Twins times two! (2 page)

"Drive on in."

With no more fanfare than that the gates slid open, allowing Cara to roll onto a brick driveway laid in a herringbone pattern.

"Pretty ritzy," Cara murmured to herself. She grew even more impressed when the driveway began winding through stands of huge evergreens and oaks—the sort of transplanted foliage that had probably been fully grown and transplanted onto the lot within the last few years. Through the trees

she caught a glimpse of emerald-green lawns, a pond complete with ducks and swans and...

Was that a deer? Was the place actually home to deer, or had they come down from the mountain and jumped the fence?

"I hope they had ID with them," she muttered under her breath, then laughed. No, the animals had to have been transplanted onto the grounds, as well. From the encounter she'd had at the gate, she doubted Ross Gifford would ever allow anything so untidy as unwanted deer—especially if the landscaping was any indication. As she continued to wind her way up the hill, she didn't see a stray leaf, a straggly bush or a withered flower. Everything was theme-park perfect and slightly...unreal.

"Big money," she murmured to herself. "Big, big money."

No wonder he was so careful about checking her out. That much money had to make a person paranoid, especially with young children around. Nevertheless, she couldn't help wondering why Ross didn't have a full-time nanny and a fleet of governesses. Wasn't that what wealthy people did with their children?

Realizing she was judging the man and she hadn't even met him yet, she took a deep breath. Rather than second-guess him, she should be relieved that Ross Gifford was a client of the Mom

Squad. And the fact that he was so careful with his children's welfare should bring him up a notch in her estimation. Cara was just as protective of the twins' welfare, preferring to use close friends or Mom Squad associates on those rare occasions when she needed a sitter.

Without warning the trees suddenly parted and the road curved to reveal the house. A muted "Wow" burst from her lips, and she unconsciously stopped. If she didn't know better, she would have thought she had stepped back in time. In front of her lay a modern-day castle complete with field-stone walls, mullioned windows and a pair of round turrets.

"I don't think we're in Kansas anymore," Cara whispered, then, realizing she'd slipped into her habit of talking to herself, she snapped her jaw closed. It wouldn't do to talk to herself in front of Ross Gifford. Judging by this house, he was an important client to the Mom Squad. A very, very important client.

Cara immediately became conscious of her worn jeans, scuffed sneakers and finger-tossed hair. Then, frantically, she looked for a place to park, knowing the van had a tiny oil leak that she hadn't seen to yet.

When it became obvious that the entire road was made of the same herringbone brick, she chose an

inconspicuous spot next to a flowerbed. "Please, please don't leak," she whispered to the car, then offered the van a friendly pat on the steering wheel.

She took a moment to look in the mirror, then grimaced. The heat and her busy day had caused her hair to poke out at all angles. And even though she'd adopted a short pixie-like cut in an effort to tame the natural curls, she didn't think her hairdresser had intended it to look so... untidy.

"Damn." Then remembering she'd vowed not to talk to herself, she bit her lip and slid outside.

After slamming the door, Cara slung a duffel bag full of games, storybooks and puppet paraphernalia over her shoulder, then hurried up to the front door.

Even his door was rich and elegant, she decided with a grimace. It looked as if it had been carved from a single span of oak. Wrought-iron studs and huge rings rather than doorknobs carried out the castle theme.

A glance at her watch reassured her that she had arrived on the dot of seven. Since Ross Gifford already knew she had arrived, she debated whether or not to ring the doorbell. With her luck, he wouldn't have a doorbell. More likely he had Quasimodo sequestered in one of the towers.

When the thought caused a burst of nervous

laughter, she turned away to school her features. Almost against her will, her eyes absorbed the pristine landscaping and a house large enough to contain an orphanage. Just as she'd thought, there were deer grazing in the grass near the pond. The docile animals seemed perfectly at ease, and why wouldn't they be? They must be thinking they were in deer nirvana.

"Amazing. Absolutely amazing."

