Assignment: Twins (HQR Romance Classic)

  “Congratulations, Ms. Marshall—you have just hit the jackpot. You are the lucky winner of twins.”

  Nikki stared at Seth, certain she couldn’t be hearing correctly. “What do you mean I won them?” she croaked finally.

  Seth shrugged. “I could have said you lost the lottery, but I thought it would make you feel better if I put a positive spin on it. What it comes down to is, you get to keep the twins a while longer.”

  Nikki’s head was spinning. “Oh, no.”

  “You’re the one who volunteered for this responsibility,” Seth pointed out.

  “I said I’d take care of the babies for three days. Count them—Friday, Saturday, Sunday!”

  “Or until Laura gets home.”

  And Laura didn’t expect to be hit by a virus, any more than I would expect to get struck by lightning…But what was she going to do about it?

  Couldn’t Seth help…?

  Leigh Michaels has always been a writer, composing dreadful poetry when she was just four years old and dictating it to her long-suffering older sister. She started writing romance in her teens and burned six full manuscripts before submitting her work to a publisher. Now, with more than 75 novels to her credit, she also teaches romance writing seminars at universities, writers’ conferences and on the Internet.

  Leigh loves to hear from readers. You may contact her at:

  PO Box 935, Ottumwa, Iowa 52501, U.S.A. or visit her Web site at www.leighmichaels.com

  Books by Leigh Michaels

  HARLEQUIN ROMANCE®

  3783—PART-TIME FIANCÉ

  3800—THE TAKEOVER BID

  ASSIGNMENT: TWINS

  Leigh Michaels

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ONE

  NIKKI plunged her hands into the hot, soapy water for the last time and pulled the plug out of the drain. “There, that’s the last of the dishes.” She picked up a baby bottle which had tipped over and set it upside down to drain on one of the towels which lined the small counter.

  From the dining nook just outside the galley kitchen, Laura called, “Washing three days’ worth of my dirty dishes wins you the friendship service medal, you know.”

  Nikki dried her hands, rolled down the sleeves of her silky blouse, and buttoned her cuffs. “Is that all I did?” She kept her voice light. “From the size of the pile, I expected it had taken a week to build up.”

  “For the average family of four, perhaps. But when you have two kids this size, dirty stuff collects in a hurry.”

  Nikki paused in the doorway. Laura was sitting with her back to the kitchen, facing a pair of high chairs. In each chair was a dark-haired child, not quite a year old, each armed with a small, soft-tipped spoon and a plastic bowl. The thick, gooey, grayish, slimy-looking substance which had once been in the bowls was now spread liberally over the high-chair trays as well as the two cherubic faces, and a few lumps had landed on the plastic mat which covered the floor.

  All things considered, Nikki thought, I got the best end of the deal by doing the dishes.

  Laura’s babies were adorable, no question about it. But fond as Nikki was of Zack and Anna, she didn’t regret that her life had taken a different channel from Laura’s. At least, not very often.

  “What is that stuff they’re eating, really?” Nikki asked.

  “Rice cereal mixed with mashed pears.”

  Nikki wrinkled her nose. “It looks like library paste that’s been left out to mildew.”

  “Shh. They’re very sensitive to other people’s reactions to food. I mashed up some squash for them to try the other night. Stephen took one look at it and made gagging noises—and the twins spit out every bite after that.”

  “You’re certain it was because of their dad? I mean, honestly, Laura—squash? They’re only eleven months old. Not liking squash seems to be part of the deal.”

  “It’s an excellent source of Vitamin A,” Laura said firmly.

  “I’m sure it is.” Nikki nodded toward the twins. Zack had cereal in his left eyebrow. Anna’s chin was covered with half-dried paste. “Are they actually getting any of that stuff inside where it counts?”

