The Maid, the Millionaire and the Baby

by Michelle Douglas

  ‘Absolutely not.’

  ‘Then is there anything you’d like me to get for you while I’m out?’

  Her aunt made a list, and Imogen didn’t know why Jasper hung around if they were going their separate ways for the day. ‘You didn’t have to wait,’ she said as they walked to the elevator.

  ‘I wanted a word with you before you took off.’

  But when several people joined them in the elevator he didn’t speak again until they stood alone in the wide hospital foyer. The waiting made things inside her clench up. ‘It’s great news about Katherine’s results,’ she finally prompted when he’d remained silent for too long.

  He turned to her as if he’d forgotten she was there. Which was great for a girl’s ego. She pressed her lips together hard and didn’t say a word.

  ‘Look, Imogen, about what happened in the park yesterday—’

  ‘Are you just going to apologise again?’ she cut in. ‘And remind me you’re not interested in a relationship again, blahdy-blah?’

  His eyebrows rose. ‘Blahdy-blah?’

  She lifted an eyebrow of her own, and eventually he nodded. ‘Pretty much.’

  She gave an exaggerated roll of her eyes designed to annoy him. ‘Then puhlease spare me and take it as read, okay?’ She had the satisfaction of seeing his jaw clench, but it didn’t help, not in the slightest. Just as she’d known it wouldn’t. ‘Was there anything else?’

  ‘Yes,’ he snapped, drawing himself up to his full height and becoming a stranger—an autocrat—and it reminded her fiercely that he was her billionaire boss and she was nothing but his lowly maid. ‘Can you cook?’

  That made her blink. ‘I’m no chef, but I can cook a meal without burning it.’

  ‘I want to give Katherine a week’s holiday. I’d like to reassign your duties to meal preparation. You’ve taught me enough now about how to look after a baby that I’m confident I can take care of George without assistance. Needless to say, I’m grateful for all the help you’ve given me where he’s concerned.’

  But her help was no longer required. She heard that message loud and clear. This was Jasper Coleman reasserting his authority. She wanted to tell him he was being a pompous jackass. But he wasn’t. He was drawing strict and rigid boundaries between them, leaving her in no doubt that he’d meant all he’d said about relationships and complications.

  And the sooner her heart got that message, the better. She folded her face into polite lines. ‘That won’t be a problem. I’d be delighted to assist, sir.’

  He blanched at her sir. She refused to let herself feel anything. She simply waited for him to either give her further instructions or to dismiss her. Actually, this subservience thing wasn’t too hard once she put her mind to it.

  ‘Have a pleasant day, Imogen.’

  ‘Thank you, sir.’ She bent down to tickle George’s tummy and then turned and walked away before she cried.

  * * *

  After her third day of being Tesoura’s head chef, Imogen told herself that she’d finally found her equilibrium. She and Jasper hadn’t been able to maintain such an intense formality with each other, not with Katherine playing spectator. But as they hardly spent any time in each other’s company, maintaining a polite facade proved no great hardship.

  As long as she didn’t look at him. As long as she didn’t remember the way he’d kissed her in the park. As long as she recited, You’re just the maid over and over in her mind.

  What was proving harder to ignore at the moment was a baby’s insistent crying. She turned her clock to face her—2:38 a.m. It appeared Mr I’m-Confident-I-Can-Look-After-George-on-My-Own-Without-Assistance wasn’t doing so well in the parenting stakes at the moment.

  She was tempted to roll over and pull a pillow over her head, and if it was only Jasper who’d suffer she would. But George...

  With a sigh, she hauled herself out of bed, mentally checked what she was wearing—a baggy T-shirt and a pair of tracksuit bottoms, which were far from glamorous but at least covered her decently enough—before heading in the direction of George’s wails.

  She found Jasper pacing the living room with a distressed George, who was refusing to take his bottle.

  Jasper’s eyes flooded with relief when he saw her, but he said, ‘I’m sorry I disturbed you. I needed to heat up a bottle and he cries even harder when I put him down.’

