Читать книгу The Sheikh's Collection - Оливия Гейтс - Страница 25
ОглавлениеPiper wouldn’t be a bit surprised if Adan Mehdi keeled over from shock. Instead, he assumed a rigid posture and a stern expression, hands fisted at his sides. “Talia, if you believe I will simply take you at your word about this, you are completely daft.”
The woman swept her manicured hand toward the infant. “Just look at him, Adan. You can’t deny he’s yours. Dark hair and golden skin. He even has your dimples. Despite all that, I do have proof in the form of a DNA test.”
“How did you get my bloody DNA?” he asked.
Talia crossed her arms beneath her breasts and lifted her chin. “It’s all over my Paris flat, Adan. And you happened to leave your toothbrush the night you tossed me to the gutter.”
The sheikh’s defenses seemed to disappear right before Piper’s eyes. “We were always careful to prevent pregnancy.”
Talia tapped her chin. “I do recall that one night last year in Milan—”
“That was one blasted night, Talia,” he replied, his tone fraught with anger.
“Once was quite enough.” The woman handed the carrier off to a bewildered Bridget. “Anyway, I have a photo shoot in a remote location in Tasmania, which will give you an opportunity to get to know your kid. We’ll discuss the custody particulars when I get back next month.”
Adan narrowed his eyes in a menacing glare. “We will discuss this immediately.”
Talia checked her watch. “My flight leaves in less than an hour.”
“You will not take one step out this door until we talk,” Adan demanded. “Into the study. Now.”
After the sheikh and his former girlfriend exited, Piper looked around to find Abdul had disappeared, leaving her in a quandary over what to do next. She occupied her time by surveying the beige stone walls, the ornate gold statues and the unending staircase leading to the top of the massive structure. A baby’s cry would definitely echo loudly throughout the building.
With that in mind, Piper sought out Bridget, who’d taken a seat on the gold brocade cushioned bench set against the wall, the carrier at her feet. She smiled at the woman, who managed a slight, albeit shaky return of the gesture. But when the baby began to fuss, the presumed au pair looked completely alarmed.
Not good. Piper launched into action, crossed to the carrier, unfolded the yellow blanket, picked up the crying infant and held him against her shoulder. After he quieted, she regarded the wide-eyed Bridget. “You aren’t a nanny, are you?”
“No, I am not,” she finally responded, her tone hinting at a slight British accent and a lot of disdain. “I’m Talia’s personal assistant. The last nanny quit yesterday when she learned she’d have to make the trip here. Traveling with Talia isn’t pleasant under normal circumstances, let alone with a child in tow.”
Piper claimed the vacant spot on the bench, laid the swaddled baby in the crook of her arm and studied his cherub face. “You’re beautiful, little man, although you don’t look like a Samuel. Sam fits you better.”
“Don’t let Talia hear you call him that,” Bridget warned. “She fired the first nanny over that very thing.”
That didn’t exactly surprise Piper after what she’d witnessed upon meeting the model. “Then she’s very protective of him, huh?”
Bridget frowned. “Not really. She hasn’t held him more than a handful of times since his birth.”
Piper couldn’t contain her contempt, a product of her own experience. “Good mothers hold and care for their babies. They certainly don’t foist their children off on someone else.”
Bridget reached over and touched the infant’s arm. “You’re right, but unfortunately Talia isn’t maternal. She’s consumed by her modeling career and staying in shape. All I’ve heard since his birth is how hard she’s had to work to regain her figure. I truly believe that’s why she waited four weeks to bring the baby here.”
Vanity, thy name is Talia. She was beginning to like her less and less. “At least now he’ll have the opportunity to bond with his father.”
“I am not prepared to raise a child, Talia.”
So much for bonding, Piper thought at the sound of the sheikh’s irritated tone.
The self-centered supermodel breezed into the room with one impatient prince following close on her heels. “At least you didn’t have to suffer through thirteen hours of horrible labor last month. And just imagine pushing a soccer ball out your todger. Besides, you have a whole staff to assist you while I had to hire several useless nannies over the past month. Good help is hard to find.”
“Perhaps that’s because you have no idea how to treat the help,” Adan muttered as he strode into the vestibule.
Talia turned and set an oversize light blue bag next to the carrier, affording Piper only a cursory glance. “Bridget gave him a bottle three hours ago, so no doubt he’ll be hungry again very soon. There’s enough nappies, bottles and cans of formula in here to get you by until tomorrow, plus a few outfits. After that, you’re on your own. Let’s go, Bridget.”
