Maid For The Untamed Billionaire (Mills & Boon Modern) (Housekeeper Brides for Billionaires, Book 1)

by Miranda Lee

  ‘Playboys like your Jake are the worst,’ Megan had pointed out. ‘They think they can’t be resisted and, unfortunately, that’s often true. Hard to resist a good-looking man with charm and money.’

  When Abby argued that she’d never found Jake all that charming, Megan had just laughed.

  ‘That’s because you haven’t been a target before. Once he gets a look at you in your new things he’ll go into charm mode in no time flat. First will come the compliments, then the accidental touches, followed by flirtatious remarks, finishing up with a drinks or dinner invitation. You mark my words, kiddo.’

  At this point, Abby had decided not to tell Megan that she would be the one extending a dinner invitation. As a thank you gesture. Truly, sometimes it was best not to tell Megan things.

  Still, she had to confess that she’d got a real buzz when he’d said how nice she looked.

  Whilst Jake was in the bathroom, Abby collected her new bag from the lounge, then picked up the house keys from the hall table so she’d be ready to lock up when Jake was finished. She understood that he didn’t want to waste the whole of his precious Saturday with her when he could be with his girlfriend. His attitude to this whole business had been one of impatience from the start.

  Jake took his time, however, Abby’s gaze travelling back to his car whilst she waited.

  Now that was another thing she’d definitely not be telling Megan. Abby hadn’t known till today what kind of car Jake drove so she would invent a nice safe sedan, if need be. She could just imagine what Megan would say if she found out her sister had spent Saturday afternoon swanning around in Jake’s sexy red Ferrari.

  By the time Jake left the bathroom he’d gathered himself, ready to face his tormentor with his body almost under control and his sunglasses firmly in place.

  Jake wondered again what was making her so irresistible to him. Was it her relative innocence? Her lack of experience?

  It wasn’t just her beauty. He’d had lots of beautiful women in his life, and in his bed. No, it was something else. Something intangible. Something very sweet and very special.

  It made him afraid for her.

  He’d been right to be fearful, he decided as he watched Abby turn to lock up, her rear view as tasty as her front. He suppressed a groan and willed his own body to behave.

  It ignored him and Jake swore at himself in his head.

  ‘How long will it take to get to the cemetery?’ she asked innocently as she turned back to face him.

  ‘Not long,’ he said a bit abruptly. ‘I’ve also already contacted the dealership in Parramatta,’ he went on, masking his inner torment behind his best businesslike voice. ‘I spoke to a salesman there at length yesterday and they have a car on their lot which should suit you admirably. If you like it, you could drive it away today. It’s all registered and ready to go.’

  ‘Really?’ She sounded pleased. ‘What colour is it?’

  ‘White. Sorry. No blue ones available. But really, it’s the most sensible colour for our climate and city. Never gets too hot or looks too dirty.’

  She laughed, bringing a sparkle to her eyes and some added colour to her cheeks. She was making things awfully hard for him.

  And wasn’t that an understatement? came the wry thought. Thank goodness he wasn’t wearing tight jeans.

  ‘I can’t imagine me ever letting any car of mine get too dirty,’ she said, ‘especially a new one. Megan calls me a neat freak.’

  ‘A good quality in a housekeeper,’ he said through gritted teeth. And in a lover, came the pesky thought.

  Jake liked his women well groomed. All over. Liked their clothes to be just so, especially their underwear. When he started wondering what Abby had on underneath that top and jeans he knew it was time to get this show on the road. ‘Come on, let’s get going.’

  Quite automatically, he went to reach out and take her elbow, a habit he had when escorting a woman. He pulled his hand back just in time, instead waving her on ahead of him.

  Damn, he thought wearily as he trudged after her. It was going to be a long morning.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  A VERY HAPPY Abby was striding along her front path towards the gate when Harriet, her elderly neighbour, suddenly popped her head up over the hedge which separated their two houses.

