But he only said, ‘Want a hold?’
At first she was afraid her voice wouldn’t work, but luckily her ‘not today,’ didn’t carry the emotion she held inside. She forced a laugh to cover the wretched awkwardness. ‘I’d probably drop her or something.’
‘No, you wouldn’t.’ He stared at her a moment, eyes slightly narrowed. She could see the questions shuffling behind his eyes.
‘Babies and I don’t hit it off.’ She shrugged carelessly. ‘They take one look at me and it’s waterworks.’
‘Not with Arabella, she’s too young yet.’ He kissed her nose. ‘Aren’t you, sweetheart?’ But to Sophie’s relief he didn’t pursue her protest, preferring to talk some more ga-ga to his niece. He lowered the infant onto the change table and managed the nappy-change process with the same skill and confidence he used to conduct a business meeting.
And, oh… Rather than detract from Jared’s powerful masculinity, the child he tended simply added another dimension to the already multifaceted man she was coming to know. Her legs almost sagged beneath her and something rolled over in her chest. She was, without a doubt, looking at a picture-perfect poster for the sexiest man alive.
She turned away.
She needed to remember a couple of important things. One. Jared wasn’t a one-woman man. Second, she was leaving Australia. And top of the list, she reminded herself a man who loved kids this much could never be the man for her.
No man could.
CHAPTER NINE
SINCE Sophie had never travelled up this way and seemed so enraptured with the passing scenery, Jared let her indulge in relative silence, pointing out places of interest on the way.
One thing was certain, she wasn’t looking for home and family. He’d seen the almost panicked look in her eyes when he’d asked her if she wanted to hold Arabella. He drummed his fingers lightly on the steering wheel as Brisbane’s hazy skyline came into view in the distance.
She was the most skittish woman around babies he’d ever seen. She’d shown zero interest in the baby shop in Coolangatta. Too much so, in fact. Had only met Arabella because basic courtesy required it. She’d admitted she had no interest in tying herself down with kids.
Like someone else he’d known. Bianca had kept her no-kids policy to herself until she’d discovered Jared intended Melissa to be a part of their lives after they married. Bianca might have reconsidered his proposal but he knew it would never have worked in the long run. He’d counted himself lucky he’d found out before he’d made a commitment. No second chances.
At least with Sophie he knew everything up front. Short term was all they were looking for. When it happened, his children would be wanted and loved by both parents. But settling down was years into the future. The years he should have been out drinking till dawn and getting laid had been spent being a responsible guardian to his sisters, and he had some catching up to do.
He was looking forward to doing some of that catching up with Sophie these next couple of days.
‘Spectacular, don’t you agree?’
Jared’s voice somewhere behind her, plush velvet stroking over her shoulders and down her back.
‘Very.’ Sophie stood in the middle of the room, not knowing where to look first. This palatial riverfront home was their home for the next couple of days. And nights.
It was the ever-present thoughts about those nights that had her nerves twitching and her hormones bouncing like lottery balls on a Saturday night. She quashed them quickly, focusing on the here and now. It was more than spectacular, it was over-the-top dazzling.
White-tiled flooring and furniture flowed outwards in all directions, giving the impression it went on for ever. A few touches of blue and lime green in the cushions or decorative art invoked a cool sense of peace and tranquillity. Extending out from the patio was a private jetty where one could moor their luxury yacht, and on the other side of the river in the reddening haze of sunset she could see other multimillion-dollar homes.
Turn to the right and she could see the master bedroom and its snowy white king-size bed reflected in the turquoise infinity pool off the main living area. Floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors in both rooms virtually allowed one to swim to the bedroom if one so desired.
Of course they’d taken separate bedrooms. One had to act the part of a PA to begin with at least and she still needed some privacy at this point in their relationship.
Right now her thoughts were on the upcoming business dinner in a little over an hour and she needed to turn herself into the professional Jared expected. She didn’t have time for the heat she saw in his eyes that promised to make them late.