Read Online Nanny and the Professor by Donna Fasano - Free Book Online
Authors: Donna Fasano
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you."
He laced his fingers together and rested his hands on the desktop. "I'd like to hear what you have to say."
The sincerity in his voice surprised her.
After only the merest hesitation, he added, "And please, call me Joshua."
This time his tone was warm and liquid, and it sent a shiver racing across her skin. And the look in his eyes... Personal. Intimate, even. Lord, but he was a handsome man.
She couldn't keep the tiny frown from creasing her brow as she tried to figure him out. One minute he was formidable and intimidating, the next he was calmly sincere and approachable. Which was the true Professor Joshua Kingston?
"Cassie?"
His gentle prodding snapped her to attention and she lifted her gaze to his eyes. She hastily assembled her thoughts, deciding that the best way to deal with this situation was to tell him the honest truth.
"Professor, I want–"
"Joshua," he prompted her.
She offered him a nervous bob of her head, her tongue darting out to moisten her lips. "Joshua," she began again, then she stopped long enough to swallow. "I want you to know right up front that... I… I really need this job."
He opened his mouth to speak, but she stopped him with one upraised hand. "Before you say anything, please let me assure you that I took excellent care of Andy this weekend. I know it sounds as though I'm tooting my own horn, and my mother would be disappointed because she always taught me that that was a very rude habit. But... well... there's no one around to do the tooting besides me. Andy and Eric got along really well. I kept them busy with quiet activities. Lots of them. And I know you're not going to believe this, but Andy didn't use his inhaler once while you were away. I was going to tell you that when we were all out by the pool, but–"
"Ah, yes," Joshua interrupted. "The pool."
By the emphasis he placed on the words, Cassie instinctively felt he was spoiling for a fight. Anxiety knotted in her chest, but she refused to back down on this. The pool was not on the list of restrictions he'd given her and she would not allow him to dispute that fact. She stood abruptly and plunked her fist onto her hip. "Now, Professor–"
"Joshua."
This time his reminder, accompanied by an uplifting of his dark eyebrows, was so gentle, so beguiling, that it diffused every bit of tension that she'd perceived in the air between them only a moment before, and it confused her.
She must have been wrong about his being bent on arguing, she thought. For some insane reason she found herself helpless against the smile that tugged at her lips–a smile that was responding to the subtle yet abrupt change in the atmosphere.
There seemed to be an undercurrent of magnetic allure that drew her eyes to his and she wondered if he felt it, too. He returned her smile almost as in answer, and she shook her head, thinking again how his good looks simply whisked away her thoughts. What had they been talking about? Oh, yes, she remembered. The pool.
Averting her gaze, she sat back down, took a deep breath and started again. "Joshua, I really feel it's necessary that I point out–"
"That the pool wasn't on the list," he said, finishing for her.
Her gaze flew to his and he nodded ruefully.
"You see, I just checked the list," he said. "It's right here on my desk."
A smug expression crept across her face and then stubbornly lingered there. He chuckled.
"It's nice of you not to say 'I told you so,'" he said, his eyes lighting with a hint of teasing sarcasm. "But I have a terrible suspicion you're thinking it."
His easy manner made her comfortable enough to laugh at his teasing.
"I guess I was in such a hurry on Friday that I forgot to add the pool," he said.
Meaning to straighten out the other misconception he had concerning her swimming ability, she started to speak, but didn't get the chance.
"However, I must tell you that you weren't the only one to toot your horn," he informed her.
A boyish grin dallied on his lips, a grin
He laced his fingers together and rested his hands on the desktop. "I'd like to hear what you have to say."
The sincerity in his voice surprised her.
After only the merest hesitation, he added, "And please, call me Joshua."
This time his tone was warm and liquid, and it sent a shiver racing across her skin. And the look in his eyes... Personal. Intimate, even. Lord, but he was a handsome man.
She couldn't keep the tiny frown from creasing her brow as she tried to figure him out. One minute he was formidable and intimidating, the next he was calmly sincere and approachable. Which was the true Professor Joshua Kingston?
"Cassie?"
His gentle prodding snapped her to attention and she lifted her gaze to his eyes. She hastily assembled her thoughts, deciding that the best way to deal with this situation was to tell him the honest truth.
"Professor, I want–"
"Joshua," he prompted her.
She offered him a nervous bob of her head, her tongue darting out to moisten her lips. "Joshua," she began again, then she stopped long enough to swallow. "I want you to know right up front that... I… I really need this job."
He opened his mouth to speak, but she stopped him with one upraised hand. "Before you say anything, please let me assure you that I took excellent care of Andy this weekend. I know it sounds as though I'm tooting my own horn, and my mother would be disappointed because she always taught me that that was a very rude habit. But... well... there's no one around to do the tooting besides me. Andy and Eric got along really well. I kept them busy with quiet activities. Lots of them. And I know you're not going to believe this, but Andy didn't use his inhaler once while you were away. I was going to tell you that when we were all out by the pool, but–"
"Ah, yes," Joshua interrupted. "The pool."
By the emphasis he placed on the words, Cassie instinctively felt he was spoiling for a fight. Anxiety knotted in her chest, but she refused to back down on this. The pool was not on the list of restrictions he'd given her and she would not allow him to dispute that fact. She stood abruptly and plunked her fist onto her hip. "Now, Professor–"
"Joshua."
This time his reminder, accompanied by an uplifting of his dark eyebrows, was so gentle, so beguiling, that it diffused every bit of tension that she'd perceived in the air between them only a moment before, and it confused her.
She must have been wrong about his being bent on arguing, she thought. For some insane reason she found herself helpless against the smile that tugged at her lips–a smile that was responding to the subtle yet abrupt change in the atmosphere.
There seemed to be an undercurrent of magnetic allure that drew her eyes to his and she wondered if he felt it, too. He returned her smile almost as in answer, and she shook her head, thinking again how his good looks simply whisked away her thoughts. What had they been talking about? Oh, yes, she remembered. The pool.
Averting her gaze, she sat back down, took a deep breath and started again. "Joshua, I really feel it's necessary that I point out–"
"That the pool wasn't on the list," he said, finishing for her.
Her gaze flew to his and he nodded ruefully.
"You see, I just checked the list," he said. "It's right here on my desk."
A smug expression crept across her face and then stubbornly lingered there. He chuckled.
"It's nice of you not to say 'I told you so,'" he said, his eyes lighting with a hint of teasing sarcasm. "But I have a terrible suspicion you're thinking it."
His easy manner made her comfortable enough to laugh at his teasing.
"I guess I was in such a hurry on Friday that I forgot to add the pool," he said.
Meaning to straighten out the other misconception he had concerning her swimming ability, she started to speak, but didn't get the chance.
"However, I must tell you that you weren't the only one to toot your horn," he informed her.
A boyish grin dallied on his lips, a grin
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