Chapter Three

I wish I could say the beauty of the rustic building made me feel more optimistic about things, but I was tired, hungry and over it as we rode the elevator to the ninth floor. It opened directly opposite a set of rich mahogany doors with a gold 9A in the centre. Nikki walked towards the doors while I stood in place, widened eyes taking in the luxurious space. The white and grey marble floors gleamed, reflecting my totally inappropriate outfit choice back to me. The click of Nikki’s low heels bounced off the ornate high ceilings. I tried not to let my mouth gape, because, well, that would just be embarrassing.

Then I remembered: whatever the feeling churning inside me, I was in New York fucking City!

Nikki had already announced herself via the video intercom and now she confidently pushed the unlocked door and made her way through, leaving it open for me. She grinned as I followed her, sensing that I was rather taken aback by the scale of the apartment.

‘Three and a half thousand square feet, Brazilian hardwood flooring, twenty-six-foot ceilings, roof garden.’

‘Wow!’ I said.

‘If you think this is impressive, wait until you see the star attraction,’ she said, gesturing for me to climb the sweeping stairs that wrapped around the wall. As I ascended, my attention was diverted to the massive windows with their sweeping city views. I misstepped a few times and made sure to grip the balustrade to make the climb without serious injury. With a view like that I didn’t begrudge the detour anymore—I could sightsee from the apartment. The whole day had been a bit of a magical mystery tour; from Seventh Avenue and Park Central Hotel to a Turtle Bay Gardens brownstone to a Manhattan penthouse. Yeah, just another Monday.

On the landing of the second floor we were greeted by an older lady, the penthouse equivalent of the brownstone’s Frieda, except this woman seemed a little more guarded as her eyes swept over me.

Nikki slid off her scarf and handed it to the woman. ‘How is she?’ Nikki whispered, not an easy feat when she was trying her best to recover her breath from the ascent.

‘You shouldn’t be climbing those stairs, Miss Nikki. I will not be mopping up if your waters break. I could have come down to you.’

‘No, don’t wake her.’

‘She’s awake.’ The woman waved her words away as she went to the closest door.

Nikki’s eyes were alight when she looked at me. ‘Come,’ she said, and stepped into a nursery bigger than my parents’ lounge, dining, kitchen and bathroom combined. A light grey shaded the walls and was highlighted by white furniture and pink fabrics, and another giant window that overlooked the city. A rocking chair next to the window made for the most out-of-this-world nursing corner. I stood in the middle of the room, taking it all in, hardly believing that people could be born into such places. It was such a far cry from my world.

Nikki crept forward, peering into the white cot that had pride of place in the centre of the room. As she tucked her hair behind her ears, a beaming smile spread across her face. ‘Hello, beautiful,’ she crooned. ‘Look who’s awake.’

I walked closer, but before I could cover much distance, Nikki reached in and carefully lifted the baby from the cot. Bigger than a newborn and far more alert, at a guess the baby was three or four months old.

Nikki shifted her into her arms with well-practised ease. ‘Did you have a good sleep, Gracie girl?’

And almost as if on cue, the crinkled little pink face yawned. We all smiled, even the cranky maid, who watched from over Nikki’s shoulder.

Nikki looked at me, as if seeing me for the first time. ‘Now, Grace, I want you to meet someone very special.’

She came over to me, rocking the baby ever so gently.

‘This is Sarah. Don’t tell anyone, but she’s going to be your new au pair. You are going to be hanging out with her a lot, and she’s new to New York, so you’re going to have to take care of her, okay?’

Grace’s wild, roaming gaze shifted around the room, flitting from Nikki to the ceiling, and then my way – I could almost feel my heart tighten. A jet-black mop of hair and those blue-grey eyes I had seen before: the worldly, distinctive gaze of a Worthington.

I held out my hand, placing it in the little curve of her soft, wrinkled fingers. ‘Nice to meet you, Grace. I hope you can keep a secret.’ I smiled, admiring the perfect bow of her lips, and her button nose.

Nikki laughed. ‘Don’t worry, she won’t tell anyone.’

‘What? Not even me?’

A deep voice pulled our attention to the nursery door, where a man watched with interest. It wasn’t the shock of his voice or that he’d appeared out of nowhere that caused my breath to hitch in my throat. It was that his unnerving blue-grey eyes were looking right at me.

