City Cinderella

by Catherine George

  ‘Bad combination with antibiotics,’ Emily said firmly, and handed him his cup. ‘And no more of this tonight, either, or you won’t sleep.’

  Lucas leaned back, his eyes on hers. ‘I probably won’t anyway, with you in the next room.’

  ‘Then I’d better go home.’

  ‘If you do you won’t sleep, either.’

  ‘Oh? Why not?’

  ‘Because you’ll worry about me.’

  His smile was so smugly triumphant that Emily couldn’t control a giggle.

  ‘Sophist!’ she accused.

  ‘Nevertheless, I’m right. You’d lose sleep over anyone you knew if you thought they were alone and ill.’

  He couldn’t be more wrong. Up to now, Emily had never experienced such overwhelming urgency to care for someone in the way she did with Lucas. Certainly not with Miles. A discovery which would have saved a whole lot of trouble if she’d made it at the start of their acquaintance.

  ‘You’d better not stay up too long,’ she advised him. ‘Not for the first time.’

  ‘But if I go back to my bedroom, that’s it,’ he complained. ‘No more Emily.’

  She leaned back in her corner, smiling at him. ‘You can stay up until you take your last dose for today.’

  ‘Gee, thanks! For that and for a great many other things,’ he added, and eyed her musingly. ‘Strange to think you’ve been sharing my flat with me all this time—more or less—without my knowing it.’

  ‘Cleaning, not sharing, Lucas.’

  ‘But you were the one making the place a pleasure to come home to, Emily. A pity I’m rarely home early, or we would have met before.’

  She chuckled. ‘When we finally did I wanted to sink through the floor. Did you think I was a computer-literate burglar listing your possessions?’

  He shook his head, smiling. ‘I thought I was hallucinating.’

  ‘Actually, you were very forbearing, Lucas.’

  ‘A good thing I was,’ he said with feeling. ‘Otherwise I would have languished alone and ill on my sickbed all this time without a soul to take care of me.’

  ‘I doubt it. Your sister would have arranged for a nursing service.’

  Lucas shuddered. ‘A thought which makes me all the more grateful to you, Emily.’

  She yawned suddenly. ‘Sorry! I’ve had rather a busy day—’ She stopped, flushing.

  ‘I thought,’ said Lucas suavely, ‘that you went home to relax for a while.’

  She looked down at her hands. ‘I did eventually, but first I had work to do. I was already a day overdue with my other jobs—’

  ‘So you spent the afternoon cleaning for your landlord!’

  ‘And for Mark, too.’ Emily’s chin lifted. ‘There’s absolutely no point in glaring at me, Lucas. It’s how I earn my living. At the moment, anyway.’

  He scowled. ‘In the circumstances, surely these guys would have let you off today?’

  ‘Of course they would.’ Not that she had the least intention of discussing these particular circumstances with either Nat or Mark. ‘But that would have been taking advantage.’

  ‘Do they know you’re looking after me?’

  ‘No. Sometimes I don’t actually see either of them for days on end. And even when I do I don’t have to explain myself to them.’ Emily looked pointedly at her watch.

  ‘Don’t tell me,’ said Lucas, resigned. ‘You’re about to blow the whistle.’

  ‘It’s not up to me, Lucas. If you want to stay up for a while after taking the pills I can’t stop you.’ She got up. ‘I’ll fetch you the pill and some water, and I’m leaving a flask of hot lemon drink by your bed in case you fancy it in the night.’

  ‘Thank you—’ His eyes narrowed. ‘What flask?’

  ‘Mine. I brought it back with me earlier.’

  He shook his head in mock wonder. ‘You’re a paragon, Emily. Did you ever think of nursing as a career?’

  ‘Not my kind of thing.’ She smiled at him and went off to the kitchen, glad he had no idea that Lucas Tennent was the only man she’d ever met who brought out her caring instincts.

  When she got back she was touched to find Lucas had made a nest of cushions in her corner of the sofa.

  ‘Put your feet up and lie there for a while,’ he ordered.