  ‘Hello, dear,’ she said. ‘My, but don’t you look extra nice today. Going somewhere special?’ Her curious eyes zoomed from Abby to Jake to the Ferrari then back to Abby again.

  Abby suppressed a sigh as she reluctantly ground to a halt and turned towards her neighbour. ‘Just going car shopping,’ she replied truthfully. ‘Got a windfall from a long-lost uncle. My friend here’s going to help me find the right one,’ she said, casting a rueful glance over her shoulder at Jake. ‘He’s a car nut, as you can see. Can’t stop and chat,’ she hurried on, not wanting to have to get into awkward introductions.

  ‘We’re already running late,’ she added, and headed for the Ferrari. ‘Bye.’

  ‘Drop in for a cuppa tomorrow,’ Harriet called after her.

  ‘Will do,’ she called back.

  Jake didn’t say a word as he swiftly opened the passenger door for her. Neither did he help her, despite it not being the easiest car to get into. But Abby had always been an agile sort of girl, with long slender legs and sure hands, so by the time Jake closed the door and walked around to the driver’s side she was all buckled up and ready to go, her new handbag settled in her lap.

  ‘A car nut, am I?’ Jake said wryly after he climbed in and gunned the engine.

  Abby shrugged. ‘I had to say something.’

  ‘Will you really go in for a cuppa tomorrow?’ he asked as he accelerated away.

  ‘Probably,’ Abby admitted. ‘Harriet was very good to me when Wayne died. I wouldn’t hurt her for the world. I just didn’t want to have to introduce you.’

  ‘Why’s that?’

  ‘Well, mostly because I don’t want her to find out that you’re the businessman I clean house for. She’d immediately think that there was something going on between us and, before I knew it, the whole street would think the same thing, which would be very embarrassing. Gosh, but this car is amazing,’ she rattled on, happy to change the subject from their hypothetical affair. ‘It must have cost you a small fortune.’

  ‘There are more expensive cars but it wasn’t cheap. I only drive it at weekends and when I’m on holiday.’

  ‘It’s not a convertible though, is it?’

  ‘Actually, it is. The top retracts.’

  ‘That’s incredible!’

  He said nothing for a few seconds, though he did glance over at her with a bit of a frown. But then he smiled a strange little smile as though he was secretly amused about something.

  ‘I’ll show you, if you like,’ he said.

  His offer startled her. ‘Oh, no. No, please don’t. Not today. My hair will get all messed up and it took me ages to do it.’

  ‘Fair enough. Some other time then.’ And he smiled another strange smile.

  Abby could not envisage there would ever be such a time, which was a shame really. It would be wonderful whizzing along an open country road on a fine summer’s day with the top down and her hair blowing in the breeze. Even better if she were driving.

  She almost laughed. Imagine her driving a Ferrari. She wasn’t a Ferrari kind of girl.

  Jake was right. The cemetery wasn’t far away but it was a depressing place. Abby didn’t like the long rows of gravestones.

  She hadn’t buried Wayne. He’d been cremated with his ashes sprinkled in the ocean at his favourite fishing spot. Which was ironic given it was the sea which had killed him. But it was what he had once told her he wanted, if anything ever happened to him. Perhaps, however, he’d imagined being killed in a car accident, not what had actually happened.

  ‘This way,’ Jake sa
id after they both climbed out. He set off at a brisk walk, not looking back to see if she was behind him. Which was so typical of her boss.

  No charm yet, Megan, she said silently to her sister. One little compliment was as much as he could manage.

  Abby followed Jake down a long row of well tended graves, some of which had fresh flowers in vases on them. She hadn’t thought to bring flowers, her mind being on nothing but looking her very best this morning, a realisation which upset her a little. Stupid, Abby. Get your priorities straight!

  Still, Jake might have thought it was overdoing things if she’d brought flowers.

  He stopped suddenly in front of a freshly dug grave which was covered with a large green felt blanket topped with a huge arrangement of native flowers which didn’t look at all bedraggled, although they had to have been there over a week.

