look after me?’
‘Uncle Zane, of course.’ Lucinda mentally crossed her fingers as she said this. It couldn’t be counted on, that was for sure.
‘And you?’ He looked trustingly into her face.
Lucinda felt tears prick the backs of her eyelids too. ‘I don’t know about that, Tim. But I will come and see you often, I promise.’
He turned his face away from her and buried it in the pillow and at that moment Zane entered the room.
They stood there hand in hand and looked down at the little boy. It was a moment of togetherness that was totally different from anything else she had shared with Zane. There weren’t the two of them this time—there were three. And her heart went out to both of them.
‘You will help Tim through this?’ asked Zane that evening after his nephew had been put to bed. It had been a long sad day and, although Timothy had perked up as the day had worn on, they both knew how much damage it could do to him.
He needed constant love now; he needed to know that he still had a home and someone to care for him. At one point, after his parents had died, the authorities had mooted foster parents, but Tim’s Nanna would have none of it and Zane had declared that he felt the same.
‘He is my responsibility now,’ he said firmly. ‘I know I won’t be the best of fathers, but I’ll do what I can. I’ll employ a full-time nanny—unless you—’ He looked questioningly at Lucinda, but she shook her head. It would be wrong to let herself get sucked into a situation that in the end would cause nothing but heartache.
‘I thought not,’ he said, ‘but you will come and see Tim sometimes? He’s really taken to you.’
‘Of course I will,’ she said. Though she wasn’t sure whether even that was a good idea.
The funeral came and went and even then Zane did nothing about finding another nanny. Helen’s wishes had been that he became Tim’s legal guardian and he had agreed to do this, and somehow Lucinda was managing to run her business and look after Tim at the same time. She hated herself for being weak, for letting Zane take advantage of her, and in defiance she refused to share his bed again.
‘I’ve had an idea,’ he said one evening over dinner. ‘It’s not ideal for you, running two offices. Why not set up shop here? Bring Amanda and all the rest of your stuff. You can have another room; you can have as many rooms as you like.’
‘So long as I continue to look after Tim for you?’ asked Lucinda, appalled by his nerve, but congratulating him at the same time. ‘What happened about finding another nanny?’
‘I would have done,’ he apologised, ‘but Tim’s had enough upsets for the time being. And I thought this would be a good compromise.’
Lucinda’s eyes flashed. ‘It’s nothing to do with you wanting me here? It’s just Tim you’re thinking of?’
‘Of course,’ he answered, but Lucinda knew he was lying. She knew that he still wanted her in his bed; she had seen it in his eyes when he thought she wasn’t looking. And if he had her here permanently…
The trouble was the longer Lucinda lived here the deeper her feelings grew and the less disposed she was to move back to her stepfather’s house. She cursed the day she had ever set eyes on Zane Alexander. There was no other man for her now.
And yet all he wanted was a good time! She was sadly aware of that fact. Marriage was definitely not on Zane’s agenda. Never had been, never would be.
‘I might regret it,’ she said slowly now, ‘but yes, it sounds like a good idea for the time being. I am planning to buy a place of my own, you do realise that? This won’t be a permanent arrangement.’
Zane nodded. ‘Of course.’
And so she moved in. Her stepfather didn’t have a good word to say about it. ‘You’re making a big mistake, you know. Zane Alexander’s using you. He wants you as a built in babysitter as well as a stable mate; you won’t have a chance to do any work. Not that I ever expected you to succeed.’
But her mother was all for it. ‘Darling, that’s wonderful news. I did wonder what was going on between you two. I didn’t believe all that stuff about looking after his nephew. Will I be hearing wedding bells soon? He’s such a catch.’
‘Mother!’ exclaimed Lucinda. ‘It’s nothing like that. It’s a business proposition.’
‘Of course,’ said her mother, but Lucinda could see that she didn’t believe her.
Once settled in her new suite of offices, with Amanda on hand to deal with all the day-to-day problems, Lucinda found little time to worry about her mother or stepfather. Her hands were full juggling her job and minding Tim.
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