  She ignored Jasper—it seemed wise—to focus all her attention on the baby. ‘Hey, little man. What’s the problem?’

  He lifted his head to stare at her and held out his arms, his cries easing. She took him and cuddled him close. ‘Aw, poor baby. You’re hot.’

  He opened his mouth and made angry noises and she cooed back soothing sounds as she ran her hand over his damp hair. ‘I know, you’re trying to tell me what’s wrong, aren’t you?’

  His crying subsided into hiccups and she took the opportunity to run a finger along his gums. Poor little guy had a tooth coming through. Without glancing at Jasper—it was better not to look at him or to think about him, especially not at this time of night—she started for the nursery.

  ‘What are you looking for?’ Jasper said when she tried to search one of the bags one-handed.

  ‘His thermometer.’

  He took the bag, found the thermometer and handed it to her. She took George’s temperature, crooning to him the entire time.

  ‘Do I need to call a doctor?’

  She shook her head, finally risking a glance his way. He looked deliciously dishevelled and heartbreakingly worried. ‘His temperature is only up a tiny bit. How long has he been like this?’

  ‘Nearly two and a half hours.’

  No wonder he looked so frazzled. ‘Why didn’t you come and get me?’

  ‘Because I didn’t want to come across all feeble and pathetic. But you were my next port of call. How did you get him to stop crying?’

  She grimaced. ‘I’m going to try and break this as gently as I can—this is a temporary respite. George is teething.’

  The nursery was too small, too intimate, too much. She moved towards the door, nodding at the bag Jasper had discarded. ‘Let’s go back downstairs, but bring that with you.’

  She put teething gel on George’s gums. But it evidently brought him little relief, as he soon started crying again.

  She watched Jasper pace the floor in growing agitation, biting the inside of her lip. ‘Would it help if I told you this was entirely normal?’

  ‘A little.’ But his eyes said otherwise.

  Whatever else had happened between them, she couldn’t deny that he loved his nephew. She flashed to the day of Katherine’s scheduled biopsy—the way he’d taken her to the exhibition and had then urged her to record a message and playlist for her parents, the way he’d helped draw her mind from her worry. She needed to find a way to distract him like that.

  ‘Can you access Jupiter’s social media account from your phone?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘I think we should post something to her timeline now.’

  He pulled out his phone. ‘What do you want it to say?’

  ‘Pacing the floor with a teething nine-month-old. Have tried a bottle, teething ring and teething gel so far, and lots of walking and rocking. So far nothing has helped. Any tips?’

  He glanced up and she couldn’t read the expression in his eyes. ‘If you say one thing about bed hair,’ she warned.

  ‘There’s absolutely nothing wrong with your hair, Imogen. You’re hoping Emily reads this, aren’t you?’

  She shrugged.

  ‘You’re a genius.’

  ‘Not a genius. Just not afraid to ask for help. There’s a wealth of experience out there on social media. Why not tap into it?’ If, at the same time, they could pique a mother’s maternal concern...

  His phone pinged.

  ‘Guardia
n Angel 27 says “Pray”.’

  ‘Helpful.’

  More pings sounded. ‘Janice sends “lots of hugs”.’

  It was nice of her, but not exactly helpful either.

  ‘“Iced water”,’ he read out.

  Her lips twitched. ‘That’s a little ambiguous. Are we supposed to give it to him to drink or douse ourselves in it?’

  His gaze didn’t leave his phone. ‘Um... “Hang him upside down whilst you drink a margarita.”’

  ‘Just...no.’

  He scanned through the replies that were evidently pouring in, and then stilled. ‘You won’t believe this, but Emily has just responded.’

  She leaned towards him. ‘What does she say?’

  ‘That last time her bub was teething, putting him in his stroller with his comfort toy and pushing the stroller back and forth helped.’

  ‘I’m putting him in his stroller.’ She started for the front foyer, which was where the stroller was currently parked.

  ‘I’ll grab his bunny.’

  * * *

  Jasper’s heart pounded as the baby’s cries started to abate.

