The Aristocrat and the Single Mom Read online

  ‘No.’

  That made Felice his only close relative. It went some way to explaining his concern.

  ‘May I call you Simon?’

  He smiled again. The grey of his eyes lightened. ‘Please.’

  Even though she was sitting, her knees still wobbled. ‘Simon, why were you worried about Felice?’

  ‘I haven’t heard from her in over two months.’ He raked a hand back over his hair. ‘And her mobile isn’t working.’

  ‘It took a dunk in the bay,’ Kate said carefully. ‘Occupational hazard, I’m afraid.’ She shrugged, trying to appear casual, but her mind raced. Why hadn’t Felice contacted him? Why hadn’t Felice told him about her marriage to Danny?

  And what on earth was Kate supposed to do about it?

  Not that Danny and Felice had told anyone about their marriage yet. They’d only told Kate because they’d wanted time off. She could understand them wanting to hug their secret close to their chests for a bit and enjoy a honeymoon idyll, but surely Felice could’ve found the time to let her only brother know?

  ‘If…if you knew Felice was working for me, why didn’t you give me a call or email me?’ She could’ve allayed his worry and put his mind at rest in an instant.

  He lifted his chin. His eyes glittered. ‘I want to see Felice in the flesh. I want to see for myself that she’s okay and not in any trouble.’

  In trouble? Felice was twenty-two. Old enough to make her own decisions. Old enough to make her own mistakes. Old enough to look after herself.

  ‘She’s not in any kind of trouble.’

  He ignored that. ‘When can I see her?’

  Kate’s office suddenly shrank. Perhaps it was all that bristling over-protectiveness emanating from the seventh Lord of Holm that had the walls closing in on her, making him loom larger in her field of vision, making her notice the shape of his lean lips. Lips pressed tightly together, but it didn’t stop her from imagining those lips on hers and…

  Fresh air and food, that was what she needed, and the warmth of the sun on her shoulders. ‘C’mon.’ She rose and started for the door.

  Simon followed her, watching closely as she locked the door behind them. ‘Are you going to take me to her?’ he asked, staring at her as if he couldn’t believe it would be that easy.

  ‘I’m taking you for coffee.’ Of course it wasn’t that easy.

  ‘I don’t want coffee!’

  Up this close, he smelt like wood shavings and cooler climes. She held her breath and reminded herself about the warmth of the sun—it’d help melt any ridiculous fantasies. ‘But I do.’

  He glared at her for a moment, then he visibly shook himself, his eyes cleared and he smiled. ‘And you don’t know me from Adam.’

  She couldn’t believe how quickly he could change from indignant prickliness to this…this melt a girl with his yumminess. She couldn’t help but smile back. ‘That’s right.’

  The problem was, she felt as if she did know him—a whole lot better than any Adam she’d ever met. Which was nonsense…and dangerous. It should frighten her off, but it didn’t.

  Kate’s office was located in a small arcade. She led Simon down the tunnel of shop fronts to the bright February sunlight pouring in at one end, then turned right into Kelly’s café.

  ‘Flat white, cappuccino, latte…espresso?’ she asked.

  ‘Whatever.’

  His voice drifted to her, slow and bemused. She glanced around and found him staring out at the view. She suppressed a grin. On a day like this, with the sun sparkling off the water in a thousand different points of light and the white hulls of the yachts at anchor in the marina gleaming, the sand golden and the sky blue, the bay looked spectacular. Couple it with the sounds of holidaymakers and the squawking of seagulls, the smell of salt and coconut oil, and most people were lost.

  The seventh Lord of Holm was definitely lost.

  ‘Would you like something to eat? A muffin?’ Her stomach rumbled its approval. She hadn’t had time for breakfast this morning, and Kelly’s triple-choc muffins were to die for.

  ‘No, thank you.’ He didn’t glance away from the view.

  She wasn’t eating if he wasn’t. With her luck, she’d end up with chocolate muffin all over her face and that so wasn’t the look she was after.

  ‘Two flat whites, please,’ she said to the waiting Kelly. ‘In mugs.’

  ‘Settling into your office, hon?’

  ‘It’s a mess.’ She fished around in her pocket for change. ‘I don’t think I’ll ever find anything ever again.’

