to figure out who you are and what you’ve done to the Sean we know and love,” Lyra said.
Regan shook her head, and hoop earrings the size of his hand smacked her cheeks. “No. I’m wondering who this woman is who has a child and can’t find her own babysitter.”
“She’s the staff writer who does the ‘Ask Jenny’ column. And the reason she’s not getting her own babysitter is because I told her I’d take care of it.”
“You, who does not have any children, will take care of finding a babysitter?” Regan asked. “And just how did you expect to do that?”
Lyra chuckled. “By calling us.”
Sean nodded to his sister-in-law and smiled. “Now, which one of you would like to help me out?”
“That depends,” Lyra said, sitting back in the chair and crossing her legs. “Is this a business dinner or a personal one?”
He’d known that was coming and was prepared to deal with it appropriately. “I want to talk to her about doing the television spot. I think my presentation will go over a lot better if we’re in a more comfortable setting.” He prayed they didn’t see through the lie. It wasn’t often that he lied to women, and lying to his family was even less frequent.
“You know there are babysitting services,” Regan offered.
“I don’t have time to research them and do background checks. Look, can I count on either one of you to help? Think of it as doing a favor for the company,” he implored.
He could have called his cousin, Trent Donovan, who was an ex–Navy SEAL and now owned his own private investigation agency, which did quick background checks. But that’s not what he wanted for Briana, not tonight. Sean wasn’t sure why it was so important that a member of his family keep her. He’d worry about that later.
Lyra gave Regan a knowing look. “We’ll both do it. What time?” she asked
“What?” Regan asked, turning to Lyra, who only continued to nod her head. Then, as if Regan finally caught on, she said, “Yeah, we’ll do it.”
“Great,” was Sean’s reply, even though he knew there was something behind their looks that he probably wasn’t going to like. Again, he’d deal with that later.
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