She’s as pure as winter snow...

Can her innocence redeem him?

Charismatic Manhattan tycoon Abe Devereux is famed for his cold heart. So meeting compassionate nanny Naomi, who’s determined to see the good in him, is a novelty—as is the potency of their undeniable connection! Abe is notoriously merciless, and he wants this shy Cinderella between his sheets by Christmas. But will seducing gentle Naomi be Abe’s biggest risk, or his greatest chance of redemption?

Lose yourself in this captivating Cinderella romance!

CAROL MARINELLI recently filled in a form asking for her job title. Thrilled to be able to put down her answer, she put ‘writer’. Then it asked what Carol did for relaxation and she put down the truth—‘writing’. The third question asked for her hobbies. Well, not wanting to look obsessed, she crossed her fingers and answered ‘swimming’—but, given that the chlorine in the pool does terrible things to her highlights, I’m sure you can guess the real answer!

Also by Carol Marinelli

Their One Night Baby

Claiming His Hidden Heir

The Innocent’s Shock Pregnancy

Billionaires & One-Night Heirs miniseries

The Innocent’s Secret Baby

Bound by the Sultan’s Baby

Sicilian’s Baby of Shame

Ruthless Royal Sheikhs miniseries

Captive for the Sheikh’s Pleasure

Christmas Bride for the Sheikh

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

The Billionaire’s Christmas Cinderella

Carol Marinelli

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-07280-9

THE BILLIONAIRE’S CHRISTMAS CINDERELLA

© 2018 Carol Marinelli

Published in Great Britain 2018

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

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Version: 2020-03-02

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Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

PROLOGUE

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

Extract

About the Publisher

PROLOGUE

‘I KNOW THAT this is a very difficult time for the Devereux family. However—’

‘That may be the case but it has no bearing on this discussion.’

Abe Devereux interrupted the Sheikh when few people would. It was an online meeting, with Abe in his stunning high-rise New York City office and Sheikh Prince Khalid in Al-Kazan, but Abe would have responded in the same terse manner had they met face to face.

The Devereux family was extending its empire into the Middle East. The first hotel was under construction in Dubai and the site for the next had recently been sourced in Al-Kazan.

Except the landowners, Khalid had just informed Abe, had added several million to their previous asking price. To refuse jeopardised not only the Al-Kazan project—the knock-on effect would be huge. If the Devereuxes didn’t agree to the new asking price, then construction in Dubai might cease.

Abe refused to be bullied.

Khalid was very possibly relying on the fact that he was a personal friend of Abe’s younger brother, Ethan. Or perhaps he had hoped for a rare moment of weakness or distraction, given that Jobe Devereux, the head of the Devereux empire, was gravely ill.

But there would be no weakness or distraction from Abe.

Khalid would soon come to understand that he was dealing with the most ruthless of the Devereuxes.

Abe would never be swayed by emotion.

This was business, and nothing ever got in the way of that.

‘Whose side are you on, Khalid?’ Abe asked the question few would dare. ‘We are supposed to be in this venture together.’

‘I am on the side of progress,’ Khalid answered smoothly. ‘And for the sake of a relatively small sum we risk thwarting the inroads that have been made.’

‘If Al-Kazan is not ready for such progress then we shall look for another site.’

‘Have you discussed this with Ethan?’ Khalid checked.

Ethan was supposed to be here but he hadn’t made it in, which was perhaps just as well, given that he was friends with the Sheikh.

Abe wasn’t particularly friendly with anyone but, even had he been, it wouldn’t have swayed him.

‘Ethan and I are both in full agreement,’ Abe lied smoothly, for he had not had a chance to speak with his brother. ‘The price remains as originally decided or we look elsewhere.’

‘If we could perhaps discuss it with Ethan present?’ Supremely polite, still Khalid pushed his agenda. ‘He was here recently and understands the sensitivities.’

‘There’s nothing more to discuss.’

‘But if we can’t come to a satisfactory resolution, even a temporary one, construction in Dubai may well cease.’

‘In that case...’ Abe shrugged ‘...no one gets paid. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I really do have to go.’

‘Of course.’ Khalid nodded graciously, though it was clear he was displeased. ‘Would you pass on my best wishes to your father?’

It was only when Abe was satisfied that they had been disconnected and Khalid’s face had disappeared from the screen that he let out a curse that indicated the gravity of the situation. If the Dubai construction ceased, for even a few days, the knock-on effect would be dire.

Abe was quite sure that Khalid was relying on that fact.

For a couple of million, Abe could resolve this. It was small change in the scheme of things and he was certain that Ethan would be willing to pay up rather than jeopardise the project at this tender stage.

But Abe refused to be bullied.

And threats, however silkily delivered, would not change his stance.

Abe got up from his desk and, from his impressive vantage point, looked out over a cold and snowy Manhattan and beyond. It was a stunning view towards the East River and he drank it in for a moment, barely turning his head when his brother’s PA knocked and explained the reason for his absence from this morning’s meeting.

‘Ethan’s been at the hospital with Merida since last night. Apparently, she’s in labour.’

‘Thank you.’

Abe didn’t ask for details.

He already knew more than enough.

Ethan had married Merida a few months ago, though only because she was pregnant. Abe had, along with his father, signed off on the contract that would ensure that the new Mrs Devereux and her infant would be well provided for when they eventually divorced.

But as clinical as a contract sounded, it had its merits—Abe hoped to God it ensured that the baby would be treated better than he and Ethan had been.

He could not think of that now.

Abe closed his eyes on the glorious December view.

It wasn’t even nine a.m. and it was already proving to be a long day.

He had Sheikh Khalid testing his limits and the Middle East contract on the brink of collapse.

As well as that, in the hospital a few streets away from this very building he had his brother’s wife giving birth in one wing...

And his father dying in the other.

No.

He corrected himself—his father was fighting for his life in the other.

