New Year At The Boss's Bidding

Tilly had worked frantically for the last hour or so, anxious she hadn’t discussed fully the menu changes with Xavier that morning as planned, but his sudden change of mood had made it impossible. At one time he’d looked as if he’d been in terrible pain and instinctively she’d gone to him, only to have her concern hurled unceremoniously back at her.

Now more pressing issues dominated her thoughts. Where were Katie and Jane? They should have been here by now. Tilly walked to one of the three tall sash windows of the kitchen and looked out. Big flakes of snow were falling against the backdrop of a heavy grey sky. Not good. What if they couldn’t get to Wimble Manor? How would she cope tonight on her own?

She grabbed her coat from the chair she’d left it on earlier and went through the passage to the back door. The heavy wooden door protested as she pulled it open and snow whirled in with a rush of cold air.

‘Oh, my goodness.’

Her little white van and Xavier’s sleek black car were nestled beneath a deep blanket of snow. The courtyard cobbles, which this morning had only been dusted with white, were now completely covered. A strange and heavy silence hung around the buildings as the flakes fell thick and fast. It should be peaceful and calming, yet the silence seemed to scream at her, as if warning of trouble.

‘I don’t think you should try going anywhere right now.’ Xavier’s accented voice broke through her turmoil and she spun round to look up at him.

‘I hadn’t planned to, but I do need my staff to be able to get here.’ Panic returned as she wondered how she was going to manage without the girls. They’d become a practised team and had worked for her since she’d started Tilly’s Table almost twelve months ago.

‘Have you heard anything from them?’

‘No, I’ll check my phone.’ Her words were sharp with exasperation at herself. Why hadn’t she thought of that earlier? She’d seen the snow flurrying past the windows but had been too caught up in the excitement of preparing the meal—and avoiding the man who disturbed her equilibrium.

Irritated by his practical approach, she moved past him, back along the passage and into the kitchen. Unable to quell her panic, she lifted her paperwork and uncovered her mobile phone to see she’d missed Katie’s call. With ominous dread settling as fast as the falling snow, she dialled into her messages and heard Katie’s anxious voice explaining the roads were so bad they’d had to turn back.

Now what was she going to do? A five-course meal for Xavier and four guests was scheduled for this evening. She would have to be preparing and serving.

But what if nobody could get here?

‘They had to turn back,’ she said slowly, panic making her heart thump as he joined her in the kitchen. ‘There was lots of snow, even around London, but it became worse the further out they got.’

Spurred into action, she tapped in a text to Katie, asking they let her know when they were back safely and not to worry about her. She was safe and warm at Wimble Manor. Xavier looked across the room at her and she wondered at the truth of that statement. She’d thought he’d been about to kiss her only a few hours ago and she had wanted him to. How safe was that?

‘I’m not sure how I’m going to be able to give you and your guests the meal I’d planned,’ she said firmly, resisting the urge to panic.

‘Because you do not have staff to help?’ The hint of humour in his voice snared her attention and she looked at him. The aggressive edge she’d seen earlier that morning had gone. The anger, which had given him a feral fierceness, smoothed away.

‘I don’t have any staff to serve. I had hoped to be able to concentrate on presenting the best meal possible.’ She averted her gaze from his dark eyes and flicked through her folder. She would have to find ways to make it simpler but still remain a meal people would remember. What she presented this evening would be the shop window of her new business.

‘And what if my guests are also unable to drive through the snow?’ He leant on the table and looked at her as she bent over her files. His eyes locked with hers as she looked up and again that unnerving sizzle shot between them. Instantly she stood upright and backed away a step from the table.

‘You mean nobody is coming?’ Tilly froze and looked at him. They would be alone. Just the two of them?

‘I haven’t been able to contact them yet,’ he said, almost too calmly.

‘I think I’d better carry on. Just in case they can make it.’ She spoke more for her benefit than Xavier’s and began to make sure all the ingredients for dessert were ready.

As she did so, she felt his gaze on her and tried hard to ignore the spark of awareness rushing around her, tingling on her skin as if he’d touched her. He was her client. She couldn’t and shouldn’t be thinking of him like this. He turned his attention to making coffee and relief soothed the tremor of awareness he’d sparked.

Besides, he was so far out of her league it was laughable. He wouldn’t be remotely interested in her and after Jason’s sudden change of heart last year she really didn’t want to get mixed up with another man, especially not one who ignited something unknown and passionate inside her. He definitely gave off warning vibes of danger.

Xavier placed a hot cup of expresso on the table in front of her and she looked up at him, unable to believe her train of thought. How had she not noticed this morning that he’d looked so dangerous, so wild and untamed? His slightly too-long hair wasn’t as neatly combed back as it could be and his eyes were so black they sparked.

