Cattle Baron: Nanny Needed Read Online Free PDF Page B

that.
    “Look, I’m sorry,” he said, when he clearly wasn’t. “But it seemed like a good idea at the time. I had to stop you. Whatever you had in mind, you would only have regretted later.”
    “Is that an apology?”
    “Could be.” His laugh was slightly off-key. “Maybe we can discuss it more fully over dinner?”
    She drew back, astonished. “Wh-a-a-t?”
    “Not a trick question. Let me break it down. Are—you—free—for—dinner?”
    “Are you serious?” Her beautiful golden eyes grew huge.
    “Of course I am.” He smiled at her confusion. “We can relax now. It’s all over.”
    “So it is.” Amber exhaled a deep sigh. “So what do we do now?”
    “Well, I’m up for anything,” he mocked. “We could continue kissing until you can’t remember you ever had a fiancé?”
    “Who is now married to your cousin. Thank you, but no, Mr MacFarlane. I don’t think you could top the first kiss anyway.”
    “Well, I’d like to give it a shot,” he returned smoothly. “You’re not still looking for a husband, are you?”
    She met the sparkling ironic gaze that was fairly centred on her. “I could very well remain married to a career. I may have climbed the ladder in television, but actually I want to be a writer. You know, another Colleen McCullough. Love her.”
    “Another Thorn Birds ?”
    “I wish! But I can write.”
    “You might have to make a start after today,” he suggested dryly. He may have prevented Ms Wyatt from causing further disturbance and bringing down the full force of Rosemary’s wrath on her beautiful head, but a lot of people had marked her imprudent attendance. Cal had a hollow feeling that there could be unpleasant repercussions for Ms Amber Wyatt. They were a vengeful lot, the Erskines.
    “Is that a warning?”
    “I’m putting you on your guard.” He looked serious.
    “I see. Your dear aunt was giving me the evil eye.”
    “Aunt by marriage,” he corrected.
    “Well, she does lack your style. I take it one wouldn’t want to cross her.”
    “Believe me, when Rosemary is crossed, heads roll.”
    “That’s the downside of having too much money,” Amber murmured caustically. “I can’t imagine her getting the better of you.”
    “Well, I do have the advantage of living well over a thousand miles away. But don’t worry, Ms Wyatt, I’m going to put in a good word for you.”
    “ Why , exactly?” She stared up at him. It was, she found, a very pleasant sensation. He made her feel almost petite.
    “I was engaged once,” he remarked, offhandedly. “I didn’t exactly catch my fiancée in the arms of her stop-gap lover, but a good friend of mine happened to bump into them when they were taking a little holiday together in Bangkok. That’s classified information, by the way.”
    “My lips are sealed.” Amber made a little sealing gesture with her pearl-tipped fingers, astonished by his admission. “How could she possibly have preferred the other guy to you ?”
    His laugh was off-key. “Thanks for that little vote of confidence, Ms Wyatt. You would have to understand my ex-fiancée. Sexual encounters on the side she didn’t regard as meaningful .”
    “But it was the end of the engagement for you?”
    “Most definitely, though she tells it differently. That, again, is between the two of us, okay?”
    She nodded. “Mr MacFarlane, I am to be trusted. Besides, I owe you one. So what now?”
    He looked down into the fast emptying church. “You stay here until the church clears. I have to join the family—stick around until the happy couple embark on their wedded bliss.”
    “They’ve already done that,” Amber said tartly. “Don’t be surprised if Sean takes it into his head to run off with one of the bridesmaids.” She settled her lovely picture hat back on her head, looking at him to check the angle. “Have I got it right?”
    “Perfect! No woman could look more ravishing. Now, you can follow when the coast is clear. Everyone will be focused on