Guilty Pleasures (14 page)

“We’ve been apart for several very long weeks,” he countered.

Nina smiled. “Merry Christmas, Robert Talcott,” she said, kissing him.

“Merry Christmas, brown eyes,” he told her. “Thank you for coming and rescuing me from the dragon lady.”

“You are such a sweet dope. Just like the parts you used to play. But I’m going to make sure no one ever takes advantage of you again. Except me, of course,” Nina said.

“I’m glad I found you, brown eyes.”

They arrived home to find it had already snowed in the hours since Nina had left Egret Pointe. But it had cleared, and as the car sped through the night, they sat silently admiring the moon that was lighting up the night and making the snow sparkle.

“What a perfect ending to a perfect day,” Robert finally said.

“Just like in the movies,” Nina agreed.

“In that case we had better fade to black, brown eyes,” he remarked. And then he kissed her a kiss that told her without question that this time the hero’s best friend had gotten the girl, and they were going to live happily ever after.

NANNY MAUREEN AND THE CELTIC WARRIOR

E
milie Shann, aka Emily Shanski Devlin, Egret Pointe’s bestselling romance novelist, delivered her first child—a boy, Sean Michael—fourteen months after her marriage to her editor, Michael Devlin. She delivered a daughter, Emlyn Kathleen, in the early winter of 2010. But then she and Michael had what they later referred to as a “whoops moment” to celebrate her hitting the number-one spot simultaneously on the hardcover, trade, and mass-market lists of both the
New York Times
and
Publishers Weekly
. It was a very big whoops, and Emily delivered twin boys, Liam Joseph and Dermid Aaron, on the last day of February 2011.

Looking after Sean and Emlyn had been no problem, even though she was working. She fit her schedule around them. She could go up to her studio tower and write a couple of hours a day while Essie, her longtime housekeeper, kept an ear open and an eye out for Emily. She worked when her kids napped. She worked at night. It was a matter of honor with Emilie Shann that her manuscripts got in on time. She was proud to have never missed a due date, and her husband relied on that.

She had had it all. A handsome husband. A great career. Children she cared well for, but then the twins were born. It took Emily less than a week to admit that she wasn’t a superwoman, and nobody really could have it all. “Gah!” she groaned, joining Mick in their bedroom one evening. Toddlers Sean and Emlyn were already asleep in their rooms. She had just finished nursing Liam and Dermid. “We need a nanny!”

“I know,” he replied in that sexy Irish lilt of his.

“You know? Damn it, Devlin, you can be so annoying sometimes.”

“You’re not a housewife, Em,” he continued in that same calm tone. “You’re a successful working writer. If you want to retire, I’m behind you, but if you want to keep working, yes, we need a nanny. There’s a small nanny school near Dublin. I’d like to look there first.”

“We can’t go to Ireland,” Emily said.

“Ever hear of teleconferencing, my love?” He ducked the blow she aimed at him.

“I’ve got a month before I have to go back to work,” Emily said. “Let’s do it!”

“I’ll set it up,” he promised her.

Two days later Michael Devlin and his wife spoke with the head of the Ballyglen Nanny College at six a.m., which was eleven a.m. in Ireland. Mick had spoken on the phone with Mrs. O’Hara the day before, stating their requirements and setting up this morning’s teleconference.

“I have two young women for you to interview, Mr. and Mrs. Devlin,” Mrs. O’Hara said. Then she peered at them. “Oh, is that one of your twins?”

Emily had been nursing. “Liam Joseph,” she told the woman with a smile.

“Ah, now isn’t that just a lovely”—it sounded like
loovily
—“name. And the other?”

“Dermid Aaron,” Emily replied.

“Mr. Devlin tells me they are the youngest. You have two toddlers.”

“Yes, Sean Michael and Emlyn Kathleen. Sean is four, in nursery school, and Emlyn is just a year, but walking,” Emily said.

“And there’ll be more, of course,” Mrs. O’Hara said without waiting for an answer. “Well, then, you’ll want to interview the girls. I’ll send them in one at a time.” She pressed a button on her desk, then got up and disappeared from their view. “Come in, Brigid. Sit down in my chair so Mr. and Mrs. Devlin can interview you.”

A tall, thin girl came into view. It was obvious she was very nervous. They asked their questions, then thanked her for her time. She gave them a faint smile and thanked them for the interview. It was obvious she wasn’t enthusiastic.

Their second prospect was a tall, healthy-looking girl with ruddy cheeks, bright green eyes, and a thick head of dark reddish brown hair. “My name is Maureen Flynn,” she said briskly. “I’m twenty-four years old and in good health.”

“Do you mind living in the States, Maureen?” Michael Devlin inquired.

“Mind? I’m excited about it. I hope you haven’t decided on Brigid. She doesn’t want to leave Ireland, but if you offer her the job, Mrs. O’Hara says she has to take it.”

Emily laughed. She already liked this girl. “Do you believe in discipline and structure, Maureen, and what kind of discipline?”

“I certainly do believe in it, Mrs. Devlin,” Maureen answered. “I prefer the time-out, no-dessert method for the wee ones, removal of privileges for the older ones. Children have to learn where their boundaries are if they’re going to be good adults.”

