Linda Goodnight - Married Under The Mistletoe

“Careful there, brother. You’ll be getting eye strain from all that hard work.”

The balding head lifted with a smile and a brotherly jab. “No chance of that happening to you, now, is there, mate?”

“Not if I can avoid it,” he joked in return. Hard work was all he’d ever known, as Dominic well knew.

A bit wearily, Dominic removed a pair of reading glasses and rubbed at his eyes. “Are you settled in, then? Finding the flat upstairs to your liking?”

Daniel flopped into a chair. “You know I don’t care about the flat. Why didn’t you warn me about my flatmate?”

“Warn you?” Humor glinted on Dominic’s tired face. “About what?”

“That she was young and beautiful. And not nearly as willing to have me move in as John let on.”

A slow smile crept up Dominic’s cheeks. “You always were a sucker for redheads.”

“Getting this business off the ground is my first priority. The flat is just a step in that direction.”

“Then why is Stephanie a problem? Did she try to toss you out?”

“No, nothing like that.” Quite the opposite, actually. “She was polite, accommodating.” She’d put on the pretense of welcome, but her fidgety movements told a different story.

“Then what’s the problem?”

He wasn’t sure how to answer that one. “I make her nervous.”

Dominic guffawed. “Look in the mirror. You make everyone nervous.”

Daniel shoved a hand through his unruly hair. He never could figure out why his appearance concerned people. Just because he didn’t care about the usual conventions of dress or style, people sometimes shied away. Or maybe it was the darkness. Dark skin, dark hair. Bad attitude.

But this wasn’t the feeling he had with Stephanie. “I think the problem is deeper than the way I look.”

“Shave. Get a haircut. See if that helps.”

He’d skip that advice. Unlike his conservative, by-the-book twin, Daniel had never been a suit-and-tie kind of a man. Perhaps that was why he meshed with Africa so well. That, and the fact that Africa needed and appreciated him.

“Is there a boyfriend lurking around to punch my face for moving in with her?”

“I thought you weren’t interested.”

“I’m not dead either.”

Dominic chuckled. “Good. You were starting to worry me.”

“I gave up on love, not on life.”

Dominic knew better than anyone about Daniel’s empty heart.

“Sometimes they’re one and the same.”

The profound statement stirred the old restless longing, the feeling that, no matter how much good he did, life was passing by without him.

“Are you going to annoy me about my nonexistent love-life or tell me about Stephanie Ellison?”

“Well, let’s see.” Dominic gnawed at the earpiece of his glasses, pretending to think. “She doesn’t allow staff to smoke anywhere near the restaurant. Says it projects a bad image to the customers.”

“That’s not exactly the kind of information I meant.”

“None of us know much about her before she came here. She’s a mystery really.”

A mystery. Hmm. Better steer clear of that. He had enough puzzles to solve with the new business. “What kind of manager is she? Demanding? Difficult to work for?”

Though Dominic had only been in this job just over a week, he was good at gathering information, a knack that also made him a good accountant. Most of the time he knew more about a company than the owner.

“Stephanie’s a bit of a workaholic, a real control freak about tidiness,” Dominic said, “but she treats employees well. She gives every appearance of being an excellent manager.”

Daniel heard the subtle hesitation. “What do you mean by ‘gives every appearance’?”

“Nothing really. She’s doing a fine job.” Dominic glanced away, fidgeted with his glasses. He was holding back.

“I know you, Dominic. What are you not saying?”

“I don’t want to spread unsubstantiated rumors.”

“I’m your brother. I’ve just moved in with the woman. If she’s trouble, you have to tell me.”

“All right, then, between you and me.” He sighed and rolled a squeaky chair back from the desk. “You’ve heard about the money missing from the restaurant accounts?”

Daniel nodded, frowning. John had mentioned the problem. “You think Stephanie’s involved?”

“No. I don’t. Someone kind enough to take sick waiting staff to her flat, give them an aspirin and take over their shift while they rest isn’t a likely thief. Plus, she’s meticulous to the point of obsession about every detail of running this place. I can’t see her dipping into the till.”

“Yet, someone is responsible.”

“Right. And she’s the newcomer, the outsider.”

“Not the only one,” Daniel pointed out.

Dominic blinked, clearly shocked at the suggestion. “You think I—”

Daniel laughed. “Not in a million years.” His straight-down-the-line brother was so honest, he’d often confessed to childhood mischief before being confronted. “Have you talked to John about it?”

“Actually, the first clue came from him. He asked me to balance the dates when the money disappeared with all the other transactions filtering in and out of the three restaurants. There were some interesting inconsistencies, but nothing definite yet.”

“So what’s your decision? Is our pretty manager guilty?”

“I’m still watching, but, like I said, I don’t want to think Stephanie is involved. She isn’t the type.”

Daniel didn’t think so either, though he barely knew the woman. He’d much rather believe her anxiety around him was personal than an embezzler’s guilty conscience.

The idea gave him pause and, before he could stop the words, he asked, “What about her personal life? Does she see anyone?”

Dominic tossed his glasses onto the desk and tilted back, his gaze assessing. Daniel shifted in his chair. Okay, he’d admit it. He wanted to know about his flatmate as a woman, not as a restaurant manager.

“She goes out now and then, though the gossip mill says she never dates seriously.”

“Why? Too busy with work?”

“That’s my guess. But Rachel thinks she’s had her heart broken.”

“Rachel?” Daniel frowned. “Employee or relative?” He was having trouble keeping track.

“A cousin. Our uncle Robert’s daughter. Her sister, Rebecca, is a close friend of Stephanie’s. I think she may know more about your lovely manager than anyone.”

“She’s not my anything,” Daniel groused. “I was just asking.” And he didn’t know why, so he decided to let the subject of his flatmate drop. “So, tell me about you, Dominic. How’s the job? The family?”

Dominic’s gaze flicked to the computer screen. He picked up a pen and twirled it in his fingers.

“Alice is pregnant again.”

Daniel tried not to let the surprise show. Dominic looked stressed enough without being reminded that his other kids were nearly grown. “How many does this make? Four? Five?”

Daniel spent so little time in England that he couldn’t keep up. Never fond of his brother’s wife, he hadn’t tried too hard. Alice’s well-to-do family had vigorously protested when she had married a nobody like Dominic, and since then she had maintained an air of superiority that rankled Daniel.

“This makes four.” Dominic ran a hand over his face, and Daniel noticed again how much his brother had aged. “Alice is thrilled. She thinks another baby will keep us young. And a new addition also gives her a reason to shop.”

As if she needed one. Daniel remembered his sister-in-law’s propensity for spending. Luckily, his brother had done so well that his family could afford the best of everything. They lived in a fashionable area of London. His children attended private school, and both Dominic and Alice drove a Mercedes. Holidays in Rome or Madrid or anywhere they fancied were the norm. Daniel was glad for his brother’s success.