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from Maddie’s past. He wanted her to be his son’s nanny.

Chapter Four

    Lyle’s address, Acorn Lodge, sounded like a quaint cottage-style home, but from the moment Maddie saw the dramatic, expansive iron-gated entrance she knew she’d underestimated his property’s prestige.
    Scots style and affluence. Impressive heritage too.
    The drive took three minutes to negotiate and the house was set in its own quiet, leafy woodland. With a turret-style frontage, stone lion and unicorn statues by the gate and horses grazing in a nearby paddock.
    For a girl who’d once enjoyed the financial benefits of a Boston lawyer high-earner father, it still came as a shock. She knew what it felt like to be the only child inside a large but empty family residence: it felt lonely. Ivory tower memories from her past lingered. She’d moved on, but the comparison ramped her uneasiness.
    Maddie pulled up in the gravelled parking area, grabbed her bag, zipped up her jacket and headed out into the chilly November weather. When she reached the glossy black front door she stopped, bracing herself. Coping with this new direction was her key objective now. The diverted route debilitated her, but she didn’t have to let that show, especially not to Lyle.
    Surely she could just be professional here and get on with it? When in doubt, tough it out.
    She’d pulled her spine straighter as the door opened and she came eyeball to eyeball with Lyle Sutherland – tall, intense, and wearing casuals. His brows rose in recognition.
    ‘Maddie.’
    Her breath caught at the intensity of his stare and his altered appearance. Mussed hair, a grungy, well-loved T-shirt and frayed-hem vintage denims wasn’t the look she’d expected from a man who always dressed in clean-cut sharp tailoring for work. Worse still, on him the look was completely hot.
    The glimpse of bare feet and bronzed, muscular arms made her pulse shimmy. The shock of Lyle with dark designer stubble and tousled hair was jaw-droppingly good.
    ‘Hey, Lyle. Good morning.’ She forced herself into competence mode. Averted her gaze from him, then sucked in a mini breath. Already her plan of calm offhandedness was kaput. Instead of letting it overwhelm her she donned her confident, cheery cloak as cover-up. ‘I was expecting servants. A couple of maids for sure and definitely a butler in a tux. Not you looking rushed, Lyle.’
    ‘No butler, just me.’ He raised a hand to welcome her inside, forcing a slight crease of smile. ‘No tux either. No time to change, please come in.’
    His attire displayed a disarmingly harassed look which only added to the allure. It made Maddie stem an inner smile and vow to be super-confident, super-professional supernanny as planned.
    Maddie entered the hallway. ‘Temp nanny reporting for duty. Ready to serve. Is this really your house or a luxury hotel? It’s vast and lavish enough to appear in a glossy brochure.’
    She knew she was rambling now. Covering her nerves with chatter.
    Lyle shrugged. ‘Big for just two, I know. But we manage. We’ve only been here ten months as it happens. We’re in the kitchen, come join us.’
    Maddie watched Lyle walking barefoot, lean and deliciously watchable with every stride. Then she saw Josh run around him to wave cheerily at her while munching breakfast. ‘Have you eaten? Can I get you something?’
    She held up a hand. ‘I’m fine. Hey Josh, that’s what I like to see; a boy who eats up to stay big and strong.’
    Yet it was Lyle’s biceps, hugged by soft T-shirt, that she was forcing her attention away from.
    ‘Coffee?’ Lyle offered. ‘Can I tempt you?’ He slid the pot from its cradle and reached for a cup.
    Tempt her? Dressed like that? To almost anything. One little raised brow and a hint of smile, her thermostat had turned straight to sauna.
    She chided herself and reaffirmed inwardly that he was just a harassed dad doing morning shift in jeans. Hadn’t she ever seen a cute guy at breakfast before?
    So