  Imogen nudged his foot and he realised she’d been talking to him and he hadn’t been paying attention—hadn’t heard a word.

  ‘Tell her George’s crying is easing and that it looks like it’s working.’

  He started typing on his phone.

  ‘Georgia!’ she corrected. ‘Say Georgia.’

  He backspaced, heart and head both racing. He nearly handed her the phone, his fingers feeling like thumbs, but...

  But he was finally talking to Emily. His sister. After two years she’d finally spoken to him again, and he hadn’t realised it would mean so much.

  A personal message hit his inbox, and he immediately opened it. Need help.

  He wanted to ring, but if Aaron was nearby... ‘What can I do?’ he typed back.

  His phone rang. ‘Emily?’

  ‘Jasper.’

  He didn’t bother with preliminaries or pleasantries. ‘What do you need?’

  ‘I need to get away from Aaron. If he gets hold of me now, he’ll kill me.’

  He doubted she was exaggerating. ‘I can get you on a plane first thing in the morning, for either Rio or São Paulo. Hold on...’ He strode into his office, aware of a silent Imogen coming to stand in the doorway with the stroller to watch and listen as he made the travel arrangements on his computer. ‘Have you got pen and paper there, Em?’

  He gave her the flight details. He organised a bodyguard to accompany her from Sydney to Rio. He organised a private charter from Rio to Tesoura.

  ‘Are you safe from Aaron tonight?’

  ‘I’m at a safe house. He’s away on business but will be back tomorrow. Look, Jasper, he’s involved in some kind of money-laundering racket, and I’ve been helping the police with their enquiries. It’s about to come to a head soon...’

  ‘Does he know that?’

  ‘I don’t know, but I don’t want to be anywhere near him when he does.’

  ‘I won’t let that happen. Give me the address of where you’re staying. I’m sending that bodyguard tonight.’

  ‘I’m going to have to ditch my phone. He’ll be able to track me on it.’

  ‘I’ll have a new one couriered to you.’ She needed to be able to contact him in case anything happened.

  ‘How’s...how’s George?’

  ‘He’s the sweetest, happiest little guy, Em. I don’t know how you’ve managed it.’

  ‘I’ve missed him so much, but Aaron has been so...unpredictable lately.’

  Jasper closed his eyes.

  ‘I needed to send George somewhere safe—away from everything that’s happening here—in case things blew up earlier than expected.’

  ‘Where does Aaron think he is?’

  ‘With Auntie Pat. I told him I wanted to go and stay with her for a few days while he was away on business.’

  He’d bet Aaron hadn’t liked that. Pat was their mother’s sister, and she loathed Keith. Which meant she probably loathed Aaron too.

  ‘Tomorrow you and George will be reunited and safe, I promise.’

  ‘I can’t thank you enough, Jasper.’

  ‘No need.’

  They rang off. He turned to meet Imogen’s gaze. She looked as if she meant to take a step towards him but pulled back at the last moment. ‘Emily is coming?’

  He nodded.

  ‘That’s...that’s amazing news.’

  She glanced down at the stroller, stopped pushing and lifted crossed fingers. Not a peep came from George. He’d finally fallen asleep.

  With a brisk movement, she turned and headed upstairs. Jasper eased past the pram and followed her. ‘What are you...?’

  He trailed off when she checked the two currently vacant guest rooms. ‘We’ll give her this one.’

  It was the room next to George’s and had its own en suite bathroom. She grabbed a fresh set of sheets from the linen cupboard and started to make up the bed. He immediately kicked forward to help. ‘There’ll be time to do this tomorrow, you know?’

  ‘I know, but I’m awake now.’

  She shot him a grin and it made things inside him burn. He’d missed that smile. And her sense of fun. He shook himself. It didn’t matter how much his heart protested. The distance he’d deliberately put between them was still for the best.

  ‘I warn you now, though, breakfast is going to be a lacklustre affair.’

  ‘Forget breakfast. I’ll get some cereal and toast when I’m ready. Sleep as late as you like. I plan to.’

