Assignment: Twins (HQR Romance Classic) Read online

  At least…Well, she must have touched him somewhere along the way, she told herself, even if right at the moment she couldn’t remember a specific occasion. They must have shaken hands when they were introduced, for one thing—though when she stopped to think about it, she couldn’t remember actually meeting Seth. He must have just been part of the crowd, at some party back in the dark ages when Laura was dating Stephen and Nikki herself had been engaged to Thorpe. Perhaps it had been about the same time the four of them had started to make plans for a double wedding…

  The dark ages, indeed.

  Seth held the baby out so she could get a grip on Anna’s waist. Nikki’s hand brushed his arm, and she jerked back a little before she got hold of herself and very deliberately let her arm rest against his while he transferred the baby’s weight.

  He didn’t say anything and neither did she. And it was utterly ridiculous for her to feel breathless over such a little thing. But—maybe she hadn’t ever touched him before, because she’d have remembered that kind of smoldering heat.

  Nonsense, she told herself briskly.

  As if they were afraid of missing something exciting, the babies did their best to fight off sleep. Ultimately they succumbed, however, and Nikki tucked them into their side-by-side cribs and tiptoed out of the room.

  The house was quiet except for the catchy rhythm of a jazz tune coming from the radio in the kitchen. The front panels of the dishwasher were propped against a cabinet door, and Seth was lying on his back on the floor, peering into the dark cavity underneath the machine.

  Nikki stopped in the doorway. “Have you found the problem?”

  “Not yet. The drain’s not clogged, and the floats are working.”

  “Is that good news?”

  “Nope. I’ve eliminated the simple stuff.”

  Which means he’ll be around for a while longer. Just leave him to his work and go get your briefcase, Nikki. But she didn’t move. “I’m going to make myself a cup of coffee. Want one?”

  “Sure.” He slid further under the dishwasher. “How are you, Nikki? It’s been a while.”

  “Since we ran into each other, you mean?” She shrugged. “Three or four months, I guess.”

  “Three. It was at the christening, and you were scandalized that Laura had asked a heathen like me to be the babies’ godfather.”

  Nikki didn’t bother to argue the point. Instead she stepped across him and started putting water into the coffeepot. “How’s Inga? Or was it Elsa you brought that day? I get your girlfriends all mixed up.”

  Seth smiled, but he didn’t answer. Nikki wondered if that meant he’d forgotten the woman’s name, too. Quite likely, she thought. All of Seth’s girlfriends looked, sounded, and acted alike.

  “How about you?” he asked. “Are you still seeing the stockbroker you brought to the christening?”

  “He was a commodities trader,” Nikki corrected. “The stockbroker was before that. And no—not for a while now. There’s a banker I’m seeing at the moment.”

  “What happened to the commodities trader? He was practically glued to your side that day.”

  Nikki had to think about it for a moment before she remembered. “I realized that if I wanted to get a play-byplay of the day’s markets, I could watch the financial channel—and turn it off when I got tired of listening.”

  He prodded at something deep under the machine. “What the…I hate working on antiques. I swear the motor’s rusted into this thing. Being second-best never did appeal to you, did it, Nikki?”

  She stopped spooning coffee into the filter and turned to stare at him. “Oh, now The Lone Repairer has expanded into psychology?”

  He reached into the cavity with a pair of pliers, and she heard a metallic snap. “Still touchy about the wedding, I see.”

  Touchy. That was one way to put it, she supposed. “It’s been two years, Seth. I’ve put it behind me and gone on with my life. So can you just forget it?”

  He shook his head. “Of course not. That was one of the great dramatic scenes of the age. I’ll never forget watching you tell Thorpe where to get off.”

  She plugged the coffeepot in and pushed the button to turn it on. “Next time I break an engagement,” she said dryly, “I’ll be sure to invite you.”

