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  He needed to tell her what he felt, not what he thought sounded right.

  “Your life,” Zooey repeated, certain that she had to be hearing things.

  As his children watched, Jack took her hand in his. “My life.”

  “You need a nanny, too?” She thought that might amuse the children, but this time, she didn’t hear Emily giggling. Instead, she could have sworn she heard the little girl suck in her breath and then hold it in what seemed like anticipation.

  “I don’t know about a nanny,” Jack replied, “but I need you.”

  Maybe she was hallucinating. “You need me,” she repeated, mystified.

  His eyes never left hers. “Yes.”

  She was going to need clarification. To have everything spelled out before she was going to allow her imagination to run away with her.

  “For what?”

  “To make the sun come up in the morning. To make my day.”

  It was her turn to look amused. “Like Clint Eastwood?”

  Jack was still holding her hand, afraid that if he released it, she’d walk out on him again.

  “You’re a hell of a lot prettier than Clint Eastwood.” He took a breath, then plunged in. “The kids need a mother. I need a wife…”

  Her heart slammed against her chest. She had no idea how she managed to even frame a sentence. “You make it sound like a want ad.”

  “The key word is want,” he told her. “The kids want you back, and God knows I do. I love you, Zooey. I’ve been thinking of nothing else since you left.”

  She was afraid to let herself believe that. Afraid of getting hurt again.

  “You knew where to find me. It wasn’t exactly a secret. Emily had the card with the address on it,” she reminded him.

  “I didn’t want to make you do anything you didn’t want to do.” And in putting what he thought were her wishes ahead of his own, he’d wasted valuable time. Because it didn’t look as if those had been her wishes at all.

  She laughed softly to herself. “A noble lawyer. What a concept.”

  “Yes,” he agreed, slipping his arms around her. To his relief, she didn’t back away. God, but it felt good to hold her again. “But nobility only goes so far. When I saw you just now, with the kids, I decided I didn’t want to be noble anymore.”

  A smile played along her lips. “What do you want to be?”

  “Married.” And then, in case he wasn’t making himself clear, he said, “Zooey, will you marry us?”

  Zooey could feel tears forming. “I always did love package deals.”

  “Then it’s yes?” Emily cried.

  Zooey spared her a glance. “Absolutely.”

  “You’re supposed to kiss Daddy now,” Emily told her, “so it’s official.”

  Zooey laughed. “How do you know that?”

  “I watch TV,” the little girl replied with an air of one who wasn’t to be argued with.

  “Kiss Daddy,” Jackie echoed.

  “Not a hardship,” Zooey murmured as she wrapped her arms around Jack’s neck, whispered, “I love you, too,” and did as the children had instructed.

  Special thanks and acknowledgment are given to Marie Ferrarella for her contribution to the TALK OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD miniseries.

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-7049-1

  MOTHER IN TRAINING

  Copyright © 2006 by Harlequin Books S.A.

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