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Reuben pulled his wallet out from his back pocket and handed it to one of the policemen. ‘Reuben Tyler. I just landed from LA a few hours ago.’ He folded his arms across his chest. ‘My own apartment is under repair. It took damage during the recent storm and when they went to do repairs they discovered asbestos in the roof.’ He turned to glare at the teddy bear again. She really was quite cute. If he hadn’t been having such a bad day he might have been quite taken by her strange get-up, perfect skin and mussed-up hair. ‘My friend Caleb Connor, who owns this place, said I could stay here while he and his family were on holiday.’
The policeman turned towards the teddy bear, who was shifting uncomfortably on her feet at the mention of Caleb’s name. ‘And you are?’
‘I’m Lara Callaway. I work for the Connors. I’m their nanny.’
Ah, their nanny. Things were starting to fall into place in his brain. Caleb had said the last nanny had left and they’d hired someone new.
‘And I can verify this with the Connors?’
He watched as she gulped and glanced at the clock. This was a girl who obviously wasn’t used to being around the police.
‘Well...not right now. They’ll be midway across the Atlantic—and they’re going to a place with no phone or internet.’ She turned around to look at Reuben. ‘You’re not going to take him at his word, are you? I’ve never seen him before—and I’ve never heard Mr Connor mention his name. He could be anyone.’
Reuben rolled his eyes and sighed. The teddy bear was starting to get annoying. He glanced about the living room, his eyes fixing on a distant photo frame. He stalked across the room and picked it up, thrusting it towards the policeman while glaring at Lara. ‘Here, photographic evidence. That’s me and Caleb at an awards ceremony around five years ago. And...’ he pulled his phone from his pocket ‘...here’s a text from Caleb, telling me how to switch off his alarm.’
He ran his eyes up and down Lara’s fuzzy-covered frame. She might be wearing the most unsexy nightwear in the world but it still gave a hint of her curves. She wiggled her pink painted toes as if she could sense his gaze on her. ‘And as for the nanny...’ he gestured with his head towards her ‘...I’ve never heard of her. According to Caleb, I would be the only one staying here.’ He gave a little laugh. ‘As for no phone and no internet? I’ll bet Caleb didn’t know that before he left. He might be on the other side of the Atlantic but I’m pretty sure we’ll hear him blow up from here.’
All he really wanted to do was get his head down—and maybe find something to eat. His head ached and he couldn’t believe the commotion. So much for some quiet downtime.
Lara looked flustered by his words. ‘I’ve worked for the family for the last six months. The nanny before me left. Addison—Mrs Connor—said I could stay here for the next couple of weeks. I’ve had a bit of a...misunderstanding and she agreed at short notice.’
Reuben’s ears pricked up at her words and he couldn’t stop a smile appearing on his face. She was obviously easily flustered, not used to being around the police and feeling distinctly uneasy. Then again, she was in her nightwear—even if it did cover every part of her body—and it was obvious she’d decided to have feast in front of the TV. Probably not the scene you wanted all these people to see.
‘What was the misunderstanding?’ he pressed. He was amused now. ‘The one that made you hit me over the head with something.’
He looked around the floor to see what she’d hit him with and saw the remains of something on the floor. He bent down and picked up the broken marble and gold trophy. His mouth fell open. ‘You hit me with the Businessman of the Year award? Oh, wow, Caleb will be mad.’ He pointed over to the photo of Caleb and himself, showing Caleb clearly holding up the award with pride.
If she’d been flustered before she looked positively pained now. ‘But I didn’t know who you were. And I thought you were a burglar. I thought you were going to attack me.’ Her voice started to wobble and her eyes started to fill. ‘I didn’t know what to do.’
The policeman put a hand on her arm. ‘We understand, but Mr Tyler does have a right to press charges.’
‘Charges?’ She could barely get the word out and he could see her start to shake.
‘For assault.’
She wobbled. She looked as if her legs were going to give out completely.
Enough. He needed this to be over with.