  ‘And when she does,’ Simon said, snapping back around to the counter and holding out a twenty-dollar note to Kelly before Kate could free her hand from her pocket, ‘she kisses it in gratitude.’ He winked. ‘That kind of behaviour can have a strange effect on a guy. She needs to be more careful.’

  Kelly laughed. So did Kate—in complete and utter surprise. Not to mention delight. ‘If I’d known the sun would have such a beneficial effect on your mood I’d have dragged you out here ten minutes ago.’ But then she had visions of kissing Simon with a whole lot more fervour than she’d kissed her missing file of receipts and she started burning up from the inside out.

  ‘Kelly,’ she said hastily, ‘this is Felice’s brother, Simon.’

  ‘Nice to meet any family of Felice’s.’ Kelly stared at him in open curiosity. ‘Felice was the hit of the summer.’ Then she winked at Kate. ‘You going to put him to work on your boat?’

  Kate cocked her head to one side and pretended to consider it. ‘He’s got arms that look like they could hold a boat steady.’

  ‘He’s got arms that look like they could hold a whole lot more than that, hon.’

  Simon laughed.

  Kate’s imagination supplied her with more images than she knew what to do with. Heat blazed through her and she couldn’t think of a single comeback.

  Kelly took pity on her. ‘Go and find yourselves a table. I’ll bring the coffees out when they’re ready.’

  ‘Thanks, Kelly.’

  Kate chose a table outside in the shade with a magnificent view of the bay, but it didn’t cool the heat circling through her. She tried to remember the last time she’d been on a date.

  She had to remind herself that this wasn’t a date.

  Back to business. ‘Are you and Felice close?’

  His smile disappeared. ‘Of course we are.’

  Kate noticed his telling hesitation, the pause before the rough ‘Of course’.

  His spine stiffened. ‘We’re family.’

  She took in the expression on his face. Her chest expanded and her back tightened. ‘Want to tell me about it?’

  His face closed up. ‘There’s nothing to tell.’

  She tried a different tack. ‘No offence, but I know for a fact that Felice is twenty-two. You don’t exactly look…’ She trailed off with what she hoped was delicate tact.

  A glimmer of a smile appeared in the grey eyes. ‘I’m ten years older than Felice.’

  Kelly set their coffees in front of them. ‘Thank you,’ Kate murmured, and although she sensed Simon was immersed in thoughts of Felice, he still roused himself to send Kelly a smile of thanks that put a spring in the other woman’s step.

  It was a nice thing to do.

  She had a feeling that, beneath all his bristling worry and concern, Simon Morton-Blake was a nice man.

  ‘Ten years is a pretty big age gap between siblings,’ she observed.

  ‘It is,’ he agreed.

  He took a sip of his coffee. Frown lines marred the perfection of his face. He took a second sip and Kate wondered if he even tasted it. Kelly did the best coffee on the bay, but it looked as if great coffee was wasted on the seventh Lord of Holm today.

  ‘Felice has always been too reckless and irresponsible.’ He glanced up and speared her with his clear grey gaze. ‘What did Kelly mean when she said Felice was the hit of the summer?’

  ‘That she was popular, fun. That everyone liked he
r.’

  His mouth grew grim. ‘That’s what I was afraid of.’

  She wanted to ask why, but she bit her tongue. Beneath the table she selected Felice’s number on her mobile, then brought the phone to her ear. Simon’s eyes narrowed in on the phone in the space of a heartbeat. ‘She was neither reckless nor irresponsible working for me.’ Kate crossed her legs and waited for Felice to answer. ‘In fact, she was a great worker.’

  He nearly dropped his coffee. ‘Felice?’

  ‘Hey, it’s me,’ Kate said when Felice answered.

  ‘Hey, what’s up?’

  ‘Sorry to call when—’ she shot a glance at Simon ‘—you’re holidaying, but you’ll never guess who has shown up. I have the seventh Lord of Holm sitting across from me as we speak.’

  Dead silence greeted her pronouncement. It did nothing to allay her unease. ‘Felice?’

  ‘Simon? Simon is there?’

  ‘Uh-huh.’

