Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Maurizio
Isat down opposite Flora and picked up my own cup of tea, focusing on anything that wasn’t the way she was looking at me.
Whilst not an Adonis by any stretch of the imagination, I knew I was attractive, or at least women often found me to be.
I was tall, like my father, but everything else I got from the Italian side of my family, the naturally bronzed skin, dark hair and eyes, and on occasion, the charm.
I hadn’t intentionally been flirting or aiming to be suggestive when I’d said about being sweaty, but I think it came across that way.
I’d noted the way Flora had swallowed, hard, had flushed and taken in my whole appearance before her face, neck and chest took on a slightly deeper shade of pink. She really was very cute.
I smiled, hoping to relax the woman opposite me, but the truth was that my smile had been entirely natural, a sign at my happiness that she found me attractive and was reacting to me.
Under other circumstances I might be concerned by that, had she just started working in the firm of barristers I was a partner in.
Maybe I should be more concerned as I was not only employing her, but she was also going to be living in my house.
However, I admitted, if only to myself, that the attraction was entirely reciprocal and so long as we both knew we weren’t crossing those professional lines, and we weren’t, where was the harm?
The sound of the children charging through the house interrupted every thought I had. Showtime.
After introducing the children to Flora and explaining again that she would be here with Bea to take care of them and then alone once their current nanny went on maternity leave, I retreated to my office.
I didn’t want anyone to feel uncomfortable or pressured by my presence, plus, under normal circumstances, I was unlikely to be around when the children were in either nanny’s care.
An hour or so had passed when I heard loud laughter that I immediately recognised as Rosie’s.
I looked out of my office window and watched on as some kind of chasing game took place.
Bea seemed to be watching on with Craig who wore a large smile at the scene of his sister lying on the grass giggling as Flora tickled her, having caught her.
My son was quieter, more reserved than his sister.
Craig loved Bea, but then he couldn’t remember a time when she hadn’t been there, so I expected it to take a while for him to bond with Flora.
I found myself smiling and laughing as I continued to watch the images of my children, happy and carefree, just as they should always be.
This felt right. Flora belonged here with us and any doubts, of which there were just a few, disappeared right then.
With Rosie all giggled out, Flora stood to her full height, straightening from her earlier bent position which had afforded me a glorious view of her round behind.
Before my mind could take that thought any further, she turned to face the house, her face still beaming with the biggest of smiles, aglow with genuine pleasure from playing with my daughter.
Then, her expression turned a little more serious, almost coy as our eyes met.
I was uncertain what to do; run, hide, or with my own expression becoming more intense, I could simply continue to hold her glance until she looked away.
I did none of those. I waved at her and smiled.
I could have kicked myself for the wave alone until she waved back, a small flush staining her cheeks, but that might have been from the chasing of the children.
I turned away and allowed myself a slightly bigger smile.
Yes, Flora was exactly the right fit here. For the children, obviously.
I left it another hour before I ventured out to find them. They were all sitting in the conservatory that was situated off the kitchen, the children playing with their toys, while the women chatted and laughed together. I was pleased to find they’d seemingly hit it off.
“Flora.” They both jumped at my interruption. “If I could steal you away for a few moments, I’ll show you around and finalise the details.” I smiled, so as not to scare the woman off at the possibilities of the details. The job was already hers.
“Of course.” She got to her feet.
“I’ll see you when you get back then,” called Bea, the broad smile hinting at her thoughts as I led Flora out.
I gave her the full guided tour of the main house as this would be her place of work and then led her to the accommodation above the garages.
“You can access your home from the side door to the garage,” I explained as I led her through the door at the furthest point of the upstairs of the house.
“Okay.”
She sounded nervous, awkward even, maybe she felt both and I was unsure why. I came to an abrupt stop so that the poor woman almost collided with my front as I spun to face her.
Her face looked conflicted as she seemed to consider whether to speak or not.
“Flora, what is it?”
She swallowed hard, sucked in a deep breath, and then spoke. “Am I to assume that you’d rather I didn’t enter my rooms from the house, Mr Walker?”
Her question left her in one big rush of air.
I laughed and she flushed. Presumably she thought I was laughing at her.
I wasn’t, only at her misunderstanding and what seemed to be her assumption that I was being a snob, or an arsehole.
“Sorry. I wasn’t clear. There is no issue with you using the access here as far as I am concerned, but I meant the side entrance was for you, for your privacy, and call me Maurice, please. ”
“Ah, okay, thanks.” She was still a little pink in the cheeks.
“Plus, I don’t think you’ll want to traipse through the house in the dark after a night out any more than I’ll want to find you passed out on the landing.”
She looked flustered again.
“And what you do in your own time is your business, Flora, and none of my concern. I wasn’t insinuating or suggesting anything.”
With a short nod she seemed relaxed once more.
“I’m sure your boyfriend won’t want to be dragged through the house when he visits you either.” I forced a smile, feeling flustered myself now, wondering why my smile wasn’t given more freely when discussing Flora’s boyfriend.
Her eyes were wide and slightly startled now. “I, erm, no, I don’t, no. I mean to say that I don’t have a boyfriend, so no visitors.”
I nodded, my smile broadening and feeling entirely natural with that information. “Good. Right. Let’s finish the tour and then there are just a couple of housekeeping matters.”
Turning back to the door that separated her living quarters from mine, I grinned. Relieved that there was no boyfriend who would be visiting her.
I knew why I felt that way, but it was ridiculous to give the thought any time because there was no way she and I would ever be anything aside from employer and employee.