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Naomi was, though.
She’d heard of the Devereuxes before Merida had met Ethan. She had worked with a prominent family in London who’d had dealings with them. Now that she thought on it, Abe’s name had been bandied about at the time. And not fondly. He was the gatekeeper to the Devereuxes. The one you had to get past if you wanted a deal to go through.
And when it came to women, his reputation had been equally formidable.
That was all she knew.
When she’d been trying to work out the dynamics of family, in order to best help her friend, Naomi had tended to skim past the articles on Abe.
Still, she recalled enough to know that that it wasn’t just a case of lock up your daughters when Abe Devereux was around.
Lock up your wife too.
And possibly the nanny!
He had no scruples, that much she knew.
Determined not to dwell on him, Naomi reached for her phone and looked at the weather forecast.
Snow, with more snow to come.
It would have been so much easier to lie under the covers for a while longer but Naomi was very used to forcing herself out of bed and did so today. Her hair she left down and didn’t worry about make-up. She rarely did. There wasn’t much point when working with babies. She decided on black jeans and a huge silver-grey jumper as well as black boots, which she pulled on while sitting on her bed. Naomi topped it all off with her less-than-substantial jacket. Before heading out she would add a woolly hat along with her scarf, but for now she carried them down the stairs and headed into the kitchen.
And then nearly dropped them when she saw Abe sitting on a breakfast stool, drinking coffee and reading on his tablet.
‘Morning.’ Barb smiled. ‘How did you sleep?’
‘Very well,’ Naomi said. ‘In fact, I overslept.’
‘You’re not the only one,’ Barb said, and she glanced over at Abe, who didn’t look up. ‘You got a pizza in the night, I see. You could have called me for something to eat if you were hungry. Come and sit down and have some breakfast...’ And then she must have remembered that Naomi was actually a guest. ‘Or take a seat in the dining room and—’
‘I don’t eat breakfast,’ Naomi said quickly.
That was a complete lie.
Naomi loved breakfast and the first café she saw she was finding a bagel, but she was a touch flustered by Abe’s presence and trying not to show it. She hadn’t expected to see him, and certainly, if he’d still been here, she hadn’t expected him to be sitting in the kitchen. ‘I’m actually heading out.’
She kept reminding herself there was nothing to be flustered about.
Except, far from relaxed, as she had been last night, the sight and scent of him, freshly showered, with damp hair and all clean shaven, was doing the oddest thing to her heart rate. She felt like a teenager.
An awkward one at that.
And Barb would not let her go.
‘You’re not leaving this house without a coffee at least,’ Barb said, as she poured her one from the pot. ‘Cream?’
‘Just black, please.’
As Barb poured she chatted to Abe and it became clear he’d been updating her on Jobe. ‘Is there anything I can make for him?’
‘I don’t think so,’ he said, only glancing up from his tablet. ‘I’ll let you know, but really he’s not eating much.’
‘Ginger’s good for nausea,’ Barb said, and then turned her attention to Naomi. ‘So, what are your plans for today? I sure hope you’re not going out in just that jacket.’
‘I’m buying a coat,’ Naomiagainexplained. ‘I’m heading to a department store first.’
‘I’ll call Bernard to drive you.’
