The Billionaire Boss's Innocent Bride by Lindsay Armstrong

Author:Lindsay Armstrong [Armstrong, Lindsay]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ePub Bud (www.epubbud.com)
Published: 2012-01-06T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIX

‘AS A nanny?’ Alex stared at Max, totally bemused.

‘As my PA, which may—’ he looked humorous ‘—cover mainly child-minding duties over the near future, but from then on will have a much broader scope.’

‘I don’t understand.’

He sat forward. ‘These negotiations are going to be successful, Alex—’

‘I thought you said there was some hard bargaining—and so on?’

‘There is, but I wouldn’t have undertaken them if I hadn’t done my homework and if I hadn’t thought they’d succeed.’ For a moment the tough, successful high-flier he was was very evident in the set of his face. Then he relaxed and continued, ‘Once this is over, I’ll be spending quite a bit of time going backwards and forwards to China so a permanent interpreter, as well as a quick wit, will be an asset to me.’

Alex’s eyes nearly fell out on stalks. ‘M-me?’ she hazarded raggedly. He looked amused as he nodded. ‘What’s so surprising about that?’

She blinked a couple of times. ‘It…I…I just didn’t expect it.’

‘You’d be part of the household,’ he went on and took particular stock of her reaction to that, but he couldn’t decide if it was shock or relief he saw in her eyes.

‘Not only because of Nicky, but because I’ll be spending a lot more time down here so—it would kill two birds with one stone,’ he added.

She took a breath. ‘But Nicky will be going back to his mother. Or—won’t he?’ she asked experimentally.

Max Goodwin took his time about replying and he looked entirely inscrutable at the same time. ‘His mother rang last night, it so happens. Her mother’s operation was a success but she needs a couple more days with her. Until then negotiations have been put on hold, but Nicky will spend time with me whatever happens.’

‘How long would you want me for?’ Alex asked into the silence that had developed after his last words.

He smiled faintly. ‘For as long as you wanted to stay with me.’ He paused, then named a remuneration package that made Alex blink at its generosity. All the same she licked her lips and tried to concentrate on the other aspects of this development. ‘Does this have anything to do with what happened last night?’

she queried straightly, at last.

Max Goodwin rubbed his jaw and wondered what she’d say if he told her that it did. That he now not only felt responsible for a six-year-old son he’d just met, but a girl who suffered panic attacks, a girl, alone in the world, he simply couldn’t bring himself to abandon.

And he wondered what she’d say if he told her that he’d firmly convinced himself that once he got back on a professional footing with her—and since he was not going to receive any encouragement to do otherwise—he would kill stone-dead any passing attraction to her. That was what it had to be anyway.

Of course what would be the wisest thing to do, in other circumstances, would be simply to cut the connection, but he couldn’t do it—not after what he’d seen last night.

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