Christmas Bride for the Boss

by Kate Hardy

  While she was directing Sienna to help her get the ingredients, she texted Jamie.

  Dinner at six. You are eating with us in the kitchen. No arguments.

  He ignored her text.

  Well, fine. She wasn’t daunted.

  Just before she was going to serve up, she rang him. ‘You have three minutes.’

  ‘I’m in the middle of something.’

  She didn’t care. She’d already given him prior warning about when dinner would be ready. If he hadn’t paid attention, that was his problem. ‘I’m serving up now. Come and wash your hands for dinner.’

  He hung up on her, and she wondered if she was going to have to go and drag him out of his study. But then she heard the door open and he strode into the kitchen.

  Sienna beamed. ‘Daddy, you’re sitting here between me and Sophie. I laid the table. And I helped cook the bisgetti.’

  ‘Spaghetti,’ he corrected. ‘Did you?’ He gave Sophie a speaking look.

  ‘She was a brilliant sous-chef, just like my niece Hattie,’ she said.

  Conversation during dinner was like pulling teeth. Jamie seemed to have no idea whatsoever how to talk to his daughter. Was he just hopeless with children in general, or was there something else going on here?

  Sophie did the best she could to include both of them. Once they’d eaten, she said, ‘It’s bathtime, now, Sienna. Perhaps Daddy can do your bath and read you a bedtime story while I do the washing up.’

  * * *

  Bathtime.

  Water.

  Jamie had to dig his nails into his palms as a picture flashed into his head. Fran, her golden curls wet and plastered to her head. Her face so swollen and puffy, just like her throat had been inside, so no air could get through.

  Fran, dead.

  He’d avoided bathing his daughter ever since, leaving the job to Cindy. Sienna looked so much like Fran that he just couldn’t handle seeing her with wet hair and getting those flashbacks, the dreams that had had him waking in tears for weeks after it had happened.

  Okay, so it had been two years and anyone would think he’d come to terms with it by now—he was overreacting. But he couldn’t bear it. He just couldn’t.

  And Sophie really expected him to do bathtime?

  Jamie looked horrified. ‘Cindy—’ he began.

  ‘—isn’t here. And you have a special question to ask Sienna which needs to be with just the two of you together,’ she reminded him.

  Oh, God. There was no way round this. He was just going to have to face his demons.

  ‘Let’s choose a story,’ he said, desperately hoping that maybe if he dragged his feet a bit, he’d either be able to think of an excuse or Sienna might decide she didn’t want a bath after all.

  But it didn’t work out that way.

  He had to go through with it.

  He made the bath as shallow as he possibly could.

  ‘Cindy puts more water in—and more bubbles,’ Sienna said.

  ‘Well, we haven’t got time tonight,’ he said, hating himself for lying to his little girl but not wanting her to know about the nightmares in his head.

  ‘And she washes my hair.’

  No. Just no. ‘Not tonight,’ he said. ‘And we need to talk about Sophie. Would you like her to be your nanny until Cindy’s leg is mended?’

  To his relief, it headed his daughter off the subject of her bath and hairwash.

  ‘I like Sophie. She’s funny. And she does all the special voices in a story,’ Sienna said. ‘And she let me help her cook bisgetti. I was her sushi.’

  He couldn’t help smiling at that. ‘Sous-chef.’

  ‘Can she stay? Please?’

  ‘Yes,’ he said. Even though Sophie Firth was pushing him into doing things he normally avoided. Because the alternative meant taking time off and doing everything for Sienna himself until the agency sent a replacement—which could take a couple of weeks.

  He hauled his daughter out of the bath and dried her swiftly, before helping her into her pyjamas. ‘Story,’ he said. ‘And then I need to talk to Sophie.’

  * * *

  Jamie had gone absolutely white when Sophie had suggested that he did Sienna’s bedtime routine. What was the problem? she wondered. She was starting to think that there was more to it than Jamie being a cold workaholic. But what? She could ask him straight out, but she had the feeling he’d avoid the question. If Sienna agreed to let her stay, then maybe she’d have enough time to find out exactly what was going on—and help.

  She’d just finished the washing up when he came downstairs.

  ‘Well, you were a hit,’ he said. ‘I asked her, and she says she’d like you to stay until Cindy comes back.’

  Though she noticed he didn’t look too pleased about it.

  ‘So I’m looking at my new sleeping partner, then?’ she asked.

  His pupils dilated slightly and she realised how her words could’ve been interpreted; she felt a tide of colour surge into her face. ‘I mean my business partner who invests but lets me get on with running things and doesn’t interfere,’ she clarified.

  ‘Business partner. And you’re my new temporary nanny.’

  ‘Right. I’m glad. Sienna’s a lovely little girl. I’m going to enjoy looking after her. So I guess your solicitors need to talk to mine about the buyout, assuming you agreed with the figures in my proposal.’

  ‘Uh-huh.’ He paused. ‘Plus I need to give you the car keys. Hang on a sec.’ He fished a set of keys out of a drawer and handed them to her. ‘And the spare key for the front door. I was thinking you might find it more convenient to stay here overnight in future. Cindy’s staying at her boyfriend’s flat until her leg mends, so you can use her suite—or the guest suite, if you’d prefer.’

