that’s all, Mr Ross...? I have to return the dogs to their owners. I’ve texted to tell them that there’s been a bit of a situation but I can’t afford to antagonise any of them.’
‘Let me have the addresses of these people. I will ensure that their pets are returned to them.’
‘I’ve already been here for nearly an hour and a half. I have things to do. You said you wanted to talk to me and I’m thinking that you wanted to establish whether you had to bring the police in to arrest me. Now that you’ve seen I’m not a criminal, I shall leave and take the dogs back to their owners myself. They’re tired and they need to be fed.’
‘There are a couple of things I still want to straighten out. I can assure you that the dogs will be delivered safely back.’
‘By your housekeeper?’ Ellie smiled at him without warmth. ‘I think she blew the bonding bit when she chucked them out into the pouring rain and locked the door behind them.’
‘My orders. I had no intention of letting those dogs drag any more mud into my house than they already had. They’re dogs. Enjoying the great outdoors is what they do. My driver has two dogs. He will deliver them, unless you want to hang onto them for another hour or so. Your choice.’
‘What else is there to say, Mr Ross? I’ve told you everything that happened. I saw Jake playing with the dogs and, when I went over, he let slip that there was no adult with him. At first I didn’t believe him, because kids are clever when it comes to twisting the truth to get what they want, and I thought that perhaps he wanted to have a bit more time with the dogs, but I very quickly realised that he was telling the truth. He was in that park on his own. Naturally, I was horrified.’
‘Naturally.’
‘And I got him back here as fast as I could. And, no, I don’t want any money for returning your nephew. I’m just relieved that—’
‘Yes, got the drift. As for the money element to your statement, why don’t we return to that later?’
‘There’s nothing to return to, Mr Ross.’
‘You rescued my godson. I feel we can step away from formalities. Why don’t you call me Luca? And you... Ellie, I believe you said?’
Ellie flushed. Luca. Strong, aggressive name for a strong, aggressive male, was the thought that ran through her head. She squashed it flatter than a pancake and gave him a little half-shrug.
‘You seem to imply that you’re familiar with children.’ The dark eyes watching her were careful and speculative as he continued to command the conversation, thinking on his feet as he talked, observing—something he was extremely good at. ‘Have you any of your own?’
‘I’m twenty-five. I would have to have started very early.’
‘And you’re not married...’
‘How on earth do you know that?’
‘No ring on your finger. Jake took to you as well as the dogs. If he hadn’t, he would never have allowed you to walk him back to the house. He would have scarpered. It’s obvious he trusted you. He was also holding your hand when he returned.’ He tilted his head to one side and inspected her in silence for a few long seconds. ‘None of this may seem like much of a big deal to you, Ellie, but I can assure you that it is. Since he came over here, he has found it difficult to...settle.’
‘Can I ask what happened?’
Luca’s initial response to that was to shut down, because answering questions posed by other people was seldom within his remit, unless those questions were work-orientated. Personal questions were off-limits. This was a personal question, but for once he wasn’t going to drop the shutters, because he was in a jam and he was beginning to think that part of the solution could be sitting right there in front of him.
‘His parents were killed in a car accident,’ he intoned flatly. ‘Freak situation. They left Jake an orphan. By virtue of the fact that I was Johnny’s closest blood relative—his cousin, to be precise, not to mention Jake’s godfather—and the fact that Ruby, his wife, had no close family members, I inherited Jake.’
‘So you’re Jake’s second cousin as well as his godfather...’
Luca frowned. ‘As I have just said.’
‘And yet, despite that connection, things must be a bit strained between you for him to have run away.’
Was he being called to account? For a few seconds, Luca’s mind went blank because being called to account was not something with which he was familiar.
‘A bit strained?’ he questioned in a voice that would have had grown men quaking, a voice he had perfected over the years, one which was very handy when it came to controlling anyone who had the temerity to breach his barriers.
The slender, dark-haired gamine sitting opposite him wasn’t quaking.
‘It happens,’ she said, her voice rich with sympathy. ‘Just because you’re family doesn’t always mean that the relationship is close.’ She thought of her own relationship with her sister, which was anything but close even though, once upon a time, they had been far closer than they were now.
‘Jake and his parents,’ Luca said heavily, ‘went to America to live. Keeping in touch was difficult.’
‘I’ll bet.’
‘I’m an extremely busy man.’ Luca heard the irritation in his voice and was exasperated with himself for launching into explanations that were, frankly, unnecessary.
‘It wasn’t meant as a criticism,’ Ellie murmured, lowering her eyes and thinking that that was exactly how it had been meant—because what she was deducing was that Luca would have been way too busy making money to remember some cousin on the other side of the world.
‘The fact is that we have both found ourselves in a situation where adjustments have had to be made and Jake has found those adjustments somewhat difficult.’
‘Poor, poor kid. No wonder he’s had trouble settling down. I’ve come across that sort of thing a couple of times, usually involving kids who have come to London from another country, and in one instance to stay with a distant relative they really didn’t know very well. Adjusting was an issue.’
She sat up straighter, on more solid ground now that she was in possession of a few facts. ‘I don’t suppose...’ she had nothing to lose by speaking her mind ‘...it’s helped that he’s been farmed out to a nanny and a housekeeper, and heaven only knows who else, when all he probably needs is one-on-one time with you as the adult responsible for his welfare.’
‘Is that a criticism?’ Luca asked coldly. ‘Because I’ve been sensing a few of those under the demure replies and the polite questions.’
Ellie dug her heels in and shrugged. ‘I can tell you don’t appreciate it,’ she said eventually, when the silence threatened to become too tense, ‘but I’m just speaking my mind. I’m a teacher, and I have quite a bit of experience when it comes to young kids.’
‘So you’re a teacher? That’s very interesting.’ Luca dropped his eyes and doodled something on the pad in
