Urgent: One Nanny Required (Crimson Romance) (13 page)

Glancing at her uninvited guest under her lashes, she saw he had settled back against his seat, looking for all to see as if they were on a lunch date.

Standing up, she pasted a smile on her face in greeting, grateful when Kirk grabbed her for a hug. Reaching past him, she found herself enveloped in a smaller, more delicate hug from his wife. She smiled down at the brunette child by her side, his big green eyes reminding her instantly of Kirk. “So you must be Will. Hi. I’m Rania. Theo talks about you all the time,” she said, and was rewarded by a big toothy grin.

“Won’t you please join me?” she asked, moving her head between Claudia and Kirk, trying as hard as she could to emphasize the “me,” not “us.”

She’d noticed out of the corner of her eye Ricardo stood up and moved closer to her left. She sidled around quickly, positioned herself on the opposite side creating more room for the family.

“No, we’re just on our way home. Have you ordered yet?” Claudia’s soft voice and big blue eyes now held hers, an unspoken woman-to-woman understanding passing between them. In that moment, Rania knew that if her time in LA wasn’t so brief, she and Claudia would have been great friends. The actress and the daughter of the wannabe actress. Oh the irony.

“Literally, just now,” she said, flagging down a passing waiter who suddenly seemed to be very obliging now she was standing with Hollywood royalty and hurriedly cancelled her order.

Grabbing her bag, she flung a smile over her shoulder at Ricardo. Far from looking upset or even annoyed, he smiled back, and turned to indulge in a little flirtation with the waitress.

The thought of going home to Theo and Nick made the butterflies flitter like crazy in her stomach and Rania practically danced alongside the couple as they left by the back door and jumped into the waiting limo. She heard the shouts of recognition from people as the limo drove on but they managed to lose them as they sped away.

“You can drop me off anywhere if you want; Gus can pick me up,” she said to no one in particular as she stared at the happy family.

“Nonsense. We need to drop past Nick’s anyway because Theo left his PlayStation behind. Also, we’d planned a trip to Universal tomorrow and since it’s so rare for both boys to be on school holidays in the same country, we thought we’d see if Theo wanted to go, too,” Claudia replied.

The traffic away from the town was light and she’d never felt so happy to see the white mansion as she did then. Hopping out, she opened the door, calling out as Theo slid through the doorway on damp feet, throwing himself into her arms. Hugging him tightly back, she glanced up to see Nick appear, navy swimming shorts and hair damp from where they’d been swimming, towel draped artfully around his shoulders.

She moved aside as he walked past her to greet his friends. The noise level rising suddenly as both boys scampered off, the two men making their way toward the kitchen as Nick insisted they stay for at least one drink.

Watching as they cracked open some beers, she poured juice for Claudia and the boys. “Kirk’s very protective of him,” Claudia whispered next to her. “He wouldn’t let anyone hurt him. Especially after Lila,” she added.

Biting back the burning desire to ask about his dead wife, she stared her straight in the eye, “I would never hurt him. Either of them.”

The small, satisfied smile that bloomed on the other woman’s lips made her feel like she’d passed some unknown test. They chatted for a few minutes, and then she watched as Claudia put her drink down and round up her family.

“And why not let Theo come with us now? We’re off to Universal tomorrow, so you boys could have another sleepover,” she sang out.

Rania couldn’t help but admire her style. Within minutes, Theo was packed and ready to go. She really wanted to catch Kirk and explain about the restaurant before they left. For once, she did care what someone thought.

Making her way to the door, she whispered up to him, “Kirk, what you saw in the restaurant wasn’t what it looked like.”

His eyes were full of understanding as they looked down at her. “I know, gal. I didn’t think you and Ric … ”

“Ric? As in Ricardo Suarez? What about him?” Rania heard Nick snap, coming up behind them and she had to hold back from stamping her foot in frustration. Why did he have to overhear that part of the conversation?

Glancing between the two of them, Kirk cleared his throat. “I’ll leave you two alone, shall I. C’mon, wife,” he said, guiding his wife quickly out with one hand and the boys out with the other.

