button down and watching the elements glow red. The only reason her face was still warm was from the heat of the toaster. It was not about the thought of ‘taking’ Matt.
‘So,’ he looked over his coffee cup once she was settled across from him with her breakfast. ‘Any injuries at your end?’ Nodding at her head.
‘A bit of a sore spot, but I think I came off better than you.’
‘You might be right.’ He grinned, but not too widely, wiggling his jaw. ‘Look, I wanted to talk to you before the kids get up.’ He slid a quick look at the digital clock on the front of the high-tech oven. ‘They usually are now. It’s past seven.’
‘I’ll establish a routine with them, but they both seemed tired and a bit out of sorts last night so I thought I’d let them sleep in this morning.’
‘That’s fine. It’s the start of the summer holidays after all. As long as they’re back in their routine for September—’
‘They will be, no problem.’
‘Good.’ He pulled a face. ‘Thinking about it, they do come back from my mother-in-law’s a bit ratty sometimes.’
‘Why do you think that is?’
‘I…I’ve never really thought about it.’ He stared into space for a moment. ‘I suppose…it might be that she’s not the warmest person in the world.’
‘Yeah, I know someone like that,’ she mused, thinking of Ruth. ‘Or maybe their gran reminds them of their mum?’ she suggested softly, off the back of a comment Jasper had made the previous evening. He’d said Gran had the same curly hair as Mummy, he knew it from photos at her house. There were no pictures of Mummy at home, Daddy didn’t like them.
Watching Matt struggle with her suggestion, she was worried. A parent who knew their kids would instinctively know what was going on. Why was he so out of touch with them?
‘I don’t think so,’ he said at last.
Feeling he was wrong, she also knew now was not the time to push. It was too soon. She’d barely been here five minutes and he was unlikely to trust her opinion yet about something so sensitive and personal. ‘Okay.’ Watching the news on the flat screen TV built into one of the walls, she chewed some toast and drank some of the delicious coffee. Gulping, she studied him. ‘So, you wanted to talk to me about something?’
‘Oh, yes. I wanted to say sorry for the comment about your shorts yesterday.’ He looked down into his coffee cup. ‘It was clumsy.’
‘Thank you. I understand they might have been a bit skimpy, but—’
‘But I could have been a bit more diplomatic,’ he interrupted, flicking his gaze to her face. ‘I sounded like a pompous git.’
Her mouth swung open, and she laughed. He wasn’t at all what she’d been expecting. ‘Well, I wouldn’t have said that.’
‘Well I can. I apologise. I just don’t know how to talk to women anymore.’ It was the last thing she’d have predicted him sharing and he looked embarrassed. ‘I didn’t mean to say that.’
‘Obviously. After all, what about your reputation as a serial dater in the papers? And your last nanny was a woman, you must have talked to her?’
He scowled. ‘You shouldn’t believe everything you read. Besides, Melody was different. I wasn’t—’ he clenched his teeth. ‘Never mind.’
‘What were you going to say?’ Was he about to open up, give her an inkling of what the hell had caused him to fire Melody and kick her out?
‘Nothing. It doesn’t matter. Next subject.’ He drained his cup.
‘If it’s something I need to know, something that could affect the children—’
‘It’s not,’ he said tightly, before making a visible effort to breathe in and out to calm himself. ‘There was something else too, Zoe.’
‘Oh?’ Obviously she needed to let the subject of Melody drop, but it was weird how stressed he looked about the whole thing. ‘Go on.’
‘I’m um— not sure what time you got in last night but I really need you to be dedicated to the job, not coming in and out at all hours, dragging yourself around exhausted. Especially not smelling of alcohol.’ His mouth tightened, the scar cutting into his upper lip turning white. ‘Aimee and Jasper need stability and a responsible adult. I’m not unreasonable, you have a right to a life outside of work, it just has to be appropriate and come further down the list of priorities. My kids come first. Do you understand?’
She nodded, feeling a bit like a child who’d been told off for staying out to play too long, but she could see his point; she’d got in pretty late and was here to do a job. Plus how could she argue when he was looking out for his children? All she’d ever want from any parent was that they be child-centred and put their children’s best interests first.
‘Yes, absolutely,’ she nodded, ‘I want the best for them too.’ Hopping down from her stool she stacked her plate and cup in the dishwasher, before straightening up to look at him. ‘Just so you know, I wasn’t out drinking. I went for a walk and saw a film. I like going out and having fun occasionally but that’s it. I’m not a party girl.’ Hangovers and looking after children were not a good combination. She’d learnt that the hard way when she’d worked at the nursery in her late teens. Coming into work hung-over, dealing with the noise and demands of young children had been like slow-roasted torture and she’d ended up in tears before lunchtime. ‘Is there anything else?’
His eyes raked over her beige safari shorts, a respectable mid-thigh length today, the floaty white vest top, chunky necklace and lace-up sandals.
‘Yes,’ he met her gaze. ‘I can’t let you leave the house like that.’
‘Pardon?’ Her eyes widened. He couldn’t think this outfit was too revealing?
‘The other nannies dress a certain way.’ He ran a hand around the back of his neck, seeming awkward with the direction of the conversation. ‘I’m afraid that’s not it.’
‘I was planning on taking the kids out somewhere, spending some quality time with them. I’m not going to a fashion show.’ No one loved clothes more than her but you had to dress for the activity.
‘I appreciate that,’ he rose from the stool and strolled over to her, ‘but the thing is that I need you to fit in with my lifestyle, not the other way around. That outfit,’ he looked down at her shorts, ‘is too casual if you’re going out. You’re bound to bump into some of the kids’ friends and their nannies or parents. I wouldn’t want either of my children feeling…’
‘What?’ she questioned lightly, trying not to take it personally. ‘Embarrassed to be seen with me?
‘Not embarrassed! But you won’t fit in. I’m saying this for your benefit as well as theirs. Think of it like wearing a uniform. There’s a certain way you’re expected to look for this job. You must have come across that before.’
The truth was, she had. Liberty had expected Zoe to be immaculately groomed in well-cut clothes to fit into the society she lived in and she’d done it happily. But she hadn’t really thought it through when she’d put her clothes on this morning, because her professional head wasn’t on in the way it usually was, given she was here to get even, not make a living. She had to take more care. ‘So what kind of thing do I need to wear?’ she asked lightly, gazing past him out the window at the bright sunlight filling the manicured garden. ‘Given it’s not even half seven and already twenty degrees out? It’s supposed to be another hot one today.’
‘I don’t know really. I think Melody wore a lot of dresses, but I never took proper notice. Just something smarter I guess.’ To his credit he looked genuinely flummoxed.
She let out an exasperated sigh. ‘Right, that’s helpful.’