Again she pressed her lips together to keep from saying anything more out loud. She might be amazed and she might be impressed, but she had to keep her thoughts to herself. After all, she was merely the hired help for the evening. It didn't matter that the fieldstone still held a portion of the day's heat. Or that the colors of the rock made the house look as if it had stood on the site for hundreds of years. Nor was it any of her business that the absolute perfection of the scene gave Cara the willies—as if she were surveying a movie set and everything she saw was an illusion.

The sound of a throat being cleared caused her to jump and she turned.

He did have Quasimodo working for him.

No. Not Quasimodo, she quickly amended. The man who stood in front of her was far too tall, too rigid, too stiff and formal to be the bell-ringing hero of the twins' favorite cartoon. His dark suit,

crisp starched tie and gleaming black shoes bespoke a man who paid attention to details.

"Good evening, Miss Wells."

The British accent immediately revealed that he wasn't the same man who'd asked to see her identification.

"I'm from the Mom Squad."

"Yes. We know."

Cara wasn't sure if the gentleman—a butler?— was using a royal we or if he included Ross in his statement.

She flushed when the butler looked at her car, and his gaze flicked to the undercarriage as if he sensed the oil that even now threatened to mar the pristine surface of the drive.

"That will be all, Stibbs. I can handle things from here. You'd best get to your opera before the curtain rises."

The voice came from the shadowy interior of the foyer. From her vantage point in the sun, Cara's eyes couldn't adjust enough to give her a good glimpse of the man. She had the vague impression of height, the flash of a white shirt, but little more.

The butler nodded. "Very good, Mr. Gifford. I do have a fondness for La Boheme and I would hate to miss the overture."

With that, Stibbs disappeared into the shadows

of the house, casting one last suspicious glance at Cara's car.

Cara saw Ross's arm move as he glanced at his watch. "You've got good timing."

Cara fought the urge to curtsy like some housemaid being complimented by the lord of the manor.

At that moment Ross stepped forward, and the sun slid over his body. The light caressed dark hair still wet from a shower, craggy angular features and a lean athletic body.

Wow.

Cara wasn't usually a person who was bowled over by mere looks, but she had to admit that Ross Gifford was pleasing to the eye—even a jaundiced eye like her own. His hair was short, dark and swept back from his forehead. His features were sharp and elegant—the sort of face that graced the covers of men's magazines and fitness reports. And his eyes...

They were dark brown, piercing and infinitely bleak.

All too soon Cara was reminded that Ross Gifford was a widower with a pair of twins on his hands. His children were about the same age as hers from what she could remember Polly telling her when she'd dropped the twins off.

"I've got twins," Ross stated bluntly.

Cara noted that his hand remained on the door-jamb as if he fully expected her to turn and run.

44 Yes, I know that."

Even if she'd wanted to change her mind, she couldn't have moved. His eyes held her pinned to the spot like a rabbit caught in the beam of a car's headlights. She didn't need the elegance of her surroundings to convey to her that this was a powerful man. Everything about him radiated strength and control.

"They're three."

She resisted the urge to smile. "I have twins myself, so I'm sure I'm up to the challenge."

He stared at her, and she grew infinitely self-conscious of her attire. She should have taken the time to—

To what? She had come to spend the evening tending a pair of twins. She hadn't come here to impress Ross Gifford with anything other than her mothering skills.

"Can you give me an overview of your credentials?"

Credentials? Was she going to be interviewed for a few hours' worth of work?

"What kind of education do you have?"

Cara fought the urge to offer a pithy reply. "I have a master's degree in philosophy and economics."

"I didn't think a person could actually get a job with a master's in philosophy."

Of all the nerve.

Her nerves stretched tight. "I find it immensely helpful when spending the evening with toddlers. You'd be amazed how many of them are well-versed in Descartes."

Although she'd tried to keep her tone light, there was enough of a bite to it that Ross must have realized she didn't appreciate being grilled.

His lips twitched in a self-deprecating grimace. "I hope you'll bear with me. My children can be a...challenge. I merely wanted to make sure they would be in good hands."

