CATHY WILLIAMS - Contracted For The Spaniard's Heir

‘Maybe most of them are too scared,’ she snapped with reckless abandon.

‘I don’t care for that tone of voice.’ Cool eyes fastened on her flushed face. He realised that she had signally made no effort to try and impress him from the second she had walked into his house, just as he realised that most people did, which was something he took for granted.

‘And I don’t care for the fact that you think it’s okay to sit there and laugh at me. I’m a teacher, an excellent teacher, and if you think that it’s hilarious that I speak my mind then too bad.’

‘Not hilarious,’ Luca said slowly, speculatively. ‘Refreshing.’

His mobile buzzed and he took the call, which lasted a matter of seconds. Not for a second did his eyes leave her face.

Ellie had the strangest sensation of intense discomfort under that scrutiny. It was as if her body was on hyper-alert, sensitive in ways she couldn’t quite understand. She felt restless in her own skin and yet frozen to the spot, barely able to breathe.

‘The dogs have gone. I’m sure their owners will be overjoyed to have them home.’ He sat back and inclined his head to one side. ‘Can I ask you something, Ellie?’

Ellie felt that he would anyway, whatever answer she gave, so she tilted her head to one side and didn’t say anything.

‘Why are you walking dogs when you have a job?’

That wasn’t what she had been expecting and she went bright red.

‘I don’t see what that has to do with anything,’ she muttered.

‘The nanny has gone.’ He changed tack so abruptly that she was left floundering and wrong-footed.

‘The nanny...?’

‘Second in six months.’

‘That can’t be a good thing. The poor boy probably needs continuity,’ Ellie said when he made no attempt to elaborate on this. ‘Children really need defined boundaries and, especially in Jake’s situation, stability would be very important.’ Tight lips...pursed mouth...disapproving eyes... Ellie was impatient with herself for letting him get under her skin, because who cared what the man thought one way or another?

‘I fully agree with you. It’s been disappointing but what can one do? The first nanny was a middle-aged lady who was clearly out of her depth dealing with Jake. He’s extremely clever and very strong-willed underneath that quiet exterior. It would seem that he simply refused to go along with any plan he didn’t agree to.’ Luca paused. ‘He also created such a fuss about going to school that, as it came out in the wash, the woman was browbeaten into keeping him at home on a couple of occasions which, naturally, didn’t work.’

‘Has he not settled into school life either?’

‘It’s been a difficult period,’ Luca murmured with exquisite understatement.

Confused, because she had no idea where this roundabout conversation was leading, but very much aware that there was a definite destination in sight even though it eluded her at the moment, Ellie stared at Luca with fascination.

Everything about him was compelling, from the graceful, economical movements of his hands when he spoke to the proud angle of his head and the harsh beauty of his features.

For the first time, she was awkwardly conscious of the gaping chasm between them—and not just in the money stakes.

He was so breathtakingly beautiful that he made her aware of her shortcomings, and that was a place she hadn’t visited for a long time.

Growing up, she had learned to accept that when it came to looks she was second-best.

Lily was the one with the looks. Like her mother, she was tall, willowy and blonde, her vanilla hair dropping like a waterfall down her narrow back. From the day she’d been born, she had been attracting attention, and that had only become more pronounced as she had grown and eventually matured into a stunningly beautiful adolescent.

With a sister blessed with such spectacular looks, Ellie had quickly learned to fade into the background, developing skills that did not rely on physical appearance. She had studied hard, got A grades in everything, helped out during summers at the local kennels and played as much sport as she could, because being outside the house often beat being inside it.

So it was irritating now to find herself thinking about her looks and wondering what Luca saw when he stared at her with such a veiled expression.

‘I had hoped,’ Luca said truthfully, ‘that Alicia might have worked out. I’d come to the conclusion that it might have been a mistake relying on experience to deal with Jake, without taking into account that experience might come with the downside of being a little too stuffy to handle a kid of six.’

‘Mr Ross... Luca... I’m sorry that your nephew hasn’t settled over here as well as he might have. I would advise you to try and bond with him a bit more, but I’m sure you’ll ignore me. Perhaps, after this little incident, his nanny will be a little more vigilant. Maybe she just needs to get him out and about a bit more. It’s the summer holidays and there’s an awful lot going on in London at the moment for kids. Or she could even take him out of London. To the seaside, perhaps.’

‘That would be difficult,’ Luca said gently, when she had finally tapered off into silence, ‘considering the nanny has been sacked.’

‘Sacked? But why?’

‘Why do you think?’

‘Yes, well... I’m sure she will have learned from this episode...’ Ellie vaguely wondered whether the sacked nanny could take him to some kind of industrial tribunal for unfair dismissal but somehow she couldn’t envisage anyone, least of all a young nanny, having the courage to do anything of the sort.

And sadly, whilst the poor girl probably did deserve a second chance, it was fair to say that letting her charge escape did come under the heading of dereliction of duty.

‘I would hope so but it doesn’t matter because it’s not my problem.’ Luca pushed himself away from the desk and linked his fingers on his washboard stomach. ‘My problem isn’t what the sacked nanny does now. My problem is what I do now...’

LUCA HAD REACHED a decision. He’d done what he did best. Faced with a problem, he had brought his natural creativity to the situation, thought on his feet and come up with a solution.

He’d sacked the nanny. He needed cover. And it wasn’t going to fall on his shoulders because he didn’t have enough hours in the day.

Miss Muller, efficient though she was, could hardly be expected to turn her hand to child minding a six-year-old. She’d never had children and, from the little he had glimpsed of her interaction with Jake, an eagerness to make up for that lack was not there.

And the agency wasn’t going to be much help in the immediate future. They were painstaking when it came to the business of sourcing nannies. Leave it with them and he could be collecting his pension before they came up with a replacement, especially given the short, chequered history of the previous two, both sacked.

Cover was staring him in the face. The girl was perfect. He was good when it came to reading people and he could read that this one would be up to the job.

He would lay his cards on the table soon enough but first he would find out as much as he could about her personal circumstances because her personal circumstances could be used to his advantage.

He would at least have to determine her availability.

It didn’t occur to him to ask her directly whether she would be able to step into the breach because getting what you wanted always panned out better once you’d got a feel for the lie of the land. A lifetime of dealing with people had given Luca a healthy scepticism when it came to making sure he got the best possible deal from them.