Page 7 of Bound By Her Baby Revelation (Hot Winter Escapes)

‘So, you knew who I was.’

‘When did you get here?’

‘Irrelevant. I’m thinking that your hysterical reaction to my presence in the bedroom was feigned, considering you were expecting me.’

‘The lawyers contacted me. They said that Julie Anne had left everything to you.’ Kaya lowered her eyes and felt the familiar clammy feel of bewilderment and betrayal at events she hadn’t expected.

‘Must have come as a body blow, considering you were living here with her.’

Kaya’s mouth tightened and she flashed him an icy, hostile glare. ‘I had no expectations.’

‘Excellent news.’

‘They told me that it would take a while for everything to get processed.’

‘Why didn’t you say anything? Why didn’t you tell me that you knew who I was?’

‘I wanted to wait and see what you had to say.’

For a couple of seconds, Leo was stuck for a response, because that would have been very much what he would have done if the boot had been on the other foot—waited and seen, and in the meantime have given nothing away.

He felt a tug of curiosity because a woman who gave nothing away was as rare as hen’s teeth in his experience. Disconcerted, he frowned and then carried on, his voice as smooth as silk.

‘To get back to what you just said...’

She wanted to wait to see what he had to say...

Leo sidelined his momentary lapse of self-control and focused. ‘Under normal circumstances, I expect that would be the case. However...’ He dealt her a slow, slashing smile that brought hectic colour to her cheeks. ‘Money talks, and I have a lot of it. I wanted to get this situation wrapped up as soon as possible and they fast-tracked the procedure.’

‘This situation...’

Leo shrugged. ‘Came as much of a shock to me as it did to you. I never expected to be sitting here trying to sort out an inheritance that came from nowhere. You asked me when I got here? Less than two days ago so, as it turns out, it was just a matter of bad luck that you arrived shortly after I did, and even worse luck that we’re snow bound. I’m sure you don’t want to be here with me any more than I want to be here with you. Truth is, I could have got my people to deal with this but I felt it would probably be more suitable for me to handle it, given the circumstances.’

With every cold, passing word, Kaya could feel her tension building. The picture was slowly coming together in her head. The baby Julie Anne had given up for adoption had gone on to make a fortune and had returned as beneficiary of her estate, to dismantle it.

The prospect of that made her go cold.

Never mindher. What was going to happen to the halfway house? The halfway house which had been a godsend to so many young, pregnant girls over the years and was part of the community. It had seen girls come, go and move on to bigger, brighter futures. It had sheltered them from storms that had blown away, given them a springboard to move on with their lives.

Kaya had done the books for the lodgings ever since she had graduated. She’d done voluntary work there since she’d been a teenager. Now this stranger was here, a dark intruder however entitled he was to Julie Anne’s holdings, and what was he going to do with...witheverything?

‘I think I need something to eat.’ She stood up but for the first time she hesitated, aware that this was no longer her house. He wasn’t the stranger.Shewas.

‘Feel free.’

He made an expansive gesture and then relaxed back to sip his coffee, watching her over the rim of the cup and sensing her uncertainty, although he had no intention of easing it. He wasn’t here to make friends and influence people. He was here to get rid of whatever he’d inherited. He didn’t expect to find answers to anything and he was mystified by the tug of curiosity that had brought him here in the first place.

‘I haven’t moved anything,’ he drawled. ‘The usual stuff is in the usual places.’

‘Are youenjoyingthis?’ Kaya moved to stand directly in front of him, hands on her hips, but almost immediately regretted it, because the sheer force of his presence and his ridiculous good looks made her feel unsteady.

‘I’m here to do a job. Enjoyment doesn’t enter into it.’

She had dressed in a hurry in some faded blue jeans, an equally faded jumper with no make-up, and her hair looked as though she had hurriedly run her fingers through it.

And yet her beauty transcended the lack of effort to promote it.

This was a sight to which Leo was unaccustomed. Cut to the chase: maybe he was enjoying atinypart of it. The part of a red-blooded man appreciating the sight of a beautiful woman.

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