This would not become a trend. He wasn’t going to be settling down to cosy evenings in, chatting about this, that and nothing in particular, simply because she happened to be temporarily living with him.
He wasn’t going to forget that she was there for a very specific reason.
He abruptly relegated that brief lapse to the history books. ‘Naturally, you’ll want to return to your home to see your parents in your free time. In which case, you can bring as much or as little as you think you’ll need when you move in on Monday...’
Sophie reddened. For a few seconds, she appeared lost for words, struggling to find some kind of coherent response.
‘I...no, I don’t live with my parents.’ She glanced away, as though waiting for him to pick up the thread of the conversation and move on to something else, but he didn’t. His eyes bored with laser intensity into her as he waited for her to speak.
‘I... Actually, my family home is in the process of being sold...so...’
‘When?’
‘When what?’
‘When are you due to move out?’
‘I... The new occupants will be moving in in a few weeks’ time.’ She rubbed her temples and appeared startled when he reached across the table and brushed her wrist with his finger.
‘Are you all right, Sophie?’
‘Of course!’ She smiled brightly.
‘If you’ve always lived in the family home then it would be upsetting to think of moving house.’ He looked at her, expression shuttered, noting the way she couldn’t meet his eyes. The smile was bright. The eyes were telling a different story.
‘These things happen,’ she said stiffly.
She finally looked at him and her violet eyes were defiant. Niccolo appreciated her stubborn refusal to pour her heart out. There was a story there, but she had no intention of telling it. She had her boundaries and, for a man who had his, that was something to be respected.
‘They do,’ he murmured smoothly and called for the bill. ‘My driver can collect you on Monday along with whatever possessions you want to bring with you for the duration of your contract.’
‘No! It’s fine. I can always return if I need more stuff,’ she expanded, evading his searching gaze.
‘In that case...’ Bill paid, Niccolo began rising to his feet and Sophie hurriedly followed suit, reaching down for her backpack and scooping up all the pamphlets and brochures still on the table. ‘Like I said, my PA will be in touch with all the details, and I look forward to seeing you next week.’ He held out his hand to shake hers and a jolt of electric charge shot through him, as powerful as though he’d suddenly been plugged into a live socket.
CHAPTER THREE
SOPHIEREALISEDSEVERALthings very quickly the following Monday when she showed up for duty promptly at eight a.m. wheeling her suitcase behind her and burdened by an assortment of various other bags.
The first was that she wouldn’t be popping back to the family home on a regular basis. Of course, she would return once every few days to check the post, but, since nearly all the companies she was dealing with now had her email address, physical bills through the door were scant. The truth was, the second she shut that front door behind her, turning around for one last look at the pretty Georgian edifice that had been the bedrock of her entire life, she had felt a sense of release.
With military efficiency, the contract Niccolo had mentioned had been in her message box within two hours of her leaving the wine bar, and the stipulated duration of her employment would be a month, on an eye-wateringly generous pay package.
A month away from being in the family home, with its sad reminders of better times and memories of how much love she had known within those walls, had seemed like manna from heaven.
Any uncertainties she had entertained over the weekend about Niccolo and his peculiar, unwelcome effect on her had dissipated, and by the time she had lugged her case to the front door of his London mansion she had convinced herself that this month away would mark a turning point in her life.
On that optimistic note, she had been dismayed to find that her glib assumption that he couldn’t possibly be as disturbing as she had originally thought was way off target.
When he had answered the door the breath left her body in a whoosh and she momentarily lost all power of speech.
He was taller than she’d recalled, sexier than she’d remembered, and as much of a challenge as she’d sincerely hoped he wouldn’t be.
But she’d swallowed back her unwelcome response, allowed him to carry her cases and various bags in, somehow managing to reply when he’d asked her, with amusement, whether she hadn’t found the journey on public transport a little tedious with so much stuff.
He had been scrupulously polite as he’d shown her to her room, a word which did no justice to the sweeping suite which would be her home from home for the next few weeks.
Thank goodness for Annalise, who had hopped along with them, an unwitting chaperone keeping nerves at bay and allowing her to have something else to focus on—though not even that little hand slipped into hers could distract from Niccolo’s overwhelming presence.