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‘Any questions and Arthur will know the answer, unless it is baby-orientated and then you are the expert.’
‘So no pressure, then,’ the other man murmured, mirroring her thoughts exactly as he exchanged a look with Rose while Zac vanished. ‘This way, miss.’
‘Rose,’ Rose said, following him weighed down not just by the holdall slung across her shoulder but by her headache which was still in the bounds of tolerable.
If she relaxed it might go away?
She ignored the sarcastic voice of negativity in her head that pointed out this hope was an exercise of optimism over experience.
‘Shall I take that?’
Relieved of the bag, which though not bulky was heavy, she gave a grateful smile, not questioning her over-my-dead-body stubborn refusal to relinquish it when Zac had made the same offer on the way up from the car park.
‘Thanks.’
‘I had the bed made up in this room.’ He pushed open a door that led into a room that was very five-star hotel, and placed her bag on the floor beside a queen-sized bed. ‘Would you like to freshen up or...?’
‘No, I’d like to meet the baby?’
He nodded and waited for her to walk past him. ‘The nursery is just across here. The nanny was in the adjoining room but if you leave this door open you’ll still be able to hear him...plus the room is Bluetoothed for sound.’
Something in his expression made her smile and speculate. ‘He has good lungs?’
‘I’ve heard quieter Harriers. Give me a nice peaceful war zone any day.’
‘Jump jets...the vertical ones...?’ She threw him a quizzical look.‘Air force?’It would make sense. He had a definite military air about him.
He looked mock offended. ‘Navy.’
Rose smiled back, wishing she could feel such an easy rapport with his boss...her boss too. ‘Sorry.’
‘Janet agreed to hold on until you arrived and I’ll drop her at the airport on my way.’
‘You are leaving?’ That would mean... Rose pulled in a deep breath, mocking the thud of her traitorous heart and ignoring the quiver of illicit excitement low in her belly.
She wasn’t alone. She had a baby to care for and for all she knew Zac—Mr Adamos, she self-corrected—having decided to keep things formal, professional, might not be spending the night alone either. There might be scarily clad supermodels drifting around the place.
One thing was certain—they definitely wouldn’t be alone together!
‘I’m heading out to Greece ahead to make sure everything’s ready.’
‘So you’re a sort of...troubleshooter.’
‘As good a word as any, a multitasker, that’s me. It’s hard for ex-servicemen to fit into civilian life. I was lucky, I’ve been working for Zac since I was invalided out... PTSD,’ he added very matter-of-factly. ‘I met him at a day centre the Adamos Foundation runs for ex-servicemen. There was a slight contretemps between a couple of guys, which I...smoothedover.’
He didn’t detail what the smoothing had involved but Rose assumed it helped if your powers of diplomatic persuasion were backed up by muscle.
‘Zac said he could do with someone like me, and it turned out he was right. OK, then,’ he added in a stage whisper, ‘this is the nursery.’ They entered a room that was softly lit, the blinds drawn. Rose walked over to the cot. ‘I’ll leave you to it. Tell Janet I’m waiting when she’s ready.’
‘He’s beautiful,’ Rose whispered, looking down at the sleeping baby with a head of dark curls, his equally dark lashes resting like a fan against his flushed baby cheeks. ‘Hello, Declan.’
‘It’s OK.’ The Scottish-accented voice at her elbow was pitched at a normal volume. ‘He won’t wake. I know, famous last words, but really he’s flat out. The poor wee thing has had a rough few days—colic, but it seems to have settled. You must be Rose. I’m Janet. Do you mind if I give you the tour straight away? My mum’s had a fall and fractured her hip. She’s booked into surgery later today. I want to be there when she wakes up from the anaesthetic.’
‘Of course. I’m so sorry about your mum.’
The tour was speedy but comprehensive and the other woman requested her email address and sent over some detailed notes she had made, which Rose accepted with gratitude.
‘I’ve put a routine there but basically I’ve been playing it by ear until he settled, poor mite. You know the story?’
