The Billionaire's Christmas Cinderella

‘Merida! How are you?’

‘So happy. We had a girl.’

Ethan was holding the precious bundle. ‘I’m sorry I couldn’t get there to meet you,’ he said, giving her a kiss on the cheek, and was rather more friendly than Naomi had expected.

‘Well, you were rather busy...’ Naomi smiled.

‘Is Abe with you?’ he asked.

‘Abe?’ Naomi frowned for a second then remembered that was Abe was the elder Devereux brother. ‘No, the driver brought me. Bernard, I think...’ She was distracted then as the blanket fell back and she caught a proper glimpse of the baby. ‘Oh, my, she is gorgeous.’

Naomi, in her line of work, saw a lot of new babies, and they were all very precious, though for Naomi there had never been one more precious than this little girl. With no relatives of her own, Merida and her very new daughter were the closest thing to family that Naomi had known.

When Ethan handed her to Naomi she found that her eyes filled up with tears as she held the new life.

‘Does she have a name?’

‘Ava,’ Merida said. ‘We just decided.’

‘Oh, but it suits her. She’s completely stunning.’ Little Ava really was, with a shock of dark hair like her father, and huge dark blue eyes and a sweet little rosebud mouth. ‘How was the birth?’

‘It was actually wonderful.’

When Ethan headed off to make some calls, Merida elaborated a touch. ‘Ethan was right there the whole time. Naomi, we’re okay now,’ Merida said, her eyes shining. ‘Ethan told me he loves me and that we’re going to make this marriage work.’

Naomi rather thought it might be the emotion of the birth that had Ethan showing devotion, but of course she didn’t say that to her friend as she popped the now sleeping baby into her little crib.

‘How long do you think you’ll be in for?’ Naomi asked.

‘A couple of days. I feel terrible that you’ll have to find your own way around.’

‘I’m quite sure I can manage. I’ll head off soon and get in some sleep and tomorrow I might do a bit of sightseeing and buy a decent coat.’

‘I can’t believe you’re actually here.’ Merida beamed. ‘Naomi, I’ve got so much to tell you.’

But it would all have to wait.

Ethan returned at that moment and a short while later Jobe, the grandfather of little Ava, came down in a wheelchair, escorted by a nurse. And then came the photos, though not just the family kind—a professional photographer had been brought in for the occasion.

It was clear that Jobe was very ill indeed, yet he had refused to have the baby brought up to visit him and had made a supreme effort to be a part of such an important day.

As the photographer snapped away, even though Jobe had a nurse with him, Naomi helped too, positioning little Ava in his arms and making sure that as soon as he tired she took the baby with a smile.

‘Thank you,’ Jobe said, noting how she had hovered discreetly. ‘You’re Merida’s friend?’

‘Yes.’ Naomi nodded. ‘And also little Ava’s nanny for the next few weeks.’

‘Well, any friend of Merida’s is a friend of the family. It’s good to have you here, Naomi.’

It was such a little thing. She had expected to be daunted by this powerful man, but instead they clicked on sight and he made Naomi feel very welcome and a part of it all. She was used to being the nanny and hovering in the background, but today, on her first day in New York, she’d had her picture taken while holding a tiny little baby who was new to all of this too!

‘Has Abe been in?’ Jobe asked, as Naomi held little Ava, who was close to falling asleep in her arms.

Naomi might look as if she wasn’t listening, but her ears were on elastic. She knew Abe was a force to be reckoned with and wanted to get a feel for things and work out the dynamics so that she could help Merida as best she could in the weeks ahead.

‘Not as yet,’ Ethan said, and Naomi heard the edge to his voice. ‘I specifically asked him to pick up Naomi, but instead he sent a car.’

‘Well, he must have got caught up,’ Jobe suggested.

With little Ava asleep and Merida looking like she needed the same, Naomi decided it was time to head off. ‘I’m going to go,’ she said, and gave Merida a hug and a kiss. ‘Jet lag is starting to creep in and I want that well behind me by the time you bring your little lady home.’

‘We’re staying at Dad’s place for now,’ Ethan explained, ‘while we have some renovations done.’

‘Merida told me.’ Naomi nodded. ‘It’s fine.’

Famous last words.

* * *

‘Dad’s place’ was a huge, grey stone mansion on Fifth Avenue, overlooking Central Park. Naomi had to pinch herself to believe that she was really here. Oh, thanks to her job she had stayed in some amazing residences, but nowhere had been nearly as grand as this.

One of the heavy double doors was opened by a gentleman who said that they had been expecting her, and as Naomi stepped into the foyer an elderly woman came rushing over.

‘Naomi!’ She gave her a welcoming smile. ‘I’m Barb, Head of Housekeeping.’