“We live in a small town, Maureen,” Michael Devlin said. “Will you mind that it’s not the exciting big city? You will have a day and a half off each week.”

“I can go into the city then if I want,” Maureen answered him.

“Have you ever looked after a child and lived in before?” Emily inquired.

“No, Mrs. Devlin, I haven’t. This will be my first real job.”

“There are four children, three still in diapers, or nappies, as you call them,” Emily said. “It’s a big job. Do you really think you’re up to it?”

“Sure, and I’m the eldest girl of thirteen, Mrs. Devlin. I’ve been changing nappies since I was two,” Maureen Flynn said pertly.

Her husband was grinning. “We’re going to put you on mute for a moment, Maureen,” he said and pressed the button. Then he turned to Emily. “I think she’s perfect. She’s a big girl with experience who can handle them all, and she’s got common sense. Emlyn will take to her, and so will Sean. Liam and Dermid will know her all their lives, Em. And she’s not too starchy. What do you think?”

“I like her,” Emily responded to her husband’s query. “God, changing diapers since she was two. Poor kid! That must have been some childhood. Living with us will be a vacation, I suspect.”

“It was an Irish Catholic childhood,” he said. “Then we’re agreed. We hire Nanny Maureen?” And when Emily nodded, he unmuted the speaker. “Maureen, we would like to offer you the job,” he told her. “Will you take it?”

“I’d like to go over all the particulars with Mrs. Devlin first, if you don’t mind, sir,” the young Irish woman said. “Just the two of us.”

He was intrigued, but he stood up. “Of course,” he replied. “I’ll look forward to meeting you in person, Maureen Flynn.” Then Mick Devlin left his wife to continue the conversation with the nanny.

“Your salary will be a thousand dollars a week to start, minus Social Security and your unemployment insurance,” Emily began. “You’ll have a health insurance policy, and I’ll expect a letter from your doctor in Ireland attesting to your good health. I’ll give Mrs. O’Hara my fax, phone, and cell phone numbers for you. You’ll want Sundays off, I’m sure, and you can have a half day too each week. It doesn’t have to be the same day each week if you don’t want it to be, but I don’t want to be notified at the last minute. You’ll have your own bedroom with a television, a large closet, and a full bathroom. You can wear your own clothing, but I do expect respectable attire. Any questions so far?”

“Would you be getting the Channel?” Maureen Flynn looked straight at Emily.

“They have it in Ireland?” Then Emily laughed. “Of course they do. But you can’t use it every night, Maureen.”

The girl nodded. “Just enough to keep me on the straight and narrow like a good Catholic lass looking for a good Catholic husband should be.”

“I understand,” Emily said. “When can you come?”

“I’d like two weeks to say good-bye to my family and friends, and to shop,” the girl said. “Oh, one other thing, Mrs. Devlin. Would you be including a signed copy of your book each year in my employment package? I’m a great fan, and especially since you started getting sexier.
The Defiant Duchess
was just wonderful, but I think I really liked
The Wicked Earl’s Bride
even better.”

Emily laughed. “I was going to ask if you knew what I did. Here in Egret Pointe everyone knows me and my family. You’ll get to know everyone quickly, but I do prefer my privacy from strangers, and you’ll have to keep people of that sort away from the kids, Maureen. I do work at home, so I’ll be there if you need me. And I have a housekeeper.”

“We take a course in protecting the children of celebrities,” Maureen responded.

“Good. Okay, then, you’re hired if we meet with your approval. Mrs. O’Hara will be sent your tickets. Oh, and we’re paying her fee. You won’t owe her anything.”

Maureen Flynn’s face registered surprise. “Oh, Mrs. Devlin, that is so good of you,” she said. “I certainly didn’t expect it.”

“I want you to be starting fresh, Maureen. New country. New job. New adventures,” Emily replied. “See you in two weeks, then!” She disconnected.

For a long moment Maureen sat in Mrs. O’Hara’s desk chair. Then the old harridan came back into her office.

“Well?” she said. “I know they were disappointed in Brigid, but did they hire you, Maureen Flynn?”

Maureen nodded wordlessly.

“You’re a lucky girl, then,” Mrs. O’Hara said. “When are you to go?”

“I have two weeks to say my good-byes and settle my affairs here in Ireland,” Maureen said. “I’ll go home, and then come back here. Mrs. Devlin says they’ll be sending my tickets to you.
And
they’re paying my fee to you! You’ll have it all in your pocket in one lump sum, and not be waiting for my money orders every month.”

“We’re both lucky, then,” Mrs. O’Hara said. “Oh, by the way, you’ve passed all your exams. You and Brigid were at the top of your class, which is why I picked you both to interview. I could tell Brigid didn’t make a good impression. They spent little time with her. What’s the matter with the girl?”

“I don’t think she wants to leave Ireland,” Maureen said honestly. “You should ask her about it, Mrs. O’Hara.”

“More the fool,” the older woman replied. “Working for a bestselling American novelist is a plum assignment. What are the arrangements you made?”

“A thousand each week to begin,” Maureen said, and then went on to explain the terms of her employment. She did not mention the Channel.

Mrs. O’Hara nodded approvingly. “They’re generous,” she noted, “but then there are four children. But, Maureen, if you find you suit, you’ll have employment for the next several years, and in this economy, that’s nothing to sniff about.”