Chapter Two
CHAPTER TWO
They arrived at the airport a few minutes later but Addie soon realised Vic hadn’t booked them on a commercial flight.
They whipped through check-in and security in record time.
She’d been on private jets a few times before with her mother, so this was not exactly a new experience.
It wasn’t as over-the-top as other jets she had been on, but it certainly was luxurious in a simple and understated way.
Sinking into the plush leather seat opposite Vic’s, she wondered if she should have taken the one next to him so she wouldn’t be in his direct line of vision.
She had never spent so much time alone with him before.
She found him intriguing but intimidating because he was so difficult to read.
Was he thinking how unlike her stunning mother she was?
Her mother was an exotic flamingo. Addie was a common brown sparrow.
Was he thinking how socially inept she was compared to her older brother?
Her brother could work a room like it was a sport and he was the current world champion.
She, on the other hand, melted into the background and left the room as quickly as she could.
‘Is this the way you always travel?’ she asked, more for the desire to fill the silence than needing to know.
‘Yes. I’m not fond of commercial flights.’ Vic looked down to click his seatbelt into place and looking at her again, continued with an arch of one dark brow. ‘You don’t approve?’
Addie gave a tiny shrug of one shoulder.
‘I’m hardly in a position to criticise. I’ve flown on private jets with my mother a few times.
’ She twisted her mouth and added, ‘Mostly because my father changed his mind about having me to stay with him and she didn’t have enough time to make other arrangements. ’
His dark eyebrows moved closer together over his even darker eyes. ‘Their divorce wasn’t amicable?’
She gave a tinkle of laughter, but even to her own ears it sounded fake, which it was. ‘Understatement. But I’m sure Marcus has told you all about it.’
‘He’s told me surprisingly little.’
It was her turn to frown. ‘Aren’t you two close friends?’
‘There are some things even close friends don’t talk about.’
‘Well, I wouldn’t know because I don’t have a lot of close friends.
’ She bit her lip, immediately regretting her unfiltered admission.
Why was she making an idiot of herself by telling Vic Jacobetti about her lack of a close network of friends to hang out with after work and on weekends?
She spent most weekends alone or worked extra shifts at the clinic so the other staff could spend time with their loved ones.
Besides, the companionship of animals comforted her, gave her a purpose she lacked in her private life.
She had no fear of animals turning against her or using her as a means to an end like that boyfriend tried to do when she was fifteen.
With animals, what you saw is what you got.
They didn’t have agendas or devious plans to manipulate you.
They took you as you were, accepted you and trusted you to take care of them.
She was proud of her ability to soothe a distressed dog or cat in the emergency clinic.
She always handled the so called ‘difficult’ ones.
She didn’t find them difficult at all. They were sensitive and they were hurting, and she knew how to help them feel safe and nurtured while under her care.
The jet began to move, and the pilot addressed them from the cockpit about travelling time and weather conditions on arrival. The interruption gave her a moment or two to compose herself, but she could still feel the burn of a blush lingering in her cheeks.
The jet took off and she looked out the window to see the winding and crinkled silver of the River Thames and the city of London in miniature. It looked like a fairyland at this time of night with its array of sparkling lights.
Vic stretched out his long legs and crossed his ankles, his gaze unwavering on her. ‘Why don’t you have any close friends?’
She rolled her lips together and they made a soft popping sound when she stopped. ‘It’s a long story.’
‘We have a couple of hours.’
She tried not to squirm under his scrutiny. ‘Shouldn’t we be discussing how we’re going to take care of Katerina? I mean, do you have any experience with small children?’ She wanted to steer clear of any more embarrassing true confessions.
‘Not much. I was at boarding school when Isabella was young. I only saw her occasionally on visits home. And I’ve only seen Katerina a handful of times since the christening. That’s why I thought you should do this with me. Marcus told me you’ve seen her a fair bit.’
‘Yes, enough for her to know who I am, but Isabella or Marcus were always there too. My specialty is small animals, not small children, but I figure since I was a small kid once, it can’t be too hard, right?’