His mother, Elizabeth Devereux, had died when Abe was nine. She hadn’t been in the least bit maternal and Jobe had been far from a hands-on father. In fact, a fleet of nannies had raised the Devereux boys—but Abe greatly admired his father and was not ready to let him go.

Not that he showed it, of course.

For a second so brief it was barely there Abe considered discussing the Middle East issue with him. Jobe Devereux was the founder and the cleverest man Abe knew. Yet Abe quickly decided he could not stress his father while he was fighting just to survive.

Only that wasn’t the real reason that Abe didn’t head to the hospital now—Jobe had never shied from giving his view after all.

It was more that Abe had never asked for help in his life.

And he wasn’t about to start now.

But before he could tackle the work waiting, his private phone rang and Abe saw that it was his brother.

‘A little girl,’ Ethan said, sounding both tired and elated at the same time.

‘Congratulations.’

‘Merida was amazing!’

Abe made no comment to that. The fact that Merida had just had a baby did not suddenly make him a fan of hers. ‘Have you told Dad?’

‘I’m heading over to tell him now,’ Ethan said.

Usually they called their father Jobe, as it helped with the business side of things, but this, Abe was fast realising, wasn’t business.

Oh, there might be a watertight contract in place and the marriage might all be a charade, but a little girl had been born this morning. And that moved him. He thought of his father, about to hear the news that he was a grandfather.

‘Will you be coming in to meet your niece?’ Ethan asked.

‘Of course.’ Abe glanced at the time. ‘Though not until later in the afternoon.’

‘Merida’s friend, Naomi, is getting in at midday. We were supposed to be there to meet her.’

‘Do you want me to organise a driver to pick her up?’

There was a brief stretch of silence before Ethan responded. Neither of the brothers liked asking for help, even from the other. ‘Abe, is there any chance of you going? She’s Merida’s best friend.’

‘I thought she was the nanny?’ Abe frowned. He only knew that because a full-time live-in nanny had been a part of the terms agreed to.

‘Naomi’s both.’

‘Give me her details,’ Abe sighed, and pulled out a pen.

‘Naomi Hamilton.’ Ethan gave her flight details. ‘If she can come to the hospital before being taken to the house, that would be good.’

‘All sorted,’ Abe said, and glanced again at the time. ‘I really do have to go. Congratulations.’

‘Thanks.’

Luckily Ethan was too muddled to ask how this morning’s meeting with Khalid had gone and certainly Abe did not volunteer the information.

Cool heads were needed for dealing with this situation and currently the only Devereux who had one was Abe.

He buzzed through to his own PA. ‘Jessica, could you organise a gift for me to take to the hospital this afternoon?’

‘For your father?’ she checked.

‘No, the baby’s here.’

There was a little squeal that had Abe pulling the phone back from his ear; then came the inevitable questions. ‘What did Merida have?’

‘A girl.’

‘Does she have a name yet? Do you know how much she weighs?’

‘I don’t know any more than that,’ Abe responded. He really hadn’t thought to ask. ‘I also need you to sort out a driver to do an airport run from JFK to the hospital.’ He gave the flight details. ‘She gets in at midday. The name’s Naomi Hamilton.’

Despite his brother’s request, Abe would not be playing chauffeur.

As well as Khalid to contend with, he had the first-of-the-month board meeting to attend. Before that he was meeting with Maurice, the head of PR, to discuss the annual Devereux Christmas Eve Charity Ball.

It was a highlight on the social calendar, but, for the first time since its inception, Jobe Devereux would not be attending.

Tabled on this morning’s agenda was discussion of contingency plans should Jobe die close to, or on, that date.

Not pleasant.

But a necessary task, given that people travelled from far and wide and paid an awful lot of money to attend.

Emotion had to be put aside and unpalatable scenarios played out and usually Abe was very good at that.

Abe wasn’t just cool...he was considered cold.

And not just in the boardroom. His reputation with women was devastating, though that had calmed in recent years. But his aloofness extended also to family.

He had stopped trusting others by the age of four, looking out for his brother and doing his best to ensure that he came to no harm.

Abe kept his emotions in check.

Yet, unusually, this morning he was struggling to do that.

His schedule was always daunting but he thrived on the pressure and handled it with ease. Yet the autopilot he usually ran on felt, this morning, as if it had disengaged.

The news of the baby had punched a hole in the wall he carefully erected between himself and others.

He put a finger and thumb to the bridge of his nose and squeezed hard, then took a long cleansing breath. Pushing all the drama out of his mind, he’d get on with holding down the Devereux fort.

Someone had to.

CHAPTER ONE

‘A NEW YORK CHRISTMAS...’

Naomi smiled as her very chatty fellow passenger told her what a magical time she would soon be having.

‘There’s nothing better.’

‘I’m sure there isn’t,’ Naomi agreed.

It was easier to.

Privately she cared little for the festive season. Well, she made sure it all went smoothly for whatever family she was with but it was just another day for Naomi.

Actually, no. It was a very lonely day for Naomi—it always had been and no doubt always would be.

But she wasn’t going to bore the woman in the next seat with that.

They had got on well.

Naomi was a little on the large side and had tucked her elbows in and tried to make herself very small on take-off. But by the time they came into land, neither had slept and they were chatting away like old friends. Still, there were things even old friends didn’t need to know.

Born on Christmas Eve, from the little Naomi knew her first weeks of life had been spent on a maternity ward before the first of many foster-care placements.

Now a maternity nanny, she looked after newborns and ensured better for her tiny charges. Her job was to look after the mother and infant during this very precious, tumultuous time before the permanent nanny took over.

She wasn’t a part of the family, though.

On a day such as Christmas, her role was to make it as seamless and as stress-free for the new mother as possible. And Naomi usually ate in her room alone.

This year, though, would be different as it was her best friend whose baby she would be taking care of.

Merida, an actress, had come to New York City with Broadway on her mind and, sure enough, had landed a part in a new production called Night Forest.

She had never made it to opening night, though.

Pregnant by Ethan Devereux, she had said goodbye to her acting career and entered into a marriage of convenience.