‘Thank you.’ Her voice had turned into a husky whisper and she wanted to look away from his intense eyes, but she couldn’t. Her heart began to race and she was thankful that the table was between them, preventing her from moving towards him, from acting out the need to feel his lips pressed firmly against hers in a kiss so passionate it would take her breath away.

Where had that thought come from?

‘Prego.’ That one word sounded sinfully sexy and she dragged in a deep and calming breath. Just when she thought she couldn’t stay beneath his hot gaze any longer he turned and walked away, leaving her so deflated she flopped down onto the nearest chair.

She listened to his fading footsteps, trying to calm the erratic thud of her heart. What the heck had just happened? Whatever had passed between them in those few seconds had not only been hot, passionate and explosive, it had also been wild and dangerous.

* * *

Xavier ended the call he’d just received and looked out of the window. Snow was still falling. Big thick flakes twisting with increased speed down to earth, building upon what lay on the ground after this morning’s dusting. Neither his guests nor Tilly’s staff could get to the manor and they certainly wouldn’t be able to get out.

They were snowed in.

He and Tilly were alone.

His body still hummed after the exchange between them that morning. A carnal need so strong had filled him as he’d looked into her vivid blue eyes. He’d had to resist the urge to crush her to his body, to feel her against him and to kiss those seductively plump lips. Never before had he felt so untamed, so in danger of losing his renowned self-control.

Now, because of the weather, he was going to be forced to spend at least the next twenty-four hours with a woman he desired more than any other, one who’d made it known she was unattainable, here to fulfil a contract, nothing more—a contract that expired at midnight.

He knew she wouldn’t be comfortable about being alone with him this evening. Not after that moment in the dining room. She was not his usual type of woman, more the forever sort, and that held him back. Forever was something he couldn’t do, which was another reason for not exploring what was between him and Tilly.

He took a deep breath, bringing all his wayward desires under control, determined to shake off his inconvenient desire and be a perfect gentleman—until midnight at least. He returned to the kitchen to break the news to the only woman in the last three years who had threatened to rouse the man he’d once been, the man he could never risk being again.

Tilly was at the sink, her back to him as he entered, and he let his gaze linger for a moment then reminded himself of his decision of moments ago. Appreciating her petite figure wouldn’t help him at all.

‘It appears we will be here alone for New Year.’ As he spoke she turned to face him. For a brief moment he saw shock in her eyes, which tugged at the defence of irritation and anger he’d shrouded himself in. He couldn’t let her do that, for her sake as well as his.

‘I was just watching the snow. I’ve never seen so much falling.’ Her voice was very calm. She didn’t sound disconcerted that they were to be here alone in this rambling country mansion. Her expression as she looked at him told a different story.

‘My family are not prepared to travel as the forecast has changed. It isn’t good. It seems tomorrow we are now due to have blizzard conditions.’ He relayed the information he’d been told by his cousin, not wanting to panic her.

‘I hope Katie and Jane get back okay.’ She moved away from the window and to the table, where her food preparations were under way. ‘I guess you won’t need all this now.’

‘The evening plans will remain the same,’ he said curtly, not liking the way she nudged at emotions he’d thought had disappeared after the crash. He was beginning to feel a strange urge to care for her, protect her and keep her safe, but knew he couldn’t, not when guilt and blame lay at his feet.

Her blue eyes widened in shock and a startled gasp left her lips, doing untold things to his already stirred-up senses. He clenched his hands into tight fists at his sides, resisting the urge to cross the room, take her in his arms and kiss her until she gasped his name in pleasure.

‘But it will be just the two of us.’ Her silky soft voice, which stumbled slightly over the words, did little to quell the mounting desire within him, as did the image of them dining alone. He’d promised himself he’d be a perfect gentleman this evening and, no matter how hard that was, he would do it.

‘Sì, solo noi due.’ Hampered by his loss of control, he reverted to Italian. He’d never been like this with a woman. Even as a young and inexperienced man, he hadn’t floundered as he was now. It was a totally new and unwelcome sensation.

‘You can’t expect me to spend the evening with you. Not completely alone.’ She frowned at him but still looked incredibly enticing.

‘I can and I do.’ His sense of control was returning and the words sounded sharp.

‘But isn’t that...?’ She paused, her eyes meeting his, and he said nothing, hoping she wouldn’t echo his thoughts. ‘A bit too intimate?’

‘It’s New Year’s Eve, Natalie.’ He liked the way it felt to say her full name and revelled in the spark of annoyance that leapt to life in her eyes. ‘We are alone in this house. It would be churlish to do any different.’

‘Maybe we should try and get back to London before it’s too late?’ She glanced out at the falling snow.