Шантель Шоу – Hired: Mistress: Wanted: Mistress and Mother / His Private Mistress / The Millionaire's Secret Mistress (страница 4)

‘Two,’ Hugh said standing up, and pulling out a handkerchief, dabbing at his forehead for a moment.

‘Are you OK,’ Matilda checked, concerned at the slightly grey tinge to his face.

‘I’ll be fine,’ Hugh replied. ‘I’ve just been a bit off colour recently. She’s two,’ he continued, clearly wanting to change the subject. ‘It was as actually Alex that I was hoping to talk to you about.’

‘I thought it was a job…’ Her voice trailed off, both of their gazes drifting towards the little girl, still standing there motionless. But her face was lit up with a huge smile, utterly entranced at the sight before her though still she didn’t join in, she still stood apart, and with a stab of regret Matilda almost guessed what was coming next.

‘She’s been having some problems,’ Hugh said, his voice thick with emotion. ‘She was involved in a car accident over a year ago and though initially she appeared unharmed, gradually she’s regressed, just retreated really. She has the most appalling tantrums and outbursts followed by days of silence—the doctors are starting to say that she may be autistic. My wife Katrina and I are frantic…’

‘Naturally.’ Matilda gave a sympathetic smile, genuinely sorry to hear all Hugh was going through. He was a kind, gentle, friendly man, and even though they’d chatted at length over the last few months, he’d never given so much of a hint as to the problems in his personal life. But, then again, Matilda thought with a sigh, neither had she.

‘I told my son-in-law last night that my wife and I would like to do this for Alex as a gift. There’s a small gated area at the back of his property that I’m sure would be perfect for something like this—not on such a grand scale, of course, just somewhere that doesn’t have rocks and walls and a pool…’

‘Somewhere safe,’ Matilda volunteered.

‘Exactly.’ Hugh gave a relieved nod. ‘Somewhere she can’t fall and hurt herself, somewhere she can run around unhindered or just sit and look at something beautiful. Look, I know you’re booked up solidly for the next few months, but if one of the jobs gets cancelled could you bear me in mind? I hate to put pressure on you, Matilda, but I saw the joy in the children’s faces when they saw the garden today. And if it can help Alex…’ His voice trailed off and Matilda knew he wasn’t attempting to gain her sympathy, Hugh would never do that. ‘My son-in-law thinks that it’s just a waste of time, that it isn’t gong to help a bit, but at the very least Alex would have a garden that’s safe and gives her some pleasure. I’m sure I’ll be able to talk him around. At the end of the day he adores Alex—he’d do anything to help her.’

Matilda didn’t know what to say—her diary was fill to burst with smart mews townhouses all wanting the inevitable low-maintenance, high-impact garden—but here was the man who had given her the head start, given her this opportunity. And more importantly, Matilda thought, her eyes lingering on Alex, here was a little girl who deserved all the help she could get. Her mind was working overtime—she could almost see the lazy couple of weeks’ holiday she’d had planned before plunging into her next job slipping away out of her grasp as she took a deep breath and gave a small smile.

‘Hugh, I’d need to get some details and then I’d need to actually see the site before I commit, but I have a couple of weeks off before I start on my next job, and I’m on pretty good terms with a few people. If I called in a few favours maybe I could do it for you. Where does Alex live?’

‘Mount Eliza.’ Hugh saw her give a small grimace. It had nothing to do with the location—Mount Eliza was a stunning, exclusive location overlooking Port Phillip Bay—but the distance from the city meant that it would cut down Matilda’s working day considerably. ‘It was their holiday residence before the accident, but since then…Look, would it make it easier if you stayed there? There’s plenty of room.’

‘I don’t think I’d be able to do it otherwise,’ Matilda admitted. ‘I’ll have workers arriving at the crack of dawn and I’m going to need to be there to meet them and show them what I need done.’

‘It won’t be a problem,’ Hugh assured her, and after a moment of deep thought Matilda gave a small nod and then followed it up with a more definite one.

‘I’d be happy to do it.’

‘You mean it?’