  ‘Thanks, it looks so tempting I will.’ Emily slid her boots off and curled up with a sigh of pleasure, fixing him with persuasive eyes. ‘Lucas, you know all there is to know about me. Would I be overstepping the mark to ask about your background?’

  He raised an eyebrow. ‘You mean the mark between master and slave?’

  ‘That’s the one,’ she agreed, smiling. ‘If I cross my heart and promise complete discretion, will you give me a brief rundown on the life and times of Lucas Tennent?’

  He shrugged. ‘I’m not worried about your discretion. I can hardly be of much interest to your friends.’

  He hadn’t met Ginny, thought Emily drowsily, as he began to talk about his grammar school education, followed by a degree from Cambridge and an MBA. From the start, he told her, he’d been tunnel-visioned about acquiring the best possible technical skills to add to the flair and determination necessary to get on in his profession. He described how he’d begun in a lowly way in research at the investment bank that had offered him his first job, and after rising steadily through the ranks there, had been eventually headhunted by another much-respected banking institution.

  ‘Its continued success in the global market is due to skilful alignment between ambition and resources. In short,’ Lucas explained, turning to her, ‘an outfit unlikely to crash—’

  He smiled ruefully. Emily was asleep. Which allowed his eyes to roam at leisure over the sleeping face framed in escaping tendrils of glossy black hair, the rise and fall of her breasts under the clinging black jersey. Knowing he was to blame for the exhaustion which had finally overtaken her, guilt mingled with the pleasure he took in just looking at her. Filled with a protective feeling new in his experience with women, he got up slowly, careful not to disturb her, then stood frowning in indecision. It was a cold night. Electronically controlled heating or not, Emily would wake shivering at some stage if he left her where she was. Even go down with flu again. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a moment, then with infinite care he picked her up and stood still, cradling her in his arms for a moment until he felt steady enough on his feet to carry his sleeping burden.

  Relieved to find he was more than capable of transporting one small female a relatively short distance, Lucas made for the guest room, then stood in the open doorway, cursing silently. There were no pillows, the bed was stripped and the quilt was on the floor. For all he knew, maybe he’d gone through his entire stock of bedlinen. And to his disgust he was fast running out of energy to go and check.

  Only one thing for it, then. Lucas carried Emily into his own room and very carefully laid her on the bed she had tidied up at some stage during the evening. She muttered indistinctly and he hung over her, braced on his arms, willing himself not to cough. Eventually he straightened with care. Bad idea to collapse on top of her. From her point of view, anyway. But there was still the problem of whether to risk waking her by undressing her, or to leave her as she was. The sweater could stay. But the jeans fitted so perfectly they would be uncomfortable once she was tucked up in bed. Gingerly, he undid her waistband and slid down the zip, waited a moment, then tugged gently and to his relief found the velvet material had some kind of stretch incorporated into it, making it easy to pull off. She made a muffled, protesting sound as he achieved success, then settled into the pillow like a little animal getting comfortable in its nest.

  Lucas stood still and watchful for some time. When Emily showed no signs of waking, he went into the bathroom to undress and buried his face in a towel to smother the cough that finally defeated him. When he came out Emily still lay motionless, out to the world, and, taking care not to disturb her, he stretched himself out on the far side of the bed. Resisting the overpowering u
rge to kiss her flushed, sleeping face, he reached out a hand to switch off the light, then pulled the covers over them and settled down to sleep.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  EMILY woke to feel an arm round her waist, and breath hot on her neck, and let out a squeak of fright which woke Lucas up with a start. He snatched his arm away and shot upright, coughing.

  ‘Emily, I can explain,’ he panted, meeting her startled eyes. ‘Don’t be frightened.’

  She pushed herself upright, thrusting her hair back from her face. ‘I’m not now I know it’s you. But for a nightmarish moment I thought it was Miles.’

  Lucas let out a heartfelt sigh of relief. ‘I was afraid you’d scream and run for your life once you woke up and found yourself in bed with me. But there’s a logical explanation, I swear.’

  But Emily was less concerned with logical explanations than the discovery that it felt perfectly natural to share a bed with Lucas.

  ‘Don’t you want to know why I brought you here?’ he demanded. ‘And before you ask, nothing happened other than sleep.’