Without giving the baby even a passing glance, much less a kiss goodbye, Talia headed for the door with poor Bridget cowering behind her. Piper practically bit a hole in her tongue against the urge to deliver a seething diatribe aimed at the woman’s disregard for her child. Instead, she shifted Sam back to her shoulder and remained silent as Adan followed the two women to the entry and accompanied them out the door.
When the baby began to whimper again, Piper assumed he was probably in need of another bottle. Fortunately, feeding an infant wasn’t an issue, even if it had been a while since her teenage babysitting days—the one job her grandparents had allowed her to accept, but only in a limited capacity, and exclusively for those parents who’d run in their social circle.
Piper laid Sam vertically in her lap, rummaged through the bag, withdrew a bottle and uncapped it. He took the nipple without hesitation and suckled with great enthusiasm, complete with soft, yummy noises that brought about her smile. After he drained the formula in record time, she set the empty bottle beside her, returned him to her shoulder and rubbed his back to successfully burp him. Then she cradled him in the crook of her arm and stroked his cotton-soft cheek. For a time he stared at her with an unfocused gaze before planting his right thumb in his rosebud mouth.
As his eyes drifted closed, Piper experienced sheer empathy for this precious little boy. She couldn’t fathom how anyone would reject such a gift. Couldn’t imagine how any mother worth her salt would simply drop off her child with a man who hadn’t even known he had a son. Then again, why should she be surprised? Her very own mother had abandoned her and Sunny with their grandparents shortly after their birth. As far as she was concerned, women like Talia Thorpe and Millicent McAdams should not be allowed to procreate.
Despite her poor maternal example, Piper had always dreamed of having children of her own. So far she hadn’t found a suitable candidate to father her future offspring, and she certainly wasn’t going to settle for anything less than a loving relationship with a man who had the same wants and desires. A gentle, caring man. Grounded. Settled...
“I am officially moving to Antarctica.”
After the declaration, Adan strode past Piper and disappeared into the nearby corridor adjacent to the towering staircase. Again. Granted, she enjoyed holding baby Sam, but she hadn’t signed on to be the royal nursemaid. And apparently the sheikh hadn’t signed up for fatherhood, either.
A few moments passed before Adan returned with a petite, attractive older woman wearing an impeccable navy tailored blazer and skirt, her salt-and-pepper hair styled in a neat bob. Yet when she caught sight of Piper and the baby, her pleasant demeanor melted into obvious confusion. “May I help you, miss?”
“This is Piper McAdams,” Adan said. “She has accompanied the survey crew, and while she’s here, she will be my guest. Piper, this is Elena Battelli, my former governess who now governs the entire household.”
Piper came to her feet and smiled. “It’s very nice to meet you.”
“And I, you.” Elena leaned over and studied the baby. “What a lovely child you have. Boy or girl?”
“He’s Talia’s child,” Adan interjected before Piper had a chance to respond.
Elena’s initial shock melted into an acid look. “Is that dreadful woman here?”
“She has departed for now,” Adan said. “And she left this infant in my charge before she left the premises.”
Now the governess appeared completely appalled. “She expects you to care for her child?”
The sheikh looked somewhat contrite before he regained his commanding demeanor. “He is mine, Elena.”
Piper really wanted to take the baby and bail before the verbal fireworks began. “If you two would like some privacy—”
“You have no reason to leave,” Adan said. “You have already witnessed the worst of the situation.”
Elena’s features turned as stern as a practiced headmistress. “How long have you known about this child, cara? And how can you be certain that woman is being truthful?”
Adan streaked a palm over his neck. “I didn’t know until today, and she provided the test results that prove I am his father. Now, before you begin the lecture, I have a few things I need you to do.”
The woman straightened her shoulders and stared at him. “This is your bed, Adan Mehdi, and you will lie in it. So if you expect me to raise your son—”
“I do not expect that at all,” Adan replied. “In fact, I intend to take complete control over his care until his mother returns.”
Provided the missing model did come back, Piper’s major concern. But at the moment, she had a more pressing issue that needed to be addressed. “Do you think you might like to hold your son first, Your Highness?”
Uncertainty called out from Adan’s brown eyes as he slowly approached her. “I suppose that would be the most logical next step.”