  “Well, Anna’s better at it than Zack is,” Laura admitted. “But Zack’s more determined to do it himself, so I have to sneak in an extra bite when he’s not paying attention.” She dipped a spoon into one of the bowls and inserted it into the boy twin’s mouth while he was inspecting a lump of cereal that had stuck to his smallest finger. He swallowed absent-mindedly and opened his mouth again.

  “Want me to help?”

  Laura smiled. “You don’t really mean that. If you got cereal all over that suit right before you go meet an important client, I’d feel awful. You’ve already done enough for one day, anyway, clearing up my dishes. Having a broken dishwasher and two babies does make life a little difficult.”

  Nikki pulled up a chair. “I know finances have been a bit tight lately for you and Stephen,” she said gently. “But it will have to be fixed before you can list the house for sale.”

  Laura nodded. “Seth’s going to tear it apart when he has time and see if he can get the parts so he and Stephen can get it running again.”

  “When he has time? I see.” Nikki was proud of herself; her voice sounded absolutely neutral. “How’s The Lone Repairer doing these days?”

  Laura shot her a suspicious look. “Since when do you want to chat about Seth?”

  “I was just making conversation. But if you don’t want to talk about your husband’s brother—”

  “I thought you might have run into him recently. He’s working on a house up in the Rockhurst neighborhood, one of those huge mansions near the art museum. It’s a big job.”

  “And that—plus all the blond fashion-model lookalikes who require his attention—is why your dishwasher is still broken.”

  “Well, I do wish he’d date someone whose IQ is larger than her dress size,” Laura said. “But to be perfectly fair, my dishwasher isn’t Seth’s responsibility. He has his own place to keep up.”

  “I suppose when it’s your full-time job to fix things, it’s not much fun to do it on your day off, too.”

  “It would be sort of like asking you to go on a tour of homes for fun, after you’ve shown houses all week long.”

  “I happen to love home tours, but I see what you mean. It’s too bad Stephen wasn’t the brother who inherited the handyman genes.”

  Laura sighed. “The poor guy tries. He put up a towel rack in the bathroom last week.”

  “Without Seth supervising? I’m amazed.”

  “Of course, it fell off three days later and tore a chunk out of the tile wall.”

  Nikki winced.

  “At the rate we’re going, we’ll never get this house in shape to sell. Of course, if we can put it off till the kids go to college, we won’t need to buy a bigger house at all. The next eighteen years will be something of a challenge, in a two-bedroom house with no playroom and a kitchen the size of a postage stamp, but—”

  “This is a darling house, Laura.”

  “That’s the real-estate person inside you talking.”

  “It’s a cute little cottage with an efficient floor plan. Perfect starter home for a young couple.”

  “Until they unexpectedly have twins.” Laura spooned cereal into Anna’s mouth. “Stephen wanted me to ask you something. A favor.”

  Surprise tingled through Nikki’s veins. It wasn’t that she and Stephen never talked, but it was generally Laura who issued invitations and arranged plans for the couple, while her husband was the quiet, always-agreeable one. For Stephen to specifically ask Nikki for a favor…

  Laura went on hastily, “I already told him it wouldn’t work, but you know how guys can be—once they get an idea, there’s no blasting it out of their heads. I had to promise him I’d ask, so I’m asking. But honestly, Nikki, I’ve already told him you can’t, so there’s no problem.”

  “Well, that seems to settle it,” Nikki said cheerfully. “But maybe you should tell me what the favor actually is, honey? I mean, in case Stephen should bring it up, it would help if I have a general idea.”

  “Oh.” Laura grinned. “I guess you’re right. There’s this thing he has to attend next weekend. His boss was scheduled to go, but at the last minute he’s had a conflict, and so they’re sending Stephen instead. And he wants me to go with him.”

  “So you need a baby-sitter? What’s the big deal? Of course I’ll—”

  “It’s not just an evening, Nikki. It’s a conference. Sort of a continuing education seminar that goes on all weekend.”

  “Well, that does make a difference,” Nikki admitted. “He actually wants you to hang around waiting for him while he’s taking classes? I hope you can at least go shopping.”