• • •

The loud ticking of the clock emphasized how alone they were. Nick was still frowning at her and her joy of being back soon dissolved into annoyance.

Yes, she worked for him, but she wasn’t his property. She could talk about Ricardo Suarez if she wanted. She didn’t particularly want to, of course, but what the heck had happened to freedom of speech.

“How come you came back so early?” he asked.

Oh, why can’t you just go and put some clothes on,
her mind shouted at him. Her throat felt parched from looking at him in this semi-dressed state. Really, this was unprofessional. Since when did bosses and employees have meetings half-naked!

“I … erm … heatstroke!” She’d be damned if she admitted she came back for him.

He nodded, seeming to consider this. “So, why did you come back with Kirk and not Gus, then? Didn’t Gus say he’d come and pick you up?”

Damn, damn, damn. He would have told Gus to do that, wouldn’t he? She could lie and pretend she’d never had that conversation with Gus earlier, but she didn’t want to get him in trouble. “Oh, the tangled webs we weave,” Belle’s favorite phrase floated through her mind. Might as well be honest.

“I went for a bite to eat and met them in the restaurant.” Correction, she had
intended
to have a bite to eat and ended up with zip. She could feel the small grumblings already.

He didn’t say anything, his glacial eyes holding hers, almost as if they could read her inner thoughts.

“I’m parched. I need a drink,” she said, turning toward the kitchen, not caring whether he was following or not. Pouring herself a large glass of OJ, she stared out at the pool where empty glasses and floatables were the only remnants of the father and son day spent together.

“So where does Ricardo Suarez fit into all this?”

She could imagine how he looked right now. Shoulders set, face as hard and set as granite. Hating how she knew him so well, Rania knew the best thing for it was just to be up front and turned around to face him.

“He was at the restaurant and joined me for lunch. And then we met Kirk and Claudia,” her voice coming out louder in the empty kitchen then she would have liked. His nostrils flared as he took in this bit of information, the muscle in his jaw twitching.

“Well, it’s your decision,” he growled, storming past her to the pool. After throwing the towel on the side, he dived in, swimming away from her as if the hounds of hell were after him.

Slamming her cup down on the side, she pulled Gus’s number and her phone out of her bag. She wasn’t going to stay here while he was having some sort of adult version of a tantrum. Preparing to march out, she made the mistake of turning around and looking for him. The water still rippled, but he was nowhere to be seen. An awful sinking feeling that he might have hit his head against the side and drowned weighed upon her like a stone. Yes, right now she didn’t particularly like him, but neither did she want him dead.

Dropping her bag, she marched out, shrieking when he suddenly emerged from under the water in front of her, the blond hair a lot darker now it was wet. He gazed quizzically up at her, treading water as if waiting for an explanation.

What could she say now? That she’d been worried he’d knocked himself out and thought he might be dead! “The best defense is a good offense.” She’d always liked that phrase and now seemed a good time to put it into practice.

“I came to tell you that it is my decision. I know you think that just because I work for you that you can tell me what to do — like you tell your crew — but you can’t,” she pointed out tartly, turning smartly on her heels and stomping back in the house. What a fool she’d been to worry about him.

She should be more worried about herself.

• • •

What the … Since when did he say she was anything like his crew? He’d be more interested in going to work if she was there. As it was, he found it difficult leaving the house knowing she was in it. He watched her flounce off through the house, rainbow dress billowing out gracefully behind her.

The thought of her meeting Ric Suarez for lunch made his blood boil. Clearly, the hard swim wasn’t helping. Didn’t she know anything? Guys like Ric were only after one thing. He guessed she wasn’t that experienced but really, anybody could guess the guy’s intentions. Well if she didn’t know, he was sure as hell not going to tell her. She’d told him to butt out of her affairs. If that’s what she wanted, then it was fine with him.

Damn it. No, it
wasn’t
fine. Hauling himself out of the pool, he grabbed a towel and tied it around his waist. If she wanted to be yet another notch on Ric Suarez’s bedpost, that was her business; but not while she was working for him and looking after his son. That was his official line and he was sticking to it, ignoring the other reasons that gnawed at his conscience. Reasons he would not admit to right now.

