Which was exactly what Zach had told her himself.
'Yes, well, that's where I fit in,' Keely said lightly, tossing the packs into the box in the treatment room, ready for the dressing clinic. 'In Zach's eyes I'm somewhere between a child and a nanny.'
Or at least she had been before last night.
'Even so, I cannot believe he's letting you stay with him.' Nicky straightened her uniform and took a deep breath. 'Maybe there's hope after all.'
'Hope for what?'
'Hope for Zach. Hope that he might one day allow himself to get involved with a woman again.' Nicky frowned. 'Frankly, he's so emotionally detached that I didn't think he'd ever let anyone get close to him again.'
'Don't get carried away, Nicky,' Keely said dryly. 'I'm staying in his house to help look after his child, not him. I'd hardly say we were close.'
It was true. Zach might have kissed her but she wasn't any closer to the real Zach than she'd been when she'd arrived. Nicky was right when she described him as emotionally detached. He certainly was. But, of course, now she knew the reason. Part of him was locked away after the death of his wife.
Nicky shrugged. 'I still think it's a step in the right direction.'
Keely lowered her voice. 'He—he told me about his wife.'
'Did he?' Nicky sighed. 'Awful, isn't it? I don't know any of the details—it all happened before he came to the Lakes.'
'He must have loved her very much.'
'Yes. He certainly isn't interested in another serious relationship,' Nicky agreed, opening a new box of sterile needles. 'But what about you, Keely? Are you sure you're going to be able to live with the man without falling for him?'
'Honestly?' Keely gave a rueful smile. 'No, I'm not sure. But if I do fall for him I promise not to let it show.'
Nicky shook her head. 'Don't let yourself be hurt, Keely.'
'It's Zach who's hurt,' Keely said simply. 'And if I can make things better by helping out in a practical way then I will. Don't worry about me. I can cope with my feelings.'
At least, she hoped she could.
Zach was bathing Phoebe when he heard Keely's cheerful greeting from the hall.
She was home.
He lifted Phoebe out of the bath and wrapped her in a towel, ruthlessly pushing aside memories of Keely's soft mouth under his. The way she'd felt...the way she'd tasted...
Damn.
He should never have kissed her.
He'd thought of nothing else all day and, despite his blunt warning to her this morning, he knew that the kiss was gong to cause him no end of problems. She was going to expect something he couldn't ever give a woman again.
He walked into Phoebe's bedroom, slap into Keely who was obviously looking for them.
'Oops. Sorry.' She grinned and steadied herself against the door, leaning forward to kiss Phoebe. 'How is she?'
'Much better, thanks.' Zach moved past her, trying not to notice her flushed cheeks or her happy smile. If he looked at her smile then he'd see her lips, and if he saw her lips he'd want to kiss them again...
What on earth was the matter with him? He never normally had any trouble resisting women. In fact, he'd become something of an expert at keeping them at a distance. Why was Keely proving so much of a temptation? She wasn't even his usual type, if he was honest. Normally he ended up with cool, sophisticated women—like Catherine. But Keely was nothing like Catherine. Maybe that was it. Maybe he was attracted to Keely because she was as unlike his first wife as a woman could possibly have been.
'Why don't I put her to bed?' Keely reached out to take Phoebe from him, but she squirmed away and clung to her father.
'Sorry. Don't take it personally.' Suddenly Zach felt exhausted. 'She's always been quite clingy. She doesn't go to people very easily.'
'Well, that's understandable,' Keely said softly, a sympathetic smile on her face. 'Phoebe, shall we go and look out of your bedroom window? We might see that cat again.'