Chance caught him by the pajama bottoms and hauled him back. “Hey, mind your manners.”
Tory laughed.
Chance said, “You feed Cindy. I’ll feed Sam.”
She nodded, picked up a fork and eased a bite of scrambled eggs into the little girl’s mouth. “Thank you for the breakfast in bed.”
Cindy grinned.
“And the bear.”
Sam yelped.
Chance said, “Don’t think you’re stealing that.”
Sam squealed and Chance silenced him with a forkful of scrambled eggs. He smacked his lips greedily.
Feeding Cindy, Tory nibbled on a piece of toast and Chance relaxed. She liked the Valentine’s treat from the kids. He hadn’t overstepped any boundaries. Yet he’d accomplished what he’d set out to do. No woman who was as loved as she was should be ignored on Valentine’s Day.
She patted the bed beside her and caught his gaze. “Sit. You can’t feed him standing up like that.”
He lifted Sam from the bottom of the bed and took a cautious step toward the top as she lifted the bed table off her lap and scooted across the bed to the other side.
He sat, settled Sam on his lap and then adjusted the pillow behind his back. With the tray between them, he smiled at Tory. “Thanks.”
Her gaze dipped, then she seemed to gather her courage and she looked at him again. “No. Thank you.”
“What? Me? The twins did all this. I just had to reach into the cupboards for the high stuff.”
She laughed.
Cindy patted the bed table, obviously asking for another bite. Chance gave Sam a forkful of eggs before he reached for one of the slices of toast.
“There’s coffee in the kitchen. I didn’t want to risk spilling it on your bed.”
Tory chuckled. “Good idea.”
Chance settled against the headboard. The kids were happy. He was ecstatic. And Tory looked comfortable. Happy. Happier than he’d ever seen her. He’d saved her from a disastrous Valentine’s Day.
The house phone on the night table beside Tory trilled. Balancing Cindy across her thighs, she hit speaker.
“Cook?”
“Um. No, darling, it’s me, Gwen.”
“Hey, Gwen! Do you want to talk to Chance? He’s right here. I have the phone on speaker.”
“No. I just called because I sent visitors down to the cottage.”
Chance said, “Visitors? At seven in the morning?”
“It’s Jason’s parents, darling. They need to talk to Tory.”
Tory froze.
Chance said, “Thanks, Mom.”
He clicked off the speaker function and wrestled with a long string of curses. Of all the days or times for Jason’s parents to decide to check out her job, this was the worst.
He rolled off the bed, taking Sam with him. “I’ll carry the kids to the nursery.”
She rolled out on the other side. “I’ll take the bed table to the kitchen.”
Already around to her side of the bed, he grabbed Cindy from her arms. She reached for the tray table and the red bear bumped her hand.
She glanced up at Chance. He looked down at her. They both knew who’d gotten her the bear, who’d made the breakfast. And they both knew why.
She eased the bear off the tray and dropped it to the bed.
Then he raced to the nursery and she raced out to the kitchen.
He heard the knock on the door and, suddenly, he couldn’t let her face Jason’s parents alone. Yes, everybody was still in his or her respective pajamas. But it was seven o’clock in the morning. People who visited a home with twin babies at seven o’clock in the morning got what they got.
Angry, defensive, he strode into his living room with his twins to protect his…nanny.
The door opened and on the threshold stood an older man and woman. The woman held a crumpled tissue. It was clear both had been crying.
“Nate? Emily?” When neither said a word, Tory eased back, opening the door a little wider. “Come in.”
Nate glanced at Chance and his two pajama-clad babies. He smiled wryly. “We should have called.”
Chance took a few steps into the great room, set the babies in the play yard and said, “No. We’re fine. We were up.” He headed for the kitchen. “Can I get you some coffee?”
Emily said on the sofa. “No. Thank you.” She glanced at Tory. “Tory, dear, could you sit, please?”
As if frozen with fear, Tory sat on the recliner. Chance’s heart accelerated. Jason’s parents were here. Crying.