  “Don’t bother. Nothing could ever top that one. Thorpe’s already at the church, wearing his tux, boutonniere pinned in place, fussing with his hair and trying to cover up the signs of a really bad hangover, and you come storming into the ushers’ room wearing half a wedding dress and shrieking at him like a banshee. The costuming alone would have been worth the price of a ticket.”

  “I was not shrieking. I was making a point.”

  “Not that you didn’t have reason to shriek,” Seth added. “Though I still think you went a little over the top when you started yelling at me. Just because I happened to be there to hear it all—”

  “You could have let me know you were there, instead of hiding behind a pillar and listening to every word I said.”

  “And interrupted your train of thought while you were on a roll?” He shook his head. “You were just lucky all the rest of the ushers had stepped out for a breath of fresh air so I was the only witness.” He sat up and reached inside the machine, grunting as he tried to lift out the motor unit. “I admire you for doing that, you know.”

  Nikki was startled. “For what? Calling off my wedding because the groom spent the night before the ceremony carousing with a bunch of call girls?”

  “I think they’d probably prefer to be called exotic dancers.”

  Nikki shrugged. “Same thing, as it turned out.”

  “Anyway, that’s not the reason. I admire you for going out in front of the crowd and facing the whispers because it was Laura’s wedding day too, and you didn’t want to spoil it for her.”

  Why there should be a lump in her throat was beyond Nikki’s understanding. She bit her lip. “Thanks.”

  “Anytime.” The motor twisted, and Nikki heard a crack from somewhere deep inside the dishwasher. “I didn’t like the sound of that,” Seth muttered. “In fact, I think I may have found the problem. Or maybe I just created a new one. That’s not my cell phone ringing, so it must be yours.”

  Nikki hadn’t even heard the buzz. That in itself was an indication of how badly the man got to her, she told herself as she retrieved the phone from her briefcase. “This is Nikki Marshall.”

  “Thank heaven. I thought you’d never answer.” The voice was soft, feminine, and dripping panic.

  Nikki recognized it—Jen was the youngest and least experienced member of the sales staff at the realty office. Why she was apparently on duty alone was beyond Nikki’s comprehension. “What’s wrong, Jen?”

  “The MacIntyres are here to make a counteroffer on the house they want to buy, and I don’t know what to do. Can you come in right away?”

  With two babies asleep in the next room? It had been difficult enough to take them for a simple walk through the neighborhood. Hauling them out of bed and across town to meet with a pair of clients would be torture. Unless Seth would agree to keep an eye on them…

  She looked over her shoulder and saw him putting the panels in place on the front of the dishwasher. So much for that great idea.

  “Out of the question, Jen.” She ignored the woman’s protest. “Their file is in my bottom desk drawer. The client number is on the tab of the folder. Pull it up on the computer, find the offer they made last week, put in the new price, print out the form, and have them both sign it.” She glanced at her watch. “Then call the delivery service—have a courier bring the papers here, and I’ll check them over. Got it?”

  Jen repeated the instructions and the address. “Okay,” she said doubtfully. “If you’re sure you can’t come in.”

  “I’m sure,” Nikki said, and snapped the phone shut. When she came back into the kitchen, Seth was putting the last screw into place. “Is it all fixed?”

  “Far from it. I have about fifteen pieces to replace—if the home-supply store has them.”

  “Then why put it all back together now? You’ll just have to take it apart later. I don’t mind if it’s in pieces—it’s not like I’m getting ready for a dinner party tonight.”

  “Because I don’t want the twins to rearrange all the pretty wires.”

  “Oh. Good point. You’ll be back later, then?”

  “Tomorrow sometime. I have an engagement tonight.”

  “With Elsa?” She kept her voice light. “Or Inga?”

  “Neither. Why?”

  That figured. By now, Nikki thought, there could have been half a dozen more tall, slim blondes in and out of his life. “Seth, you don’t know the meaning of the word engagement.”

  “People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones, darling…. How many guys have you dated since Thorpe, anyway?”

