Prologue
Haydyn
Five months ago
Ardnoch, Scottish Highlands
As soon as I opened the door and saw Kenna Smith standing on the other side of it, I immediately thought,No way in hell. It was bad enough interviewing people to replace Jean, a woman Michael adored and who’d made our lives easier for the last ten years, but there was no bloody way I was hiring an attractive young thing who’d get the whole village yammering.
A few years back, all anyone could talk about was the gorgeous American nanny Thane Adair had hired. The one who was thirteen years his junior and living on the property. I usually wasn’t privy to local gossip, but the parents wouldn’t shut up about it at school events, plus Thane’s son Lewis was in my son Michael’s class.
As it was, rumors turned out to be true that Thane was carrying on an affair with his nanny. He married her.
I would not put Michael in the position of having his father and new nanny gossiped about.
Kenna beamed up at me from the doorstep. “Dr. Barr?”
I felt aflutterin my belly at the sight of that gorgeous smile. Aye, this definitely wasn’t happening. The next ten minutes would be a waste, but it would be unprofessional and illegal to shut the door in her face because she was gorgeous. “Kenna Smith?”
“That’s me.” Sunlight captured gold striations in her chestnut-brown eyes and I was struck dumb for a second. I’d never seen such beautiful eyes. Her smile dimmed. “Is … oh, have you already filled the position?”
Tell her yes. I cleared my throat and stepped back to allow her entrance. “No, please come in.”
Years ago, just before Michael started school, I’d decided I wanted to bring my son up in a village much like the one I’d grown up in near Aberdeen. After searching for plots of land to build a house, I found one on the outskirts of Ardnoch. It meant a two-hour round-trip commute to the university where I worked, but the village was everything I wanted for Michael. It had since turned into a bit of a tourist trap when local gentry and ex-Hollywood actor Lachlan Adair turned his family’s estate into a members-only club for the Hollywood elite, but it was still a quaint and friendly place to raise a child.
Despite the fortune few knew about, I’d built a modest but luxurious three-bedroom home on the village outskirts. It had everything Michael and I needed.
“Your home is stunning,” Kenna opined, eyes wide as she took in our open-plan living area. Kitchen, dining, and living space all in one with floor-to-ceiling glass windows to the front, overlooking our private driveway and the trees surrounding it. Sliding doors behind the kitchen led out to the back garden. It wasn’t a huge space out there, but we were surrounded by picturesque woodland.
“I had an interior designer do everything,” I admitted as I gestured for her to take a seat on the couch. “Tea, coffee?”
“A coffee, please. Milk, no sugar.” She gazed around. “The designer did a great job. They really captured that modern midcentury look.”
My mouth tugged up in amusement as I moved into the kitchen to make the attractive brunette a coffee. “You sound like you might know a thing or two about design.”
“Oh no, not really. I just love home renovation shows.” She chuckled and the husky, throaty sound caused heat to flare where it shouldn’t.
Damn it.
Time to hurry this up. I quickly made her a coffee and sat across from her once she’d taken it from me. I was careful not to touch her in the exchange, though I noted her elegant long fingers and even longer legs as she crossed them. As she sipped the coffee, I saw a flicker of nervousness in her eyes that her cheerful friendliness was doing an imperfect job of hiding.
I knew from her application that Kenna was twenty-seven years old, had a qualification in childcare, and had been an early years’ practitioner for five years. She’d moved on to working as a nanny but only had one previous employer for that on her résumé. I’d called her in for an interview, anyway, because I’d only had four people apply for the position. It wasn’t easy to hire a nanny in rural Scotland.
“So,” Kenna spoke before I could, “may I ask why you’re looking for a nanny?”
Who was doing the interviewing here? I straightened in my armchair, greedily taking in her stunning face. She wore very little makeup, from what I could tell. A bit of mascara, maybe. Her olive skin was naturally tan, and she had a healthy flush to her cheeks that didn’t look manufactured. I didn’t think I had a type, but if I did, Kenna Smith was it.
Pointless, pointless interview. Still, I answered, “I hired Jean when Michael was a baby. She was a widowed nanny looking for a fresh start, so she moved out to Ardnoch to be with us. However …” I smiled, happy for her, even though we’d miss the hell out of her. “She met someone on a dating app. Together, they’ve found a new lease on life. They want to travel.”
Kenna grinned. “That’s a good reason to lose her.”
“Oh, very much so. And as she keeps reminding us, we’re not really losing her.”
“I bet not.” She cocked her head. “So, is it just you and Michael?”
“Oh … well, yes, since he was an infant. But without going into the details, Michael’s mum has come back into his life.” Deena’s return had made me a nervous wreck this past year, but I’d do anything to make my son happy, and he wanted a relationship with his mother. “Anyway, I should ask you some questions,” I remarked pointedly.
She flushed a delightful pink and some very bad thoughts sprang into my mind. “Of course.”