Although, inconveniently for Merida, she was head over heels in love with her husband.

Naomi had had reservations about accepting the job.

Ethan and Merida had insisted that she be paid, and though they were probably just trying to be nice, it would have been easier on Naomi to have been asked to stay as a friend.

But she was concerned for Merida and that was why she had agreed to take the post.

As the cabin lights were dimmed for landing, Naomi looked out of the small, moisture-streaked window. There wasn’t much to see, just snow-laden clouds, but then her breath caught as jutting up in the distance she saw the iconic skyline rising out from gunmetal-grey water and it sent a frisson of excitement through Naomi. She was here—actually here. And for someone who had never been out of the United Kingdom it was an exciting moment indeed.

The plane banked for its final approach but that first glimpse of the city left a smile on Naomi’s face.

Naomi had freshened up as best she could after breakfast had been served but she took out her compact and checked her reflection. She was excited to see Merida but her reflection showed tiredness. Her dark chocolate curls were limp and beneath her deep blue eyes were dark smudges. Her very pale complexion had turned to pure white.

A sleep would fix that, she told herself.

Naomi was determined to beat jet lag at its own game and stay awake for the entire day.

It was beyond exciting to be here and she wore her smile through baggage collection, though she felt it wane a touch at customs.

All the paperwork had been arranged but still she felt very nervous when she told them that, yes, she was here to work.

‘A nanny?’ the border security official checked, and took the folder containing all of Naomi’s paperwork and had a through read through of it. ‘For the Devereuxes?’

‘Yes, there’s a letter from Mr Ethan Devereux and if there are any problems...’

‘There’s no problem.’

Her passport was stamped and she was on her way.

The ground staff were lively and funny, blowing into their hands and telling her it was bitterly cold as she awaited her baggage.

‘You’ll need a coat, Miss,’ one said as she passed.

‘I’m getting one!’ Naomi called back. ‘I’m headed straight to the shops.’

She had, a few days previously, left her good coat on a train and had been about to buy one for her trip when it had dawned on her she was heading to the shopping capital of the world. Naomi had decided her first stop would be the city’s most famous department store.

For now she had to make do with a rather flimsy jacket and a thick scarf that she would put over her long dark hair before heading outside.

Naomi had a lot of luggage.

Well, two cases and her hand luggage.

It was, though, her entire world that she carried in those bags.

She lived wherever work took her. In between jobs she aimed to take a brief holiday, but Naomi didn’t have a home as such. She had shared a flat with Merida for a couple of years, which had been brilliant, but since then she had lived with the families she’d cared for. Generally, she arrived two weeks before the baby’s due date and stayed between six and eight weeks after the baby was born.

And she was tired of it.

Not so much her work, as exhausting as it was.

Naomi was just tired of living out of suitcases.

As she stepped into the arrivals lounge Naomi scanned the crowd for a glimpse of Merida, who was generally unmissable with her shock of red hair, although, given how cold it was, she may well be wearing a hat. Or, given that the baby was due on December the fourteenth, she may well have not made it to the airport. As she wheeled her trolley Merida saw a sign with her name on it held by an older man in a black suit.

‘I’m Naomi Hamilton,’ she said.

‘Guest of?’ the gentleman asked.

Clearly security was tight around the family, Naomi thought as her status was double checked. ‘Merida Devereux.’

‘Then come this way.’ He smiled. ‘Here, let me help you with that...’ He took over the trolley. ‘Where’s your coat?’

Naomi told him her plan to get one as they walked and it really was freezing outside.

‘Jump in,’ he told her when they reached the car. Naomi didn’t need to be asked twice and sat in the back, watching the world go by as her cases were loaded.

‘Are we headed to the house?’ Naomi asked as they drove off.

‘No.’ He gave her a smile in the rear-view mirror. ‘I’m to take you to the hospital. More than that, I don’t know.’

How exciting!

Naomi was very aware, though, that the next few weeks were not going to be plain sailing. Merida was completely in love with Ethan, who had only married her to give the child his name, and the plan was they would divorce after a year. Naomi was worried for Merida. Also, the patriarch of the family, Jobe Devereux, was seriously ill.

Even if Merida hadn’t been her friend, Naomi would have been aware of that fact. The Devereuxes were a hugely powerful family and Jobe’s health woes had reached the press in England.

Naomi just wanted to make these precious first weeks as peaceful and as calm as she could for the new mother and baby, and would do whatever she could to ensure that.

The car was warm and despite the stop-start traffic it was lulling, and as they drove through a long tunnel Naomi resisted the urge to rest her head on the window and close her eyes. But, given she’d had to be at Heathrow so early, she hadn’t slept last night, neither had she slept on the plane, and as the traffic backed up Naomi found that her eyelids grew heavy and finally she gave in.

‘Miss...’

Naomi startled and opened her eyes, taking a second to gather where she was. In fact, the driver had to orientate her.

‘We’re at the hospital.’

So they were.

The private wing was incredibly warm and as she passed a couple of rooms and saw empty beds Naomi thought about how she would love to claim one and stretch out and sleep; but as she stepped into Merida’s room jet lag was completely forgotten.

‘Naomi!’ Merida was sitting up in bed, looking a mixture of exhausted and happy and clearly delighted by the arrival of her friend.

‘Merida! How are you?’

‘So happy. We had a girl.’

Ethan was holding the precious bundle. ‘I’m sorry I couldn’t get there to meet you,’ he said, giving her a kiss on the cheek, and was rather more friendly than Naomi had expected.

‘Well, you were rather busy...’ Naomi smiled.

‘Is Abe with you?’ he asked.

‘Abe?’ Naomi frowned for a second then remembered that was Abe was the elder Devereux brother. ‘No, the driver brought me. Bernard, I think...’ She was distracted then as the blanket fell back and she caught a proper glimpse of the baby. ‘Oh, my, she is gorgeous.’

Naomi, in her line of work, saw a lot of new babies, and they were all very precious, though for Naomi there had never been one more precious than this little girl. With no relatives of her own, Merida and her very new daughter were the closest thing to family that Naomi had known.