  “A few,” she said coolly. “Why?”

  “Anybody who’s lasted more than a month?”

  “I don’t think so.” She kept her voice deliberately light. “But then by your standards, a month is an eternity, so you don’t need to worry about me being fickle. I’ll see you tomorrow, if you don’t want that coffee after all.”

  He shook his head. “I’ll take a rain check. You know, you look as if you could use a nap yourself, instead of caffeine.”

  “I’ve got some work to do. I have a closing on Monday, and a new client coming into town—so I need to refresh my memory of the listings before I decide what to show him.”

  “Him? I thought it was normally the woman who chooses the family home.”

  “Usually it’s the wife who does most of the looking,” Nikki agreed. “But this guy’s single. Actually, I think he’s divorced. He’s an upper-level executive with the au
to-assembly plant.”

  “Now that sounds promising,” Seth said. “If you’re really lucky, maybe he’ll be like the commodities broker—and you can find out every step it takes to build a car.”

  Nikki didn’t know whether she was getting used to the routine, or the twins were accepting her, or they were all just too tired to make a fuss, but everything went a little more smoothly on Sunday.

  The babies had already had their nap and were in their high chairs toying with their dinner when Seth arrived. He let himself in with a cheerful hello, set a large paper bag of parts on the kitchen counter, and gave the coffeepot a speculative shake.

  “If you’re hoping to have that cup of coffee you missed yesterday, you’re too late,” Nikki said. “I kept it hot for you till just a couple of hours ago, though.”

  He made a face and started to take the bottom panel off the dishwasher again. “The truth is, you forgot to turn the pot off.”

  Nikki put another spoonful of peas and carrots in front of Zack. With his index fingertip, he rolled a pea across the tray. Then he tried to roll a carrot chunk, and settled for smashing it into mush instead.

  “How’s it going today?” Seth asked.

  “We’re doing great, aren’t we, kids?”

  Anna gurgled. Zack noticed remnants of carrot on his fingertip and tried to shake them off.

  Seth slid under the dishwasher. “How long till Laura and Steve get home?”

  “Six hours,” Nikki answered automatically. Too late, she tried to bite back the words.

  Seth was grinning. “I’m surprised you don’t have it figured out down to the minute. So you want to tell me how you’re really doing?”

  Nikki sighed. “I missed the courier yesterday because I was in the middle of a diaper change when he rang the doorbell. I yelled, but he couldn’t hear me and I couldn’t get there in time, so I have a counteroffer hanging in limbo because the papers are locked up in a delivery van till Monday.”

  “That’s rotten luck.”

  “And this morning Zack was standing up in his crib when I went in—and the way his face crumpled when he realized that it was me again and not his mother almost broke my heart.”

  “Better you than a baby-sitter he doesn’t know at all.”

  Nikki twisted around to look at him. “Don’t you have any sympathy for the poor kid?”

  “Of course I do. I’m just realistic about it instead of sentimental. It’s good for them to get used to different people.”

  “Well, good luck convincing them.” She added a few chunks of chicken to Anna’s tray and handed the baby her cup of milk. “And while you’re at it, try persuading Laura. Though she still hasn’t called back.” Nikki frowned. “Now that I think about it, it’s a little strange that I haven’t heard from her.”

  “There hasn’t been a word?”

  Nikki shook her head. “Aren’t phone calls from a cruise ship pretty pricy? Maybe Stephen put his foot down.”

  “He could try, but I don’t think that would stop her any more than it would keep a mother bear from charging to defend her cubs. Are you in the mood for a bet?”

  “Tell me what it is first.”

  “Whether Laura calls the minute they land at the airport, or she rushes straight home to her darlings.”

  “She’ll call,” Nikki said promptly.

  “I don’t think so. If she calls, she’ll be five minutes later getting here.”