‘Hello, Ben,’ Nikki said, turning her attention back to Grace. ‘I thought you weren’t going to be in today.’

‘No such luck,’ the man said as he walked to the other side of the cot. His demeanour made Penny Worthington seem like Mary Poppins. He scooped a soft teddy from the mattress and looked at it thoughtfully.

‘You say that like you don’t want to see me,’ Nikki teased.

‘Just how often do you use this place as a drop-in centre?’

‘Can’t an aunty come see her favorite niece?’

My eyes shifted to Ben with a new interest as the penny finally dropped: this was Nikki’s brother, Ben Worthington. I quickly turned away when he looked at me, focusing on Grace, now fully awake and squirming in Nikki’s arms.

‘Don’t let Emily hear you say that,’ he said, his hardened eyes changing as he regarded his daughter. Love softened his face, transforming him, making him more human and no less handsome. His hair was dark, as were the circles under his eyes, and there was stubble along his jawline. His tall, lean frame was encased in an immaculate business suit, but his look was tempered by something unkempt. I tried to stop them, but my eyes kept straying back to him. I had never felt more awkward, but then it suddenly hit me: Grace was the ‘situation’, and I was to be the au pair for this little baby. Ben Worthington was my potential, rather intimidating, new boss; the one I was meant to meet tomorrow. He probably had no idea.

Until Nikki let the cat out of the bag.

‘Ben, this is Sarah, the one Mother has been grilling about the au pair position for Gracie.’

Ben’s eyes went from soft and lovely to harsh, flicking to me and then to his sister.

Nikki read the change, and handed Grace over to the maid. ‘Ruth, can you take Gracie, please?’

Perhaps I should have been grateful that Nikki was on the receiving end of those eyes, but I felt even more uncomfortable when the siblings continued to speak as if I wasn’t there.

‘A little young, don’t you think?’ he said.

‘Don’t start; she is more than qualified. You read the profile.’

‘It’s just paper.’

‘Well, what are you going to do then, Ben? Because you can’t keep up what you’re doing; it’s ridiculous. Ruth may be a wonderful housekeeper but she can’t be your nanny, too. Have you even held your daughter today?’

His rage was palpable. If looks could kill I would have been seriously concerned for Nikki’s safety. But she refused to back down, ignoring the vein that bulged in his neck.

‘Go home, Nikki, and worry about your own brood.’

Nikki breathed out a laugh. ‘You are just as selfish as Dad. Come on, Sarah. I’m sorry you had to witness this.’

I was more than happy to follow her out and get away from him. At least I had clarity once and for all: come Thursday, I would fly home and write this off as an experience.

We had barely made it to the stairs when Ben’s voice stilled us.

‘I didn’t ask Sarah to go, just you.’

Nikki looked at me from the step below; she appeared as shocked as I was. ‘What?’ she asked.

Ben leant casually on the doorframe, sighing wearily and rubbing the stubble on his jawline. ‘Might as well get this over with, saves having Mother and Emily on my doorstep tomorrow.’

‘Yeah, well, nobody wants that,’ agreed Nikki. She stepped up to be level with my terrified expression. ‘I’ll wait for you downstairs, and then Dave can drive you back to the hotel,’ she told me.

‘I’ll make sure she gets home.’

‘It’s no trouble; I’ll wait,’ Nikki said adamantly.

‘I don’t know how long this will take.’

How long could it take for him to say I wasn’t suitable for the position? I could tell Nikki was thinking the same.

‘I’ll wait,’ she said pointedly.

Ben shook his head. ‘You’re stubborn as a mule.’

‘I could think of worse traits.’ Nikki turned to me. ‘Go on. I’ll be downstairs.’ She spoke like I was about to go off to war. Maybe I was.

As she started to descend the stairs, leaving me alone with Ben Worthington on the landing of his penthouse suite, I switched into another mode. Adopting a new bravery, I turned and met his expectant stare, ready to hold out my hand and properly introduce myself, but I was curtly cut off.

‘This way,’ he said, pushing off the doorframe and stalking down the hall.

All I had to do was follow.

I really didn’t want to.