Piper turned the baby around and placed him in his father’s arms. “I promise he’s not going to break,” she added when she noted his slight look of concern.
While the sheikh held his son for the first time, the former governess stood next to him, one hand resting on Adan’s shoulder. “He looks exactly like you did at his age, cara,” she said in a reverent tone. “Such a bella baby. Does he have a name?”
“Sam,” Piper chimed in without thought. “Actually, Samuel, but I think he looks more like a Sam. Or maybe Sammy.” When she noticed Adan’s disapproving glance, she amended that decision. “Sammy definitely doesn’t work. Of course, what you call him is solely up to you.”
“He will eventually be renamed in accordance with tradition,” Adan said, sounding very authoritative and princely. “Right now I must see to his comfort, including finding him a suitable crib.”
“The nursery is still in order,” Elena said. “And since your brother and Madison are currently residing at their home in the States, you may use it. We still have several bottles in the pantry, and a few items in the cupboard in the nursery, but I’m afraid we have no diapers or formula since the twins have moved past that stage. But the cribs are still there and fully equipped with blankets and such.”
Adan appeared somewhat perplexed. “The nursery is down the hall from my quarters. I will not be able to hear him if he needs me during the night.”
The governess took the baby without permission, and without protest, from the fledgling father, a sure sign of her close bond with the youngest Mehdi son. “There is something known as a baby monitor, cara. You will be able to see and hear him at any time when you are in your suite.”
“Have the monitor set up in my room,” he said. “I will see to the supplies tomorrow. You mentioned Zain is in Los Angeles, but you have not said anything about Rafiq.”
Rafiq Mehdi, the reigning king of Bajul, and reportedly a hard case, according to her grandfather. Piper would buy tickets to see his reaction to the current scandal. Then again, maybe not. She’d had enough drama for one day.
Elena continued to stare at the baby with the reverence of a grandmother. “Rafiq has been with his wife at the resort for the past week. They will not be returning for two more days.”
Adan shrugged out of his jacket and hung it on an ornately carved coat tree in the vestibule before returning to them. “Make certain Rafiq knows nothing about this until I have the opportunity to speak with him.”
When she recognized a serious problem with that request, Piper decided to add her two cents. “Can you trust the household staff to keep this quiet?”
“The staff knows to exercise complete confidentially,” Elena said.
“Or suffer the consequences,” Adan added gruffly before turning to the governess. “Please have Abdul deliver the monitor and our bags to our rooms, and watch him while I show Ms. McAdams to her quarters.”
Elena kissed the baby’s forehead. “I have no reason to watch Abdul, cara. I trust he’ll do as he’s told.”
After Adan muttered something in Arabic that didn’t sound exactly pleasant, Piper stifled a laugh and considered an offer. “I have no problem watching the baby while you settle in, Your Highness.”
“That will not be necessary, Ms. McAdams,” Elena said as she handed the baby back to Adan. “If you are bent on being a good father to your son, then you should begin immediately.”
Adan looked slightly panicked. “But—”
“No buts, Adan Mehdi.” The governess snatched the empty bottle from the bench before addressing Piper again. “Ms. McAdams, it was certainly a pleasure to meet you, even under such unusual circumstances. I shall go instruct Abdul while the royal pilot becomes accustomed to paternity. Please let me know if you need any assistance with the boy.”
Piper returned her smile. “Luckily I babysat quite a few times in my youth, so we’ll be fine.”
“Actually, I was referring to my former charge, the prince.”
The two women shared a laugh before Elena walked away, leaving Piper alone with Adan and his son.
“She treats me as if I still wear knickers,” he said, frustration evident in his tone.
Piper moved to his side and peeked at the still sleeping infant. “Evidently the two of you are very close, and I honestly believe she has your best interests at heart.”
He released a rough sigh. “I suppose she does, at that. Now, if you’re ready, I shall escort you to your room before I settle the baby into the nursery.”
Piper almost insisted on returning to the inn, yet when she saw a trace of doubt in Adan’s eyes, the touch of awkwardness as he held his child, the sympathy bug bit her. “Why don’t we put him in the carrier while we climb the stairs?”
“No need,” he said. “If you’ll be so kind as to gather his things, I’ll show you to the private elevator.”
Piper couldn’t help but smile over Adan’s decision not to relinquish his son. Maybe she’d underestimated his ability to move into his new role after all.
