Trust in Me (4 page)

But now she had no choice. With Evie in the equation she couldn’t allow their home to be lost to them. For Evie’s sake, Rosie would have to work against a lifetime of conditioning and be nice.

She shuddered in horror at the prospect.

***

“How did it go at the new property, boss?” Andy, Theo’s assistant, greeted as they caught up at Chudley House later in the evening.

Theo smiled as he remembered how he had been thrown off his own property by a spitting, fizzing bundle of fury. “All in hand.” There was no doubt about it, something about Rosie Farnham had got to him.

He knew if he’d any sense he would instruct his lawyers to deal with the matter and step away. He didn’t need to go anywhere near Farnham Manor ever again. But, from the moment he’d driven away, his mind had been unerringly drawn back to the sorry excuse of an estate – and the woman who ran the place.

In truth, Theo had become bored with his life. Everything fell into place with alarming ease and he relished the prospect of getting involved with the estate and working to bring it into some kind of order. Especially as Rosie would be there.

“I’m taking some time off,” he informed Andy. “So we’d better get down to business because I won’t be available starting first thing tomorrow morning.”

Theo was going back to Farnham Manor as soon as possible. He wanted to make sure Rosie was okay – he knew today’s news had floored her. But more than that, he wanted an excuse to see her again.

“There’s nothing in your diary.” Andy sounded puzzled. “Is it business?”

He smiled to himself. “Kind of.”

Andy’s eyebrows shot up towards his hairline but he wisely offered no comment.

***

Rosie’s exhaustion was clearly etched on her face the next morning. She’d barely slept and, far from enjoying a lazy start on a Saturday, she had been up and ready for work by six – as she was most mornings.

The place was quiet in a way it never was at any other time. She liked it like this. Most of the tenants didn’t rise until lunchtime, a habit acquired during their hard rocker days, she imagined. Evie always liked to sleep in at weekends, too – she was always up early each weekday, to see to her donkeys before school, so she deserved a bit of a lie-in.

With a sigh, Rosie went into the office. Having already been to the sanctuary to check on things, there was no longer room for procrastination. She had to concentrate.

She stifled a yawn. She’d worn herself out during the long hours since she’d seen off Theo Bradley. She’d paced and planned and tried to decide what to do for the best. He had to be the biggest threat to peace of mind she’d ever encountered and she desperately needed to be the one to contact him – she couldn’t stomach the idea of sitting around waiting for him to make the first move.

By mid-morning, she’d decided the internet was her best chance. She should be able to find a contact number for him on that website Evie had discovered. She’d barely found the details of his vast empire and started to read when the doorbell rang.

Irritated by the interruption, she moved away from her desk. She couldn’t imagine who would be calling at this time on a Saturday, but whoever it was had already annoyed her. Now she’d decided on a course of action, she wanted to make a start on her plan. And from what she’d learned about him so far, she was going to need all her concentration and planning knowhow to outwit Theo Bradley. The man was off-the-scale successful.

But she was hopeful. Once he’d looked over the accounts, he’d see she knew what she was doing. If Harry wasn’t able to plunder estate coffers, they could have a thriving concern. And she needed a business plan, she decided as she headed out into the hall – she would formulate a business plan and present it in a professional manner. Feeble, but that was her best hope.

The bell rang again in four short bursts. “Okay, I’m on my way,” she called impatiently, throwing open the door.

Nothing could have prepared her for the sight that greeted her – six foot four inches of prime manhood, a suitcase at his feet and a challenging gleam in his golden eyes. “I told you I’d be back,” he intoned and a slow grin spread over his face.

Chapter Four

The last person she’d expected. Her stomach lurched. After the reception she’d given him yesterday and with the knowledge gleaned from the internet, she had fully expected him to set his lawyers on her rather than make a return visit in person.

The intimidating business suit from yesterday had been swapped for casual black jeans and black shirt. Devastatingly handsome, she grudgingly acknowledged, even more so than she remembered.