When Ethan handed her to Naomi she found that her eyes filled up with tears as she held the new life.

‘Does she have a name?’

‘Ava,’ Merida said. ‘We just decided.’

‘Oh, but it suits her. She’s completely stunning.’ Little Ava really was, with a shock of dark hair like her father, and huge dark blue eyes and a sweet little rosebud mouth. ‘How was the birth?’

‘It was actually wonderful.’

When Ethan headed off to make some calls, Merida elaborated a touch. ‘Ethan was right there the whole time. Naomi, we’re okay now,’ Merida said, her eyes shining. ‘Ethan told me he loves me and that we’re going to make this marriage work.’

Naomi rather thought it might be the emotion of the birth that had Ethan showing devotion, but of course she didn’t say that to her friend as she popped the now sleeping baby into her little crib.

‘How long do you think you’ll be in for?’ Naomi asked.

‘A couple of days. I feel terrible that you’ll have to find your own way around.’

‘I’m quite sure I can manage. I’ll head off soon and get in some sleep and tomorrow I might do a bit of sightseeing and buy a decent coat.’

‘I can’t believe you’re actually here.’ Merida beamed. ‘Naomi, I’ve got so much to tell you.’

But it would all have to wait.

Ethan returned at that moment and a short while later Jobe, the grandfather of little Ava, came down in a wheelchair, escorted by a nurse. And then came the photos, though not just the family kind—a professional photographer had been brought in for the occasion.

It was clear that Jobe was very ill indeed, yet he had refused to have the baby brought up to visit him and had made a supreme effort to be a part of such an important day.

As the photographer snapped away, even though Jobe had a nurse with him, Naomi helped too, positioning little Ava in his arms and making sure that as soon as he tired she took the baby with a smile.

‘Thank you,’ Jobe said, noting how she had hovered discreetly. ‘You’re Merida’s friend?’

‘Yes.’ Naomi nodded. ‘And also little Ava’s nanny for the next few weeks.’

‘Well, any friend of Merida’s is a friend of the family. It’s good to have you here, Naomi.’

It was such a little thing. She had expected to be daunted by this powerful man, but instead they clicked on sight and he made Naomi feel very welcome and a part of it all. She was used to being the nanny and hovering in the background, but today, on her first day in New York, she’d had her picture taken while holding a tiny little baby who was new to all of this too!

‘Has Abe been in?’ Jobe asked, as Naomi held little Ava, who was close to falling asleep in her arms.

Naomi might look as if she wasn’t listening, but her ears were on elastic. She knew Abe was a force to be reckoned with and wanted to get a feel for things and work out the dynamics so that she could help Merida as best she could in the weeks ahead.

‘Not as yet,’ Ethan said, and Naomi heard the edge to his voice. ‘I specifically asked him to pick up Naomi, but instead he sent a car.’

‘Well, he must have got caught up,’ Jobe suggested.

With little Ava asleep and Merida looking like she needed the same, Naomi decided it was time to head off. ‘I’m going to go,’ she said, and gave Merida a hug and a kiss. ‘Jet lag is starting to creep in and I want that well behind me by the time you bring your little lady home.’

‘We’re staying at Dad’s place for now,’ Ethan explained, ‘while we have some renovations done.’

‘Merida told me.’ Naomi nodded. ‘It’s fine.’

Famous last words.

* * *

‘Dad’s place’ was a huge, grey stone mansion on Fifth Avenue, overlooking Central Park. Naomi had to pinch herself to believe that she was really here. Oh, thanks to her job she had stayed in some amazing residences, but nowhere had been nearly as grand as this.

One of the heavy double doors was opened by a gentleman who said that they had been expecting her, and as Naomi stepped into the foyer an elderly woman came rushing over.

‘Naomi!’ She gave her a welcoming smile. ‘I’m Barb, Head of Housekeeping.’

‘It’s lovely to meet you, Barb.’

The house was even more stunning inside.

The huge foyer with marble floors and archways was impressive, as was the large curved staircase, but it was all made a little less daunting because the first thing that greeted Naomi was the delicious scent of pine.

There in the corner was a Christmas tree, bigger than any she had ever seen.

An undressed tree.

‘We were waiting to find out what Merida had,’ Barb explained. ‘Have you ever seen a tree decorated pink?’

‘No.’ Naomi laughed.

‘Well, you soon will.’

And even with a soon-to-be-pink tree it was sheer New York elegance and this was only the entrance. Naomi could only imagine what lay behind the high doors.

‘Have you seen the baby?’ Barb asked.

‘Yes, she’s very beautiful. She’s got black hair and a lot of it...’

‘Oh, how precious.’

Naomi didn’t reveal her name, or show the photos she had taken with her phone, as she wasn’t sure it was her place to. Not that Barb asked, she was far too busy chatting. ‘It’s fantastic that you’ve arrived on such a good news day. We were just having a little celebration,’ she added. ‘I’ll show you around.’

‘That can wait.’ Naomi shook her head. ‘A bath and bed is all I need right now. Just show me where I’m sleeping and you can get back to celebrating the baby’s arrival. Though if you can show me the alarm system, that would be great. I don’t want to set it off if I get up in the night.’

Barb did so and as they walked up a huge staircase, lined with family photos Naomi told her about the time she’d had to call an ambulance on her first night at a job for the mother of one of her charges. ‘When I let the paramedics in I set the whole house off. It just added to the chaos.’

‘What a fright you must have had,’ Barb said as she huffed up the stairs. ‘Now, don’t turn left here or you’ll end up in Abe’s wing.’

‘Does he live here?’ Naomi asked, because she hadn’t been expecting that, but Barb shook her head.

‘No, he’s half an hour away, but if he’s been visiting his father late into the night, sometimes he comes home.’ She gave a little laugh. ‘Well, to the family home. Now, this is you.’