  ‘I know that,’ said Emily, surprising him with her dimple. ‘Unless you managed to put my clothes back on after you’d had your wicked way. Not counting the jeans, I appear to be fully dressed.’

  ‘You fell asleep on the sofa last night,’ he explained. ‘I was afraid to leave you there in case you got cold, but when I carried you to the other room there were no sheets on the bed. By that time I was dead on my feet, so I brought you here, even at the risk of mayhem when you woke up. I removed the jeans with great reverence,’ he added soulfully.

  Emily chuckled, but, suddenly aware that whatever reasons had made it necessary to share Lucas’s bed last night they no longer applied now it was seven in the morning, she slid to her feet and made for the jeans folded neatly on the chest. She turned her back on Lucas and pulled the stretchy velvet up over sheer black tights.

  ‘I’ve never slept in my clothes before,’ she muttered, embarrassed now. ‘If you don’t mind I’ll have a quick shower before I make you some breakfast.’

  ‘I don’t mind in the least,’ he assured her.

  Later, when Emily was dressed in the more everyday denims and sweatshirt she’d brought with her, she knocked on Lucas’s door before going in.

  ‘A bit late for formality, Emily,’ he said, laughing at her. ‘Not much point when we’ve shared nearly every intimacy there is in the past few days. The more romantic of them not of your choice, it’s true, and the rest of it certainly not mine. But in the short time since we met we’ve come to know each other remarkably well.’

  Too well in one instance, thought Emily. ‘How do you feel today?’

  ‘Better,’ he assured her. ‘Apart from the odd cough now and then, I’m definitely on the mend.’

  ‘Good.’ She smiled in approval. ‘I’ll bring your breakfast. Then later, when you feel up to it, you can transfer to a sofa while I sort this place out.’

  ‘And after that?’

  ‘I’m going back to Spitalfields.’

  Lucas slumped back against the pillows, his eyes accusing. ‘Aren’t you worried I’ll relapse?’

  ‘I can’t stay here all the time, Lucas!’

  ‘Why not?’ he demanded. ‘Are you supposed to be cleaning somewhere today?’

  ‘No,’ Emily admitted. ‘Not today.’

  ‘Then what’s so urgent in Spitalfields that you have to rush back there?’

  ‘My laptop, for a start. I’m not playing at writing a novel, Lucas. I should be working on it right now.’

  ‘Fetch it and work here.’

  She gave him a quizzical look. ‘Are you really telling me that you can’t manage on your own if I go home?’

  ‘No, I’m not,’ he admitted with reluctance. ‘I’m not feeling totally fit yet, but I’m perfectly capable of heating soup and swallowing pills at the prescribed intervals.’ The sloe-black eyes held hers like magnets. ‘I’m asking you to stay, Emily, for the simple reason that I’ll miss you like hell if you go.’

  She turned away blindly and made for the door. ‘I need coffee. I’ll be back as soon as I can with your breakfast.’

  This was getting out of hand. While she made coffee and put eggs to boil Emily made a firm resolution. From now on she wouldn’t let those hypnotic black eyes persuade her against her better judgement. The situation was stereotyped enough. The patient dependent on the nurse. But she was not a nurse, and if she had any shred of common sense she would take off today after tidying Lucas’s bedroom and come back only when she was due here next. In her official capacity as cleaner. Or, if she were really sensible, not come back here at all.

  ‘Why the heavy frown?’

  Emily whirled round, startled, to see Lucas, fully dressed. ‘You’re up,’ she said idiotically, and he grinned.

  ‘So I am. I had to clear out of my bedroom shortly, anyway, so I’ve come to eat here with you, in the kitchen.’ He looked at her steadily. ‘But if you object to the arrangement I’ll take myself and my breakfast to the living room sofa and leave you in peace.’

  Emily put her resolution on hold. ‘Of course I don’t object. Settle yourself on one of those stools and drink some orange juice while I make toast. I hope you like boiled eggs?’

  It was fun to sit perched at the breakfast bar with Lucas, to share coffee and toast and even the eggs, since he insisted Emily ate one of them.