  “It’s on a cruise ship in the Caribbean.” Laura sounded wistful. “But I’ve already told him I can’t go.”

  Nikki stared at her. “Of course you can. Are you nuts, Laura? How many times do you get a free second honeymoon?”

  “Well, it wouldn’t exactly be free. We’d have to buy my plane ticket. And I called a couple of babysitting agencies—Do you know what they charge for round-the-clock care
for two babies for a weekend?” She shivered.

  “I can imagine. So Stephen wanted you to ask me to look after the twins so you can go.”

  Laura nodded. She looked unhappy. “I know how busy you are—”

  “You said it’s next weekend?”

  “A long weekend, actually. Friday morning to late Sunday night.”

  “I don’t have any open houses scheduled over the weekend, so—”

  “What about dates? Are you still seeing Richard?”

  “Once in a while. It’s no big deal.” She saw Laura start to open her mouth, and hurried on before the questions could start. “All I’d have to do is clear my calendar for Friday.”

  “Nikki, please don’t feel obligated to do this. Even Stephen admitted that it would be a lot to take on for anyone who isn’t used to twins. He’ll understand that you can’t do it. He’s just disappointed right now.”

  “What about you?” Nikki asked gently. “Are you disappointed?”

  Laura didn’t look at her. “Of course I am. We could never afford a cruise on our own. But I’d probably be seasick anyway, so—”

  “Not on a ship that size. You’re going, so start packing.” Nikki picked up her suit jacket from the back of a chair. As she was putting it on, she looked past Laura to the twins and hesitated. Both of Zack’s eyebrows were now daubed with cereal, and Anna had a bit on her nose.

  Three days. Alone. With twins…

  “Wave bye-bye to Aunt Nikki,” Laura prompted the twins.

  Zack was too absorbed in turning his bowl upside down and watching it drip to pay attention. Anna gurgled, grinned, and waved her spoon in the air. A blob of cereal flew off and splatted against the lapel of Nikki’s jacket.

  Laura sighed and held out a damp washcloth. “Sorry about that. I won’t hold you to the offer, Nikki.”

  Nikki scraped the blob off with her thumbnail and rubbed the dark blue fabric with the corner of the washcloth. “I’ll just move my name tag up to cover the spot,” she said. “Come on, Laura. You do this all the time. Surely I can handle it for three days.”

  Nikki had taken care of the twins before, of course—for an evening now and then to let Stephen and Laura go out for a sandwich and some adult talk, and once in a while for an afternoon so Laura could get her hair cut or see a doctor. This would be no different, she told herself. Only longer.

  Much longer, she realized on Saturday afternoon as she took the twins out of their stroller after a walk. She was exhausted because Zack had awakened at two in the morning with a nightmare and it had taken an hour to get him settled again. She’d already run through every activity she could think of and built so many block towers to be knocked down that she was qualified for a job putting up a skyscraper. And she hadn’t even looked at the briefcase full of paperwork that she’d brought with her.

  And they were not quite halfway through the weekend. She had just as many hours stretching in front of her as had already passed.

  What she’d failed to take into account was that the twins at eleven months were far more active and inquisitive than when they had been infants. They were no longer charmed by the slow revolution of a mobile above a crib. Peekaboo and pat-a-cake were no longer exciting. Not only had they had been actively annoyed at being strapped into the double stroller, but they’d made it clear they were highly insulted when Nikki refused to let them kiss all the neighborhood dogs.

  By the time she untangled Anna’s safety harness and extracted her from the stroller, Zack had already crawled into the narrow space between the couch and the recliner in pursuit of his ball, and got himself stuck.

  Zack started howling at his predicament, and Anna began howling in sympathy. Nikki was just drawing a breath and thinking about joining them when she heard the back door open and a deep voice call, “Anybody home?”

