Christmas Bride For The Boss

‘And you make sure you’re home in time to eat with us in the evenings.’

‘I have to w—’ he began.

‘Of course you have to work—I realise you have an empire to run.’ She tried to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. ‘But you’re the boss, so you can choose where you work. It doesn’t have to be in the office all the time. You have an Internet connection here.’ She folded her arms and gave him a challenging look. ‘So I want you here in time for dinner with us at six, and if you’re late I’ll make you eat cold, soggy, overcooked Brussels sprouts. And you won’t be able to refuse because it’ll be in front of Sienna.’

He looked utterly shocked. ‘Oh, my God. Eva didn’t tell me—’

‘—that I was even bossier than your mother?’ she finished.

His eyes widened. ‘How do you know my mother’s bossy?’

‘What’s sauce for the goose is most definitely sauce for the gander,’ she said. ‘You asked Eva about me—which meant I could ask Eva about you.’

‘I think,’ he said, ‘maybe I should have tried a different agency for Cindy’s temporary replacement.’

‘Tough. You’ve already asked Sienna and she’s made her decision.’

‘I want you to go by Cindy’s rules. Sienna needs structure and continuity.’

She needed love and laughter, too, Sophie thought, but didn’t say it. ‘Let’s try just a couple of tiny, tiny changes,’ she said. ‘Humour me. Spaghetti was all right tonight, wasn’t it?’

‘Well, yes,’ he admitted.

‘Good. Is there anything you really don’t like to eat?’

He said nothing, but she could guess what he was thinking and grinned. ‘Don’t worry. I won’t make you eat chicken nuggets or fish fingers with shaped potato products, peas and tomato ketchup. Hattie and Sam eat what Will and Mandy eat, so Sienna can eat what we eat. Plus, if she’s involved in making dinner, she’s more likely to eat it without a fuss.’

He frowned. ‘How do you know?’

‘My sister-in-law Mandy is a health visitor. I guess chatting to her, plus working at Anna’s nursery school, means I’ve picked up a few things along the way.’

‘I see. And I’m guessing you’ll be the first to see the new baby, too.’

She looked at him, eyes narrowed. ‘What new baby?’

‘I know about the IVF,’ he said.

She blew out a breath. ‘Eva blabbed.’

‘I made an educated guess and she filled in the gaps. Which I admit was probably underhand of me—I kind of let her think that you’d told me everything. But I like the fact you didn’t try to manipulate me with a sob story.’

Sophie wasn’t sure whether to be cross or relieved. ‘So now you know the circumstances, do you agree you would’ve done the same for your siblings?’

‘Of course I would.’ He paused. ‘Do they live near?’

‘We all live in London. Not in each other’s pockets, but no more than half an hour’s Tube journey away from each other—and that includes Mum and Dad.’

He looked slightly wistful, and she guessed that maybe he missed his sisters. But asking him might be a question too far.

‘Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,’ he said.

‘Sure. Though I have a couple of questions first.’

He looked wary. ‘Which are?’

‘Do you have a housekeeper?’ she asked.

‘A cleaner who comes in twice a week,’ he confirmed. ‘She does the ironing but not the laundry.’

‘So laundry’s part of my duties?’ she checked.

‘I guess I can handle that until Cindy’s back,’ he said.

‘Fine. What about your grocery shopping?’

‘I order online, and Cindy picks up any top-up things during the week.’

‘I’ll do the same. Obviously I’ll make sure I have receipts for everything,’ she said. ‘And I’ll give you a list of what I need you to order.’

He frowned. ‘Aren’t you using Cindy’s menu?’

‘Not unless you want to eat chicken nuggets,’ she said sweetly. ‘I thought we could have sticky salmon tomorrow. My sister-in-law Mandy has a gorgeous recipe, and Hattie and Sam absolutely love it. I can pick up the ingredients on the way to nursery school tomorrow afternoon.’

‘Okay. Anything else?’

‘That’s it for now.’ She smiled. ‘Goodnight, new business partner.’

‘Goodnight, new business partner and temporary nanny.’

Sophie closed the front door behind her and headed for the small car parked on the gravel outside the house. There was a child’s safety seat in the back, as she’d expected, so she’d be ready to take Sienna to nursery school tomorrow. She sat behind the steering wheel and closed her eyes for a moment. If anyone had told her first thing this morning that her life was going to be turned upside down for the next couple of months, she would never have believed it.

Right at that moment, she felt slightly daunted.

Sienna was so like the little girl that she herself had once been, desperate to please her dad and trying to be the perfect daughter. And it was heartbreaking, seeing the distance between Sienna and Jamie. They were all each other had. Okay, so maybe this was none of her business; but on the other hand how could she just stand by and let the situation get worse, when she knew first-hand the sort of damage it could do?

Why did Jamie avoid his daughter? Did he doubt his ability as a father? Or was Eva right and he was so wrapped up in his grief that he couldn’t think of anything else?

She had two months with them, maybe.

Would that be enough time to fix things?

* * *

This morning, Jamie had expected to have a short business meeting with Sophie Firth and politely turn down the opportunity of investing in her company.

And then he’d met her.

She was bright and she thought on her feet. She stood by her convictions and she wasn’t afraid to say no. She’d practically glowed when she’d spoken about the new direction for her business. He’d liked her energy and warmth.