Too Cold To Love
Authors: Doris O'Connor
Evernight Publishing
Copyright© 2012 Doris O’Connor
ISBN: 978-1-77130-017-9
Cover
Artist: Sour Cherry Designs
Editor:
Karyn White
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
WARNING:
The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is
illegal.
No part of this book may be
used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission,
except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
This
is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any
resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or
dead, is entirely coincidental.
DEDICATION
To the UCW
girls—always an inspiration
TOO COLD TO LOVE
Doris O’Connor
Copyright © 2012
Chapter One
Elise scanned the crowded Starbucks for her
mirror image and frowned. Where was Jemima? She impatiently tucked a strand of
her dark blonde hair behind her ear and pursed her lips in disgust at the state
of her trouser suit. The crowded journey over on the tube in rush hour had
crumpled her clothing beyond repair and left her hair a complete mess, if the
loose strands falling into her eyes were anything to go by. So not the look she
usually chose to portray to the world.
Her clothes were her armor against the likes of
the overenthusiastic businessman, trying to peer down her cleavage. She glared
at him, and he visibly sobered.
Sheesh,
loosen just two buttons on her blouse. Men.
Where
was
Jemima? Her flamboyant twin
sister could normally be spotted straight away wherever she was. So why was she
hiding? A toddler's high pitched squeal caught Elise's attention. Something
about the intensity of that screech tugged at her heart strings. And then she
spotted her, a little dark haired girl, her angelic little features screwed up,
tears streaming down her face; left strapped into her pushchair, parked against
a table in a corner. No discernible adult with her.
What the hell?
Maybe they had gone to the toilet, but would you
really leave your child like this?
Instinct took over, and Elise's legs moved of
their own accord. Before she could stop herself, she had unstrapped the little
darling and, hoisting her on her hip, murmured silly nothings in her ear.
The little girl's arms went round Elise's
neck in a strangle hold, and an ice cold fist clamped round her heart as
painful memories swamped her. The toddler snuggled into Elise's neck, and her
heart-wrenching sobs slowly subsided.
"There, there little one, where's your
mummy gone? You can't be here all by yourself?" Elise forced the words
past the lump in her throat and opened her eyes to see the little girl smiling
at her. She really was adorable, and Elise couldn't help but smile back at her.
She tightened her grip on the chubby little legs, which begged to be tickled;
and the little angel giggled in earnest.
It was then she spotted Jemima. Her twin emerged
from the toilet with a sheepish expression on her flawless features. She pulled
down her shocking pink miniskirt that barely covered the vitals, whilst trying
to tuck her lime green t-shirt into her waist. She looked suspiciously flushed,
as did the rocker type dude that followed her out of the toilet.
Surely not?
Jemima shimmied across and took the little girl
out of Elise's arms. The toddler looked between the two of them with huge blue
eyes. Jemima put her back in her push chair.
"I see you met Mimi." Jemima said.
"She's with you? What were you thinking
leaving her like this, and who the dickens is that?" Elise gestured
towards the leering fellow behind Jemima.
"Oh that's Mike. He's a musician, and I'm
going to go on tour with him. He's got this hard rock gig going touring
Sit down; you look rather faint all of a sudden. Mike, give us a minute will
you? This won't take long, and I'll be right out."
"Sure thing, Sugar."
Mike took
off, leaving a completely baffled Elise to stare after him.
"What do you mean, you'll be right out? And
why have you got Mimi with you? I know she's not yours, so whose is she? What
have you done,Jem?" Elise's heart beat a little faster. What on earth had
Jemima done this time?
"Relax, will you, it's cool." Jemima's
offhand dismissal had Elise praying for patience.
"
Cool?
What's cool about leaving a
little girl by herself in a café whilst you go off and do goodness what in the
toilets with the likes of this Mike?" Elise was warming to her subject,
once again exasperated with her flighty five minutes younger twin. It felt like
she had bailed Jemima out of one or the other of her many escapades for as long
as she could remember.
