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He made it hard not to smile. When Luc turned it on, his charm was irresistible.
‘And if you miss supper, you’ll go hungry,’ he pointed out. ‘And, knowing you, you’ll go straight back onto your next shift whether you’ve eaten or not. So what do you have to lose by taking time out here?’
Everything, Emma thought as she glanced at the bed.
* * *
She was still sleeping when he got back. He guessed she still had a lot of catching up to do. He’d never seen anyone look quite so exhausted. Thanking the waiter who’d brought the supper trolley, he took control and wheeled it into the room. He returned to put a ‘Do Not Disturb’ notice on the door and then settled down at the table to work on some papers. He’d ordered lobster salad and champagne with a view to eating whenever Emma woke up.
After about an hour he heard the sheets rustle and turned to look at her. Emma was waking slowly, like a child unsure of her surroundings. She looked so vulnerable she touched him somewhere deep. He blanked the feeling. He hadn’t registered a single emotion for years beyond lust or boredom with a woman, and it was far better for both of them if he kept it that way.
Rubbing her eyes, she stared around, first in confusion and then with embarrassment and shock.
‘Relax. I’ve been sitting here, working,’ he reassured her. ‘No one came near you while you were asleep.’
‘Luc!’ She shot up and then, realising she had fallen into bed naked after her bath, she grabbed the covers and pulled them up to her chin.
‘You’re in my room,’ he confirmed as she stared at him warily. ‘You needed to sleep. Can I get you something? Water? Juice?’
‘I shouldn’t be here.’
‘Why?’ He shrugged, speaking in the same low tone he used with his wild ponies. No sudden movements. No raised voices. It worked every time. Emma’s darting gaze settled and her shoulders relaxed.
‘I’m sorry.’ She frowned. ‘I must have been sleeping for ages. What time is it?’
He glanced at his watch. ‘Nine o’clock.’
‘Nine o’clock!’ Grabbing the top sheet to wrap around her like a toga, she catapulted off the bed. ‘My next shift started half an hour ago!’
‘There isn’t going to be a next shift.’
She paled, staring at him wide-eyed. ‘What do you mean, there isn’t a next shift?’
‘You don’t work here any more.’
She looked shocked and then she was angry. ‘What have you done?’
‘You quit,’ he explained. ‘I handed in your notice.’
‘You did what?’ Furious now, she raked her hair. ‘Do you have any idea what you’ve done? I need this job.’ There was an edge of desperation in her voice.
‘And you’ll have another job,’ he promised evenly. ‘I’ll give you a job where you don’t have to work all the hours under the sun. A proper job with good prospects.’
‘No, Luc! No!’ she fired at him, moving behind a chair as if it were a shield when he came towards her. ‘You said you wanted to talk to me. You said I could use your room to rest, and that it was more comfortable than mine. What you didn’t tell me was that while I was safely out of the way you would make critical decisions on my behalf that weren’t yours to make.’
‘Now you’re properly awake we can talk,’ he said steadily.
‘Talk?’ she demanded. ‘Not before you explain to my employers that I’m not leaving here, and that this is all some terrible mistake.’
‘I won’t stand by and watch you destroy yourself,’ he said quietly, holding her furious stare.
‘What I do is none of your business,’ she fired back at him. Stalking to the bathroom, she returned clad in his robe. ‘You can’t just walk back into my life and take it over.’
‘I’m not trying to do that.’ He maintained the same calm tone. ‘You’re an intelligent woman, Emma. I pulled your report from the hotel in London. Everyone speaks so highly of you, so why are you still hiding away in Scotland? If the chatter about your parents bothers you, I can tell you now that it will never go away unless you stand and face it.’
‘I’m not in hiding. I’ve come home.’
‘The world’s a big place, Emma. Why don’t you take a look at some more of it before you make up your mind that you want to stay here?’
‘The world might be a big place for you, but I don’t have your resources.’
