Business Arrangement Bride. Jessica Hart

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СКАЧАТЬ she said. ‘It’s you.’

      Her heart had lurched violently at the sight of him, leaving her breathless and a little shaken. Tyler Watts was the last person she had expected to see this morning.

      He looked as grim as ever and his massive presence was overwhelming on the cramped landing. Mary was suddenly very conscious of the fact that her skirt was creased, her hair unwashed and she hadn’t even had time to put on any lipstick.

      She had overslept after a broken night and had fallen into yesterday’s clothes as she hurried to get Bea ready for the day. Normally her mother would look after her, but Virginia was preoccupied with her coming meeting with Bill. Bea wasn’t sleeping well at the moment and Mary would have been exhausted even if she hadn’t had her own worries to keep her awake long after she had got the baby back to sleep.

      She had spent half the night replaying that conversation with Tyler and wishing that she hadn’t lost her temper. His attempt at blackmail had been outrageous, of course, but it wasn’t as if he had been trying to force her into white slavery, was it? All he wanted was a bit of coaching.

      Would a few tips on how to make a relationship work have been so hard to do? Mary asked herself. It was only what she would discuss over a bottle of wine with her girlfriends, after all. They were all relationship experts now. And, in return, she could have had an introduction to Steven Halliday and a chance at a contract that would save her agency.

      But no, she had had to get all righteous and uppity because he unnerved her. The way he was unnerving her now.

      ‘What are you doing here?’ she demanded rudely.

      Tyler was looking from her to Bea. ‘You’ve got a baby.’

      ‘My, he’s a quick one.’ Bea got very heavy after three flights of stairs and Mary shifted her to her other hip. ‘We can’t fool him, can we, Bea?’

      ‘Is she yours?’

      ‘She is, and before you ask, no, her father’s not around.’

      Mary pulled her bag round and fished one-handedly for the key. Having already accused him of being a bully, a blackmailer and being emotionally stunted, it seemed a bit late to try sucking up to him, and she was too tired and fed up with her whole situation to make an effort any more.

      ‘What do you want?’

      ‘To see you,’ he said and then looked at his watch. It was half past nine. ‘Do you always start work this late?’ he asked disapprovingly. In Tyler’s world, everyone was at their desks at eight o’clock on the dot, and he was probably at his even earlier.

      ‘No, not always,’ said Mary, still searching for the key. ‘It’s been one of those mornings.’

      Where was that key? She sucked in her breath with frustration. Of course, she hadn’t had time to transfer the contents to a different bag so she was still carrying the one that had broken so inopportunely last night, and the muddle at the bottom was even worse than usual. She had managed to knot the broken strap together, but it hardly made for a professional image.

      Still, it was too late for that.

      This was hopeless, thought Mary, rummaging fruitlessly. She glanced at Tyler, still waiting for her to open the door. Her unwelcoming greeting didn’t seem to have put him off, but then she guessed he was a man who didn’t go until he had said what he was going to say.

      ‘Look, would you mind holding her a moment?’ she said, handing Bea over to him before he had a chance to answer. ‘I’ll just find my key.’

      Appalled, Tyler found himself holding the baby, his arms extended stiffly so that she dangled from his hands. He stared at her nervously and the baby stared back with round eyes that were exactly the same grey as her mother’s.

      ‘Ah…here it is.’ Mary produced the key from the depths of her bag and inserted it in the lock. She opened the door on to a room that was surprisingly light as the autumn sunshine poured through the two windows set into the sloping roof, and she waved a hand with a trace of sarcasm. ‘Come into my luxury penthouse,’ she said.

      CHAPTER THREE

      TYLER was left literally holding the baby as Mary went in. He followed hastily and stood waiting for her to take it back, but instead she went over to the desk and switched on the computer.

      ‘Er…Mary?’ he said to remind her and she glanced up from her keyboard.

      Good God, you’d think the man had never held a baby before! Mary smothered a smile. She had never seen anyone look so awkward with a small child. He was holding Bea at arm’s length and his expression, normally so grim, was distinctly alarmed.

      Who would have thought that a baby was all it took to put the ferocious Tyler Watts at a disadvantage? Pity she hadn’t taken Bea with her last night. Things might have been very different.

      As Mary watched, the alarm changed to horror as Bea’s little face crumpled and, terrified that she was going to start crying, Tyler jiggled her up and down a bit. To his surprise, the baby paused, as if unsure how to react. For a breathless moment she looked extremely dubious and it was touch and go until, just as Tyler was convinced that she was going to bawl after all, she dissolved into a gummy smile.

      Absurdly flattered, Tyler jiggled her up and down some more. Apparently deciding that this was a good game, Bea gurgled triumphantly. ‘Ga!’ she shouted, smiling, and, succumbing to that irresistible baby charm, Tyler smiled back.

      Mary froze over her keyboard. She had never seen him smile before and the effect was startling, to say the least, lightening the grim lines of his face and making him look younger and more approachable.

      And disturbingly attractive.

      Swallowing, Mary straightened. She had wondered what he would look like if he smiled, and now she knew. Amazing what a mere crease of the cheek could do. Watching him smile was making her feel quite…unsettled. She wasn’t sure it wasn’t easier to deal with the grimly formidable Tyler than a Tyler who smiled like that.

      ‘Coffee?’ she asked in a bright voice and, reminded of her presence, Tyler stopped smiling abruptly. He flushed slightly, embarrassed at having been caught out playing with the baby.

      ‘Thank you,’ he said curtly, reverting to type.

      Mary went over to fill up the kettle and tried not to feel put out that he would smile at Bea but not at her. She knew that he could do it now, so there was no excuse.

      While the kettle boiled, she spread a rug on the floor and retrieved Bea from Tyler at last. The brush of their hands as he passed the baby back made her nerves leap alarmingly and she busied herself settling Bea on the rug and finding some toys for her to play with, and willing the heightened colour in her cheeks to fade.

      ‘Sit down,’ she said to Tyler, but without meeting his eye. ‘I won’t be a minute.’

      Tyler nodded, but chose to walk around the room instead. It was very simply decorated in cream and the furniture she had chosen was simple and unfussy. Clearly a start-up operation, he thought.

      He made himself think about the likely overheads of a business this size and not about the СКАЧАТЬ