The Millionaire's Convenient Bride by Catherine George

Author:Catherine George [George, Catherine]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2012-04-01T09:21:07+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

THE silence which followed this statement grew too long for comfort. Hester drained her coffee cup and set it down, then refilled it. ‘More for you?’ she asked politely.

‘Thank you. So tell me. Were you annoyed?’ Connah said bluntly.

‘Surprised, not annoyed.’ She shrugged as she poured his coffee. ‘You don’t strike me as someone who bandies meaningless endearments about, so I assumed you had a practical reason.’

‘You assumed right.’ Connah leaned back in his chair, watching her, his long legs crossed at the ankles. ‘I didn’t like the way Luigi Martinelli was looking at you.’

Hester stared at him blankly. ‘How was he looking at me?’

‘You were wearing a few bits of green silk and a transparent shirt. How do you think he was looking at you? He’s a man, for God’s sake, and Italian at that.’

Hester was glad the covering darkness hid the rush of indignant colour in her face. ‘I would remind you that I was not expecting a stranger to appear in the garden when Lowri coaxed me to wear the bikini.’ Her chin lifted. ‘Don’t worry, it won’t happen again!’

‘Pity. That green colour looks spectacular against your tan. No wonder Luigi couldn’t take his eyes off you. But you won’t have any trouble from him,’ Connah added with satisfaction. ‘He knows the rules.’

‘Which are?’ she demanded.

‘No mention was made of your official role in the household so now, naturally, he thinks the role is more personal—’

‘Than the one I’m paid for,’ she said stonily.

‘Are you saying you’d have welcomed Luigi’s attentions?’

She glared at him. ‘Certainly not. He’s a total stranger, also married. You mentioned his wife, remember.’

‘Mainly because he’d rather forget he has one,’ said Connah, shrugging. ‘Luigi possesses a meaningless title but a very old name and impeccable lineage. Sophia inherited a pile of money from her wheeler-dealer Papa. She wanted Luigi’s aristocratic pedigree and he needed her cash, which just about sums up the relationship, according to Jay Anderson. Since the birth of their son, they lead separate lives.’

‘How sad.’

He shot her a look. ‘You, I assume, would only marry for love.’

Hester was silenced for a moment. ‘The subject has never really come up,’ she said at last, ‘but if it did, respect and rapport would be my priorities. Loving someone to desperation is not for me.’

‘But you were willing to spend a holiday in the South of France with the actor.’

Hester nodded serenely. ‘The offer was too tempting to turn down.’

‘Then I gave you the chance of one in Tuscany instead. And there was no backing out of this one at the last minute,’ he added.

‘But that’s different,’ she protested.

‘Why?’

‘It’s my job. I’m very grateful you asked me to come here with you and Lowri, of course, but you’re paying me to work for you wherever we are.’

‘A very cold-blooded way to look at it,’ he said morosely and shot her a look she didn’t care for. ‘If the trip to France had come off, would you have shared bed as well as board with your Romeo?’

Hester stood up and put the cups on the coffee tray.

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.