  ‘What have you told him?’

  Felice’s shriek nearly deafened her. She wondered if Simon could hear it from the other side of the table. He moved as if he might try and take the phone from her. Kate shifted so he couldn’t. ‘Nothing. Why?’

  ‘You don’t understand!’

  ‘Obviously not.’

  Simon stared at her as if he couldn’t believe she had his little sister on the other end of the line. He stared at her as if he wanted to hug her. As if he wanted to kiss her in gratitude like she’d kissed that folder. All because she’d rung his little sister. Had he thought she’d leave him to stew in all that worry and concern he’d done his best to hide but couldn’t?

  ‘He will ruin everything!’

  For some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to believe that.

  ‘Please, please, please, Kate. Promise me you won’t tell him where I am.’

  ‘I can hardly do that when I don’t precisely know where you are myself.’

  ‘You can’t tell him I’ve married Danny!’

  Kate bit her lip. Simon narrowed in on the action and Kate recognised the flare of desire that burst to life in his eyes. She did her best to un-bite it, but it was too late. Blood started fizzing through her veins and her mind filled with images in instant response.

  Oh, stop it! He was a tourist. She didn’t mess with tourists. She shook herself and forced her mind to focus on her conversation with Felice.

  ‘Kate, promise me you won’t tell him I’m married.’

  Oh, dear. ‘I…er…was hoping you’d do that.’ She didn’t want to be the one to tell Simon his sister had eloped. Amazingly, her voice was steady. Unlike her pulse.

  ‘I will. I swear I will. I’ll tell him I’m married just as soon as we get back.’

  In a fortnight!

  ‘I can just see him.’ Scorn dripped from Felice’s voice. ‘He’ll be sitting there with a frown creasing up his forehead, his chin jutting out, and he’ll be drumming his fingers, just waiting for me to prove that I’ve done something stupid.’

  Her description was so spot on that Kate had to voice her growing fear. ‘Have you?’

  ‘See?’ Felice shrieked her outrage. ‘He’s got to you already.’

  Kate didn’t need to see Felice to know exactly how she’d just thrown her arm in the air or how she’d turned away only to swing back again. She put on her best employer’s voice. Her boss’s voice. ‘Just answer the question, Felice.’

  ‘God! You make a good pair, you know that?’

  Kate shot Simon a grin. He didn’t smile back. Kate pointed to the phone. ‘She just said we make a good pair.’

  He grinned at that.

  ‘He really is just right there, isn’t he?’ Felice said.

  ‘Yep.’

  ‘I haven’t made a mistake, Kate.’

  The panic left Felice’s voice. Kate blinked, averting her gaze from Simon and his body, with all its intriguing distractions and temptations.

  ‘I love Danny.’ Felice’s sincerity rang out in the quietness of her tone, and in the simplicity of her claim. ‘Marrying Danny is the one good thing I’ve managed to do with my life.’

  ‘Okay, okay.’ Kate nodded although she knew Felice couldn’t see her. ‘But will you at least do one thing for me? Will you speak to Simon and tell him you’re fine?’

  ‘I don’t want to speak to him.’

  Kate had never heard that stubborn note in Felice’s voice before. ‘Please?’ She held her breath.

  ‘He’ll make me hang up on him,’ Felice warned.

  She let out her breath. ‘Nevertheless…’

  ‘Will you promise to call me back when he’s not watching over you like a guard dog?’

  It was another apt description.

  ‘Please, Kate?’

  She bit back a sigh. ‘Deal,’ she said. Then she handed the phone across to Simon. ‘Be nice,’ she ordered.

  He held it to his ear. ‘Felice? Thank God! Are you all right?’ He listened for a moment and his brow darkened. ‘What the hell are you playing at? I’ve—’

  He broke off and held the phone away from his ear. Kate wanted to tell him he wasn’t doing a very good job at being nice.

  He slammed the phone back to his ear. ‘I’ve been out of my wits with worry!’ His teeth clenched for a moment. ‘Out with it, then,’ he ordered, unclenching said teeth. ‘What kind of trouble have you managed to get yourself into this time?’

  In fact, he was doing a really bad job of being nice. She had a sudden flash of empathy for Felice. Felice, who was so full of life and laughter…and love.