His shoulders shifted as if his jacket had grown too tight, and Cara wondered how many sitters had refused to help him before he'd come to the Mom Squad.

"I should have known your agency would send someone equal to the task," he said, ushering her in with a wave of his hand. "Melba is a jewel. I was sorry to hear she was rushed to the hospital. How is she?"

"In surgery now, but I'll be getting calls updating her progress throughout the evening."

Ross nodded, absorbing the information with the intensity of a man being given stock-market

quotes. "I'd appreciate it if you'd keep me posted. The twins and I are very fond of Melba."

'Til do that."

Without another word Ross turned, making his way toward a wide, sweeping staircase. "Sorry for the rush, but I've got less than an hour to get to a benefit dinner."

"No problem."

She followed him up the lushly carpeted staircase, trying her best not to look as if she were gawking. The staircase was a sweeping expanse of rich wood carved with wild animals, flowers and vines. The pale carpet underfoot looked too rich to be anything but wool.

Ross Gifford's house was immense, with high-pitched ceilings, stark white walls and pale ice-white carpets. Except for occasional splashes of color from jewel-toned pillows and the rich woodwork, everything seemed pale and colorless....

And sterile.

Again she was reminded of the fact that this man was a widower. There had been no feminine touches added to the house, no knickknacks, no family photographs, no scattered toys. If not for her job assignment, there would have been no clues that children lived here. No clues that anyone lived here at all.

Again she was filled with the sensation of hav-

ing entered a showplace for the Parade of Homes design competition and the thought filled her with sadness. The house had so much promise. So much effort had been expended to make it look beautiful, but no one as yet had taken the time to make it feel like a home.

Only once did she get a hint that a family lived here. Midway down the corridor she saw a portrait of a woman with bright-red hair and piercing blue eyes.

Was this Ross's late wife?

Cara felt a twinge of sadness. How long had Ross Gifford's wife been gone? Months? Years? Were the occupants of this house still mourning her passing?

"There's a small kitchenette in the children's wing."

Wing? His children had a wing to themselves?

"The play area is located in the south turret, and their rooms are on either side. I've left my pager number, my cell number and a list of emergency contacts taped on the refrigerator. The twins have already eaten, but they may want a small snack before bedtime. Stibbs has left some fruit, milk and wheat-germ cookies."

Wheat-germ cookies? No doubt they were healthy but they sounded less than appealing.

"The children need to be in bed promptly at

8:00 p.m. Their pajamas are waiting on the counter in the bathroom. They'll need to be bathed first."

"Of course." Ross's tone was so clipped Cara had the sensation of being briefed for battle.

"Other than that, the twins can be a handful once they realize I've left them for the evening, but they are usually well behaved. If they act out in any way, feel free to give them a paddling, but I've rarely found such a measure necessary."

Cara bit her lip to keep from saying that she was a proponent of time-out rather than spanking. It wasn't any of her business how Ross chose to discipline his children.

"If you have any problems at all, please call me. I've made arrangements to leave early, so I should be home no later than eleven."

He stopped in front of a set of double doors. Glancing at his watch, he depressed the brass handle. "I won't stay other than to quickly introduce you. If the children catch on that I'm going somewhere without them, they'll scream and cry. They handle things better if I go quickly."

"That's fine. I'm sure we'll all have a great evening together."

Ross's brow creased. "I wouldn't go at all if there were any way to get out of this event. But..."

Despite his stern manner, her heart warmed at his apparent reluctance to leave the children even

for a few hours. "We'll be fine. Feel free to call if you want to check on us."

"No. That won't be necessary. I've always had good luck with the people sent by your agency." He paused, opened his mouth as if to say something, then clearly thought better of it. "Well, here goes..."

In one smooth motion he opened up the door, revealing a child's fantasy playroom on the other side.

"Becca, Brianne...this is Melba's friend, Cara. She's come to play with you for a little while. You be good for her, okay?"

In that instant a pair of children came running from the other side of the room, moving into Cara's line of sight.