Page 17 of Temptation at His Door

“Chinese ceramics and an incredible collection of carved jade.”

It was Ronan’s turn to lift his eyebrows. “And you know that how?”

A touch of pink hit Joa’s cheekbones. “I might’ve visited your website.”

Ah.“My senior auctioneer is in the hospital and the head of the Beijing office isn’t confident in his apprentice.”

Joa tipped her head to the side at the same time as she placed her right foot on the inside of her left thigh. The odd pose took nothing away from her beauty.

A small frown appeared on Joa’s forehead. “I’m sorry, are you trying to tell me that they want you to run the sale?”

Ronan nodded.

“But you’re American. Do you use an interpreter?”

“No, I manage since I speak close to fluent Mandarin.”

Joa’s mouth dropped open. “Really?”

“My stepmom insisted that we learn another language. My brother Finn, being the intellectual overachiever that he is, learned a whole bunch. I think he’s fluent in six or seven, and able to converse in three or four more,” Ronan explained. “I chose to go with one, thinking I’d choose Mandarin because it was really hard and maybe Raeni would let me give it up in a few weeks because I wasn’t making any progress.”

Amusement flashed in Joa’s eyes. “Except that she wouldn’t let you quit.”

“And I wasn’t as bad at it as I thought I’d be. Then I spent a year at the Beijing office when I left college.” Ronan shrugged, thinking they were way off subject. “Anyway, I’m going to run the auction but I need someone to stay with my boys.”

“Me?”

“If you’re willing.”

“And if I don’t say yes?”

Ronan rubbed the back of his neck. He was stuck but he wasn’t going to beg. “Look, if it doesn’t suit you, I’ll call an agency, ask for an emergency sitter. It’s not something I want to do, but I’m out of options. This sale will be one of the biggest of the year and many influential billionaires are expected to attend. Handing them an inexperienced auctioneer would offend them and our clients will feel like they are not important enough to rate a decent auctioneer. It would be a snub Murphy International might not recover from.”

Joa bit the inside of her lip and Ronan waited for her response. “Two nights?” Joa asked, tapping the empty bottle against her thigh.

“Tonight and tomorrow night,” Ronan said, hope building.

Joa’s chest rose and fell in a movement that suggested agitation. Or resignation. He didn’t care, as long as he got a yes.

“Okay. I’ll do it.”

Ronan felt his stomach unravel and his lungs release the air he’d been holding.“Thank you.”

“But just for two nights, Murphy. I’m done with au pairing. I’m trying to find a new direction, a new path to follow.”

He didn’t care what she did with the rest of her life, he just needed her for the next forty-eight hours. But he did need to find a new nanny soon; this situation was bordering on ridiculous.

“I’m so grateful.” And he really was. Ronan twisted his wrist, looked at his watch and gestured to the door. “Is there any chance that you could leave with me now? I need to show you the house, then we need to collect the kids from school and introduce you to the staff there so they’ll let you collect the kids tomorrow.”

Joa gestured to her bare feet and skimpy gym outfit. “Can I shower and change first? And I need to pack a bag.”

Now that he had her agreement, Ronan was loath to let her out of his sight in case she changed her mind. But if he bundled her out the door and into his car just as she was, he’d look like a raving idiot.

“Okay. I’ll wait—” he looked around the empty room and lifted his hands “—where?”

“In the kitchen,” Joa replied, walking toward the door. “There’s a coffee machine, help yourself. Or maybe you should have a cup of chamomile tea. You’re looking a bit stressed.”

She had no idea.

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