The man’s expression shifted to a glower. “Unfortunately for you, Mrs. Dechambeau, I saw the whole thing.”
Cheeks bright red, the nanny shook her head. “I was watching?—”
“You’re fired.”
“What? For one little mistake?”
“You consider putting Charlotte’s life in danger alittlemistake?” He didn’t raise his voice. In fact, his volume lowered as the intensity of his words increased. “Perhaps next time you’ll take better care of a child in your care—assuming you ever get another position. I can assure you it won’t be in this town.”
“But… If you would just?—”
“You’re dismissed.”
“My things?—”
“I’ll have them packed and delivered to the agency.” He turned away from her, though she stared at him with wide eyes and open mouth.
But he was, apparently, done with her. He stepped closer to Delaney and held his arms out for the child.
Charlotte shifted into them.
He settled her on his hip, his focus on Delaney. “Thank you.”
The tension that had been wound tight since she’d spotted Charlotte lessened.
But standing this close to Charlotte’s father made her stomach flutter in a way that had nothing to do with the confrontation.
“You’re welcome.” She smiled at Charlotte, nodded at Mr. Aylett, and took a step back, needing distance from those smoky eyes. She swiveled and walked away, forcing herself not to run. She’d probably slip and face-plant on the sidewalk.
“Wait!”
His voice followed her, but she didn’t slow down.
She might be jobless and penniless and…hopeless, but the rude Mr. Aylett didn’t know any of that.
Delaney needed a job. What she did not need was to linger and chat with a man who’d already judged her and found her wanting.
CHAPTER FIVE
Noah caught up with Miss Wright, his longer strides eating up the distance between them despite Charlotte’s weight in his arms.
“Please, can we just…?”
She turned, cheeks flushed, eyes narrowed. Gone was the stench of cigarettes, replaced with a hint of coconut that reminded him of the beach, swimming with his brother while Mom and Dad lounged nearby.
That, plus the way the afternoon light caught the gold in Miss Wright’s hair, not to mention the way she’d secured Charlotte, fought for Charlotte…
They all scrambled his thoughts.
“Did you need something, Mr. Aylett?” Her voice carried that gentle quality he’d noticed when she’d stood on his porch, though that same voice had been steel when she’d confronted Charlotte’s former nanny.
She was an enigma, this one.
“I owe you an apology,” he said. “My behavior at our first meeting was inexcusable.” He sounded too formal, as if he were speaking to his old headmaster, not a woman he’d insulted. “When you came for an interview, I—” He ran a hand throughhis hair, feeling insecure in a way he hadn’t in years. “I was rude.”
He expected quick forgiveness, considering the difference in their stations.
That thought had him wincing.Stations?He sounded like his late grandmother, who’d been far too concerned with that kind of thing, as if their wealth made them not just better dressed, but better people.