  She gritted her teeth. Seth Baxter. The Lone Repairman had finally found time to look at Laura’s broken-down dishwasher.

  Why right now? she wanted to shout. Why not last week, when Laura had been at home? Or if he absolutely had to come this weekend, why couldn’t he have showed up that morning, during the fifteen-minute span when Zack and Anna had been contentedly playing with two empty boxes and a stack of plastic yogurt cups? Or last night after they’d been bathed and tucked into their cribs?

  Of course, by the twins’ bedtime she’d been practically a zombie herself, with pureed peaches and baby shampoo down the front of her sweatshirt…

  Not that Seth Baxter would have cared what she looked like, anyway.

  In the last two years, every time she’d ever come face to face with the man, he had acted as if he found her mildly interesting—worth one long appraising survey, but nothing more. She’d come to expect that no matter what she was doing or how she was dressed, Seth would scan her with that same slightly ironic gleam in his eyes, looking her over just long enough to make her want to scream—and then, as if the sight of her bored him to tears, he would turn his attention to something else. Nikki would rather have him ignore her completely, but she supposed the chances of that happening were nil.

  Of course, all things considered, she didn’t exactly blame him for inspecting her as if she were a curious breed straight out of the zoo, because that was pretty much the way she’d acted the first time they’d spent any significant time together—though his own actions hadn’t exactly won any etiquette prizes.

  She sighed and reminded herself to be grateful that she didn’t run into him more often. Once every few months was bad enough.

  “In the living room, Seth.” She stooped to extract Zack from his predicament.

  Seth came around the corner from the kitchen. “Nikki? What are you doing here?”

  She snagged the back straps of Zack’s overalls and tugged him out from under the edge of the couch. “Didn’t anybody tell you about the cruise?”

  “Yeah, Steve said something. I forgot it was this weekend.” He leaned against the stubby wall which separated the living room from the dining nook, arms folded across his chest. “I wondered what they were going to do with the house apes. Zack, buddy, you’ve got to remember how to get yourself into reverse.”

  Nikki finished wiping Zack’s tears and took a good look at Seth. It had been several months since she’d seen him—across a baptismal font, where he’d been holding Zack while she cradled Anna—but he matched the picture in her mind almost exactly. His dark-brown hair was sun-streaked and longer than it had been at the babies’ christening, and he was wearing jeans and a polo shirt instead of a suit. But he was every bit as tall and lean as she remembered, his eyes were just as stunningly green, and his shoulders pushed the limits of the knit shirt. And the look…yes, there it was. Half-bemused, half-fascinated, and totally wary—the same expression that always made her want to scream.

  Anna stopped crying, dropped to her hands and knees, and scrambled across the carpet toward Seth. He picked her up almost absently, still looking at Nikki. “How’s it going?”

  She was darned if she’d admit that a few minutes ago she’d been ready to howl along with the twins. “Great. We’re doing fine.”

  “Uh-huh. How many times has Laura called?”

  “From the ship? Just once, when they first got on board.”

  “That’s amazing.”

  “She said she’d call back, but I heard Stephen in the background reminding her this was supposed to be a vacation. Anyway, she doesn’t need to check in—she left a full list of instructions on the refrigerator door, right next to her appointment calendar.”

  “Her list actually fit on the refrigerator? I’d have expected a whole volume—alphabetized and cross-indexed.”

  Nikki smiled. “Maybe she just didn’t have time to write it all down. But it doesn’t take an instruction manual to know that these two need a nap right now. I was just ready to put them to bed, so don’t let me keep you from working on the dishwasher.” She stepped closer to him, close enough to feel his warmth, and held out her free arm to take Anna.

  The baby had nestled into Seth’s shoulder, and she didn’t seem inclined to move. Nikki stroked the baby’s back. As her fingertips neared Seth’s forearm, braced under Anna’s bottom, Nikki felt tingles run along every nerve.

  Don’t be ridiculous, she told herself. You’ve touched him before.