Page 89 of The Secret

I sat down with my heaped bowl of granola and fruit, reaching for the coffee Wolfie had poured. “How many staff are there?”

“Six here right now. But I think when the family is here, there’s ten or twelve plus security. Freddie would know, she renovated it. There’s a whole staff quarters and kitchen.”

That would explain why I’d not seen anyone. Freddie waddled over and pulled out a seat before I had time to quiz her on any more.

“You three are a sorry state. I’m so jealous.” She rubbed her belly, “God I can’t wait for this baby to come out.”

“How long have you got left?”

Freddie was so small that her bump was deceiving. In fact, her whole size was testament that you should never judge a book by its cover, and she certainly made up for it in personality.

“Still another month,” she groaned.

Samson joined us with Barclay in hot pursuit. Freddie picked him up to sit on her knee and he immediately dived into the bowl of blueberries on the table like he’d been starved for days, stuffing them in his mouth. Except, every other blueberry fell on the floor which Barclay then inhaled. We all watched them, back and forth, no one really having the energy to speak.

“Why don’t we leave the kids here and go for coffee in the village?” suggested Alex, breaking the silence.

“Yeah, good idea,” Wolfie agreed. “A walk would do me good.”

“Me, too.” Freddie stretched, and then cackled. “Stare any harder and you’ll give yourself eye strain.”

I realized she was talking to me and was about to turn to her, but then Murray spun round in the pool, water flying everywhere, and caught me staring. The combination of the sly grin and the immediate fire in his eyes made it feel much more like the height of summer in the Middle East instead of a balmy April Friday in the Hamptons.

He jumped out of the pool without looking back, grabbing a towel as he sauntered over to our table.

“Come on,” I heard Alex say through my Murray induced fog, “Let’s go and get our stuff together… Kit, we’ll see you in ten to leave…” I heard chairs move… “Freddie, come on.”

“Fucking hell, I just sat down. You know how long it takes me to get back up,” she grumbled.

They were all gone by the time Murray reached me, towering over me, droplets of water running down his chest.

“Something I said?” He took the chair Wolfie had left vacant; moving so close his knees surrounded mine then leaned forward and kissed my cheek. He smelled like swimming and sunshine, his skin warm from the water and his exertions, and I leaned into his lips. “Hey.”

“Hey,” I smiled back.

He took my hands in his and placed them on the soft, red striped towel covering his lap. “How did you sleep?”

“Good. You should have woken me.”

“You deserved to sleep in.” His fingers brushed my jaw.

Wasn’t going to argue with a lie-in, but that was two days in a row and I’d yet to see the baby.

I couldn’t tell if it was guilt or the hangover creating unease in my belly. “How’s Bell? Where’s Bell?”

“She’s fine, she’s with my parents. This weekend is as much for you to relax as everyone else.”

I’d never worked for a family that gave time off, beyond a couple of hours at a weekend, because my stints were short and intensive with the only goal of getting the baby on a schedule. But nothing about my time with Murray had been usual.

I squeezed his hand. “This is my job, I’m her nanny.”

The only way I could describe Murray’s reaction to that, was pained. Nor did I understand it.

“What?”

He shook it off. “Nothing.”

If anyone looked over they would not have seen an employee/employer having a conversation. They would have seen a couple, having a private moment with more than a little lust burning in their eyes. Thankfully, no one was paying us the slightest bit of attention; the rest of the boys still going strong in the pool, and the girls were off getting ready to leave. I rubbed his thigh, “How are you doing?”

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