* * *
He had untold riches at his disposal. He could fly jets at warp speed, navigate treacherous mountain slopes on skis and answer a woman’s most secret fantasies with little effort. Yet he had no idea what to do with an infant.
As he studied the child in his arms, Adan’s own paternal experience fueled his drive to succeed in this endeavor. He’d often wondered if the man who’d claimed him—and in many ways discarded him—had actually been his biological father. That question had always haunted him and always would. He vowed to give his son everything he would ever need, including his undivided attention.
His son. He’d never believed he would be in this position at this point in his life. Yet he was, and he had no one else to blame for his carelessness. No one to truly count on but himself.
“Is this where we get off, Your Highness?”
Until Piper had spoken, he hadn’t noticed the car had come to a stop. “It is.” After he moved through the open doors, he faced her in the corridor. “I respectfully request you call me Adan when we’re in private.”
She shifted the tote’s strap to her shoulder. “All right, as long as you don’t mind me referring to your son as Sam.”
Clearly the woman was a born negotiator. “If that pleases you, I agree. I, however, will call him Samuel until he is renamed.”
She sent him a satisfied smile. “It greatly pleases me, Adan.”
Under different circumstances, he would definitely like to please her in other, more intimate ways. Then his son began to whimper, reminding him those carefree days were all but over. “Do you think he is hungry again?”
“I think he’s probably wet,” she said. “I also think we should stop by the nursery first and check it out.”
A good plan. At least she could assist him when he took his first venture into diaper changing.
Piper followed behind him as he traveled the lengthy hallway past several unoccupied guest suites. He stopped immediately right of the staircase landing and opened the door to the nursery that he had once occupied with his two brothers almost thirty years ago. The room had been left much the same, with two cribs and a small single bed set against the sand-colored walls, a large blue trunk holding the toys from his early childhood positioned in the corner. The miniature round table and chairs were still centered in the room, the place where Elena had taught the boys lessons as well as her native language, Italian. Where she had read to them nightly before bedtime in lieu of the mother Adan had never known. But that had lasted only until he’d turned six years old, when he’d been unceremoniously shipped off to boarding school.
The baby’s cries began to escalate, thrusting the bittersweet memories away. He stepped aside to allow Piper entry, plagued by a sudden sense of absolute helplessness when he couldn’t think of a blasted thing to do to calm his son. He hated failure in any form, and he’d worked hard to succeed in nearly everything he’d endeavored. Yet somehow this miniature human had left him virtually defenseless.
Piper crossed the room to the dressing table and set the tote and carrier at her feet. “Bring him over here.”
“Gladly.”
After he laid the infant on the white cushioned surface, Samuel continued to wail at a decibel that could possibly summon the palace guards. Piper seemed willing to speed up the process by sliding the yellow-footed pajama bottoms down the infant’s legs. She then leaned down to retrieve a diaper that she set on the end of the table. “You can take it from here.”
While the child continued to cry, Adan surveyed the plastic contraption and tried to recall a time when he’d watched his sister-in-law change one of the twins. Sadly, he could not. “I am not well versed in proper diaper-changing procedure.”
Piper sighed. “First, you need to remove the wet diaper by releasing the tapes. But I need to warn you about something first.”
He suspected it wouldn’t be the last child-rearing caution he would hear. “Take care not to flip him on his head?”
She frowned. “Well, obviously that, and make sure you’re ready to hold the diaper back in place if he’s not done. Otherwise, you could find yourself being anointed in the face.”
He certainly had never considered that. “How do you know these things?”
She withdrew a white container from the bag and opened it to reveal some sort of paper wipes. “I learned the hard way. I used to babysit for a family with three boys, and two of them were in diapers.”
This woman—who had been a stranger to him twenty-four hours ago—could very well be his savior. After he lowered the diaper and didn’t have to dodge, he readied for the next step. “Now what?”
“Gently grasp his ankles with one hand, lift his bottom, then slide the diaper from beneath him with your free hand.”
Adan had earned a degree in aeronautics, yet this task seemed astronomical. Fortunately the boy found his thumb to pacify himself while his fumbling father figured out the process. And thankfully his hand easily circled both the infant’s ankles, and raising his legs was akin to lifting a feather. Once he had the diaper removed and the baby lowered, he turned back to Piper. “Piece of cake.”
She took the plastic garment from him and discarded it in the nearby bin. “True, but he’s still little. Just realize there will soon come a time when he’ll be much more mobile, and a lot less cooperative.”
