Nanny Behaving Badly Read Free Page A

something. I felt like the situation was closing in on us and I didn’t want you to detonate your write-up.’
    ‘Couldn’t you have written a note? Alerted me discreetly?’
    She shuffled in her seat while she rummaged mentally for justification. She also tried to ignore the way a supercilious expression only made him more handsome. Dark, chiselled features that begged to be photographed and watched.
    Were all Scots café owners this good-looking?
    Maddie chewed air. ‘There wasn’t time to think. But I guess that would have been sensible. Anyway, we’ve both got each other wrong. Can’t we just put the wrong ideas behind us?’
    ‘Not so easy when it all adds up to concerns about your impulsiveness.’
    ‘What I’m trying to explain is – the Ice Café deserves a brilliant review. I just tried to make sure it happens. Some people would call it saving your skin – you on the other hand will only use it to further damn me because you have it in your head that I’m a pain in the butt!’
    Lyle reached across and grasped her shoulder, then pushed his forefinger to her mouth. His warm, soft skin gently met her lips, lingering lightly but with firm intent. He stayed silent but she clearly saw that firm chest rise and fall as he watched her.
    For a gasp of a moment she wondered if he might kiss her.
    Seconds in time stalled. Completely.
    All the oxygen in Edinburgh suddenly evaded her lungs as she sat and blinked at Lyle Sutherland while he watched her.
    ‘For pity’s sake, shh!’
    Sparks collided at the contact; him up close, touching her lips with his finger and the very edge of his thumb. Breathing close by and every inhalation causing inner trembles. Technically she’d treated him in the same fashion earlier to make him leave the café. She’d taken physical control, firmed her stance. But this … this was different . Things were going on inside her – crazy new chemical reactions that fired and scared and filled her with excited awe.
    The angry boss continued to gently touch her lips, staring into her eyes. A big jump for a man she hadn’t met before lunchtime. She told herself to calm down. It was just fingers on skin. A fleeting moment – but so very much promise.
    If the extreme tingles in her knees, shortness of breath and melting spine were anything to go by.
    ‘Enough.’ His voice sounded rusty as his accusing eyes skirted away.
    She was still reeling from his touch, his gorgeous designer fragrance, the way his eyes danced when he was in the heat of action. The thought of the latter had her blushing crimson. And a bright red face with blue streaked hair wasn’t good when it was you modelling the look.
    ‘You’re not the only one who can act in haste,’ he said, and flicked shut then folded his paper. Lyle’s eyes were sparkling.
    She watched as he screwed the cap on his water bottle, then pulled on his jacket. Boy, did those muscles make a girl notice.
    ‘Do I still have a job?’
    ‘You think you deserve one? The waitress who locks up the boss?’
    ‘I need this reference. I don’t want to job hunt again. I did what I did for all the right reasons. Bottom line, I’m trying to get a mortgage and I need regular pay and a track record to be approved.’
    She knew her voice now had a pleading edge but she couldn’t help it. Too much was already at stake. The thought of going back to Paula at the agency and telling her she’d messed up this contract wasn’t good. She knew Paula had been angling for sole employment instructions for the rest of Lyle’s cafés and Paula was her best, long-time friend. Plus losing two jobs in a month was a pretty horrendous track record.
    ‘You’re still on a trial. Right now my primary concern is your assumptions, the tendency to act on impulse and the wild streak that extends further than your hair.’
    She sighed. ‘There’s more to me than this. In fact, the hair was a mistake.’
    ‘Then why do it?’
    She shrugged. ‘Rebellion. Shock.’
    ‘You