  ‘What do you mean, it’s none of my business? I—’

  Kate took a sip of her coffee and watched him. He had that over-protective big brother thing down pat. She wondered if she’d ever smothered Danny like that.

  There was only five years’ difference between her and Danny, though. There was ten years between Simon and Felice. Ten years. That was a lot.

  ‘Then why the hell haven’t you called?’

  She set her coffee back down at that. Good question.

  ‘You could’ve at least had the common decency—’

  His free hand—the one not holding the phone—curved into a fist. ‘Of course it’s my business. I—’

  The fist started to bounce on the table. ‘That’s rubbish and you know it. I—’

  He broke off to stare at the phone. He shook it, then put it back to his ear. ‘Hello?’ Then he turned to Kate. ‘She hung up on me.’

  ‘Of course she did.’ Kate reached across and plucked her mobile from his fingers. ‘I don’t blame her.’

  He scowled. ‘You don’t—’

  ‘I told you to be nice. You weren’t nice. You were bossy and…stuffy.’

  He scowled some more. Then he slumped back in his chair, defeat outlined in the shape of his shoulders. ‘Where is she? I’m not leaving Australia until I at least clap eyes on her.’

  ‘Oh, right,’ Kate mocked gently. ‘Are you trying to tell me you’ll be happy to see her in the distance, see that she’s all in one piece and then leave again? I don’t think so. You’re itching to haul her over the coals for some imagined misdemeanour. For heaven’s sake, she’s twenty-two years old. Old enough to make her own decisions. Old enough to lead her own life.’

  ‘You don’t know her.’ He drained his coffee in one gulp.

  ‘I beg to differ. She’s just spent the last three months living in my house, working for my business.’

  His brows drew down low over his eyes. The corners of his mouth tightened. ‘You don’t know her like I do.’

  ‘I’ll grant you that. But you’ve got to stop treating her like she’s twelve years old or you’ll turn around one day and find out she really has done something stupid.’

  His head swung up. ‘Like what?’

  ‘I don’t know.’ She lifted a hand and tried to pluck an example from the air. ‘Like getting in with some hard and fast party crowd and taking recreational drugs or something. Just so she can prove to you she’s all grown
up.’

  Panic raced across his face. She rushed to reassure him. ‘Not that she has, you understand. I’ve never seen Felice take anything stronger than a glass of Chardonnay.’

  He slumped back.

  ‘But if you don’t back off you could drive her to something awful and then, when she really needs you, she may not feel able to come to you.’

  He dragged a hand down his face. ‘The voice of experience speaketh?’ he finally intoned. ‘She said we made a good pair, didn’t she?’

  ‘Accused, more like.’ Kate traced a finger around the rim of her coffee mug, gathered up coffee froth and popped it in her mouth. Simon’s eyes narrowed as he watched her and she hastily pulled the finger away and clutched it in her lap. ‘My father died eight years ago when I was twenty. My brother Danny was only fifteen.’

  ‘Your mother?’

  ‘She left when I was six.’

  ‘So, basically, you raised your brother.’

  It didn’t sound like a question so she didn’t bother answering it. ‘Danny and I have had our moments, but he’s only five years younger than me. It has probably been easier for me to accept that he’s grown up and capable of making his own decisions.’

  ‘Plus he’s male. Men can look after themselves.’

  ‘That’s a particularly sexist view of the world.’

  He shrugged, then leaned forward. ‘Do you know how much Felice is worth? How much she’ll inherit when she turns twenty-five?’

  He named a sum that had her choking, ‘What?’

  He sat back and glared. ‘So you can see why I’m concerned she doesn’t do something stupid.’

  ‘Like?’

  His mouth grew grim. ‘There’s a lot of men out there who’d like to get hold of her fortune. I won’t let her marry a fortune hunter.’

  And then it all made crystal-clear sense to Kate—why Felice hadn’t told them about her family, her fortune. She’d wanted them to love her for herself. Kate suddenly wanted to cry. She hoped Felice realised that they did love her for herself.

  Something else struck her with equal force. When Simon heard about Felice’s marriage to Danny, he would not share their—or her—joy.