Toni could only watch, stunned, as this tall man in a check shirt turned around on the bar stool and calmly stretched out his hand towards her. ‘It’s for you. My sister would like a word.’
Five minutes later Toni collapsed down on the bar stool opposite Scott in a complete daze.
‘I am so sorry. We had no idea or we would never have organised a birthday party while your dad is in the hospital. Wow. That is so inappropriate I don’t know where to start.’
She reached into the brownie tin and cut an enormous cube and started nibbling at it to try and calm her nerves.
‘We had absolutely no clue. Because I would definitely have cancelled if Freya had let me know. Seriously. I would. This is awful. I feel so embarrassed. Mortified, really. That is all so inappropriate. Please let me apologise again and...’
Scott held up one hand. ‘I get it. You didn’t know. It’s your birthday. So you organised a party and enjoyed yourself. No problem.’
‘Actually, my birthday isn’t until Thursday but my sister Amy is leaving on a gap year trip tomorrow and she wanted to help me celebrate before she left so she arranged this surprise party and all my friends from the company turned up and... I am babbling. Because I am mega embarrassed.’
‘That would be true. About the babbling.’
Toni took another nibble of brownie before daring to glance up at this man who was just sitting there in silence, dominating the space.
‘So you are not a male stripper. Sorry about that little confusion. It was a ladies only night so any man had to have a very good reason for being there. And, seeing as none of the girls claimed you...I might have jumped to the wrong conclusion.’
His mouth opened slightly as though he was about to reply, then he reconsidered and closed it again. A rough-skinned hand rasped over his beard and he glanced quickly over his clothing as his voice rasped low in his throat. ‘You thought that I was a male stripper? What kind of stripper turns up dressed like this?’
She winced and closed one eye and pretended to duck slightly.
‘Scruffy lumberjack. Check shirt. Beard. Very popular with the city girls who like a—’ she coughed quickly ‘—less refined country look.’
Then she blinked. ‘The oiled chest and man string are a bit old-fashioned these days. The hunky bit of rough...oh, I didn’t mean to say...imply that you’re rough or anything, but...’
‘Maybe you ought to stop talking now. I am not the oiled chest type even on a good day and this has not been one of them.’
‘Oh. Yes. Right. Good. Or not good, depending on how bad your day has been. If you know what I mean.’
‘How bad has it been? Let me see.’
His dark blond eyebrows squeezed tight together and he pinched his forehead with a thumb and middle finger.
‘Almost lost a hand to frostbite. A pig of a snow machine to an air base. Cargo plane from Alaska to Iceland, scheduled flight to Rome, where I had to pay first class to get a seat, four hours at a hospital trying to work out what the hell was happening then a flight back to London. And don’t get me started with how long it took me to get from the airport to the hospital and back again.’
He lifted his chin and dropped his hand away.
‘So, overall, I’m not too happy about being here right now. I think that would sum it up.’
Toni blew out fast through narrowed lips. ‘Alaska? In February? Frostbite? Well, that explains a lot.’
Then she slipped off the breakfast bar stool and flicked out both of her hands. ‘Righty. What would you like? Coffee or tea? And I can easily reheat these brownies for you. Oh—you’ve already eaten the last of them. No problem, there are plenty more in the freezer. It will only take twenty minutes tops.’
He replied by easing his weight off the bar stool and rolling back his shoulders, making his chest pop.
‘Thanks for the offer, but it’s late and my body clock is deep-fried. Nice to meet you and thanks for the unexpected entertainment but I’m heading to bed. If you’re here in the morning we might try to have a conversation which isn’t in code. But right now I am way too tired to talk about the why and how.’
Then he looked up at her and asked, ‘The bedroom with the blue door—I usually keep it locked. Anyone sleeping in there?’
‘Oh, no. Still locked. Freya said it was private.’
And, with a quick nod in her direction, Toni watched him sling the huge duffel bag over one shoulder with a grunt and a wince. The weight of it meant that he had to lean forward from the waist but he shifted the load a few times before striding into the hallway and to the staircase which led to the bedrooms.
It took a few seconds for her champagne and wine-fuddled brain to connect with what was going on.
Her commission! Oh, no!
‘Wait a minute. One last question. I’m supposed to stay with Freya for another week and work with her father at the Elstrom office. Do I need to reschedule? I mean...when will your father be back in London?’
His steps slowed and with one movement he lowered the duffel on to the hall carpet. There was something in the way his shoulders were braced tight that made Toni feel the heat of his gaze even before he looked sideways at her.
Her body locked into a half-in-the-hallway-half-in-the-kitchen position. She simply couldn’t move. It was as if her feet were reluctant to leave the relative safety of the kitchen, just in case.
‘News flash. I’m back. Freya’s in Italy. Dad won’t be coming back any time soon. As of today, he has officially retired. Goodbye Elstrom Mapping. Hello Italy.’
Then he gave a twitch. ‘Sorry. But it looks like you’re out of a job.’
His gaze scanned her scantily clad body from the toes sticking out from the feathery mules to the top of her gold paper crown and lingering at all of the right places on the way up.
The start of a lazy lopsided smile warmed his mouth. ‘No rush to get packed tonight. Tomorrow will do. Goodnight.’
* * *
Goodnight? Out of a job? What?
Any lingering after-effects of the party had gone in a flash.
Before Scott could start up the stairs, Toni dashed in front of him and stood on the bottom step so that they were at more or less the same height.
To his credit, Scott Elstrom didn’t even flinch but braced himself, legs apart, and stared at her as she crossed her arms and stared him out.
‘Oh, no, you don’t. I signed a contract with Freya Elstrom to paint a portrait of the CEO of Elstrom Mapping. She was the one who got in contact with me. Begging me to do the work. I’ve dropped everything to be here.’
There was a deep low sigh from the man standing only inches in front of her and he shifted his gaze from her face to the wall for a few seconds.
‘What was your surname again?’
‘Baldoni. Ah, I can see that you recognise it. The Baldoni family have painted the last four generations of Elstrom chairmen. Freya called me just after Christmas to set it up for her father. Apparently he had been thinking about it for a while and finally just decided