  “It won’t hold her up a bit, because she’ll send Stephen after the car while she’s on the phone. That’s not a bet, Seth, it’s a certainty—so the only question left is how much money you want to give me. Anna, smashed peas are not a good conditioner for your hair. Come on, sweetheart, let’s go wash it out.” She lifted Anna from her high chair. “Do you mind if I leave Zack here for a minute, Seth? It’s much easier to wash them one at a time.”

  Seth waved a hand instead of answering.

  When she came back, he’d turned the radio on and taken the baby out of his high chair. Zack had pulled himself up beside a dining room chair and was hanging on tight, swaying his bottom in an approximate rhythm with the music. Seth was on the floor, both hands out of sight underneath the dishwasher.

  “Hold that bag down here for a minute so I can sort through it, would you, Nikki?”

  She knelt, holding the bag out of the babies’ reach. “How are you doing?”

  “So far I’ve managed to break another valve and increase Zack’s vocabulary by at least two words that Laura doesn’t want him to know.”

  The music stopped and a newscast began, but Zack danced on, too fascinated by his own movement to notice. Anna watched him as if she was studying each step. Seth sorted through pieces. And Nikki, half-listening to the newscast over the rattle of metal parts and the babbling of two babies, caught a few words that sent chills up her spine.

  “Cruise ship…Caribbean…virus…quarantine…”

  She scrambled to her feet and made a dash for the living room.

  “Hey,” Seth called, “where are you going with my bag of parts?”

  Nikki didn’t bother to answer. She dropped the bag in the nearest chair and dived for the television remote control.

  The story was on the second news channel she checked. A mysterious virus had struck a cruise ship in the Caribbean, and public health officials were taking no chances. The ship and the two thousand people on board would be quarantined off the Florida coast until the bug was identified and the passengers were confirmed not to be contagious.

  Nikki didn’t have to hear the name of the ship; the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach told her it was the one Laura and Stephen were on. “Oh, no,” she whispered. “All those poor people, shut up on a ship together with stomach cramps and headaches and fevers—”

  Seth stood in the doorway, listening intently. “At least it doesn’t seem as though the symptoms are life-threatening. Just miserable.”

  “Somehow I don’t think it would be a lot of comfort to know you’re not going to die,” Nikki mused, “if you feel bad enough to want to. What a way to spend a vacation!”

  “I wonder if Steve’s boss will charge this up against his sick leave.” Seth’s voice was flippant, but there was a shadow in his eyes and a furrow between his brows.

  “No wonder she hasn’t called. There must be two thousand people waiting in line to use a phone, if they can even get out of bed long enough to dial.”

  “So we both lost the bet,” Seth added, “because she won’t be calling from the airport, and she won’t be coming straight home, either. At least not tonight.” He looked down at Nikki and raised one eyebrow. “Congratulations, Ms. Marshall—you have just hit the jackpot. You are the lucky winner of twins.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  NIKKI stared at him, 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 ’em—Friday, Saturday, Sunday. I’m—”

  “Or until till 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? “I wasn’t counting on this.” Her voice felt feeble. “They could be delayed for a couple of days.”

  “At least.” Seth was looking at the television set.

  Nikki followed his gaze. Someone from public health was showing off a chart of infection rates. The angle of the line tracing the increasing number of infected people aboard the ship looked like a rocket’s path to the heavens. If her sales figures were to climb at that rate, Nikki thought, she’d be thrilled.

  She said, trying to sound cheerful, “The good news is that at this rate the virus will have gotten to everybody on the ship by about tomorrow. Once that happens, things can only get better, right?”

  “That’s what you call the good news?”

  Nikki had to admit it didn’t sound very encouraging. “Look, I’m not trying to make light of the situation. I’m as worried about Laura and Stephen as you are. But it looks as if they’ve got the entire public health organization working on it…” Her words sounded hollow. That sort of no-holds-barred action wasn’t directed at every garden-variety virus. This stuff was different.