Page 41 of The Billionaire's Temporary Governess (French Conquests 2)

William found that he was having a hard time focusing on what his hands were doing, with Naisha so close to him. They were seated side by side at the grand piano in one of the great halls, before an instrument he and his brother had viewed as a torture device during their long, dreary music childhood lessons, but which he now saw as a friend. Although he rarely had time to play much anymore, he made sure the piano was kept tuned and ready for those times when the stress of work started getting to him.

Earlier, they’d gone on a full interior tour of the estate. He’d shown her the grand dining hall which was barely used nowadays, the library, gym—which she’d already been making use of, the sunroom and his study—where they’d made love. When Naisha had confessed the only thing she knew how to play was Chopsticks—and rather badly at that—he’d insisted on a lesson. He wanted to start her with a few scales, but she was impatient, raring to dive in at the deep end. And so, for the past half hour, he was teaching her to pick out the first few bars of Für Elise, laughing to her face when the best she could do was poke at the keys with two fingers.

She shoved him so hard he almost went flying off the piano bench, which admittedly was only designed to seat one person. “I don’t know what you think is so funny!” she griped.

“It’s funny, mon trésor, because you want to skip the starter and head straight for the main course. You need to prepare your palate first, you know?”

She gave him another adorable scowl. “Don’t talk about food. I just ate.”

“Fine,” he said agreeably. He was in a good mood, a mood that would see him consenting to anything, since they’d spent the morning in bed making love. It was to his advantage to keep this passionate woman on his good side. “No food references, then.”

She ran her fingers along the keyboard, seeming to enjoy the tinkle of the keys. “You say you and your brother played duets when you were kids?”

He nodded. “Willa and I did as well, before her mother passed away.” Willa hadn’t touched an instrument in more than 2 years.

“I don’t think I ever extended my condolences. Please accept it, now.” Naisha said.

He threw her a look of surprise, but he shouldn’t be. Naisha was always considerate and kinds. “Thank you,” he sighed. “Sofia’s sudden death set Willa back. My little girl blamed herself for over a year. She lost the pleasure she felt in so many small things. But I’m glad she’s getting better now.”

The silence yawned between them, and then, tentatively, Naisha asked, “How did she die?”

It was a fair question, he figured, and one she deserved the answer to. “She died giving birth to her son.”

She cringed at the horror of that. “Do you know who fathered the baby?”

His lips pulled back in a rueful rictus, a poor imitation of a smile. “Sofia had a dalliance with one of Willa’s tutors. Some pipsqueak Englishman. She even talked him into trying to kill Jacyn when she first arrived. Thought Alex might make a better target to pin the baby on once it was clear that I would go through with the divorce and she couldn’t seduce me into sleeping with her again. You see, in my dad’s will, he left a clause that if I ever divorced, I would lose my position as CEO and all the shares to his numerous investments that became mine when he died. Sofia believed I would never divorce her at the risk of losing most of my wealth. In the end, she ran off with some wealthy Greek businessman. He was a better prospect, moremoney, more power. She never even gave Willa a backward glance.”

“Wow. I can’t imagine what that must have felt like for Willa.”

“With the help of Eloise—a top notch counselor, Willa is doing much better.”

He would do whatever was necessary to help his child recover from that abandonment. After Sofia’s death, William had ensured his daughter see a grief counselor. The three-times-a- week visits to the woman had helped Willa get through her grief. Willa was at a point now where she went to the counselor once a week.

“Don’t count yourself out, William. I think much of her happy, charming disposition is a result of your excellent parenting and compassion. Obviously, everyone here loves Willa, but she’s the way she is because of you.”

“You think I’m charming?” He asked as he winked, and she gave him a small nudge using her elbow.

“Where does the baby live?”

“After the baby was born, I was named the father automatically. I had that changed after a paternity test proved without a doubt that the Englishman was the baby’s father. He has lived with his father, Martin, who works in town as a teacher. I knew Sofia had a mother, but even though we were married so long, I never met her. I don’t think she and Sofia ever spoke. And as much as I would rather not have anything to do with the baby, heisWilla’s half-brother. My mother fetches him and brings him here once every two weeks, so Willa can spend time with him. It’s only fair.” He wouldn’t mention that the job Martin currently held at the public school in town was because of his influence.

William had also given Martin half of everything Sofia had demanded from the divorce from him. Even though their divorce wasn’t finalized at the time of her death, he knew she would’ve received the tidy sum from him. So he’d split the money and anything else that was due to her in half. He kept part of it for Willa and gave Martin the other half for his son.

Naisha seemed to think for a while. “That’s so decent of you.” A deep rose suffused her skin, and she looked away, embarrassed.

“What?”

“For a while there, I thought…”

“Thought what?” he prompted.

“Well, before your admission that you hadn’t slept with Sofia in years, I assumed Christien was yours. And that you didn’t want him—”

He gaped. “You thought I didn’twanthim? Believing that he was mychild?”

She wriggled uncomfortably and looked pained. “I figured you’d turned him away because you hated Sofia so much—”

“For starters, I’ve neverhatedSofia, although there was a lot of anger, I’ll admit. No matter what happened between us, she is Willa’s mother, and I respect that.” His lips curved in a rueful half-smile. “For months you thought I was a wealthy deadbeat?”

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