She was standing in the corridor, head bent as she texted away furiously.

“Tell him you can’t meet him as long as you’re working for me and looking after my son.”

Her head flicked up, the angry glare she threw him so hot and furious he was sure he’d have been a pile of cinders if the fire in them had been real.

“I thought I made it clear that you may be my boss, but you don’t run my life.” She reminded him of an angry kitten when cornered. Small and beautiful, but if he got too close, it would scratch his eyes out.

“You did. And let me make something very clear. I don’t care what the hell you do or who the hell you do it with.” He felt the kick in his gut, disproving that statement almost instantly. “But when you look after my son, you will not see that guy.”

He regretted the words almost as soon as he’d said them. Her face blanched and she swayed slightly as if she was going to fall. Stepping forward to catch her, she put up one hand, warding him off. “Is that honestly what you think of me? That I would behave like that and put Theo second?”

Her eyes widened in her pale face and she blinked rapidly. He felt sick; sick that he even thought that about her, or he’d that even said it out loud.

Nick shook his head, and water droplets flew everywhere. “No, I don’t,” he said softly. “I think you’re the best nanny Theo’s ever had.”

She smiled sadly back, nodding. The ticking of the clock echoed around the empty house, making the gap between them into a wide, never ending chasm.

“And I didn’t mean what I said earlier. You’re free to date whomever you want. Ricardo Suarez included.”

Damn, he needed a drink, and fast. Spinning around, he made a beeline for the liquor cabinet in the living room. He’d hadn’t got drunk since before Theo was born. He’d never had the luxury, as a full time single working parent. With Theo out at Will’s there was no better time like the present to start.

Pouring himself a large shot, he knocked it back in one gulp. He grimaced as he poured himself another.

“Is that your grand plan? Drink yourself into a stupor till Theo gets home? Jeez and you have the nerve to shout at me about dating on my days off. At least I’m not getting drunk!” Her annoyed voice sounded behind him, doing nothing to help him along the road to drunk.

“At this rate, neither am I!” He wanted to shout at her, annoyed there was nothing he could do. Theo wasn’t here so she could go and date anyone she wanted and so could he. Even though the thought of calling up that actress who had slipped him her number hadn’t any appeal for him.

“Just what do you have against Ricardo Suarez, anyway? Did he steal your girl or something?” He looked back at her, not detecting any irony at all. He felt like replying ‘Not yet, he hasn’t’.

His hand tightened on the glass, frustrated at the direction his thoughts were going in. What was the matter with him … ? She wasn’t his girl. She was a free agent. That thought made him even more annoyed as she calmly sat down on the sofa, tucking her legs under her so she looked like a perched tropical bird of paradise.

“Drink?” he asked, shaking the glass at her.

“No, thanks. And don’t change the subject; you still haven’t answered my question.”

Placing the decanter down, he strode over to her, his feet leaving damp patches on the wooden flooring. Kneeling down before her, he was glad to see she didn’t pull away from him; her golden eyes darkening to a hazel as they locked with his.

“Do you know why I don’t like Suarez? Because he’s not good enough for you. That’s why.”

• • •

That was the best he had; that Suarez wasn’t good enough for her?

His breath was warm near her face and she could smell the lingering scent of the whiskey on his breath. He was too close for her sanity. Thankfully she recalled she’d seen a flash of navy under the towel, her panic at him being partially naked making her want to run to her room and lock the doors. Anything to get away from him and what she felt when she was near him.

Running her tongue against her suddenly dry lips, she caught him following the motion, his eyes moving up her face till suddenly he was looking at her, the heated gaze melting the glacial blue, turning it into the color of fresh spring rain.

“Who … who is good enough for me then?” she finally managed to croak out, resisting the urge to reach across him and pour herself a stiff drink.

“Me.”

Inhaling sharply at the one word answer, she was surprised she didn’t have a coughing fit. She was also glad she was sitting down, as her legs began to tremble under her.

“You? You are good enough for me … ” Rania repeated the statement back, waiting for him to tell her it was all one big joke. Because, of course, the question wasn’t “was he good enough for her,” but “was she good enough for him.” And she already knew the answer to that. A big fat no.