love and sheer terror at the same time.
‘Here.’ She thrust the child into Ethan Sherbourne’s unsuspecting arms.
The screaming—to its mother’s obvious frustration—instantly ceased, although emotional hiccups quickly followed.
‘She obviously prefers you to me, anyway,’ the young woman choked tearfully—as if this was the final straw as far as she was concerned. ‘Her name is Andrea. Everything she needs is in here.’ She took a holdall off her shoulder and dropped it onto the floor. ‘She will want feeding in about an hour. I just can’t cope any more.’
With a last heart-wrenching glance at the baby she turned on her heel and ran back into the lift, desperately pressing the button to close the doors.
‘Shelley—!’ Ethan Sherbourne’s cry of protest died in his throat as the lift doors closed on the distraught mother, followed by the sound of its descent.
At the same time his raised voice startled the baby in his arms, and it began crying again.
Its obviously distressed cry shot through Olivia’s nerve-endings with the sharpness of a knife, and her face was pale as she grimaced painfully.
‘Where do you think you’re going?’ Ethan Sherbourne demanded grimly, his voice raised above the baby’s wail.
Olivia had turned, intending to follow the young mother’s example and escape from the situation!
She turned back to Ethan Sherbourne, her brows raised. ‘I’ve delivered your card—which I received by mistake.’ She shrugged. ‘I thought I would leave you to deal with this…second delivery of the day alone,’ she explained dryly.
Dark brown eyes narrowed icily at her obvious sarcasm. ‘Don’t be so damned stupid,’ he snapped, striding out of the apartment to move forward to the lift and press the button for its return, the pink-wrapped bundle—still crying—held awkwardly in his arms.
Olivia gave him a considering look. ‘Where are you going?’ Not too far, she didn’t think; she doubted this baby was going to wait for another hour to be fed.
‘After Shelley, of course.’ He rasped his impatience, looking more harassed by the second. The baby’s initial response to being held in his arms rather than its mother’s was definitely gone for good. ‘What the hell is wrong with her?’ he demanded exasperatedly of Olivia.
Olivia looked stunned by the question. ‘What on earth makes you think I would know?’
‘You’re a woman, aren’t you?’ Ethan’s agitation was fast reaching danger level. ‘At least…’ his gaze moved over her trouser suit ‘…I presume you are. Where the hell is the damned lift?’ he grated between clenched teeth.
‘Maybe if you stopped swearing—’
‘You think that might stop the baby screaming?’ He conveyed his doubt with another frown.
‘No,’ Olivia answered reasonably. ‘I would just prefer it if you did.’
If looks alone could kill, Olivia knew she would have been struck down in that moment. She only just stopped herself from taking a step backwards as Ethan Sherbourne took a threatening step towards her.
‘Er—your lift seems finally to have arrived.’ She pointed past him with some relief to the waiting elevator, its doors open invitingly.
He glanced from the open lift to Olivia, and back again. ‘So it has,’ he acknowledged. ‘Here,’ he offered.
And promptly deposited the baby into Olivia’s arms!
Not welcoming arms. Not waiting. Not even willing. In fact, her initial feelings of satisfaction at one of this man’s past relationships having caught up with him—with a vengeance—disappeared totally as she found she was the one left holding the baby!
‘Mr Sherbourne—’
‘I have to try and catch up with Shelley,’ he told her firmly before stepping into the lift. ‘Take care of the baby until I get back with her mother.’
Take care of—!
The lift doors closed, leaving Olivia alone in the hallway.
No, not alone…
A now silent baby lay in her arms, staring up at her with unblinking trust, Olivia realised as she reluctantly looked down at Andrea.
Olivia’s legs began to shake, quickly followed by the rest of her body, until she knew she was actually in danger of collapsing completely. But with a very young baby in her arms that was not a good idea.
The door to Ethan Sherbourne’s apartment still stood wide open. Not particularly inviting, but this baby was, after all, Ethan’s responsibility.
Olivia managed to reach one of the armchairs in the ultra-modern lounge before her legs collapsed beneath her. But only just. She was shaking all over, her breath coming in short, hyperventilating gasps.
How dared Ethan Sherbourne do this to her?
How dared he?
* * *
’Mr Sherbourne is certainly in need of a little divine intervention,’ Faith murmured sympathetically as the vision in the apartment stilled.
Mrs Heavenly straightened, shaking her head. ‘Mr Sherbourne isn’t the one requesting our help, my dear.’
Faith blinked. ‘Well, of course Shelley is very troubled—obviously overwhelmed by motherhood—No?’ She frowned as Mrs Heavenly shook her head again. ‘Surely not baby Andrea…? No, of course not,’ she answered herself. ‘But that only leaves…’
‘Olivia,’ Mrs Heavenly confirmed with satisfaction. ‘Yes, my dear, it’s Olivia Hardy who needs our help this Christmas.’
Faith glanced back to the woman stilled in the frame. Beautiful, and obviously successful, as she lived in such a luxurious apartment building; in what way, Faith wondered, did such a woman need the help of one of Mrs Heavenly’s angels?
CHAPTER TWO
FAITH continued to look at the frozen vision of Olivia. ‘I don’t understand,’ she said after some time had elapsed. ‘Olivia appears to have everything going for her.’
Mrs Heavenly gave a sad shake of her head. ‘Appearances can sometimes be deceptive, my dear.’
‘But she is successful in her career?’
‘Very. Junior partner in a very prestigious law firm.’
‘And beautiful, by earthly standards, too.’ Faith studied the image before her; to her Olivia looked very beautiful indeed. ‘Is she married?’
‘No,’ Mrs Heavenly answered slowly. ‘Nor does she have any children.’ She pre-empted what she thought might be Faith’s next question.
‘Ah,’ the young angel murmured with satisfaction.
‘Nor