‘Of course.’ Matilda smiled more widely now, Hugh’s obvious delight making her spur-of-the-moment choice easily the right one.

‘I feel awful that you won’t even get a break.’

‘That’s what being in business is all about apparently.’ Matilda shrugged her shoulders. ‘Anyway, I’m sure lean times will come—it won’t stay spring for ever and anyway it mightn’t be such a big job. I’d be glad to do it, Hugh, but I do need a few more details from you, and you need to get your son-in-law’s permission—I can’t go digging up his land and planting things if he doesn’t want me there in the first place. Now, I need to know the size of the land, any existing structures…’ Matilda gave in as yet another group was making its way over, and Hugh’s secretary tapped him on the arm to take an important phone call.

‘It’s impossible to discuss it here.’ Hugh gave an apologetic smile. ‘And it’s probably inappropriate. You should be enjoying the celebrations—perhaps we could do it over dinner tonight. I’ll see if my son-in-law can come along—I’m sure once he hears first hand about it he’ll be more enthusiastic. Actually, there he is—I’ll go and run it by him now.’

‘Good idea,’ Matilda agreed, crouching down again to play with Alex, her head turning to where Hugh was waving. But the smile died on her face as again she found herself staring at the man who had taken up so much of her mental energy today—watching as he walked around the water feature, a frown on his face as he watched her interact with his daughter.

‘Dante!’ Clearly not picking up on the tension, Hugh called him over, but Dante didn’t acknowledge either of them, his haughty expression only softening when Matilda stepped back, his features softer now as he eyed his daughter. Matilda felt a curious lump swell in her throat as, with infinite tenderness, he knelt down beside Alex, something welling within as he spoke gently to his daughter.

‘I’ll have a word with Dante and make a booking for tonight, then,’ Hugh checked hopefully—too pleased to notice Matilda’s stunned expression. The most she could manage was the briefest of nods as realisation started to dawn.

She’d barely managed two minutes in the lift with him and now she was about to be his house guest!

He’s a husband and father, Matilda reminded herself firmly, calming herself down a touch, almost convincing herself she’d imagined the undercurrents that had sizzled between them.

And even if she hadn’t misread things, even if there was an attraction between them, he was a married man and she wouldn’t forget it for a single moment!

CHAPTER TWO

SHE didn’t want to do this.

Walking towards the restaurant, Matilda was tempted to turn on her stilleto heels and run. She hated with a passion the formalities that preceded a garden makeover, looking at plans, talking figures, time-frames—and the fact she hadn’t even seen the garden made this meeting a complete time-waster. But, Matilda was quickly realizing, this type of thing was becoming more and more frequent. As her business took off, gone were the days where she rolled up on a doorstep in her beloved Blundstone boots, accepted a coffee if she was lucky enough to be offered one and drew a comprehensive sketch of her plans for the owners, along with a quote for her services—only to spend the next few days chewing her nails and wondering if they’d call, worrying if perhaps she’d charged too much or, worse, seriously underquoted and would have to make up the difference herself.

Now her initial meetings took place in people’s offices or restaurants, and even if she was lucky enough to be invited into their homes, Matilda had quickly learnt that her new clientele expected a smart, efficient professional for that first important encounter.

But it wasn’t just the formalities that were causing butterflies this evening. Ducking into the shadowy retreat of a large pillar beside the restaurant, Matilda stopped for a moment, rummaged in her bag and pulled out a small mirror. She touched up her lipstick and fiddled with her hair for a second, acknowledging the real reason for anxiety tonight.

Facing Dante.

Even his name made her stomach ball into a knot of tension. She’d wanted him to remain nameless—for that brief, scorching but utterly one-sided encounter to be left at that—to somehow push him to the back of her mind and completely forget about him.

And now she was going to be working for him!

Maybe this dinner was exactly what she needed, Matilda consoled herself, peeling herself from the pillar ready to walk the short distance that remained to the restaurant. Maybe a night in his arrogant, obnoxious, pompous company would purge whatever it was that had coursed through her system since she’d laid eyes on him, and anyway, Matilda reassured herself, Hugh was going to be there, too.