  ‘That’s Craig’s grave,’ he pointed out, his rough voice betraying a depth of emotion which moved Abby.

  Clearly, he had loved his uncle. A lot. Craig’s death must have upset Jake terribly, his grief heightened by not having been able to be with the man when he’d died. It had been a cruel thing for his uncle to do. He’d probably thought he was being kind, and brave. But it had been selfish of him, really. Selfish and insensitive.

  Abby opened her mouth to say something sympathetic, but when she looked up at Jake she found him staring down, not at his uncle’s grave but at the grave on the left of it. The name on the gravestone was Clive Sanderson, beloved husband of Grace, much loved father of Roland, Peter, Jake, Sophie, Cleo and Fiona.

  It didn’t take a genius to realise this had to be Jake’s father, the dates revealing he’d died at the age of forty-seven. How sad. What to say?

  Nothing, Abby decided. She understood enough about her boss to know that he wouldn’t want to talk about it. So she returned her attention to Craig’s grave, closed her eyes and said a prayer of thanks to him, at the same time adding that he really should have told his family that he was dying.

  But it was too late to change anything now, she accepted. Death was very final. It took no prisoners, as the saying went. When Abby felt tears prick at her eyes she blinked them away then looked over at Jake.

  ‘I’ve said my thanks,’ she said matter-of-factly. ‘I think I’d like to go now.’

  ‘Good,’ he said, and stalked off in the direction of the car, not saying another word till they were both back in their seats. Only then did he speak.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ he apologised. ‘I still can’t get over his death.’

  ‘Your uncle’s, or your father’s?’ she asked gently.

  ‘Ah. You saw.’ He loosened his grip on the wheel and turned to face her. ‘Both really. But Craig’s is still very raw.’

  ‘It gets easier with time,’ was all she could offer. Though, down deep, Abby knew some deaths stayed with you for ever.

  He sighed, leant back against the car seat, took off his sunglasses then glanced over at her. ‘How did your husband die, Abby?’

  ‘He drowned,’ came her rather stark reply. But there was little point in not telling him the truth. ‘He went out fishing in a small dinghy not suitable for the open sea. A storm came up and he was tipped into the water. He wasn’t wearing a life belt. His body was washed up on Maroubra Beach a couple of days later.’

  ‘You must have been devastated,’ he said quietly, his eyes sad for her.

  ‘I was.’

  He nodded at the obvious sincerity in her statement. ‘You are a lovely young woman,’ he went on with a sigh. ‘You’ll find someone else eventually, get married again and have lots of equally lovely children.’

  She laughed. She couldn’t help it. ‘I don’t think so, Jake. I don’t want to get married again.’

  ‘You loved him that much?’

  It was one thing to tell her boss the brutal truth about Wayne’s death, but everything else was her own private business. She would not share it with him.

  ‘It’s not a question of love, Jake, but what I want to do with the rest of my life. I thought I wanted marriage and children when I was younger, but my priorities have changed. I want to travel whilst I’m still young. I want to see another side of life than just what’s here in Australia. I want to see the world.’

  He looked over at her for a long time. ‘I see,’ he said at last.

  Probably not, she thought.

  ‘We’d better get going again,’ he went on gruffly. ‘We have a car to buy.’

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  ‘OH, JAKE, I simply adore it!’ Abby exclaimed when she climbed in behind the wheel of the sporty white hatchback. ‘Thank you so much.’

  Jake just smiled and let the salesman, Raoul, continue showing Abby all the features of her new car. After he’d run through everything, Raoul suggested Abby take it for a test spin round the block. Jake declined her invitation to accompany her, which in hindsight was not a good move, since Raoul was only too happy to go in his place. The salesman was about Abby’s age, an immigrant from South America, tall, dark and handsome with a sexy accent and charm by the bucketload. Jake wished within seconds of them disappearing down the street that he’d gone with Abby.

