Marion Lennox - Rescued By A Millionaire

‘Thank you,’ she whispered to Riley as she gathered Karli up again to take her back to bed.

‘Think nothing of it.’ He smiled again, and once again that strange, unsettled feeling swept over her. She glanced at him uncertainly. But now wasn’t the time to examine why he was making her feel as she was undoubtedly feeling. She had to focus on Karli.

It took her a few minutes to settle the little girl back into bed, and when she returned Riley was scooping the stir-fry onto two plates. He’d added the crunchy vegetables all on his own.

‘I thought you’d never come,’ he told her. ‘I decided that your snow peas would definitely go soggy.’

‘I thought you didn’t care.’

‘I care.’ He gazed down to where every vegetable was clearly delineated in its succulent sauce, and the rice underneath was fluffy and fragrant. He closed his eyes and sniffed in appreciation. ‘Believe me, I care.’

‘What-with your baked beans going to waste in their crate?’

‘I guess I could just try this to be nice,’ he said grudgingly. He sat-and then had to make a wild grab for his plate as Jenna hauled it away. He missed. ‘Hey!’

‘There’s no need to be polite on my account.’ Jenna sat herself down with two plates before her. ‘I’ll nobly eat your share. You go bake your beans, Mr Jackson.’

His gorgeous grin swept back. ‘Miss Svenson, can I have my dinner back?’ His grin deepened as Jenna hauled his plate further away. ‘I really would like to try your dinner-and it’s greedy to eat that much by yourself.’

Jenna eyed him with caution. His grin was magnetic. Wonderful.

She wanted more of it.

‘Say please.’

‘Please,’ Riley said promptly and grabbed-and the first mouthful went down before Jenna even managed to smile. He tasted and his eyes widened in astonishment.

‘Wow!’

‘Don’t you want your beans?’

‘No way.’ He devoured another forkful and then another. ‘I’m thinking I might put a lock on the door and keep you here for ever. Silly girl to get off the train. Now you have a job for life.’

A job for life.

She didn’t answer. Suddenly her laughter died. She forced herself to keep on eating, but his words had hit an exposed nerve. The light-hearted banter she’d been indulging in was a camouflage.

She ate on, but she couldn’t stop thinking. A job for life.

What was she going to do now? How could she cope?

Riley had suggested keeping her here-locking the door-and there was nothing stopping him doing just that. Would Brian look for his daughter? Would her own father care?

No one would.

And Nicole was dead.

She looked up and found Riley’s eyes were on her, gently questioning. His grin had disappeared. ‘I won’t, you know,’ he told her.

‘You won’t?’

‘Keep you here.’ He smiled again, but now his smile was one of disarming gentleness. ‘You know, if I could take you to Adelaide I would. But in four days I’ll put you on the train and you’ll be safe. You’ll be safe while you’re here as well. You can trust me, Jenna.’

It was a totally uncalled-for gesture of reassurance and it floored her. She’d landed herself on this man with her own stupidity, and he was being so…so nice.

There was a lump forming in the back of her throat and she fought it back. She’d last cried…when? She couldn’t remember. She never cried and she wasn’t about to now.

‘This Brian,’ he said, seeing her distress, and leading her away from it. ‘Karli’s father. He was on the train?’

‘Yes.’

‘If he looks at a map he’ll see how much danger you’re in.’

‘He won’t look at a map,’ she said dully. ‘He’s achieved his ends. He won’t be thinking of us at all.’

Riley finished his dinner, looked at his empty plate with regret, and pushed back his chair with an air of a man who had all night to listen. ‘Do you want to tell me about it?’

‘Not much.’

‘If I’m to help…’

‘There’s nothing more you can do to help,’ she told him. ‘You’re doing enough.’

He hesitated. ‘Then tell me because I want to know,’ he said softly. ‘You had a reason for getting off that train and I want to know what it was.’

‘We should never have been on it.’

‘So why were you?’

‘Nicole sent us tickets.’ She bit her lip. ‘Or I thought Nicole sent us tickets.’

‘Nicole?’

‘My mother. Karli’s mother.’

His eyes didn’t leave her face. ‘The lady who died yesterday. Are you going to explain?’

She sighed. She hauled his plate towards her and made to get up, but his hand shot across the table and caught her wrist. His hold was strong, yet gentle. Urgent yet patient.

‘Tell me, Jenna.’

There was nothing else to do. She needed this man’s help. She had to tell him.

‘Nicole Razor is…was my mother,’ she said and watched his eyes widen.

‘Nicole Razor. The lead singer for Skyrazor?’

‘That’s the one,’ she said grimly. ‘Ex-singer, ex-model, ex-drug addict, ex-anything else you want to name.’

‘I remember. She used to be married to…’ He hesitated and she saw his eyes widen as he hit memory recall and got the connection. ‘…Charles Svenson.’

‘Racing driver. Yep. That’s my dad.’

‘But he’s not Karli’s dad?’

‘Karli’s father was Nicole’s fourth marriage-Charles was the first. Brian was probably her biggest mistake. She married him while she was high on drugs and he hooked into her for what he could get.’ She hesitated. ‘Though it’s not fair to say he was her only mistake. All her husbands were after Nicole because of the fame thing.’

‘So you’re wealthy,’ he said slowly and she watched as his face changed. ‘You’re the daughter of Charles Svenson and Nicole Razor.’

What was she supposed to say to that? She’d learned early never to say anything. But he was waiting for her to respond.

With what? With sick humour-her only defence.

‘Poor little rich girl,’ she said mockingly, but his face stayed still and watchful.

‘So what happened?’ he asked.

‘Like Karli said-Nicole died yesterday.’

‘I don’t understand any of this.’

‘It’s easy.’ She hesitated. ‘No. It’s hard, but I’ll make it brief. Nicole didn’t want me and she didn’t want Karli. We were mistakes. Brian didn’t want Karli either, but, by the time they split, he and Nicole hated each other. The court gave Nicole custody and Nicole responded by putting Karli straight into an English boarding-school.’

‘Boarding-school.’ Riley’s brows snapped down. ‘What-at five?’

‘There are very few places now that take them that young,’ Jenna said bitterly. ‘You have to pay through the nose. And Nicole did. She was always touring, and the attraction of an English boarding-school was that it was in England. Brian is Australian. He couldn’t get near Karli. Nicole was playing at custody battles to try and hurt him further.’

It was history playing over, she thought bitterly. Her own father was American and Nicole had done exactly the same thing to her.

‘Hell.’

‘It was hell,’ Jenna whispered, but she couldn’t tell him why she knew exactly what a hell it really was. ‘I haven’t been in contact with my mother for years, but when I found out about Karli I realised her school was only an hour’s drive from where I work. I’ve been taking her home with me as much as I could. I just hated leaving her there.’

‘Why didn’t you take her permanently?’

Her eyes flashed up to his then. There was condemnation in his tone. Condemnation!

She wasn’t going to explain why. How dared he even begin to think of judging her?