Deep, steadying breath.
Remember to be charming
, she reminded herself as she wondered briefly at the significance of the suitcase. She didn’t smile, couldn’t bring herself to go that far on her charm offensive, but neither did she want to throw something at him. That had to be progress. “I was just trying to find your telephone number.”

He quirked a dark eyebrow. “Really?”

Why had she told him that? In his warped male mind he’d probably concocted a fantasy where she was desperately searching for his number so she could ask him out. “Purely for business reasons,” she insisted

“If you say so.”

He was flirting, there was no other word for it. The urge to throw something returned with a vengeance. Her resolution hadn’t lasted long after all. She felt a warm blush spread over her face. “What other reason would there be?”

He laughed softly and a shiver ran down her spine. “None at all. Can I come in?”

She stepped aside and he walked past her into the manor and immediately she felt she’d been invaded. He was too big, too close…just too much. She showed him into the sitting room and he sat on the sofa. She chose the furthest chair and settled on it.

“Why were you looking for my number?” As he spoke, she realized with blinding clarity what made his presence in her home so unsettling – the buzz of pure, unadulterated testosterone filling the air around him.

She couldn’t think straight around him right now. On no account could she put her idea to him while he’d caught her so off balance by calling around unannounced – again. She needed to buy some time, to collect her thoughts and convince herself she found him no more attractive than a broom. “I wanted to speak to you about the tenants. I’m worried about what will happen to them. They’ve lived here for years – some of them were even in Dad’s band.”

“I have no immediate plans to make any changes to the tenancy agreements.”

She nodded. That was very reassuring and should lead naturally into her asking about his plans for the estate – for employing a manager. But she still couldn’t bring herself to say the words.

She blamed Evie. If her sister hadn’t started that stupid nonsense about Rosie needing a man, she wouldn’t be thinking like this. She conveniently forgot she’d been wondering what it might be like to run her fingers through his hair, to kiss him, before anyone else had mentioned anything about Theo being hot.

Remember the plan, she told herself. Forget he’s a man. Despite this, she suspected she would have been able to appreciate the fact Theo Bradley was a man even in the middle of a nuclear explosion. Still ignoring his question, she forged ahead with one of her own: “Why have you brought a suitcase?”

He glanced across at the suitcase he’d carelessly dropped inside the door. “I’m staying.”

“Staying?” She wrinkled her nose. “Staying where?”

“Here,” he intoned. “At the manor. With you.”

“No, I’m sorry. That’s not possible.”

His smile would have melted a lesser woman on the spot. “It’s necessary. I need to get to get to know the inner workings of the estate and the best way to do that is to stay here.”

“But...”

“I’ll be finished a lot quicker if I don’t have to commute – I can give the estate my undivided attention. Besides, the house is so big I’m sure you won’t even notice I’m here.”

She opened and closed her mouth like a demented goldfish. She wanted to object in the strongest terms, but she realised she probably didn’t have a legal leg to stand on. And she didn’t want to antagonise him. Not before she had managed to speak to him about the estate. “I don’t know how I’m going to explain this to Evie.”

“I’m sure she’ll accept me moving in as a natural development for the new owner.” She felt her face fall and saw his surprised look as he registered her expression. “You haven’t told her, have you?”

Rosie shook her head. “I didn’t know how. I was hoping…well, I don’t know what I was hoping for. But it will break Evie’s heart to leave.”

“I can understand she’s attached to the place, but young people are adaptable. She’ll be okay.”

Rosie wanted to scream. “You don’t understand – she’s got her donkeys and besides...”

“Her donkeys?” His eyebrows reached his hairline as he cut Rosie off.

“Well, yes. She’s set up a donkey sanctuary on the estate. So far she’s rescued four – in addition to her own, Jessie.”

“So let me get this straight.” He shifted forward on the sofa, his expression incredulous. “You’re refusing to move because your sister’s taken in a collection of animals?”

“There’s more to it than that.” She bit her lip. It was none of his business that Evie wanted to stay here so her mother could find her. Best not to mention it. “Those donkeys mean a lot to Evie. Her life hasn’t been easy and they’ve given her something to focus on.”