She opened a heavy door, and behind it wasn’t the bedroom that Naomi had been expecting to see. Instead, it was more of an apartment, with a lounge, its own bathroom, a small kitchen as well as a bedroom. ‘And the baby has a room, of course...’ Barb said, opening the door onto a small nursery. It wasn’t the main one—this nursery was, Naomi rightly guessed, for the times the nanny had the baby overnight. Not that Merida was intending for that to happen, she had made it clear she wanted the baby with her, but it gave Naomi a glimpse of how things had once worked in the Devereux home.

‘I have to say, I never thought I’d see the day when we had a nanny here again,’ Barb admitted. ‘I got on well with the last one.’

‘How long ago was that?’

‘Let me see, Abe must be nearly thirty-five and Ethan’s thirty. They had nannies till they went off to boarding school, so Ethan’s last one must have been some twenty years ago. They had their work cut out, let me tell you...’ Barb’s flow of words halted.

‘Did the boys run wild?’ Naomi pried, but Barb changed the subject.

‘Now, Merida made it very clear that you’re a guest as well as the baby’s nanny, so you’re to use the main entrance, as well as having access to a driver, and you’ve got full freedom of the house. Still, it might be nice for you to have your own space.’

Naomi nodded.

She guessed that Barb had stopped talking so freely when she’d remembered that Naomi wasn’t just staff but also a guest.

‘I’ll bring you up some dinner, or you’re more than welcome to join us. We’re just having some nibbles...’

‘Don’t worry about dinner for me.’ Naomi shook her head. ‘I ate on the plane. All I want now is a bath and then bed.’

‘Well, you make sure to let me know if you wake up hungry.’

‘If I do, I’ll call out for something,’ Naomi said. She was very used to staying in new places. ‘You go and celebrate and don’t worry about me.’

Once Barb had gone Naomi explored a little. Her bedroom was gorgeous, dressed in lemon and cream with a splash of willow green, and Naomi couldn’t wait to crawl into the plump bed, but first she unpacked and then had a long bath. She had intended it to be a quick one but she dozed off in the middle. She really was very tired so pulled on some pyjamas and crawled into bed. It was delicious to stretch out but sleep wasn’t as forthcoming as she’d hoped it would be, and she lay there with her mind whirring.

A little girl.

Ava.

Oh, she was so thrilled for Merida but, despite her friend’s assurances that everything was fine now, Naomi was very aware that that might just be the high of giving birth and Ethan making promises he might not keep.

Yes, he’d seemed friendly and happy but the Devereuxes were not exactly famous for their devotion to their marriage vows.

Naomi was also worried about the dark times ahead because, having seen Jobe, it was clear to her that he was nearing the end.

It was certainly going to be an emotional time and Naomi was glad that she would be here for her friend.

Ava hadn’t been due for another two weeks. Naomi’s loose plan had been to get over jet lag, as well as the exhaustion of her previous job—usually she would have allowed for more time between jobs but for Merida she had made an exception.

Really, she didn’t consider Merida work, though they had insisted on paying her handsomely.

It still didn’t sit quite right with Naomi, but she tried not to think of that now.

Her plan had been to catch up on her sleep and get her bearings, and to do some sightseeing at the start of her trip. With Ava’s slightly early arrival all her plans had changed.

Tomorrow, she decided, she would go through the nursery and check if there was anything needed and then she’d call the hospital. And then she’d cram in as much sightseeing as possible. Before she could do that, though, she had to buy a coat.

It was on that thought that she fell asleep and then awoke, Naomi had no idea how much time later, to the unsettling feeling she generally had during her first couple of days in a new home.

There was an eerie silence.

Soon she would wake knowing where she was and recognising the shadows on the walls, Naomi told herself as she lay there, but for now it was all unfamiliar.

One feeling she did recognise, though, was the fact that she was starving.

Usually she would have emergency supplies for nights such as this, but there was nothing in her luggage, and anyway a snack wasn’t going to fix this hunger.

Naomi pulled on her robe and drew back the drapes, then understood the odd silence for there was a blanket of snow outside and it was still falling heavily.

Even though the house was warm, the sight made her shiver and she did up the ties on her robe.

It was coming up for midnight and, Naomi decided, there was just one thing she wanted more than anything in the world on her first night in New York.

Pizza.

A big pepperoni pizza, but she wondered if they’d deliver.

No problem!

Naomi ordered online and just fifteen minutes later tracked her pizza working its way along Fifth Avenue!

She padded down the stairs and was just about to sort the alarm when she startled as the front doors opened. A dark-coated man walked through them, bringing with him a blast of cold air and, to Naomi, the warmest of glows.

Perhaps he floated through them, Naomi thought, for he was almost too beautiful to be mortal.

He was more.

It was the only word she could come up with as she stood in the grand entrance, yet it was an apt one.

He was a smidge taller than Ethan and his jet-black hair was worn a touch longer, and was currently flecked with snow. And he was more sullen in appearance than his brother had been, with almost accusing black eyes narrowing as they met hers.

And he was, to Naomi, a whole lot sexier.

Yes, he was more.

He made her heart quicken and she was suddenly terribly aware of her night attire and tangle of hair, because he was just so groomed and glossy and more beautiful than anyone she had ever seen.

‘I thought not,’ Naomi said by way of greeting.

And Abe frowned because not only did he have no idea what she meant, he also had no idea who this voluptuous dark-haired beauty, dressed in her nightwear, was.

Then she walked past him and he watched as she took delivery of a large pizza box and now he better understood her odd greeting.

No, Abe Devereux was definitely not the pizza delivery man!

CHAPTER TWO

‘I’M NAOMI,’ SHE offered by way of introduction as she closed the front door. ‘Merida’s friend and the baby’s nanny.’

‘Abe,’ he said, but didn’t elaborate. It was his father’s home after all and he was also in no mood to engage in small talk.

But she persisted.

‘Have you seen her?’ Naomi asked. ‘The baby.’

‘Yes.’