  ‘What do you normally eat for breakfast?’ she asked, dunking a finger of toast in her egg yolk.

  ‘Just some fruit juice,’ he admitted, following suit. ‘Caroline, my assistant, provides me with coffee and croissants when I get in. What about you?’

  ‘At home, under my mother’s eagle eye, something like this.’

  ‘And with Miles?’

  Emily shrugged. ‘I always left long before him to provide my boss with coffee and buns.’

  ‘Was the boss man cut up when you left?’

  ‘He said so. He replied to my resignation with a very kind, regretful letter and promised a glowing reference. He even asked me to call in and see him some time. But, for obvious reasons, I’m not going to do that. As far as I know Miles still works there.’

  Lucas turned in his seat to give her a searching look. ‘I’ve been thinking about Miles. Exactly why is he ringing you, Emily? Does he want to kiss and make up?’

  She scowled. ‘If he does he’s out of luck. In fact, I’m amazed he wants anything to do with me.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Money.’ Emily’s smile was mirthless. ‘My money. When we split up we had a huge row over it. Like a fool I’d given Miles my savings as part of the deposit on the flat. But that night when I asked for it back he said no chance, because he didn’t want me to leave, and in any case I hadn’t signed anything to prove I’d ever given him any money.’ She glowered. ‘Like an utter fool I’d trusted him. So I learned the hard way that cohabitation doesn’t give a woman the same rights as marriage. Although I paid for our food and household bills while we were together, I didn’t contribute to the actual mortgage repayments. And darling Miles had taken out the mortgage in his name only, which means I have no legal rights over the flat we shared and no hope of getting my money back.’

  Lucas swore volubly. ‘The bastard cheated on you and swindled you out of your money? Did you contact a lawyer?’

  ‘Of course. My father got in touch with my solicitor chum right away. But in the end Harry advised us not to pursue it. In his opinion the costs of the case would have come to more than the nest egg I’d handed over to Miles in the first place. Anyway, by that stage I wanted to forget everything about him—and his wretched mortgage. And how criminally stupid I’d been.’ Emily stared malevolently into her cup. ‘I’d saved some of my nest egg myself, but the rest came in presents over the years from my parents, who never have all that much to spare. I could kill Miles with my bare hands every time I think of it.’

  Lucas’s grasp tightened. ‘Look, Emily, if the swine turns up and gives y
ou any trouble at all, tell me right away. I’ll sort him out for you.’

  ‘I don’t think he will, but even if he does find me in Spitalfields he’ll have Nat to contend with first. And don’t look like that,’ she added impatiently. ‘Nat would naturally be first on the scene. It’s his house.’

  Lucas slid off his stool and lifted Emily down and held her by the elbows, his eyes probing hers. ‘If Miles gives you any hassle I’ll get a lawyer friend of mine to take out an injunction against him.’

  She brightened. ‘That’s a great idea.’

  His grasp tightened a little. ‘Tell me the truth. During this row of yours, did Miles get physically violent?’

  ‘No.’ Emily gave him a triumphant smile. ‘I was the violent one, not Miles. At first that horrible night he just blustered, saying I was making a fuss about nothing. That boys will be boys. Tamara was just a fling. I was important to him.’ She shrugged. ‘I think his ego just couldn’t take it when I said it was over. Then I demanded my money back and things got really ugly—lots of shouting. When he caught hold of me to stop me packing I grabbed his precious school cricket bat and told him to take his hands off me and get out, or I’d hit him for six.’

  Lucas threw back his head and laughed. ‘And how big is this idiot?’

  ‘Almost as tall as you, but heavier. Why?’

  He shook his head in wonder. ‘Emily, you can’t be more than an inch or so over five feet, and delightfully rounded though you are I was able to carry you quite comfortably last night. Yet this prince among men actually turned tail when you threatened him?’

  ‘He certainly did,’ she said, her eyes glowing at the memory. ‘I was dying to hit him and Miles knew it. So he did the sensible thing and took to his heels.’

  Lucas laughed delightedly and ruffled her hair. ‘Vicious creature. I’m thankful I don’t own a cricket bat any more.’