Page 15 of The Maid Married To The Billionaire

‘I would doubt that,’ Skye countered gently, well aware that she enjoyed access through Enzo to confidential information and she knew that he believed that the firm had been ruined by placing highly paid family members in executive positions, even though they had few qualifications and little experience. ‘He doesn’t miss much.’

‘You’re a little petite to be a model,’ Martina remarked. ‘I was so sure you would be a model. Lorenzo has a long track record of dating models.’

Skye didn’t bat an eyelash at that tactless reference to Enzo’s past. She simply smiled and mentioned that she was a teacher, not currently employed.

‘What do you think attracted him to you?’ one of the sisters asked her with deadly seriousness.

‘Skye’s a fabulous cook,’ Enzo drawled from behind her, tugging her back against him with easy intimacy. ‘And the only woman I know who would dare to serve a pasta dish to a native-born Italian!’

‘Youlikedit!’ Skye reminded him, content to act the couple for the benefit of their audience. ‘Most men like mac and cheese. It’s a comfort food.’

‘But it’s not Italian,’ Enzo told her, dark eyes glinting, determined to have the last word.

‘I don’t know how to cook in the Italian style,’ Skye admitted calmly as he led her off to join another group.

‘Were the Mackie daughters pleasant?’

‘Martina was very surprised that I wasn’t a model. Apparently, you have an impressive record of dating models,’ Skye teased.

‘The past is the past and we’re leaving it there,’ Enzo murmured sibilantly. ‘But I haven’tdatedanyone since university.’

‘So, you really don’t do serious? Is that because you got burned?’

‘I like to think I’m a little more mature than that.’ Enzo’s strong profile tautened. ‘Maybe I’m just not ready to settle down yet.’

‘Or maybe you missed youroneby treating her like all her predecessors, like she was just a hook-up and nothing special,’ Skye suggested with a wry smile.

Enzo swung back to her as though she had jabbed him with a knife, dark eyes glittering as though he were under attack. ‘We have the most extraordinary conversations. Have you noticed that?’

‘Not really,’ Skye fibbed, not wanting him to appreciate that the way she relaxed with him was exceptional for her in male company, particularly after her ordeal with Ritchie, with whom an unguarded word could induce a surly silent mood that could last for hours. Yet on instinct she trusted Enzo, she registered in surprise. He wasn’t given to moods and she suspected that even if she annoyed him, he would be blunt and straightforward about setting her straight.

‘You’re insidious.’ Enzo gazed down at her with hooded dark eyes that glinted in the low light. ‘You make sneaky little comments that stay with me.’

Her lilac eyes gleamed, and she bobbed a mock curtsy as if she were a maid being rebuked by the master of the house while her generous mouth curled into a mischievous grin. ‘I’m sorry, sir. I’ll try to mind my words better.’

‘Like I believe that!’ Enzo mocked back, his smile matching her own as he closed an arm round her to guide her into the private dining room.

‘What’s your secret?’ the woman next to her whispered over the soup.

‘Excuse me? Sorry, I didn’t quite catch what you—’

‘You have a notorious international playboy hanging on your every word like a puppy,’ the blonde whispered. ‘What’s your secret? There are women at this table who would kill you and walk over your body to find out.’

Skye flushed. ‘Enzo and I are...well, first and foremost, friends,’ she selected awkwardly but with quiet sincerity. Friends without benefits, that was what they were, she reasoned, and Enzo was not in any way like a puppy. Puppies were innocent and there was nothing innocent about Enzo. If he seemed to be hanging onto her every word, it was just part of the whole pretence that she was his girlfriend.

‘Keep it up. You’re breaking the hearts of Macbeth’s witches!’ The other woman laughed and Skye glanced up to encounter the grim spiteful looks coming her way from the brunette bombshell trio Enzo had warned her about.

‘The Witches. That’s what they’re called at work. I believe you’re a teacher...’

With relief, Skye relaxed into an uncontroversial topic and another young mother began to talk to her about childhood development. Before she knew where she was, Enzo was tugging her up out of her seat with a rueful look. ‘Time to go home,’ he chided. ‘We promised Alana we wouldn’t be late.’

As it wasn’t anywhere near late, Skye could only assume that Enzo had had enough of glad-handing and polite conversation. ‘Well, you went down well with everyone,’ he commented with satisfaction as he tucked her into the car.

‘Apparently they call the Mackie daughters Macbeth’s witches at work...’

Enzo laughed out loud as he drove off. ‘Yes, one can imagine them toiling over a cauldron plotting and making spells.’

‘If you turn left just down there, it’s a shortcut back into town,’ Skye informed him, indicating the country road.

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