He said no more than that. Abe Devereux did not offer his thoughts or his opinions. There was no ‘Yes, isn’t she gorgeous!’ No ‘I can’t believe I’m an uncle,’ and it was clear to Naomi that he did not want to speak.

It didn’t offend her.

Naomi was very used to being the paid staff.

He removed an elegant grey woollen coat and beneath that was a suit, cut to perfection, enhancing his tall, lean frame.

Abe glanced briefly around, no doubt, Naomi thought, expecting someone to come and take his coat, but when no one appeared, neither did Naomi hold out her hand. With that lack of a gesture she drew a very important line. She might be staff, but she was Ava’s nanny, and not his maid.

He tossed the coat over an occasional chair as Naomi opened the lid of her pizza box and peered into it. ‘I’ll say goodnight...’ She was momentarily distracted from his utter, imposing beauty by the sight that greeted her. ‘Just how big is this thing?’ Naomi asked.

The pizza was massive.

Seriously so.

It smelt utterly divine.

And, she remembered, she was not just the nanny but Merida’s friend, and so she persisted with the conversation when perhaps usually she would not.

‘Would you like some?’ she offered, but Abe didn’t even bother to reply so she took her cue and headed up the stairs.

There were pictures lining the walls of the stunning Devereux family over the years. The two brothers, as babies and then children. Their stunning mother who, Naomi knew, was dead. She wondered if they missed her on a day like today.

Yes, Naomi often wondered about things like this, especially with not having a family of her own.

And then she heard his voice.

‘I would.’

She turned on the stairs, a little unsure what he meant. Did Abe Devereux actually want to share in her midnight feast, or had she got things completely wrong and he was about to tell her he would like staff to refrain from wandering at night, or something?

But, no, she hadn’t got things wrong.

‘A slice of pizza sounds good,’ Abe confirmed.

He himself was surprised that he had taken her up on her offer. And it wasn’t the normality of it that had had him say yes, for it was far from normal—Abe didn’t do pizza. And, more pointedly, a woman in pale pink pyjamas with a big robe on top wasn’t the norm either. Silk or skin was the usual sight that greeted him at this time of night.

He had just come from the hospital, though not the maternity section for he had visited his brother and wife earlier in the day.

Instead, he had spent the evening and half the night with his father.

Jobe had put everything into staying alive for the baby’s birth and visiting the little family today, and Abe had this terrible, awful feeling that now it was done he’d just fade.

He had sat there, watching his father sleep and the snow floating past the window, and though warm in the hospital room he had felt chilled to the bone.

They might not be particularly close but Abe admired his father more than anyone in the world.

Ethan had grown up never knowing what a cruel woman their mother had been.

Four years older than his brother, Abe had known.

Elizabeth Devereux’s death when he was nine had come as a shock, but all these years later Abe already grieved for his father.

Not that he showed it.

Abe had long since closed off his heart and far from hiding his emotions, he chose not to feel them.

Yet choice had been unavailable to him tonight.

‘Why couldn’t you come to me, Abe?’ his father had asked, when his medication had been given for the night.

‘It will sort itself out,’ Abe had said. ‘Khalid is just posturing.’

‘I’m not talking about Khalid,’ Jobe had snapped, and then, defeated by the drugs, had closed his eyes to sleep.

Yet where was the peace? Abe thought, for despite the good news of the day, despite Jobe’s goal to see his grandchild being met, still his face was lined and there was tension visible even in his drug-induced sleep.

There had been a long moment when his father’s breathing had seemed to cease and he’d called urgently for the nurse.

It was normal, he’d been told, with so much morphine for respirations to decrease and also, he’d been further told, albeit gently, things slowed down near the end of life.

But no matter how gently said, it had hit him like a fist to the gut.

His father was dying.

Oh, he had known for months, of course he had, but he had fully realised it then. Abe had glimpsed the utter finality of what was to come and, rather than do what instinct told him to and shake his father awake and demand that he not die, Abe had held it in and headed out into the snowy night.

He had sent his driver home ages ago, and had stood for a moment looking up at the snow falling so quietly from the sky.

Instead of calling for his driver, or even hailing a cab, he had crossed the wide street and headed over to Central Park.

There he had cleared snow from a bench and sat by the reservoir, too numb, and grateful for that fact, to feel the cold.

Here had been the park of his childhood, though it had never been a playground.

Abe had never played.

Instead, on the occasional times his mother would take them, unaccompanied by a nanny, it would be he who would look out for Ethan, making sure he didn’t get too close to the water.

And that had been on a good day.

The park closed at one a.m. and, rather than being locked in for the night, Abe had stood with no intention of heading home.

There were plenty he could call upon for the usual balm of sex. As disengaged as he was with his lovers, Abe did generally at least manage some conversation, but even that brief overture before the mind-numbing act felt like too much effort tonight.

And so he had walked from the park to his father’s residence, which was far closer to the hospital than his Greenwich Village home. He had decided to sleep there tonight.

Just in case.

And now, for reasons he didn’t care to examine, conversation felt welcome.

Necessary even.

He walked through to the drawing room and she, Naomi, Merida’s friend, followed him in and took a seat on the pale blue sofa as he lit the fire that had been made up and then checked his phone.

Again, just in case.

‘The snow’s getting heavy,’ he said. ‘I thought it might be wise to stay nearer to the hospital tonight.’

‘How is your father?’

‘Today took a lot out of him. Are you a nurse?’ he asked, because he had no real idea of the qualifications required to be a nanny. Perhaps that was why he had pursued conversation, Abe thought—so that he could pick her brains.

But she shook her head.

‘No,’ Naomi said. ‘I’d always wanted to be a paediatric nurse but...’ She gave an uncomfortable shrug. ‘It didn’t work out.’

‘Why not?’

‘I didn’t do too well at school.’

She opened up the box again and tore off one of the large slices but the topping slid off as she attempted to raise it to her mouth. ‘How on earth do you eat this?’

‘Not like that,’ he said, and he showed her how to fold the huge triangle.