The image of his child vaulting from the dressing table assaulted him. “Will I need to strap him down?”
Piper laughed. “You’ll have enough experience by then to handle him. And you’ll probably want to change him in a place that’s a little lower to the ground.”
He shook his head. “I had no idea that caring for someone so small would require so much knowledge. I am ill equipped for the task.”
“You’re more than equipped, Adan.” She handed him a damp paper cloth, set the container aside, then grabbed the clean diaper and unfolded it. “But right now your son requires that you finish this task. After you clean him up a bit, repeat the first step, only this time slide the diaper underneath him.”
Piper displayed great patience as he followed her instructions to the letter. Once he had the infant rediapered and redressed, he noticed that his son had fallen asleep.
“Grab the bag and we’ll put this little guy to bed,” Piper said as she lifted the baby, crossed the room and placed him on his back in one of the two cribs.
Tote in hand, Adan came to her side. As he watched his child sleep, he experienced a strong sense of pride. “I must say he’s quite something.”
“Yes he is,” she replied in a hushed tone. “Now let’s go so he can have a decent nap before it’s feeding time again.”
After one last look at his son, Adan guided Piper into the corridor, leaving the nursery room door ajar. “Do you think it’s all right to leave him all alone in an unfamiliar place?”
She patted his arm and smiled. “He’s going to be fine for the next hour or so. And I’m sure Elena will have the monitor in place very soon so you can track his every move. But you will need to send out for supplies tomorrow.”
“I prefer to take care of the supplies myself,” he said on a whim. “However, I could use some counsel on what to purchase, if you would be so kind as to accompany me into the village. I can also show you the sights while we’re there.”
“Aren’t you afraid someone might recognize you?”
He was more afraid she would reject his plan to spend more time with her. “I have ways to disguise myself to avoid recognition. We would appear to be tourists exploring the town.”
She hid a yawn behind her hands. “I could probably do that. But at the moment, I could use a nap. Jet lag has taken hold of me.”
What an inconsiderate buffoon he’d become. “Of course. If you’ll follow me, I will show you to your quarters.”
Adan guided Piper toward the suite opposite his, situated two rooms down from the nursery. Once there, he opened the door and she breezed past him, coming to a stop at the end of the queen-size bed. He stepped inside and watched as she surveyed the room before facing the open windows that revealed the mountains in the distance.
“This is a beautiful view,” she said without turning around.
“Yes, it is.” And he wasn’t referring to the panoramic scenery. She was beautiful. Incredibly beautiful, from the top of her hair that ruffled in the warm breeze, to her man-slaying high heels, and all points in between. What he wouldn’t give to divest her of that black dress, lay her down on the purple silk bedspread and have his wicked way with her....
“That peak is really prominent.”
She had no idea, and he was thankful she hadn’t turned around to find out. After regaining some composure, he crossed the room and moved behind her. “The largest mountain is called Mabrứuk. Legend has it that it blesses Bajul with fertility.”
She turned, putting them in close proximity. “Fertile as in crops?”
“Actually, livestock and village offspring. We’ve come to know it as the baby-making mountain.”
She smiled. “Did its powers reach all the way to Milan?”
“Perhaps so.”
Her smile disappeared, replaced by self-consciousness. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought that up. Obviously you were shocked over learning you had a son.”
An understatement of the first order. “Yes, but I am in part responsible. If I had answered Talia’s messages, I would have known much sooner. But I frankly did not have the desire to speak with her after we broke off the relationship. Six years of Talia’s antics had been quite enough.”
“And that brings me to a question,” she said, followed by, “if you don’t mind me asking.”
After all his talk of honor, she deserved to grill him as much as she would like. “Ask away.”
“Why were you with Talia all that time if you found her intolerable?”
A very good question. “In all honesty, my attraction to her was purely physical. But in defense of Talia, she has not had an easy life. She practically raised herself in the back alleys of London after her mother died and her father drowned his sorrows in the local pubs. Beneath that tough and somewhat haughty exterior resides a lost little girl who fears poverty and a loss of pride.”
Piper released a caustic laugh. “Sorry, but that doesn’t excuse her for bringing a baby into the world and basically ignoring him after the fact.”
He recalled the recent conversation he’d had with Talia in the study. “She told me she had considered giving Samuel up for adoption, but she also felt I had a right to decide if I wanted to be a part of his life.”
“And she thought springing him on you was the way to handle that?”