He was silent for a moment and then his brow creased. “There’s a huge difference in age between you, Evie and your brother.”

She got the feeling that wasn’t what he’d intended to say, but she decided to let it go. She knew it must be confusing – sometimes the age difference between the siblings confused her. Harry was forty, she was thirty-one and Evie was still a schoolgirl. “Harry, Evie and I all have different mothers. Dad lived the genuine rock star lifestyle.”

“Your father was Mick Farnham – front man with The Noise, wasn’t he?”

Rosie nodded and settled back into her chair. “That was dad – the original noisy boy.”

“He had quite a reputation in his day.”

Theo had obviously done his homework, but she would have expected nothing less. He hadn’t achieved the status of a multi-millionaire by being unprepared.

“I can’t deny it. And he lived his life fast and loose ‘til he died five years ago.” Rosie glanced down to where her hands rested on her lap. Normally she guarded against sharing any details about her father’s life, but it didn’t seem strange to talk to Theo. If he made a habit of being this amenable then his staying here might not be such a bad idea, she reflected – it would give her more time to persuade him round to her plans.

He sat back against the cushions. “And now you live here on your own with your sister?”

“Yep, just the two of us.”

“Does Harry visit often?”

Rosie’s laugh was humourless. “You must be joking. Harry’s interest in the estate is limited to how much money he can take out of it.”

“Evie will understand it’s not your fault.”

***

“Perhaps.” She sighed and got to her feet. “Come on, I’ll show you to the spare room. And then I need to talk to you.”

He’d expected an argument – Rosie Farnham in full battle mode had been quite something. It was a surprise she’d surrendered with such ease. This wasn’t the Rosie who’d thrown him out yesterday. He suspected there might be a hidden agenda to her sudden change in demeanour – she had to be up to something. But at least she looked quite happy that he was staying and that had to be progress.

Never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Theo grabbed his suitcase and followed Rosie up the stairs, enjoying the view of her pert, denim clad bottom as it undulated practically at eye level in front of him.

While Rosie proved to be a growing attraction, by contrast, the more he saw of the Manor the worse it got. He couldn’t credit he’d insisted on staying here when the luxury of the Chudley House beckoned from less than half an hour’s drive away. The squalor and decay of the old building should have made him run a mile, but Rosie Farnham wielded a mighty temptation.

“The place is falling apart,” he muttered as he stepped over the fallen masonry littering the landing.

“Sure is,” she replied cheerfully. “Are you still sure you want to stay?”

He glanced at her quirkily arched eyebrow, the challenging glint in her sea-green eyes and the ruined state of the building faded from prominence in his mind. “More than ever,” he assured.

The spare room, thankfully, offered more comfort than he could possibly have expected from what he’d already seen of the house – if he could ignore the décor.

“Pink and girlish, I’m afraid.” Not a hint of an apology in her tone, he noted. “This is where Evie’s friends sleep when they stay over.”

“I can live with it.” He dropped his suitcase onto the sickly pink carpet at the foot of the bed. He hadn’t realised pink came in so many varying shades. Not a problem. Theo was a master of focus and he assured himself he could effectively blank out his surroundings and concentrate on formulating a plan of action. He needed to decide what he was going to do with the place.

His initial reaction, when he’d first realised how useless the estate would be as a hotel, had been to offer it for immediate sale in as tantalising a package as possible. He knew he’d probably make a loss, a combination of the current economic climate and Lysander foolishly agreeing a purchase price way above the market value would see to that. But Theo had deemed writing off a loss more prudent than throwing more money at the place. And finding a buyer shouldn’t pose a problem – if the price was right – as there was always someone keen to buy a country retreat and put their own stamp on it. If he was honest, selling was still probably the sensible option.

But something had changed and he didn’t feel particularly sensible. The estate meant a great deal to Rosie and he knew if he got rid of it without considering any other possible options, she would be hurt.

And that was the last thing he wanted. As she went to walk away, he called after her: “Aren’t you going to tell me what you want to talk to me about?”