‘I haven’t had pizza from a box in years...’ Abe mused as he took his slice. ‘Or rather decades. Jobe used to take Ethan and me over to Brooklyn when we were small. We’d sit on the pier...’ His voice trailed off and he was incredibly grateful that she didn’t fill the silence that followed so he could just sit and hold the memory for a moment as they ate quietly. ‘This pizza’s good,’ he commented.

‘It’s better than good, it’s incredible.’ And made more so when he went and poured two generous drinks from a decanter.

‘Cognac?’ he offered.

She had never tasted it before and, given for once she wasn’t working, Naomi took the glass when he handed it to her.

‘Wow,’ she said, because it burnt as it went down. ‘I doubt I’ll have much trouble getting back to sleep after that.’

‘That’s the aim,’ Abe said. ‘You can rely on my father to have the good stuff on tap.’

‘What did you think of the baby?’ Naomi asked as he sat down. Not on the sofa but on the floor, leaning against it.

‘It’s very loud,’ Abe said, and she laughed.

‘She’s gorgeous. What are you getting her as a gift?’

‘Already done.’ Abe yawned before continuing. ‘My PA dealt with it and got her some silver teddy.’

‘I did all the shopping before I came,’ Naomi said, ‘though now I know it’s a girl I’m sure there’ll be more. Are you excited to be an uncle?’

He raised his eyes, somewhat disarmed by her question.

Abe really hadn’t given being an uncle much thought. Since he’d heard that his brother had got Merida pregnant it had been the legalities that he’d focussed on—making sure the baby was a US citizen and ensuring Merida couldn’t get her hands on any more of the Devereux fortune than the baby assured her.

Only, lately, Merida seemed less and less like the woman Abe had been so certain she was.

In fact, Ethan looked happy.

He didn’t say any of that, of course.

But if you are going to do pizza by the fire on a snowy December night, you do need to do your share of talking, and so he asked her a question. ‘Do you have any nieces or nephews?’

‘No.’ Naomi shook her head and then let out a dreamy sigh. ‘I actually can’t think of anything nicer than to be an aunt.’

‘Do you have any brothers or sisters who might one day oblige you?’

She shook her head.

‘So you’re an only child?’ he casually assumed, and then watched as for the first time colour came to her pale cheeks.

‘I don’t have any family.’

He saw the slight tremble of her fingers as she put down the crust of her pizza.

‘None?’ he checked.

‘I count Merida as family,’ she admitted, ‘but, no.’

Yes, she and Merida were close, but Naomi was very aware that though they were best friends, Merida was far more of Naomi’s world than the other way around.

And that said nothing against Merida. But she had parents, albeit awful ones, and a half-brother and half-sister, and cousins and grandparents.

Naomi had...

Merida.

Her birth mother had wanted nothing whatsoever to do with her and Naomi had no clue who her father was. There had been a foster mum when she’d been a teenager that had been amazing but she’d taken a well-earned retirement in Spain, though they still corresponded. And there was another foster family that she still sent a Christmas card to.

And of course, there were friends she had made along life’s way, but there was no family.

None.

Zip.

‘My mother gave me up for adoption,’ Naomi said, ‘but it never happened.’

She tensed as she awaited the inevitable ‘Why?’ that even virtual strangers felt compelled to ask.

It just made her feel worse.

There were millions of families who wanted babies, surely?

Or, ‘What about your grandparents, didn’t they want you?’

It was hell having to explain that, no, her mother hadn’t fully relinquished her rights for a few years, which had held Naomi in the foster system. And, no, her grandparents hadn’t wanted to clear up their daughter’s mess.

And that, no, there would be no tender reunion between mother and daughter.

At the age of eighteen Naomi had tried.

But her mother had remarried and wanted no reminder of her rebellious past.

Thankfully, though, Abe didn’t ask.

Instead, he watched her pinched face and two lines deepen between her dark blue eyes like a castle gate drawing up in defence. He thought of his own loud, brash family and the dramas and fights at times. He even thought back to his mother, and while there were no warm memories there, still there was history.

He couldn’t fathom having no one.

Yet he did not pry.

And she seemed incredibly grateful for that.

He watched as she visibly shook off dark thoughts and pushed out a smile.

‘So what sort of an uncle do you want to be?’ Naomi asked.

Given what she’d just told him, he didn’t dust off the notion, instead he told her the truth. ‘I really haven’t given it much thought.’ Now he did. ‘I don’t know,’ he admitted. ‘I can’t imagine that she’d want for anything...’ He’d made very sure of that. But as he’d combed through the contract and ensured decent chunks of access for his brother, there had been no thought of where he himself might fit in.

‘I’d like to be...’ Who examined it? Abe wondered. Who actually gave consideration to the type of uncle they wanted to be?

She had made him do just that.

He could hear the spit and crackle of the fire as he gazed into it. Maybe he was feeling maudlin. It would be his father’s funeral soon after all, but on this cold December night, the most guarded and closed off of all the Devereuxes paused a while and thought of the uncle he would like to be.

‘I could take her for pizza now and then,’ he said.

‘And show her how to eat it?’

‘Yes,’ he agreed, but then shook his head. ‘I can’t think of anything else.’

‘That’s plenty to be going on with.’ Naomi smiled and when he tore off another slice, it seemed easier, rather than have him hand it to her, to join him on the floor. It simply did. And they sat side by side and spoke, not a lot but enough.

‘So,’ he asked, ‘you’re going to be looking after Ava?’

‘For a little while.’ She saw his frown. ‘I’m a maternity nanny.’

‘What does that mean?’

‘I generally stay between six and eight weeks with a new family before the permanent nanny takes over. I try to allocate four weeks between jobs, but it never really works out. Babies come early, as we saw today.’

‘Do you go home between jobs?’

‘No, I generally have a holiday. Sometimes if there’s a decent gap I might house-sit.’

‘Where’s home?’

‘The next job.’

‘So you’re a nomadic nanny.’

‘I guess.’ That made her laugh, she’d never really thought of describing it like that. ‘Yes.’

