Will He Ask Her to be His Bride?: The Millionaire's Convenient Bride / The Millionaire's Proposal / Texas Ranger Takes a Bride

‘You assumed right.’ Connah leaned back in his chair, watching her, his long legs crossed at the ankles. ‘I didn’t like the way Luigi Martinelli was looking at you.’

Hester stared at him blankly. ‘How was he looking at me?’

‘You were wearing a few bits of green silk and a transparent shirt. How do you think he was looking at you? He’s a man, for God’s sake, and Italian at that.’

Hester was glad the covering darkness hid the rush of indignant colour in her face. ‘I would remind you that I was not expecting a stranger to appear in the garden when Lowri coaxed me to wear the bikini.’ Her chin lifted. ‘Don’t worry, it won’t happen again!’

‘Pity. That green colour looks spectacular against your tan. No wonder Luigi couldn’t take his eyes off you. But you won’t have any trouble from him,’ Connah added with satisfaction. ‘He knows the rules.’

‘Which are?’ she demanded.

‘No mention was made of your official role in the household so now, naturally, he thinks the role is more personal—’

‘Than the one I’m paid for,’ she said stonily.

‘Are you saying you’d have welcomed Luigi’s attentions?’

She glared at him. ‘Certainly not. He’s a total stranger, also married. You mentioned his wife, remember.’

‘Mainly because he’d rather forget he has one,’ said Connah, shrugging. ‘Luigi possesses a meaningless title but a very old name and impeccable lineage. Sophia inherited a pile of money from her wheeler-dealer Papa. She wanted Luigi’s aristocratic pedigree and he needed her cash, which just about sums up the relationship, according to Jay Anderson. Since the birth of their son, they lead separate lives.’

‘How sad.’

He shot her a look. ‘You, I assume, would only marry for love.’

Hester was silenced for a moment. ‘The subject has never really come up,’ she said at last, ‘but if it did, respect and rapport would be my priorities. Loving someone to desperation is not for me.’

‘But you were willing to spend a holiday in the South of France with the actor.’

Hester nodded serenely. ‘The offer was too tempting to turn down.’

‘Then I gave you the chance of one in Tuscany instead. And there was no backing out of this one at the last minute,’ he added.

‘But that’s different,’ she protested.

‘Why?’

‘It’s my job. I’m very grateful you asked me to come here with you and Lowri, of course, but you’re paying me to work for you wherever we are.’

‘A very cold-blooded way to look at it,’ he said morosely and shot her a look she didn’t care for. ‘If the trip to France had come off, would you have shared bed as well as board with your Romeo?’

Hester stood up and put the cups on the coffee tray. ‘The fact that I work for you, Mr Carey Jones, doesn’t give you the right to ask personal questions.’

‘I disagree. The moral welfare of my daughter gives me every right,’ he retorted, getting to his feet.

‘I was not looking after your daughter at the time,’ she reminded him, dangerously quiet. ‘Not counting breaks at home, the only holiday I’ve had in years was a package trip to Spain with school friends in my teens. Once I started work, I went straight from my first job to the Herricks. And looking after babies means constant responsibility, long, irregular hours and a lot of broken sleep. So yes. I was human enough to accept the offer of a free holiday in the sun before starting work in Yorkshire.’

‘A long speech, but you still haven’t answered my question, Hester.’

She gave him a haughty look. ‘I don’t intend to. Goodnight.’ She picked up the tray and took it into the kitchen to wash up and with supreme effort did so quietly, instead of bashing dishes about in a rage.

‘I apologise, Hester,’ said Connah, coming up behind her so quietly that she almost dropped the cup she was drying.

‘You startled me,’ she said tightly.

‘Come out again and have a glass of wine. It’s too early to go to bed.’

‘No, thank you.’

Connah looked down at her, his hard eyes wry. ‘I’ve obviously offended you past all forgiveness.’

‘I work for you,’ she said shortly. ‘I can’t afford to be offended.’

‘Dammit, Hester, that’s hitting below the belt! I know damn well I have no right to probe into your private life.’ He took the cup from her and put it on the tray, then fetched a bottle of wine from the refrigerator and gave her a smile she tried hard to resist. ‘It’s a pity to go to bed so early on a night like this. Can you honestly say you’ll sleep if you do?’

‘I’ll read.’

‘You can do that later. Come out and talk for a while.’

Because Hester had no real desire to go to bed, she swallowed her pride, went back outside and even accepted the glass of wine Connah poured for her.

‘So what do you want in Greve tomorrow?’ he asked.

‘Postcards, some food for supper. Real local fare from small grocery shops rather than a supermarket,’ she added.

‘Whatever you want, as long as it doesn’t involve cooking. I meant what I said. This must be a holiday for you before you go on to your next job. Particularly in the light of our recent discussion,’ he added dryly. ‘Will you enjoy looking after a newborn baby?’

Hester shrugged, resigned. ‘I’ve done it before in my last post, twins at that. But, much as I love babies, it’s a lot easier to look after someone like Lowri. And not just because she dresses and feeds herself,’ she added with a chuckle. ‘She’s such fun and good company. And she sleeps all night!’

Connah laughed. ‘Ah, yes, the broken nights. That’s one part you can’t be looking forward to.’

‘I won’t be doing it alone. Sarah Rutherford intends to feed the baby herself if she can, but I’ll be on hand to see to the rest. At least there’s just one to look after this time.’

‘I don’t know how you do it,’ he said, grimacing. ‘I wasn’t around much when Lowri was at that stage. My mother and Alice bore the brunt of it.’

Because he’d had to cope with his wife’s death, thought Hester with compassion, then eyed him quizzically when he gave a sudden chuckle.

‘Talking of Alice, I wonder how Mal and Owen will cope when the baby arrives.’

‘With someone of Alice’s experience, perfectly well, I imagine. By the way, Lowri told me that Alice isn’t at all like me.’

He let out a bark of laughter. ‘God, no. Nice, sweet creature though she is, I wouldn’t be sitting here with her like this.’

‘Why not?’

‘She’s very nervous around me, for a start. In the unlikely event that I asked her to sit and chat over a glass of wine, she’d run a mile.’ He shot a look at Hester. ‘Alice is a sweet, ordinary young woman from the village near Bryn Derwen and I’ll always be grateful to her because she came to us at a time when we needed her so desperately. I will never forget that. But she’s very different from you, Hester.’

‘In what way?’