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Grumbling at herself for allowing an emotion that wasn't anger anywhere near her, Caro dumped the packed bags in the tiny hallway for Finn to find or fall over—she didn't care which—and went outside to sit on the garden wall and wait until he'd finished doing whatever it was he was doing and was ready to leave.
The journey back into London was a nightmare. Bored and hot, Sophie started to grizzle. Caro did her best to amuse her, but with scant success. Finn kept a tight-lipped silence. The traffic as they neared the capital was horrendous and the afternoon got hotter and increasingly airless.
A deep longing to be back in the open countryside again, breathing the sweet, clean air and listening to the silence, assailed her as she stood on the dusty pavement outside Finn's hotel with the ever-present roar of the traffic annoying her ears.
Sighing, she shifted Sophie in her arms and tenderly brushed the tendrils of soft pale hair back from her hot little forehead. She'd give anything if only she could put the clock back, back to the time when Finn was holding her, telling her he thought he was falling in love with her.
Anything at all.
That particular piece of knowledge didn't bring her much joy. How could it when it meant she was in danger of doing the unthinkable—falling in love with him? She was free to do that now—now she knew he was a single man. The only thing that had stopped her admitting the possibility before had been her belief that there was a wife somewhere in the background.
But, in any case, the devious louse had been telling lies when he'd talked about falling in love. She knew that, didn't she?
'Righto, Soph!' She made herself smile, made herself swallow the stupid great lump in her throat. 'Why don't I take you up and pop you in the bath to cool off? Does that sound good to you?'
Finn had given her the key to the suite of rooms, ordered her to take his daughter up, told her to wait quietly until he joined them in a couple of minutes, and zoomed away to park the car in the hotel's underground car park
. She poked a finger into the little fat tummy and tickled up a gale of squeals and gurgles which made a lovely change from grizzles and lasted all the way up to the suite.
She wouldn't think about how much she would miss both the man and his child; she would concentrate on getting her life back again. Nice and safe and sane. No Finn around to mess up her head, wreak havoc with her hormones, no puzzles to make her doubt her own sanity—and his.
But before she left she would tell him why she had applied for the job in the first place, explain everything, about Katie and what his treatment of her had done to her. It would be more in sorrow than in anger, not the bitter castigation she had originally meant to lash him with.
Apart from his being the most gorgeous, the sexiest, most charismatic male she had ever encountered, or was ever likely to encounter, he had something else that drew her even more strongly. A basic kindness, a warmth, a lack of that arrogant male superiority that in many other successful men had made her hackles rise, made her secretly despise them.
Except for his unfathomable reaction to hearing her talk about his dead wife and the reprehensible masculine trait of telling a girl what he thought she wanted to hear, Finn Helliar had now come to seem pretty well perfect.
It was difficult to imagine him knowingly hurting anyone. Maybe he hadn't realised how very much in love with him Katie had been. Or maybe—and this was the more likely supposition—Katie herself had blown everything up out of all proportion. She had always tended to over-dramatise herself.
As she opened the door to Finn's suite of rooms the telephone began to ring and, anchoring Sophie to her knee with one hand, she sat on a sofa to answer it.
'Gran?' Winged brows drew together over golden eyes. 'Is anything wrong?'
'Of course there is! Why else should I be phoning? I've been trying to get you since midday. That woman who works for you gave me Helliar's number, though why— Oh, never mind that now. You have to come immediately. Your mother had an accident; her car's a write-off and she's in Intensive Care. Stanning General—the prognosis is not at all good. You need to come at once.'
Caro tried to speak but couldn't. She wanted to tell her grandmother she'd be there as soon as she possibly could but couldn't get the words out. There was an unbearable tightness in her chest and the room was swaying, misty and dark, and Finn walked through the mist, closing the door behind him.
'Caroline? Are you still there?'
Her grandmother's imperious tone helped her to pull herself together and she answered thinly, 'I'll be with you as soon as I can.' She frowned up at Finn wanted to hear, Finn Helliar had now come to seem pretty well perfect.
It was difficult to imagine him knowingly hurting anyone. Maybe he hadn't realised how very much in love with him Katie had been. Or maybe—and this was the more likely supposition—Katie herself had blown everything up out of all proportion. She had always tended to over-dramatise herself.
As she opened the door to Finn's suite of rooms the telephone began to ring and, anchoring Sophie to her knee with one hand, she sat on a sofa to answer it.
'Gran?' Winged brows drew together over golden eyes. 'Is anything wrong?'
'Of course there is! Why else should I be phoning? I've been trying to get you since midday. That woman who works for you gave me Helliar's number, though why— Oh, never mind that now. You have to come immediately. Your mother had an accident; her car's a write-off and she's in Intensive Care. Stanning General—the prognosis is not at all good. You need to come at once.'
Caro tried to speak but couldn't. She wanted to tell her grandmother she'd be there as soon as she possibly could but couldn't get the words out. There was an unbearable tightness in her chest and the room was swaying, misty and dark, and Finn walked through the mist, closing the door behind him.
'Caroline? Are you still there?' Her grandmother's imperious tone helped her to pull herself together and she answered thinly, 'I'll be with you as soon as I can.' She frowned up at Finn as he took the baby from her, hovering over her, his dark brows peaked in query.
'Good. And is young Helliar there? If so, I need to speak to him, too.'
She couldn't imagine why and felt too numb to ask, simply handed the receiver over and stood up, rubbing her temples with the tips of her fingers, wondering whether it would be quicker to phone for a cab or make the time to go and collect her own car.
Finn put the receiver down a few moments later and Caro turned and held her hand out.