‘And you only look after newborns?’

She nodded.

‘That sounds like constant hard work.’

‘Oh, it is,’ Naomi agreed. ‘But I completely love it.’

Or she had.

Naomi didn’t share that with him, of course. She didn’t tell him that she was tired in a way she’d never been before. Not just from lack of sleep but from the constant motion of her lifestyle.

There was one slice of pizza left and both their hands reached for it at the same time.

‘Go ahead,’ Abe said.

‘No, we’ll share it.’

And when he tore it and there was one half a bit bigger, instead of not noticing, she looked at him until he tore a piece off the bigger half. ‘That’s fair now,’ Abe said.

‘Hmm.’

She was so full it shouldn’t matter, but she had never, ever tasted something so delicious, Naomi thought. Or was it the open fire keeping them warm as the snow fluttered outside the window, or was it adult company in the middle of the night that made it all so nice?

‘Do you ever have,’ Abe asked, ‘er, issues with the fathers?’

‘Gosh no.’ Naomi laughed. ‘I dress like this for work. I don’t think the mothers have anything to worry about.’

He begged to differ.

Scantily dressed Naomi wasn’t, but for Ethan there was no doubting her sensuality. It wasn’t just her curves or the very full mouth or ripple of dark hair and how it fell in her eyes, it was more subtle than that. Little things, like the way she covered herself when her robe gaped, and how she closed her eyes after each and every sip of cognac as she held it on her tongue for a moment, and the lick of her lips when she’d first glimpsed the pizza.

Yet, he mused, the mothers wouldn’t have anything to worry about.

She was nice.

Moral.

The sort you would trust your baby to.

And for Abe she had made this hellish night so much better.

‘Do you ever get asked to stay on?’ Abe asked.

‘All the time.’ Naomi nodded and then took the last bit of her pizza and he waited, watching the column of her pale throat as she swallowed, before asking another question.

‘And do you ever consider it?’

‘Never.’

‘Ever?’ he checked, for she sounded so adamant.

‘Never, ever.’

‘Why not?’

She looked into the fire and wondered how to answer him. Naomi never told her employers her real reason for declining.

She would never even consider staying on. In fact, it was stipulated in the terms of her employment that a permanent nanny be signed to take over before Naomi commenced her role. And should that fall through, it was specified that an agency be used, for she would not be extending her contract.

No matter how wonderful the terms or the family.

Actually, because of just that.

‘Why don’t you stay in one place?’ he asked again, and now he did probe, because suddenly Abe really wanted to know some more about her.

‘I guess because I’ve never stayed in one place for very long. We do what we’re used to, I suppose. Revert to type...’

But he shook his head at her excuses.

Abe wasn’t buying it.

‘Why?’ he asked again.

He was brilliant at maths, but she didn’t add up.

Abe wasn’t one for sitting talking by a fire, but she’d made him feel at ease, she made the place feel like a home, yet she chose not to have one for herself.

‘You want to know why?’ She looked at him then, blue eyes on black as they held the other’s gaze.

‘Yes.’

‘Because I’d fall in love with the family,’ Naomi said. ‘And then one day it would be time for me to leave.’

Her blue eyes were serious, and there was no trace of tears, which told him this was no revelation, she had known this about herself for a very long while.

Naomi twisted his heart in a way no one else could, and a hell of a lot had tried.

She twisted a heart that Abe hadn’t even known he had.

He wanted to reach for her.

It was as instinctive as that.

And he wanted to chase her loneliness away in the only way he knew how.

Abe looked down at her full lips, all shiny from the food they had shared, and he wondered about her pepperoni kisses and just laying her down and taking her by the fire.

He wouldn’t.

Not just because he had a conscience.

Abe had long thought his conscience had been severed along with the umbilical cord.

No, he wouldn’t make a move because there was something so rare about tonight.

Something he didn’t want to jeopardise.

And there was nothing he wanted her to regret.

Naomi felt the burn of his gaze and she felt the shift in the atmosphere.

The way he first held her eyes and then the lowering of them as they took in her mouth had her body prickling with sudden awareness.

Naomi had never encountered a moment such as this.

Just for a second, when rational thought was suspended, she wanted to know the feel of his mouth, and there was a sense of certainty that if he leant forward a fraction, then so too would she.

There was silence, save for the hiss and occasional spit from the fire and the tick of a clock on the mantel, yet she could hear the roar of blood in her ears and she almost closed her eyes in anticipation of bliss.

But Abe did not move forward. Instead, she watched as he looked away and reached for his drink, and so inexperienced was she that Naomi was certain she’d misread things.

Jet lag, cognac, and an absolute dearth of knowledge about men told Naomi that she’d been imagining things, and had come very close to looking a fool. She blushed as she pictured herself sitting, eyes closed, and waiting for a kiss that would never come. Embarrassed, she told herself that if she was having fantasies about a playboy wanting her, then it really was time for bed.

‘I ought to get some sleep,’ Naomi said. ‘I’ve got a load of sightseeing planned for tomorrow.’

She stood and re-fastened the tie on her robe then reached for the box. ‘Leave it,’ he said, because if she bent down to retrieve it, he might just pull her in.

‘’Night, Abe.’

‘’Night.’

She made her way up the staircase and found her door, holding it together until in she was in the bedroom. But once there she sat on the bed and, head in hands, Naomi moaned.

Not because she’d foolishly thought he’d been about to kiss her. She could easily talk herself down from that—he was surely one of New York’s most eligible bachelors, and there was no way he’d be interested in her.

No, it was because of how she felt.

In the space of an hour Naomi knew she had developed a king-sized crush on Abe and that was something she didn’t want or need. Not just because she was here to work and nothing must get in the way of that, but because she was scared of being hurt.

Naomi guarded her heart with the same ferocity that she guarded her tiny charges.

There had been no dates, no romance in her life.

Her career took care of that, and she was grateful for it, especially on a night such as this.

She simply refused to open herself up to potential hurt.

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