Captivated by Her Innocence

‘I haven’t much reason to hang around.’

‘I suppose you have plans for your summer break.’

The seemingly casual remark drew a sigh from Anna. Break? Her summer break might end up being longer than she would have liked. Still, she’d done stints of supply teaching before and she could again.

‘Is there something I can help you with, Miss Urquart?’

‘It’s Angel and, yes, there is. When is your train due? Do you have time for a coffee? The place on the corner is actually pretty good.’

Her last phone call to the help line had suggested she had time for a three-course banquet but she shook her head in a negative motion. Despite her refusal she was actually rather intrigued by this woman’s appearance.

‘Sorry.’

‘You’re probably wondering what I want?’

‘I’m curious,’ Anna admitted.

‘I have a daughter.’ She waved her ring hand at Anna. ‘And, no, I’m not married.’

Half the children in her class of thirty in the inner-city school where Anna had worked had come from single-parent backgrounds.

‘And I never have been. Jas...Jasmine is a great kid. I just wish I could spend more time with her. It’s hard juggling.’ The frown on her brow smoothed as she added, ‘I’m luckier than most because my work is more flexible. Normally I keep the holidays free and, of course, Cesare is great but obviously he can’t be here all the time. He’s a victim of his own success.’ She looked at Anna and, after receiving a blank look back, loosed an incredulous laugh. ‘You’ve no idea who he is, do you?’

‘I know what he is...’ Anna gave a shamed grimace and grunted. ‘Sorry, he’s your brother.’

Angel looked amused. ‘Oh, don’t hold back on my account. Cesare can look after himself.’

‘I know your family owns the estate and castle. I suppose that makes him pretty important.’ In his own eyes at least, she thought viciously. ‘Locally.’

‘Sure, the Urquarts have been here for ever, but the estate barely breaks even. It’ll be years before it does despite the money he’s poured in over the last five years. Dad, bless him, was pretty resistant to change and Mum, before she packed her bags, was terribly expensive. Her divorce settlement was pretty extreme. Anyway, I digress. You don’t want to know about the family,’

On the contrary, Anna was eating up every fascinating detail.

‘I take it you’re not a fan of Formula One racing?’ Angel continued.

‘Not my thing.’

Was Cesare some kind of racing-car driver? It figured.

Danger and glamour plus a ridiculous amount of adulation—yes, she could see that suiting him.

‘Well, actually he is what most people would call famous.’ Accustomed to seeing her brother the target of women who had been known to stalk him in packs, Angel was amused that this girl didn’t have a clue who he was.

‘He was champion driver two years running.’ Anna watched a shadow cross the other girl’s beautiful face before she adopted a brisk tone and explained, ‘Obviously that was before the crash, then he moved seamlessly into management and took over team Romero.’

A crash! News reports of crashes always made Anna leave the room or switch channel; now the word made her shudder.

‘Was he...?’ She stopped. Presumably he had been injured, but if he bore any scars Anna hadn’t seen any—not that she had seen that much of him. Without warning an image floated before her eyes—a pretty detailed image.

Wafting cold air on her face with her hand, she cleared her throat more successfully than she cleared her mind of a naked bronzed man. ‘Romero?’ Even she had heard of the famous Italian racing team. ‘So he doesn’t live here?’

‘The team is based in Italy but after Dad died Cesare made the decision to live here. Obviously he travels a lot.’ She grimaced. ‘We both do—pretty ironic considering how we both hated it when we were kids. Our mum got custody after the divorce,’ she explained. ‘And she has what you could call a low boredom threshold—she doesn’t stay in one place for long.’

She flashed Anna a wry smile. ‘So neither did we. When Jas was born I was determined that she had security, stability, a stable home life.’

The implication that she, and presumably her brother, had not enjoyed this sort of childhood was not lost on Anna who felt a stab of sympathy. Not for Cesare, obviously, but for this beautiful young woman. Anna might have been tragically orphaned, not what most people would call a perfect childhood, but after her parents’ death she had been raised in a warm and loving home and treated as much a daughter as Rosie by her aunt and uncle.

‘I always feel guilty when I go away for work but...’ Angel shook her head. ‘I wish now I’d not taken this job. It’s too big a commitment.’ Anna, who had seen that look of guilt on the face of many working mothers trying to juggle childcare, struggled to maintain her detachment. Giving full rein to her empathy had led in the past to Anna being taken advantage of—it wasn’t going to happen again. She’d toughened up. Watching the person you loved most in the whole world having her stomach pumped did that to a person.

‘I hadn’t worked for three months while Jas was ill and in my business people have short memories. You’re only as good as your last assignment. I thought it might be tough to... Well, anyway, when I got offered this Face of Floriel gig I just grabbed it, but then—’ she sighed ‘—not thinking of consequences is the story of my life.’

Anna felt a flash of something close to envy. Had she ever done anything without thinking of consequences? Her caution was probably why everyone had considered it wildly out of character when she had gone for a job outside the city she’d lived in for most of her life.

‘Look, I wish I could help.’ She liked Angel Urquart and she would have liked to help her out.

Do not go there, Anna. Don’t even think it.

‘You can.’

Anna shook her head. ‘You must see that’s impossible. Obviously I’m very sorry your daughter has been ill—’

‘She missed all of last term.’

‘I’m sure she’ll catch up quickly. They do at that age.’ Anna stopped as things suddenly clicked into place in her head.

‘Oh, wow, you’re that model...Angel.’ Minus dramatic make-up, this was the woman with the impossibly perfect body, the woman from the ad campaign advertising lingerie. The images were plastered on the side of every bus in London a year or so ago.

‘Right now I’m the mum Angel and I just know that this will work. And you wouldn’t have to worry about Cesare,’ she cut in quickly. ‘It’s a very big castle. Jas and I have an apartment in the west wing so we’re totally independent. Of course, he’d be there if you needed him.’

Needing Cesare Urquart? ‘I won’t.’

‘Then you’ll do it?’

Anna’s eyes widened in dismay. ‘No, I just meant...Does he...?’ She swallowed, unable to bring herself to say the name of the man. ‘Does your brother know you’re here?’

‘I mentioned it.’

Anna’s lips twisted in a dubious smile. She was not fooled for a second by the casual tone. ‘And he’s willing to run the risk of me contaminating your daughter?’ Anna couldn’t keep the bitterness from her voice.

Angel laid her hand on Anna’s shoulder. She was smiling but her narrowed green eyes shone with determination. ‘Cesare is my brother and I owe him a lot, but I’m Jas’s mother and where her welfare is concerned I make the decisions.’

‘But if you work, don’t you already have childcare?’

‘Sure, Jas has a nanny, only poor Jenny came off her bike, broke her leg and won’t be out of her plaster for another six weeks. She’d hobble back to work if I let her, but it’s out of the question.’ She gave a sigh. ‘Look, forget it. This isn’t your problem. I shouldn’t have come, and believe me you’re not the only one who is intimidated by my big brother.’ She fastened the button on her jacket and swept a strand of gleaming dark hair from her face.

‘I’m not intimidated by your brother.’

‘Of course you’re not,’ Angel soothed.