“Talia is nothing if not spontaneous. And as I’ve said, I refused to answer any correspondence.”
She sighed. “Look, I know it’s really none of my business, but I suspect she could be using Sam as a pawn to get you back into her life.”
“Or perhaps for monetary gain,” he said, regretfully voicing his own suspicions.
Piper reacted with a scowl. “She wants you to buy your own son from her?”
“She did not exactly say that, but it is a possibility. And if that proves to be true, I would willingly give her any amount of money for the opportunity to raise my child without her interference.”
Her features brightened. “I admire your conviction, Adan. Sam is lucky to have you as his dad.”
She could have offered him an accommodation for bravery in battle and it would not have meant as much. “And I appreciate your faith in me, Piper. Yet I am well aware of the challenges ahead of me.”
She favored him with a grin that traveled to her diamond-blue eyes. “Just wait until you have to give him a bath this evening.”
That sent several horrific images shooting through his muddled mind. “Bloody hell, what if I drop him?”
She patted his cheek. “You won’t if you’re careful. And I’ll be there to show you how it’s done.”
He caught her hand and brought it against his chest. “You have been a godsend, Piper McAdams. And you now hold the distinction of being the most attractive tutor I have ever encountered.”
“Then we’re even,” she said, her voice soft and overtly sensuous.
He tugged her closer. “In what way?”
She wrested out of his grasp and draped her arms around his neck. “You happen to be the best kisser I’ve ever encountered to this point.”
He wanted to kiss her now. Needed to kiss her now. And he did—without any compunction whatsoever, regardless of his responsibility to his sleeping son. With a bed very close at hand and her heady response to the thrust of his tongue, all reasoning flew out the open windows.
“Excuse me, Emir.”
Abdul’s voice was as effective as having ice water poured down one’s pants, thrusting Adan away from Piper. He tried to clear the uncomfortable hitch from his throat before facing the servant. “Yes, Abdul?”
“I have Ms. McAdams’s luggage.”
“Then bring it in.”
The man set the bags at the end of the bed, then executed a slight bow before hurrying away and closing the door behind him, something Adan should have done to avoid the predicament.
He sent Piper an apologetic look. “I am very sorry I did not see to our privacy.”
She touched her fingertips to her lips. “We really shouldn’t be doing this.”
The declaration sent his good spirits into a nosedive. “Why not?”
“Because I can’t help but wonder exactly how much you really knew about Talia’s pregnancy.”
This time when she called his honor into question, he responded with fury. “I did not even remotely suspect she might be pregnant. Otherwise this issue would have been resolved in the beginning. And it pains me to know you hold me in such low esteem that you think I would abandon my own child.”
“I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “That was an unfair assumption since you seem so willing to care for your son.”
His anger diminished when he noted the sincerity in her voice. “You do have every right to doubt me, Piper, in light of my initial fabrications. But I swear to you again that I will do everything in my power to prove my honor.”
She answered with a slight smile. “After meeting that man-eater, Talia, I now understand why you might be driven straight into celibacy.”
That vow was the last thing on his mind after he’d kissed Piper. “As I’ve said before, she had little to do with that decision. I am determined to demonstrate my ability to maintain control over baser urges.”
“Then we should probably avoid situations where we’re going to lose our heads and do something we both might regret.”
He could not argue that point, but he would have no regrets when it came to making love to her should they arrive upon that decision. He might regret any emotional entanglement. “I suppose you’re correct, but chemistry is very hard to control.”
“We’ll just have to learn to control it for the time being.”
Easier said than done. “And let us both hope we can maintain control.”
“Believe me, you’ll have enough distractions taking care of Sam.”
Perhaps while caring for his son that would be true, but she served as his primary distraction in private, the reason why he began backing toward the door—and away from these foreign feelings for Piper that had little to do with physical attraction. “Speaking of my son, I should go see about him. In the meantime, you should rest.”
She yawned again and stretched her arms above her head. “A nap would be fantastic. So would a shower. Is there one nearby?”
Old habits reared their ugly heads when he almost offered his personal facilities—and his assistance—but instead he nodded to his right. “You have an en suite bathroom through that door. And my room is right across the hall, should you find you require anything else from me.”
Her grin returned. “I’m sure I’ll manage, but thank you for everything.”
“My pleasure, and I do hope you get some much-needed sleep filled with pleasant dreams.”
No doubt he would be having a few pleasant—and inadvisable—dreams about her.
