At Dante's Service. Chantelle Shaw
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Dante’s a great guy.’ James looked self-conscious as he continued, ‘When he took over from his father as head of Jarrell Legal, after Sir Clifford retired, the other lawyers, including myself, wondered what he would be like to work for. He has a reputation for being ruthless, but he’s proved to be an excellent boss, and I’d like to think a friend. He didn’t hesitate to offer his help with the christening party and he’s been very supportive these past few months while Susanna has been suffering from post-natal depression.’
James glanced around the large garden of the beautiful Georgian townhouse which stood opposite Regent’s Park. ‘The day has been perfect,’ he murmured. ‘I really am indebted to Dante. Especially as I know the christening must have stirred painful memories for him.’
Rebekah gave him a puzzled look. ‘What do you mean?’
Once again James’s rather florid complexion turned pinker and he looked awkward. ‘Oh, nothing—at least, just something that happened years ago, when he lived in New York.’
‘I didn’t know Dante had lived in America.’ But there was no reason why she would know. Dante did not confide in her and Rebekah had only learned a few facts about him from the Internet after she had accepted his offer to work for him.
On a page entitled ‘Britain’s Most Eligible Bachelor’ she had discovered that he was thirty-six, the only son of a High Court Judge, Sir Clifford Jarrell, and the famous Italian opera soprano, Isabella Lombardi. According to the article, the Jarrells were a hugely wealthy aristocratic family and in previous generations there had been two notable marriages with distant members of the Royal Family. But now Dante was the only heir and stood to inherit a historic manor house and vast estate in Norfolk. Aside from the huge fortune that would one day come to him, he was wealthy in his own right from his successful career as a divorce lawyer. He had gained a reputation as a tough, no-nonsense lawyer and had represented several A-list celebrities in their divorce cases.
As for his private life—busy was the best way to describe it, Rebekah thought wryly. The list of women he had been associated with was a roll call of top models, beautiful actresses and sophisticated socialites with impeccable pedigrees. Evidently Dante preferred blondes. There had been several pictures of him with leggy, platinum-haired beauties hanging on his arm. But, tellingly, he never seemed to be photographed with the same woman twice.
She was intrigued by the notion that her tough, cynical boss might have a softer side. Admittedly she had found him to be a fair and considerate employer, but she had heard a note of genuine admiration in James Portman’s voice.
‘So, how did you come to work for Dante?’ James interrupted her thoughts.
‘I used to work for a catering company, mainly providing business lunches in the City,’ she explained. ‘Dante attended one event and immediately after the meal offered me a job as his private chef.’ The salary and the fact that the job came with live-in accommodation had been too good to turn down, Rebekah mused. But, if she was honest, one reason why she had accepted Dante’s offer was because she had been blown away by his stunning looks and charisma so that for once in her life she had ignored the voice of caution inside her head and moved into the staff apartment at Hilldeane House.
‘Well, if you ever decide to change your job and would consider working for a busy professional couple and their baby son …’
‘Are you trying to steal my chef, James?’
There was amusement in Dante’s voice but also a faint edge of steel that caused his junior lawyer to jerk guiltily away from Rebekah.
‘Not at all.’ James relaxed a little when his boss gave a lazy smile. ‘Although from the sound of it you poached her from her previous employer.’
‘I don’t deny it.’ Dante gave a shrug which drew Rebekah’s eyes to the formidable width of his shoulders. She had been unaware of his presence until he had spoken and she hoped he had not heard her swiftly indrawn breath when she had turned her head and discovered him standing beside her. Being this close to him she was conscious of his height and the raw sexual magnetism he exuded. His jacket was undone, and beneath his white silk shirt she glimpsed the shadow of dark hairs and the faint delineation of his abdominal muscles.
For a shocking, heart-stopping moment she pictured him naked, imagined skimming her hands over his bare skin. Was his body as darkly tanned as his face? The way his trousers were drawn tight over his hips emphasised his powerful thigh muscles. A quiver of awareness shot through her and she could feel heat rise to her face. Terrified that he would realise the effect he had on her, she tried to edge away from him, but to her shock he placed a firm hand on her shoulder.
‘I know a good thing when I see it,’ he drawled, slanting an amused smile at her. ‘I recognized the minute I sampled her food that Rebekah is a talented chef, and I was determined to persuade her to work for me.’
Rebekah stiffened. Dante’s words confirmed what she had already guessed, she thought heavily. To him she was simply a cog in the wheel of his busy life. When they had first met he had been impressed by her cooking—while she had fallen in lust with him. It wasn’t love, of course. She wouldn’t be that stupid. But her inconvenient attraction to him was all the more surprising because after the way Gareth had treated her she had vowed to steer clear of men and allow her bruised heart to recover from the battering it had received.
Maybe after two years of being single her body was coming out of its self-imposed hibernation, she mused. And perhaps she had hit on Dante because, like the pop star she’d had a crush on when she was thirteen, he was way out of her league and therefore she could safely fancy him without the risk that he would ever notice her. Why would he, when he was used to dating beautiful women like Alicia Benson? she thought wryly as she watched the stunning blonde walk across the lawn towards them, accompanied by Susanna Portman, who was carrying a baby.
‘Here he is—the star of the show!’ James declared as he lifted his seven-month-old son from his wife’s arms. ‘You’re too young to appreciate it, Alexander, but Dante and Rebekah have made your christening day very special.’
At the sound of his father’s voice Alexander gave a wide grin, revealing his pink gums and two tiny front teeth.
Rebekah felt a sudden, intense pain in her chest and drew a sharp breath.
‘He’s gorgeous, isn’t he?’ James said proudly. ‘Would you like to hold him?’ he asked, noticing how she was transfixed by the baby. ‘Let me take that tray from you so that you can give Alexander a cuddle.’
Alexander was indeed adorable, with chubby arms and legs and wispy golden curls covering his head. Rebekah knew his skin would be as soft as satin, and the scent of him, a unique perfume of milk and baby powder, was so evocative that the pain inside her became an ache of longing—and loss.
She gripped the tray in her hands so tightly that her knuckles whitened as she fought to suppress the agonising emotions surging through her. An awkward silence had fallen over the group and, realising that James was waiting for her to reply, she somehow forced a smile.
‘Alexander looks very happy with his daddy, so I won’t disturb him,’ she mumbled. She looked over at the marquee and added in a brisker tone, ‘The waiters are clearing the tables. I’d better go and help them. Please excuse me.’
What had that been about? Dante wondered with a frown as he watched Rebekah practically run across the lawn. His hand had been resting on her shoulder and he had felt the fierce tension that had gripped her when James had invited her to hold his son. At first he had assumed she was one of those women who could not bear the idea of getting baby dribble on her clothes—he’d noticed Alicia had kept her distance from Alexander, no doubt terrified he might leak from one end or the other and ruin her designer dress, he thought derisively.
He was surprised by Rebekah’s reaction, though. She did not strike him as someone who cared about getting messy. He had watched her in the kitchen a few times and seen how she clearly enjoyed touching food, mixing ingredients with her hands and kneading dough when she made bread. In fact he had found her earthiness curiously sensual