Vic’s sensual mouth lifted in a slanted smile and her heart gave a sudden lurch. ‘I’m not sure it works that way, cara .’
Gulp. She was losing count of how many times he’d addressed her with those delicious Italian endearments.
‘Yes, well, I guess we’ll muddle through somehow.
But the poor little munchkin will be missing her parents, surely?
I mean, she’s not yet two. Did they leave instructions on her routine and that sort of thing? ’
‘The nanny will hopefully have informed my housekeeper of all that when she handed her over today.’
She frowned in concern. ‘But surely the nanny could’ve stayed until we got there?
Poor little Katerina, she must be so confused and frightened to be suddenly left with a total stranger.
’ She knew how her niece would be feeling because she had experienced it herself.
Too many times to count. More times than she wanted to remember.
‘My housekeeper is more than capable of looking after her until we get there,’ Vic said. ‘She’s had four children and has several grandchildren of her own.’
She chewed at her lip, picturing the little toddler dumped off like a parcel with someone who was almost a stranger to take care of her and reassure her.
She could still recall her own terrifying sense of abandonment all these years on from similar drop-offs.
‘But how well do you know your housekeeper? You said you’d only been to your villa a couple of times in the past year.
She might be a wonderful housekeeper but a terrible childminder, even if she has grandchildren of her own.
Child rearing practices have changed so much over the years.
She might be doing or saying all sorts of things that are wrong by today’s standards. ’
‘Katerina will be fine. Stop worrying. You’re forgetting she’s met Lucia many times before when Marcus and Isabella have stayed at the villa.’
‘But what about your mother and stepfather? They’re Katerina’s grandparents, or at least your mother is,’ Addie said.
Vic made a derisive sound at the back of his throat. ‘My stepfather isn’t fond of little kids.’
‘What about your mother?’
‘She adores Katerina.’
‘So why doesn’t she—?’
‘Because my stepfather makes sure my mother is too busy to be available to anyone but him.’
Addie sat back in her seat and frowned. It wasn’t hard to notice the bitterness in Vic’s tone and it made her wonder exactly what his childhood had been like once his stepfather came on the scene.
‘My stepfather isn’t fond of little kids.’
There was so much packed in that sentence and yet Vic’s half-sister seemed extremely fond of her father.
Marcus and Isabella’s wedding had made Addie envious when she saw Isabella’s proud father walking her down the aisle.
Addie’s father hadn’t even come to any of her school functions or birthdays.
It seemed pretty unlikely he’d want to walk her down the aisle if by some miracle she did one day get married.
Addie tried to remember if Isabella or Marcus had ever mentioned the housekeeper, Lucia.
She’d had nice housekeepers and nannies too, but it didn’t mean she was any less frightened to be suddenly without one or both of her parents.
Children needed security and the slightest change could make them feel uneasy, uncertain and unloved.
Addie’s mother, as the other grandmother, was clearly not available.
Solange had even refused when Katerina was born to be called anything but Solange .
No grandma , granny or nanny for her—it was too aging and not good for her brand.
Solange would be the last person Marcus and Isabella could call on in an emergency, which was why Addie knew it was up to her to comfort and protect her little niece until her parents returned.
But doing it with Vic Jacobetti was something she was not quite prepared for.
But how could she prepare for something so outside her lived experience?
He was a playboy. She was practically a nun.
‘Addie.’ It was the first time she had heard Vic call her by her preferred name and the sound of his deep and mellifluous voice with his Italian accent sent a fluttery sensation to her core.
He pronounced Addie with a slight accentuation on the second syllable—Ad- dee.
How could someone simply saying her name make her go weak at the knees?
She released her savaged lip and met his gaze. ‘It’ll be hours before we get there. Have you spoken to Lucia to see how Katerina is settling in?’
‘There hasn’t been time.’ A look of frustration crossed his face. ‘I had to cancel so many commitments in order to get there as it is.’
‘I’m sure Marcus and Isabella appreciate you sacrificing your valuable time.’ She hadn’t intended to be as sarcastic as she sounded—it just came out that way.
There was a moment or two of silence.