Marrying Mccabe. Fiona Brand

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СКАЧАТЬ McCabe’s hard face. ‘‘Promise?’’

      ‘‘Yeah,’’ McCabe said softly. ‘‘Promise.’’

      She sighed heavily. ‘‘Okay. We got a deal.’’

      McCabe hugged her, then set her on her feet before going down on his haunches. ‘‘Look after Grandma for me?’’

      Bunny heaved another sigh. ‘‘I s’pose.’’

      ‘‘And don’t forget to ring, otherwise I might sleep in and be late for work.’’

      She checked the tiny watch strapped to her wrist. ‘‘Okay. Seven ’clock. On the dot.’’

      McCabe’s mother, who had approached at an unhurried pace, came to a halt beside her son. McCabe made quick introductions before handing Elsa McCabe the suitcase, which was evidently packed with Bunny’s things.

      Minutes later they were heading back into suburbia.

      Roma glanced at the orange stain on his T-shirt, and decided to give conversation one more try. Anything was better than McCabe’s prickly silence. ‘‘That’s where the ice cream came from?’’

      He glanced at her, his gaze remote behind the dark lenses of his sunglasses. ‘‘Yeah. Bunny loves ice cream.’’

      ‘‘Is that her real name?’’

      For a moment Roma thought he wasn’t going to answer at all. His manner was definitely cool, withdrawn.

      ‘‘Her real name’s Eveline, a mouthful for a toddler. I called her honey, and she insisted that was her name, but she couldn’t say the ‘h.’ Bunny came out instead.’’

      The cool politeness of McCabe’s reply effectively slammed the door on any more questions about his daughter. His attitude said loud and clear that she was trespassing.

      Chapter 6

      Ben removed his sunglasses as he turned into the underground car park of the Lombard Hotel. The huge luxury hotel and casino complex occupied a piece of prime real estate in downtown Auckland, just spitting distance from the bustling waterfront.

      He killed the engine, leaned back in his seat and considered his passenger. She was slumped against the door, her head canted at an uncomfortable angle, hair tousled, her mouth even softer in sleep. For the first time he noticed the shadows beneath her eyes. She looked exhausted.

      He should have offered her his shoulder. If it had been any other woman, he would have. He was naturally protective, and he liked looking after women. He loved their soft skin and silky hair, the graceful things they did with their hands, all the differences that made them female. The problem was, Roma Lombard was too tempting. If she’d slept on his shoulder, he would have been too aware of her.

      He was going to have to wake her, and he didn’t want to; she needed to sleep. An unexpected wave of tenderness took him by surprise, and he drew back from it, instantly wary. He’d already gotten way too close to his client; he wasn’t about to step any closer if he could help it. Especially not after he’d turned around and seen Bunny holding a strand of her hair and looking at her as if she were a fairy princess out of one of her books. They’d looked like mother and daughter, and warning bells had gone off inside him.

      He never brought women home to Bunny, because she’d made it clear she wanted a mother and Ben didn’t want her fixating on a woman who might never fill the job. She’d had enough instability in her life; he would be damned if he’d introduce any more. When he’d finally gotten full custody just months ago, he’d vowed to do all he could to make up for the upheaval of the marriage split and give her a settled childhood.

      He called Roma’s name. When she didn’t respond, he reached out and shook her lightly. She stirred but didn’t waken. Reluctantly, he gripped her shoulder again, noting the sleek firmness of muscle beneath his hand, and shook a bit harder.

      Roma came out of sleep fast, the abrupt transition from a deep, fathomless slumber to alarmed wakefulness making her heart pound and her breath catch in her throat. For a raw moment she was trapped in a disorienting limbo, caught between dream and reality, the darkness of her surroundings making fear rise in her throat, until she recognised the dim, bunker-like surrounds of the hotel’s underground car park.

      ‘‘You okay?’’

      McCabe’s dark, clipped voice brought her head up with a jerk. Pain shafted up her neck and made the tender spot where she’d hit her head on the sidewalk outside the cinema throb. She blinked and rubbed at her eyes, gradually coming to grips with the embarrassing knowledge that she had fallen asleep while McCabe had been driving and had probably been asleep for a good half hour in his presence. She massaged her neck, tested the kink there with a turn of her head, then reluctantly glanced at the big grim man sitting beside her. ‘‘Fine. Just a little…startled.’’

      McCabe regarded her for a moment longer, giving her the impression that he was going to say something more; then he climbed out of the truck and walked around to the rear to get her case.

      They picked up the keys from reception and took the lift up to the Lombard family suite. McCabe dropped her bag just inside the door, did a quick tour of the rooms, then came back into the main lounge area.

      Roma had already done her own tour of the room she wanted—one of the big airy double rooms with bifold doors that opened out onto a sun-dappled terrace. It was the room she always had when she could grab it. Of course, that depended on how many of her family were in residence. Sometimes the place was a zoo and she’d had to fight for a single bed in the smallest room.

      McCabe strolled into the lounge and motioned to one of the comfortable leather couches grouped around a coffee table. ‘‘I know you probably want to take a nap, but before you do that, we need to talk.’’

      Roma’s stomach tightened at the curtness of McCabe’s tone, and the fact that she had to share the suite with a man who was little more than a stranger for the next few days hit her forcibly. She had only ever been in this situation with a bodyguard a couple of times, and she couldn’t be comfortable with the necessity. Usually there was family around to act as a buffer against the reality of around-the-clock protection.

      She sat down on one of the big, soft hide couches that dominated the lounge and mentally braced herself for McCabe’s list of rules. Gray had said the security would be discreet, but that meant to outside observers only—it had nothing to do with the impact the protection would have on her own life.

      McCabe perched on the arm of the couch directly opposite. ‘‘I want to know your version of what happened with the shooting.’’

      For a moment Roma’s mind went blank, and she wondered if she’d heard right. This wasn’t the discussion she had expected.

      ‘‘I gave my version to the police. All the relevant facts are in the report Gray gave you.’’

      ‘‘I know the facts,’’ he said calmly. ‘‘What I want from you are the things you might not have told the police.’’ His gaze fastened on hers, dark and still, giving the impression of utter coldness. ‘‘Were you scared when it happened?’’

      ‘‘What do you think?’’ she demanded quietly. ‘‘Lewis was hurt, and there was the possibility of a second СКАЧАТЬ