THE CARETAKERS (The Duty Bound Duet #2) by Sydney Jamesson

THE CARETAKERS (The Duty Bound Duet #2) by Sydney Jamesson

Author:Sydney Jamesson [Jamesson, Sydney]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Amazon
Published: 2020-08-24T18:30:00+00:00


Once we ate our food, Robert and I left them to their mound of shellfish, bottle of wine and unabashed banter. We returned to the bar and sat on real chairs facing each other, but I couldn’t settle.

“Oh, for God’s sake, Emily, stop looking back. They’re having a good time…”

“I know, that’s what I’m afraid of.” I topped up my glass with more wine.

“Why? Because his CV doesn’t have Oxford on it? Believe me, he could run rings around that lot in and out of the classroom. You don’t get to be a senior SAS Officer by being the fastest gun in the west.”

I hated being put in my place. “I know that, but don’t you see what he’s doing?”

Robert sighed. “No. What is he doing?”

“He’s, he’s wooing her.”

Robert almost choked on his beer. “What is this, a Jane Austen novel?” He wiped his beard with a napkin. “They get on. Look at them. When did you last see her smiling like that?”

Rita was smiling and laughing.

“He likes her.”

I shrugged it off. He wasn’t telling me anything I didn’t already know.

“What she’s been through is bound to take its toll. You’ve seen how she’s been; not wanting to go out, unsure of herself…”

“She booked the venue and she’s here, isn’t she? She’s getting better…”

“And she’ll get better a whole lot quicker with someone like him.” He shook his head. “How many more times do I have to tell you? Rufus is one of the good guys.”

“Oh really?” I scoffed. “Didn’t his wife divorce him?”

“No. She didn’t. He divorced her because he could see how unhappy she was raising his daughter alone. He was away for four months out of six, more when there were skirmishes going on somewhere. Him and his ex-wife are still friends.”

Knowing that did ease my anxiety a little. I focused all my attention on Robert. “So, did you set this up?”

“What?” An eyebrow twitched signalling his surprise. “You think I’m that devious?” The air stilled between us.

“Of course not, but I think you do things with good intentions and then…”

He laughed. “To be honest, I’m not socially adept enough to be a matchmaker.” We turned to watch them sharing dessert; two spoons and an enormous slice of cheesecake. Rita was giving smiles away like candy and Rufus was gleefully eating them up. “Without Rufus we’ll be pissing in the wind, Emily. You know that.”

I nodded. “I suppose you’re right. But Rita wasn’t part of the arrangement.”

“She never was. You’re forgetting that we’re all on the same side here.” He took a gulp of beer. “Besides, she’s enjoying the attention. Rita’s a big girl and you should give her some credit, Emily.”

“I do…”

He gave me a disbelieving look.

“Okay, okay. I hear what you’re saying.” I glanced back for the last time to see Rufus enraptured, elbow on the table, chin resting on his palm, listening to Rita, barely blinking. I had no idea what it was she was telling him; it could have been about Mathematics, her



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