Read Online The Contaxis Baby by Lynne Graham - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Lynne Graham
Ads: Link
rotten—’
‘Did he?’
‘Yes,’ Lizzie confided ruefully. ‘And I have to be honest and admit that I loved being spoilt.’
‘Any man would feel privileged to offer you the same treatment,’ Sebasten drawled, smooth as glass.
Lizzie laughed out loud. ‘Stop sending me up!’ she urged.
Grudging appreciation flared in Sebasten’s veiled gaze. She was clever, he conceded. She had not snatched at the apartment he had mentioned and was determined to demonstrate an appealing acceptance of her reduced circumstances. ‘So what are your plans?’
Lizzie thought of the number of bills she had to settle and almost flinched. Before leaving home she had trotted up the sum total of her liabilities, and she was well aware that without her father’s generous allowance only the sale of her jewellery and her car would enable her to keep her head above water on a much smaller budget. However, she had no intention of startling him with those uncomfortable realities.
‘Somewhere to live is my first priority and then a job.’
It was evident that he had made use of another bathroom while she hogged his own. His black hair was still damp, his strong jawline clean shaven and she couldn’t stop staring at him. Inherent strength and command were etched in his devastatingly attractive features and, regardless of the little sleep he had enjoyed, no shadows marked the clarity of his dark golden eyes. Even in his mood of cool reserve that increased her own apprehension as to how he now saw her, she was fascinated by him.
‘On the career front, try the Select Recruitment agency.’ Sebasten not only had a controlling interest in the business but also used it to recruit all his own personal staff. ‘I’ve heard that they’re good.’
‘They would need to be,’ Lizzie remarked with a wry twist of her lush mouth. ‘I have no references, only basic qualifications and very little work experience to offer.’
‘I’m sure you’ll manage to package your classy appearance and lively personality as the ultimate in saleable commodities. It all comes down to presentation. Concentrate on what you can do and not what you can’t,’ Sebasten advised.
Grateful for his advice and the indirect compliment, Lizzie nibbled at a delicious calorie-laden croissant spread with honey and sipped at her tea. Did he want to see her again? She thought not. As her hand trembled, the cup she held shook and she set it back on the saucer in haste. Don’t be such a baby, she urged herself furiously, willing back the stinging moisture at the backs of her eyes. Indeed she might console herself with the reflection that what had been so special for her had probably been equally special for him in that she could not credit that he made a regular habit of sharing cold showers with a drunk.
As the grandfather clock in the corner struck the hour, Sebasten rose to his feet again with a sigh. ‘I’m afraid I have a lunch engagement I can’t break at my club but my chauffeur will drive you back to wherever you’re staying. Please don’t feel that you have to hurry your meal.’
‘It’s OK…I’ve finished anyway.’ With a fixed and valiant smile, Lizzie extracted herself from behind the table with uncool speed and walked back out to the hall ahead of him, her hand so tight on her bag that her knuckles showed white. No, she wasn’t very good at this morning-after-the-night-before lark and possibly it was a lesson she had needed. Never, ever again would she drink like that, never, ever again would she let a squashed ego persuade her to jump into bed with a guy she had just met.
Possibly being awkward and gauche came naturally to her, Sebasten reflected in surprise, raising a brow at her headlong surge from his dining room. She was behaving like one of his dogs did when he uttered a verbal rebuke: as though he had taken a stick to her. He was pretty certain that Connor had not exercised similar power over her and grim amusement lit his keen gaze.
‘I
‘Did he?’
‘Yes,’ Lizzie confided ruefully. ‘And I have to be honest and admit that I loved being spoilt.’
‘Any man would feel privileged to offer you the same treatment,’ Sebasten drawled, smooth as glass.
Lizzie laughed out loud. ‘Stop sending me up!’ she urged.
Grudging appreciation flared in Sebasten’s veiled gaze. She was clever, he conceded. She had not snatched at the apartment he had mentioned and was determined to demonstrate an appealing acceptance of her reduced circumstances. ‘So what are your plans?’
Lizzie thought of the number of bills she had to settle and almost flinched. Before leaving home she had trotted up the sum total of her liabilities, and she was well aware that without her father’s generous allowance only the sale of her jewellery and her car would enable her to keep her head above water on a much smaller budget. However, she had no intention of startling him with those uncomfortable realities.
‘Somewhere to live is my first priority and then a job.’
It was evident that he had made use of another bathroom while she hogged his own. His black hair was still damp, his strong jawline clean shaven and she couldn’t stop staring at him. Inherent strength and command were etched in his devastatingly attractive features and, regardless of the little sleep he had enjoyed, no shadows marked the clarity of his dark golden eyes. Even in his mood of cool reserve that increased her own apprehension as to how he now saw her, she was fascinated by him.
‘On the career front, try the Select Recruitment agency.’ Sebasten not only had a controlling interest in the business but also used it to recruit all his own personal staff. ‘I’ve heard that they’re good.’
‘They would need to be,’ Lizzie remarked with a wry twist of her lush mouth. ‘I have no references, only basic qualifications and very little work experience to offer.’
‘I’m sure you’ll manage to package your classy appearance and lively personality as the ultimate in saleable commodities. It all comes down to presentation. Concentrate on what you can do and not what you can’t,’ Sebasten advised.
Grateful for his advice and the indirect compliment, Lizzie nibbled at a delicious calorie-laden croissant spread with honey and sipped at her tea. Did he want to see her again? She thought not. As her hand trembled, the cup she held shook and she set it back on the saucer in haste. Don’t be such a baby, she urged herself furiously, willing back the stinging moisture at the backs of her eyes. Indeed she might console herself with the reflection that what had been so special for her had probably been equally special for him in that she could not credit that he made a regular habit of sharing cold showers with a drunk.
As the grandfather clock in the corner struck the hour, Sebasten rose to his feet again with a sigh. ‘I’m afraid I have a lunch engagement I can’t break at my club but my chauffeur will drive you back to wherever you’re staying. Please don’t feel that you have to hurry your meal.’
‘It’s OK…I’ve finished anyway.’ With a fixed and valiant smile, Lizzie extracted herself from behind the table with uncool speed and walked back out to the hall ahead of him, her hand so tight on her bag that her knuckles showed white. No, she wasn’t very good at this morning-after-the-night-before lark and possibly it was a lesson she had needed. Never, ever again would she drink like that, never, ever again would she let a squashed ego persuade her to jump into bed with a guy she had just met.
Possibly being awkward and gauche came naturally to her, Sebasten reflected in surprise, raising a brow at her headlong surge from his dining room. She was behaving like one of his dogs did when he uttered a verbal rebuke: as though he had taken a stick to her. He was pretty certain that Connor had not exercised similar power over her and grim amusement lit his keen gaze.
‘I
Similar Books