She glanced down
at little Mimi, who was still smiling at her whilst looking at Elise with a
slightly disconcerting intensity.
"Well, she was asleep, didn't think she
would wake up soon, and when you've got an itch, well you got to scratch it,
right?"
"
Jemima.
"
"Oh excuse me; I forgot you've frozen your
nether regions out of action forever." Jemima rolled her eyes and
sniggered."Well, that's too bad. I have made no such silly vow, and I
intend to enjoy myself.Lots.With Mike!"
Elise just shook her head.
"Enjoying yourself is what keeps getting
you into trouble, Jemima. I thought you learnt your lesson last time. This new
job of yours was going well, last I heard. Then, this morning, I get this
panic-stricken phone call, so here I am. What
is
the problem?"
She once again glanced at Mimi. The little girl
was still looking at her, something odd about that fixed stare. It was too
intense for someone so young.
"Mimi is the problem," Jemima sighed.
"You see, I'm her nanny. Well strictly speaking, you're her nanny—"
"Excuse me? Did you just say you're her
nanny?
You
?" Elise had to laugh. "You don't even like
children, and hang on, what do you mean strictly speaking I'm her nanny? Oh my
God Jemima, what have you done?"
****
Across town Marco Giovanni was in a foul mood as
he slammed the front door shut behind him. He loosened his tie, unbuttoned the
top three buttons of his expensive shirt, and flung the tailored suit jacket on
the little table in the hall. He raised his head to listen. Where was that
good-for-nothing nanny of his now? Definitely not here, that's for sure. There
was no loud rock music assaulting his ears and no god-awful clothing ensemble
to make him wince.
If it wasn't for the fact that Mimi seemed to
like this one and she had come with such excellent references, he would have
gotten rid of her weeks ago. At least she hadn't made any sudden moves on him.
He ran his hand through his slightly too long black hair and smiled grimly.
Thank heavens for small mercies. He certainly had no interest in his nanny or
any woman for that matter. They were all just scheming harlots, and he and Mimi
were better off without them. If it wasn't for his aunt's constant meddling he
would have been quite happy to have Mimi looked after by his housekeeper.
Stella Giovanni, however, had other ideas. He
knew better than to argue with the head of the Giovanni Clan. Stella had been
insistent that Mimi needed to have a proper nanny and had chosen the girls
herself. Marco didn't think it was a coincidence that every one of the nannies
she had sent his way had been young and attractive. The woman was matchmaking.
He closed his eyes recalling the last conversation he'd had with Mamma Giovanni.
"You really ought to think about getting
married again, Marco. It's not natural for a young man like you to bury himself
in his work, and Mimi needs a mother."
"She's got a mother, Aunt Stella."
"Hah, she's not a mother, and you know
that. You need a good woman like Kitty here. Look how well Alex and sheare
suited."
Marco had been grateful for Kitty taking Stella
to one side, whilst his cousin Alex had slapped him on the back, before
offering him a beer.
"Don't mind her. You know how she gets. You
will find your match when you're least expecting it. I know I did."
Marco had snorted at that, but he had to give it
to Alex. He'd fallen on his feet, literally, a slight limp the only remembrance
of the terrible accident that had almost cost him his life. Those had been dark
times for the Giovanni. Marco still felt guilty about his own behaviour at the
time. He'd been so caught up in his troubles with his now ex-wife, he'd been
little support then.
Dannazioni
, this
maudlin wasn't getting him anywhere. He was wired tonight.
He needed a good work-out to chase away the
demons. He shrugged out of his clothes, once again grateful to have the house
to himself, as he headed for the gym room.
****
Elise slowly approached the impressive building
with a heavy heart. The circular driveway led to a mini mansion of red brick
and mullioned windows, surrounded by immaculately landscaped gardens. The place
reeked of wealth and power, and Elise took a deep breath and straightened her
shoulders. What had Jemima gotten her into now? And why on earth had she agreed
to bail her out? But then, what else could she have done? She couldn't believe
that Jemima had stolen her identity to take this job.