and steadied her under an elbow as she crawled in, catching a full inhale of her exotic sandalwood and almond scent. It hit him like a drug that weakened his muscles and teased him with euphoria.
Unless he was very careful, coming to her would turn into another mistake. He couldn’t let it happen. He released her to pull the door shut behind her.
“Funny,” Jaya said tartly, then, “Thank you, Oscar. Directly to the hotel now, please. The underground entrance.” She pressed a button to close the privacy window and steadied Evie beside her on the seat as the car began to glide forward.
Theo picked up Androu and settled him on his thigh, catching a look on Jaya’s face that might have been stunned hurt, but she looked away. Better that she was hurt and hated him. It would be easier for both of them.
Turning a gentle smile to Evie, she said, “You’ve been very patient. Would you like your drink now?” She brought a bottle of water out of the bag and opened it, helping Evie to sip.
Androu put out a hand and made a noise of imperative.
“I bought one for him, too. Do you know if they have any allergies?”
“I don’t think so.” Not Androu anyway. Adara was always prattling on about every little thing Androu ate, touched or said. Theo only listened with half an ear, but he would remember if she was worried about something like that.
There were bananas in the bag with yoghurt cups and a bag of vanilla cookies. Food. Right.
“Good call,” he told her as he spilled water all over himself trying to keep the greedy Androu from drowning. The kid didn’t have the first clue about the physics of tipping a water bottle and ended up coughing it all down his chin. “I think he uses a special cup for this.”
“Really? Perhaps you should have stolen it when you kidnapped him.” She brought out a banana and broke off pieces, making everyone sticky but quiet and happy.
“This is Androu, my nephew, Adara and Gideon’s boy.”
“Oh, of course.” Everything in Jaya changed, softening as her gaze hooked onto Androu’s little face with as much fixation as her first stare, but with a touch of wistfulness now. “I’d heard gossip about a miscarriage when I was in Bali. I’m happy for them. He’s beautiful.”
Her tone was sincere, moved almost. Or maybe he was reading into it. His emotions had been stripped to their rawest form the last time he’d been with her. Today wasn’t much better. He hadn’t planned ever to see her again and when he had indulged in imagining he might, he’d pulled himself together.
“It’s been an eventful couple of years,” he couched, trying to gloss over all the inner tearing down and rebuilding he’d been forced to do without betraying how brutal it had been. “Look, Jaya. I came to you because I figured I could trust you. We’ve kept some family business out of the papers for my mother’s sake and even though she’s gone now, we prefer not to air our dirty laundry, but...” He shrugged. “Are you aware that Nic Marcussen is my older brother?”
“No, I didn’t even know your mother had died. I’m so sor— Wait. Marcussen Media? That Nic Marcussen?”
“Yes.”
“Married to Rowan Davidson, the actress? Who adopted a baby from—” She looked at Evie who tilted her almond-shaped eyes up curiously.
“Where’s Mama?”
“She’s coming to get you soon,” Jaya reassured her, handing Evie another piece of banana. “Isn’t she?” she prompted Theo.
“I sincerely hope so, but from what I saw from the air, they have to evade pirates first.”
“Where? On the Med? You can’t be serious!”
“I know what I saw and the authorities have been notified, but there’s every chance we’ll be looking at ransom negotiations. The last thing we need is a media circus, especially around the babies. Hell, they’re kidnap targets. You were the closest person I could think of who could provide me a place to stay that was off the radar.”
Completely practical, exactly as it was supposed to be, he assured himself.
“You knew where I was working?” Her clipped challenge held dual notes of hurt and ire, suggesting that if he had known, he should have called.
He bit back a sigh. “I was contacted as a reference,” he lied, adding politely, “Congratulations.”
“Oh, um, thanks,” she dismissed with a self-conscious shrug. “It’s a boutique hotel, very well respected even before the upgrades. They’re looking to bring in a higher clientele and hired me because of my experience with Makricosta’s. I guess I’m indebted to you...again.” Her voice trailed off. The way she bit her lips together suggested she would rather be run over by this limo than face him after referencing their night together.
He pretended they’d left it at the point where she’d thanked him, as if the rest hadn’t happened. “As I said then, the hoteliers here got lucky.”
Her eyelashes flinched in a way that seemed to say, Did you really just say that?
He had. It was unkind, but he wasn’t about to acknowledge how lucky he’d been that night. If his insensitivity toward her made his gut knot with sick self-hatred, so be it. He was here for only one reason.
Jaya visibly pulled herself together. “I’ve arranged the Presidential Suite. It’s yours as long as you need it. I’ll talk to the staff, keep housekeeping out of there, tell them you’re antisocial.” Her tight smile said, It’s not even a lie, and the churning rolled in his stomach again. “My new boss isn’t nearly as hands-on as you were. You’ll be long gone before he asks who was in there.”
Hands-on?
Her cool delivery let him know that two could play this game.
Androu curled his banana-coated fingers into Theo’s shirtfront and tried to wriggle down to his feet, forcing Theo to break their stare.
“I need more than a safe place to hide,” Theo said, tentative in his struggle with Androu, afraid of hurting his tiny body, but not wanting him hurting himself by trying to walk around in a moving vehicle. Androu grew frustrated and started arching with temper. “I don’t know what to do with babies. I need your help.”
“Like a nanny? I can call an agen—”
He shook his head, impatient that she was being obtuse. “I can’t trust strangers. That chauffeur hearing my name is bad enough. I need complete discretion, at least until I know the situation on the ship. Twenty-four hours, maybe forty-eight, then we can reassess.”
“We? You’re suggesting me? No.” She shook her head. “Definitely not. I can’t.” Her eyes grew big, panicked maybe, but she shielded them with a downward sweep of her lashes. “I really can’t. It’s impossible. No. Sorry.”
Because of their history. Because he’d just been a bastard about it. Damn it. There was a reason he didn’t make promises to women: he couldn’t keep them, not the emotional kind. He didn’t have it in him to fulfill and make happy. Not in a romantic way. In other ways...
He thought fast. “Look at what you gain. This is the son of the Makricosta chain of hotels and resorts. Do you recognize how much favor will be bestowed on the person who keeps him from harm? How do you feel about working cruise lines? Gideon has another ship launching next fall. You’re climbing ladders so I assume your career is still very important to you. You’ll be able to write your own ticket, Jaya. Anything you can’t do, Adara will pay for you to learn. Hell, name your price and I’ll pay it to know that I’ve got someone I can trust for the next few days.”
“To babysit.” Her mouth stayed in a flat, grim line of disgust.
“They’re the toughest guests to please. Free dinner goes nowhere with them.”
“Am I supposed to be laughing?