  He was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t! When she’d confessed her wish to spurn marriage and see the world, he’d been momentarily overcome with joy that now he could seduce her and not feel guilty about it. But Jake knew in his heart of hearts that a girl like Abby would want marriage and children again one day. And then there was the unpalatable added fact that whilst she was grateful to him, she clearly wasn’t at all enamoured with his character.

  Was it too late to turn on the charm?

  He rather suspected that it was.

  Jake paced the car lot until Abby returned, doing his best to calm down whilst inside he was churning with regret and, yes, jealousy, an emotion he despised. But it was no use. He was jealous. As soon as the white hatchback turned into the driveway he strode towards it, anxiously searching for evidence that the couple inside were in any way attracted to each other.

  Raoul, it seemed, was doing all the talking whilst Abby was just nodding. When Abby climbed out and smiled over at him, Jake was so relieved that he smiled back.

  ‘So how was it?’ he asked as she walked towards him.

  ‘Brilliant!’ she exclaimed. ‘And so easy to drive.’

  ‘It certainly is,’ Raoul said on joining them. ‘But then, you are also a very good driver, Abby.’

  She smiled over at him.

  Jake’s gut tightened. He didn’t want her smiling at other men, especially this one. What was the point in controlling his own desire for the girl if she fell into the clutches of some slick-talking salesman?

  Jake decided it was time to go.

  ‘You’re happy with that particular car then, Abby?’ he directed at her.

  ‘Oh, yes. Very happy.’

  ‘Then we’ll take it,’ he told Raoul. ‘I presume I can pay for it with my credit card.’

  ‘But of course, Mr Sanderson. Come with me into my office and I’ll fix up everything for you.’

  ‘Lucky you,’ Raoul said when he finally handed over the registration papers and keys, ‘to have such a generous employer as Mr Sanderson.’

  ‘He’s a wonderful boss,’ Abby agreed.

  Jake winced inside. He’d explained to Raoul on the phone yesterday that Abby was a valued employee of his and the car was her Christmas bonus. Jake had informed Abby of his little white lie just before they’d arrived at the dealership, but he’d forgotten that the male mind often thought the worst when it came to an attractive female. Clearly, Raoul had jumped to the conclusion that Abby was getting this car as payment for services rendered outside work hours. Fortunately, Abby didn’t seem aware of this. He just hoped that he could get her out of here before she twigged to the situation.

  ‘Thank you for your assista
nce,’ Jake said, standing up and extending his hand over the desk.

  The salesman stood up and took his hand. ‘My pleasure, Mr Sanderson,’ he returned in a rather unctuous manner.

  ‘Now, if you have any trouble, Abby,’ Raoul went on, smiling over at Abby, who had also risen to her feet, ‘any trouble at all, you just ring me. Here’s my card.’

  Abby took it, of course. Which irked Jake considerably. Couldn’t she see he just wanted to get into her pants? Surely she wasn’t that naïve?

  ‘If you have any trouble with your car, Abby,’ Jake bit out as he walked her over to it, ‘you ring me first, not that sleazebag.’

  Abby lifted startled eyes to his. ‘You think Raoul’s a sleazebag?’

  ‘Yes, I do.’

  Takes one to know one, Jake, came the brutally honest thought.

  Abby’s face fell. ‘And there I was, thinking he was just being extra nice. Because of you being famous, you know?’

  Jake could see he’d upset her, which was the last thing he’d wanted to do. He’d loved seeing her so happy about the car.

  ‘You could be right,’ he said. ‘Take no notice of me, Abby. I’m a cynical bastard at times.’

  Abby frowned. ‘No, you’re probably right. Megan says I’m too trusting where men are concerned.’ She glanced up at him and smiled. ‘But I know a truly good one when I meet him. Which reminds me. I want to do something special for you, Jake, to thank you for everything.’

  Jake tried not to let his mind trail over all the things he’d like her to do for him. But it went there all the same. She’d called him ‘truly good’, but he wasn’t. Not at all.