  Staying overnight? That hadn’t been mentioned before. It wasn’t part of their agreement. And she wasn’t giving him another excuse to avoid his daughter. ‘Ah, no,’ she said. ‘You’ll be getting Sienna up in the mornings. Though I’ll be here before you have to leave for work.’

  He blinked. ‘But Cindy—’

  ‘—does things slightly differently than I would.’

  ‘She’s a trained nanny.’

  Meaning that she was supposed to follow Cindy’s instructions? Sophie wanted to rip that ridiculous file into little pieces and jump up and down on it. ‘Well, I’m not,’ she reminded him. ‘As I said, I’ll be here before you have to leave for work.’

  ‘Right. And once you’ve dropped Sienna off, your day is your own until nursery school pick-up. I’ll give you the code word, and I’ll give the nursery school manager your details so she knows who you are,’ he said. ‘Would you mind if I took a photo of you for their records?’

  ‘Sure.’ She had something similar in place with Hattie’s nursery school.

  He took a photograph of her on his phone. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘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 defini
tely 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.

  Maybe his nanny crisis was the answer for both of them.

  Except now he was in a really weird situation: she was his business partner and sort of his employee at the same time.

  He remembered the way she’d blushed when she’d called him her sleeping partner and then obviously realised how the phrase could be taken. And it felt as if his temperature had just spiked along with his pulse rate.

  Oh, for pity’s sake. He couldn’t be attracted to her. It would be way too complicated. Okay. This was simply a physical response due to abstinence, he reminded himself. He was not interested in what might make Sophie Firth blush all over.

  And he wasn’t going to let himself think about the fact that she was single. Available. Because he didn’t have time for a relationship. He didn’t want a relationship. He didn’t deserve a relationship, not after what had happened to Fran. And no way was he letting himself lose control and fall for someone.

  All the same, he found it hard to concentrate on his work for the rest of the evening. It unsettled him to realise that he’d spent more time with Sienna today than he had in weeks. He felt bad about the way he was avoiding his daughter, but every time he saw her she reminded him so much of Fran. The older she got, the more she looked like her mother, and his guilt crucified him every time he looked at her.

  It had been two years.

  Would it ever get any easier?

  * * *

  The next morning, Jamie found himself slightly flummoxed by having to get Sienna up, dressed and breakfasted. And his heart squeezed when he saw how grateful his daughter looked just to be spending time with him.

  He really was making a mess of things. If Fran was here, she’d flay him alive.

  But he simply didn’t know what else to do. With business, he knew where he was. Being a single parent... It was better for Sienna that her nanny, who knew what she was doing, could look after her.

  Or so he’d told himself for the last two years.

  When Sophie rang the doorbell, he was shocked by how pleased he was to see her. Particularly because he thought it was more than just because she was rescuing him from his own fatherly ineptitude. And that would be a really bad idea.

  ‘I’ll see you later,’ he said, kissed Sienna’s cheek, and covered his confusion by rushing off to work.

  * * *

  Sophie noticed how Sienna’s smile dimmed once her father had gone. Okay. Today she’d look at what was happening, and how she could make small changes to bring Sienna and Jamie back together. Gradually, so he didn’t realise what was happening and dig his heels in—because she’d already worked out that he was stubb
orn. But there was definitely more to it than him focusing on his work.

  She took Sienna to nursery school, then headed to work at her own office. She picked up a couple of things for Sienna during her lunch break, reassured Eva and the rest of the team that everything was absolutely fine, then left the office early enough to drop by supermarket before picking Sienna up from nursery school.

  ‘Daddy says I have to sit in the back,’ Sienna said, her dark eyes wide with worry when she saw that Sophie had moved her car seat to the front passenger’s seat.

  ‘We’re on my time, so we’re on my rules,’ Sophie reassured her with a smile. ‘My niece Hattie always sits in the front with me if I pick her up on my own. And we sing on the way. Did you do any singing at school today?’

  Sienna nodded.

  ‘Good. Then you can teach me the song on the way home,’ Sophie declared, and strapped the little girl safely into the seat.

  Sienna was shy at first, and Sophie deliberately got some of the words wrong, to make the little girl laugh and relax. And by the time Sophie parked the car, Sienna was singing at the top of her voice.

  Back at Jamie’s house, they unloaded the shopping. ‘And I bought this for you,’ Sophie said, handing Sienna a package wrapped in sparkly paper with a sparkly ribbon.

  ‘But it’s not my birthday,’ Sienna said, her dark eyes wide.

  ‘It’s a Tuesday present, and you’re going to be using it in, ooh, about five minutes,’ Sophie said, ‘so open it.’

  Sienna was thrilled to discover a pink apron with white spots. ‘It’s beautiful! Thank you!’ She hugged Sophie, who hugged her right back.

  ‘My pleasure, sweetheart,’ Sophie said. ‘Right. Shall we make cupcakes?’

  Once the cakes were in the oven, she texted Jamie.

  Home by six or cold soggy Brussels sprouts. Your choice.

  As she’d half expected, he didn’t reply. But she was quite prepared to go through with her threat.

  She and Sienna made the sticky salmon together, and prepared the rice and green vegetables. Sophie was pleased that the little girl started to chatter a bit more to her, talking about what she’d had for lunch and what her favourite things were.