Single with Children by Arlene James

Author:Arlene James
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Drug dealers, Nannies, Romance: Modern, Orphans, Single fathers, Contemporary, Fiction, Romance, Single-parent families, Governesses, Romance - Contemporary, General, Non-Classifiable, Fiction - Romance
Publisher: Harlequin Sales Corp (Mm)
Published: 1996-10-15T20:10:42.843000+00:00

“There’s a Miss Wilton here to see you, Adam.”

Her voice was smooth as silk and utterly devoid of emotion. He felt a flash of irritation, but then he looked up and caught a spasm of pain on her face. She mastered it quickly, lifting her chin. Nevertheless, he felt a surge of hope. He had wondered what her reaction would be when he made the appointment, intentionally arranging this interview where and when Laura was sure to be about. Now he knew. She didn’t want to go. No matter what she said, she didn’t want to go. Why, then, was she doing this? He pushed the question away, rising to meet the small, delicate, almost childlike woman who stood at Laura’s side. He put out a hand, sliding into cordiality. He gauged her age at about thirty, now that he got a closer look.

“Hello. I’m Adam Fortune. Please have a seat on the couch.”

The little woman nodded cheerfully and moved quickly to sit. Laura turned to go, but Adam stopped her. “No, Laura, stay. Since it’s your position that Miss Wilton is applying for, she may have a few questions for you.”

Laura flashed a desperate look over her shoulder, her dismay evident even as she drew herself up and stood her ground. “I—I’ll help if I can,” she said, unable to quite keep the tremor from her voice.

Miss Wilton seemed not to notice. She was busy tugging off her gloves and folding them together in her lap. “Well, there is just one question,” she said primly, “if you don’t mind.”

Laura cleared her throat. “Not at all.”

Miss Wilton cast a bright-eyed look at Adam that seemed to say she was embarrassed to speak in front of him, yet he had the distinct impression that she was not. “I was just wondering why you’re leaving,” Miss Wilton said.

Laura opened her mouth, but then she snapped it shut again and bowed her head, her facade of indifference crumbling. Adam’s heart lurched. He felt her pain as if it were his own. Oh, no, she did not want to go. Why, then, did she insist on this farce? At the moment, that question was secondary to the need to rescue her from her own stubbornness. He turned smoothly to Miss Wilton, engaging her attention.

“Miss Beaumont’s employment was always temporary,” he said. “I assure you that her leaving has nothing to do with dissatisfaction on either of our parts. It was prearranged.”

Miss Wilton seemed satisfied. “I suppose you’d like to see these before we go on,” she said, extracting an envelope from her purse and extending them toward him. She seemed totally oblivious of Laura’s distress, a fact that did not endear her to her prospective employer.

Adam took the envelope and pulled out several sheets of paper, which he quickly scanned. They were letters of reference, very glowing letters of reference. He pretended genuine interest, but his every sense was trained on Laura, who stood tensely by, her moroseness hanging over the room like a black cloud.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.