  ‘Liar. You probably won’t sleep a wink until Emily is here.’

  She was probably right.

  He followed her gaze as it ran about the room. ‘What?’

  ‘This is a nice room, but I’m wondering how we can make it more homey. I’ll put a vase of flowers on the dresser.’ She glanced in at the en suite bathroom. ‘I bought some pretty toiletries while I was on the mainland. They’ll do nicely in here.’

  His chest hitched. ‘You don’t have to give your things away, Imogen.’

  ‘I don’t mind. Besides, I think your sister deserves a little pampering. And I know you’ll want her to feel...’

  ‘Safe? Unafraid?’

  She nodded. ‘But also at home. As if nothing bad could possibly happen to her here. That it’s okay for her to let down her guard and rest.’

  She put it into words better than he ever could have.

  She glanced at him then with unabashed admiration. ‘You thought of everything—on the fly—without a moment of panic, when she rang and asked for help. You were confident and in command of the situation—which must’ve been so reassuring for her. It was amazing to witness. She’s lucky to have you, Jasper.’

  An itch started up between his shoulder blades. Nothing could happen between him and this woman—he would not let his family destroy her the way it had him and Emily. But he owed her. And he could give her something now—a part of himself he’d never given to anyone. ‘Immy, I’ve played that scenario—Emily ringing me like that—in my mind hundreds, maybe a thousand, times.’

  Shortening her name seemed natural and right, so he didn’t bother questioning it. ‘Ever since I arrived on Tesoura I’ve wanted Emily to call and ask me to help her break free from Aaron.’ He gave a low laugh. ‘Which probably means I have some kind of saviour complex.’

  ‘Nonsense.’ She moved a step closer, her hands pressed to her chest. ‘It means you love your sister and you want her to be safe and happy.’

  He tried to not look at her chest, at the way her hands—pressed against thin cotton—highlighted curves that made him ache. He forced his gaze back to hers. ‘On the outside I might’ve appeared calm during that phone call, but on the inside, I was anything but.’

 
Her eyes softened and her lips parted. Wind roared in his ears and fire licked along his veins. He eased back a step, feeling anything but calm now. She glanced at him and then at the freshly made bed and colour mounted high on her cheeks. Everything inside him clenched. No! He would not take advantage of this lovely woman. ‘I’ve been meaning to ask, when are you returning to Australia?’

  She stared as if she hadn’t heard him, and then her head rocked back. ‘I... I hadn’t set a firm date.’ She swallowed. ‘You evidently think I should.’

  He forced himself to nod. ‘You have the launch of your sewing business to prepare for, and...’ His mind went blank as he fought the urge to take his words back and beg her to stay.

  Her chin lifted but the sparkle in her eyes had dulled. ‘I’ll talk it over with my aunt and let you know.’ She edged towards the door. ‘I’m going back to bed. George?’

  ‘I’ll take care of him.’

  She left, but it was a long time before he could move, before he could rid himself of the foul taste that coated his tongue.

  * * *

  The reunion between Emily and George was a revelation. The way George’s face lit up...the love in Emily’s face... It made Jasper’s throat thicken and he had to clear it a couple of times. Imogen, who hovered nearby ready to leap in and help with anything if it was needed, swiped at her eyes.

  She went to disappear back into the kitchen, but he caught hold of her hand. ‘Emily, this is Imogen. And heaven help us all if she hadn’t been here to help with George—teaching me all I needed to know about babies.’ And about being an uncle, he realised now. She’d helped to thaw some of the frozen parts inside him. So had George.

  ‘He’s been a perfect doll,’ Imogen assured Emily now. ‘Haven’t you, little man?’ she said, tickling his tummy and making him gurgle out a delighted laugh.

  Jasper froze. The tableau that the two women and the baby made...the fact his sister was in his house...

  He recalled a time when he’d once gone skiing. He’d become so cold that when he’d walked back inside the warm lodge, his face and extremities had burned and ached for a full ten minutes before they’d started to feel normal again. That was how he felt on the inside now.