The Texas Billionaire's Bride / The Texas Bodyguard's Proposal: The Texas Billionaire's Bride. Crystal Green

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СКАЧАТЬ style="font-size:15px;">      Good heavens, Melanie thought, wishing she had a million more Barbie clothes to use as placating lures from this point on.

      After cleaning up herself, she went to the dining room, which was just as stark as the rest of the house, with a long table—an item Zane Foley seemed to favor for the distance it established between diners—and plain chairs and a sideboard. The only ornamentation, if you could call it that, was a bland chandelier, with frosted glass cups lending illumination.

      Livie took a seat at the long side of the table, and just as Melanie sat down opposite her, Mrs. Howe appeared through a door.

      It was only when the manager cleared her throat that Melanie noticed Livie’s saucered eyes that stared at her new nanny sitting at the main table.

       Oh.

      “Ms. Grandy,” Mrs. Howe said, “Livie will eat here. Why don’t you follow me?”

      Livie looked down at her table setting, and Melanie couldn’t read her expression.

      Without causing a scene, Melanie rose, went through the door with Mrs. Howe, but stopped the manager before they got too far.

      “I appreciate that there are certain ways you’ve done things around here,” Melanie said, “but I’d really like to be with Olivia tonight. She’s not resisting me as much as she did earlier, and if I could continue that streak…”

      Mrs. Howe’s face was unreadable. “That would be between Mr. Foley and you, Ms. Grandy. He’s the one who wants the help to eat in the kitchen.”

       Really now?

      “Well, I’m willing to answer to him for this,” Melanie said evenly, smiling at the manager.

      With a curious look, the woman left her alone.

      Truly alone, too, because when it would come time to answer to Zane Foley, it’d be all on Melanie.

      But, seriously—like she was going to leave poor Livie to eat by herself?

      She went back into the dining room, and when the girl looked up, her sad eyes softened a tad.

      Then she glanced back at her plate; but it was too late—because she’d already wrapped her tiny fingers around Melanie’s heart.

      She waited, not trusting herself to speak for a moment.

      Finally, when she’d gotten some composure, she said, “I like it better out here. It’s nice and quiet.”

      “Yes.” The girl peeked at Melanie.

      Melanie gave her a reassuring grin, and from the way Livie held back her own smile, she guessed that the child understood that her nanny had risked a spot of trouble just to eat with her.

      The door behind them opened again, and a young blond man with a scraggly beard stepped through with a table setting for Melanie. He was dressed in chef’s whites, so she assumed he was the cook.

      Without saying anything, he nodded to her, then winked.

      Approval. Thank goodness there was someone here who wasn’t giving her the near-silent treatment.

      Then he left, but only to bring out a well-balanced meal of meatloaf with broccoli, fruit cocktail and macaroni and cheese.

      Livie dug right in after the cook was gone, then slowed down when she saw Melanie’s are-we-at-the-zoo? expression.

      She swallowed. “I’m only eating fast because Mrs. Howe said I can play with my new present from Daddy after dinner and study time.”

      “Oh?”

      The girl nodded, a fork full of mac and cheese halfway to her mouth now. “An American Girl doll. Daddy sends one every week if I’m good.”

      Livie chowed down again, but Melanie didn’t touch her food yet. Her stomach roiled a bit at the thought of how Zane Foley couldn’t be bothered to visit his daughter, seemingly buying her off with gifts instead.

      And when Livie next spoke, she only confirmed Melanie’s heartsick suspicions.

      “I like the dolls,” she said softly, “but they’d be even better if he’d bring them to me.”

      Melanie held back a swell of emotion. This little girl needed the love and attention of the only parent she had left.

      Why couldn’t he see that?

      “I know what you mean, Olivia,” Melanie said, thinking of her own mom. “I know exactly what you mean.”

      The child didn’t look up from her plate, but her next words revealed everything, even if her tone was just as subtly guarded as it’d been earlier in the attic.

      “My name’s Livie.”

      Melanie swallowed back the tightness in her throat, then picked up her fork so they could eat their meal together.

      She only wished that Zane Foley could be here, too—for his daughter, of course.

      But when an unwelcome, low burn heated her belly, pooling down and down, Melanie admitted that maybe she also wanted him here for a different reason altogether.

      Chapter Four

      The days sped by with more dolls being delivered to Livie, more meals that Melanie took at the table with her charge and even more instructional hours for the girl.

      But to supplement those regular study sessions, Melanie also brought her love of dance into the playroom, where Livie had been allowing her nanny to slowly but surely spend more time.

      Still, out of all of those passing days, Zane Foley hadn’t paid a visit to Tall Oaks once, nor sent for Livie to come to Dallas.

      Not even one darn time.

      Oh, sure, there’d been phone calls to the little girl—about one every few days—but Melanie guessed they were more out of habit than a true need to connect with Livie, because each one left the child looking sadder than ever.

      Yet, this only encouraged Melanie to step up her “save Livie” campaign, paying the child as much attention as the girl was open to on any given day. She showed her that someone really did care, even if Livie turned away from Melanie at times, and let those stuffed animals that had protected the playroom on that first day speak for her.

      “They want you to leave them alone,” Livie would say sometimes. “They don’t need anyone to pretend they like them.”

      Little did she know that Melanie wasn’t pretending; so the newest nanny hung in there, doing her best to give Livie her all.

      She just wished she knew how to confront the problem of Zane Foley himself. How to talk some sense into him. How to make him see that he wasn’t doing Livie any favors by staying away.

      Melanie wanted to despise him, but then night would come, when the wind thumped branches against СКАЧАТЬ