‘There won’t be any charges. Not from me anyway. I’m sure Ms Callaway will be able to speak to Caleb about replacing his award.’ He looked towards the other policeman, who’d been talking quietly into his radio. ‘Have you verified us yet? Can we finish this?’
The paramedic raised her eyebrows at him. ‘Actually, no, we can’t. You were knocked out, Mr Tyler. We should really take you to hospital to be checked over.’
‘No. No. I definitely don’t want to do that.’
But as he shook his head he realised how dizzy he was. It was all he could do not to sway. He eyed the sofa for a second, wondering if he should sit down.
‘We’re obliged to take you, Mr Tyler. There can be serious repercussions from a head injury. It will only take a few hours.’
‘In London on a Saturday night? You’ve got to be joking. Every A and E around here will have queues out the door.’ He waved his hand. ‘I’m fine.’
The paramedic frowned and her lips thinned. This woman was formidable. It was time to take a different tack.
‘Look, I’ve just got off a long flight from the US and I’m tired. I just want to find something to eat and get to sleep. I haven’t slept in the last thirty-six hours. You said my pupils were equal, surely that means I’m okay?’
She hesitated and glanced at her partner. ‘After a head injury some symptoms take a while to appear. You might feel okay now, but in a few hours it could be different.’
The policemen were exchanging glances. The only person in the room who couldn’t look at him was Lara—the giant teddy bear.
‘I really don’t want to go to hospital,’ he said steadily.
The paramedic glanced from him to Lara. ‘Well, I’ll have to get you to sign something. Then I’ll give you a final check and leave some head-injury instructions. You can’t be left alone. There needs to be someone around you in case you feel unwell later and need to go to hospital.’
A smile broke across his face. ‘Oh, I’m sure Ms Callaway will oblige.’
Her head shot up. ‘What? Me? No!’ She turned towards the policeman. ‘You’re not actually going to let him stay here, are you? I don’t know him. I don’t want to be left in a house with a stranger.’ Her indignation made him smile even more.
The policeman looked at her. ‘Then perhaps you’d like to stay somewhere else? You did say you made this arrangement at short notice. Maybe there’s somewhere else you can stay?’
She cringed. ‘What? No.’ She was starting to look a bit panicked. But there was no way at this late stage that Reuben was going to ring around friends to find a bed for the night. He’d made this arrangement with Caleb and he was sticking to it—whether Ms Teddy Bear liked it or not.
The paramedic stood in front of Reuben. ‘Can you sit down for a second while I do some final checks?’
She couldn’t possibly know how grateful he was to sink down onto the comfortable overstuffed sofa. His stomach gave a little growl as he noticed all the sweet papers on the coffee table. The smell of chocolate and cheese and onion crisps was drifting in his direction. He didn’t care who it belonged to. As soon as he got rid of these folks he was eating the entire lot.
A paramedic made a few final notes and handed him a clipboard and pen. ‘Sign here.’
He scribbled his name and took the leaflet she proffered. She gave him a suspicious glance as she stood up. ‘If you have any of the symptoms on the card you must attend the nearest A and E.’ She gestured w
ith her head. ‘It’s St David’s, about a mile in that direction.’
He gave her a nod. ‘Thanks.’
The policemen headed towards the door. ‘We’ll file a report but I take it things are settled now?’
Lara stood with her mouth gaping. She looked shell-shocked. ‘But—’
‘I’m sure everything will be fine,’ the other policeman cut in. ‘Goodnight, Ms Callaway, Mr Tyler,’ he said, as all four people filed out the front door.
Reuben stood again, waiting for them all to leave before finally closing the front door behind them. His legs felt heavy, but nowhere near as heavy as the thudding in his head.
He stalked back through to the sitting room, collapsed on the couch and tore open one of the chocolate bars, grabbing the TV remote.
Lara hadn’t moved. She was still rooted to the spot.
He grinned at her wickedly. ‘Well, then, I guess it’s just you and me.’
CHAPTER TWO
THIS COULDN’T BE HAPPENING.