‘It’s lovely to meet you, Barb.’

The house was even more stunning inside.

The huge foyer with marble floors and archways was impressive, as was the large curved staircase, but it was all made a little less daunting because the first thing that greeted Naomi was the delicious scent of pine.

There in the corner was a Christmas tree, bigger than any she had ever seen.

An undressed tree.

‘We were waiting to find out what Merida had,’ Barb explained. ‘Have you ever seen a tree decorated pink?’

‘No.’ Naomi laughed.

‘Well, you soon will.’

And even with a soon-to-be-pink tree it was sheer New York elegance and this was only the entrance. Naomi could only imagine what lay behind the high doors.

‘Have you seen the baby?’ Barb asked.

‘Yes, she’s very beautiful. She’s got black hair and a lot of it...’

‘Oh, how precious.’

Naomi didn’t reveal her name, or show the photos she had taken with her phone, as she wasn’t sure it was her place to. Not that Barb asked, she was far too busy chatting. ‘It’s fantastic that you’ve arrived on such a good news day. We were just having a little celebration,’ she added. ‘I’ll show you around.’

‘That can wait.’ Naomi shook her head. ‘A bath and bed is all I need right now. Just show me where I’m sleeping and you can get back to celebrating the baby’s arrival. Though if you can show me the alarm system, that would be great. I don’t want to set it off if I get up in the night.’

Barb did so and as they walked up a huge staircase, lined with family photos Naomi told her about the time she’d had to call an ambulance on her first night at a job for the mother of one of her charges. ‘When I let the paramedics in I set the whole house off. It just added to the chaos.’

‘What a fright you must have had,’ Barb said as she huffed up the stairs. ‘Now, don’t turn left here or you’ll end up in Abe’s wing.’

‘Does he live here?’ Naomi asked, because she hadn’t been expecting that, but Barb shook her head.

‘No, he’s half an hour away, but if he’s been visiting his father late into the night, sometimes he comes home.’ She gave a little laugh. ‘Well, to the family home. Now, this is you.’

She opened a heavy door, and behind it wasn’t the bedroom that Naomi had been expecting to see. Instead, it was more of an apartment, with a lounge, its own bathroom, a small kitchen as well as a bedroom. ‘And the baby has a room, of course...’ Barb said, opening the door onto a small nursery. It wasn’t the main one—this nursery was, Naomi rightly guessed, for the times the nanny had the baby overnight. Not that Merida was intending for that to happen, she had made it clear she wanted the baby with her, but it gave Naomi a glimpse of how things had once worked in the Devereux home.

‘I have to say, I never thought I’d see the day when we had a nanny here again,’ Barb admitted. ‘I got on well with the last one.’

‘How long ago was that?’

‘Let me see, Abe must be nearly thirty-five and Ethan’s thirty. They had nannies till they went off to boarding school, so Ethan’s last one must have been some twenty years ago. They had their work cut out, let me tell you...’ Barb’s flow of words halted.

‘Did the boys run wild?’ Naomi pried, but Barb changed the subject.

‘Now, Merida made it very clear that you’re a guest as well as the baby’s nanny, so you’re to use the main entrance, as well as having access to a driver, and you’ve got full freedom of the house. Still, it might be nice for you to have your own space.’

Naomi nodded.

She guessed that Barb had stopped talking so freely when she’d remembered that Naomi wasn’t just staff but also a guest.

‘I’ll bring you up some dinner, or you’re more than welcome to join us. We’re just having some nibbles...’

‘Don’t worry about dinner for me.’ Naomi shook her head. ‘I ate on the plane. All I want now is a bath and then bed.’

‘Well, you make sure to let me know if you wake up hungry.’

‘If I do, I’ll call out for something,’ Naomi said. She was very used to staying in new places. ‘You go and celebrate and don’t worry about me.’

Once Barb had gone Naomi explored a little. Her bedroom was gorgeous, dressed in lemon and cream with a splash of willow green, and Naomi couldn’t wait to crawl into the plump bed, but first she unpacked and then had a long bath. She had intended it to be a quick one but she dozed off in the middle. She really was very tired so pulled on some pyjamas and crawled into bed. It was delicious to stretch out but sleep wasn’t as forthcoming as she’d hoped it would be, and she lay there with her mind whirring.

A little girl.

Ava.

Oh, she was so thrilled for Merida but, despite her friend’s assurances that everything was fine now, Naomi was very aware that that might just be the high of giving birth and Ethan making promises he might not keep.

Yes, he’d seemed friendly and happy but the Devereuxes were not exactly famous for their devotion to their marriage vows.

Naomi was also worried about the dark times ahead because, having seen Jobe, it was clear to her that he was nearing the end.

It was certainly going to be an emotional time and Naomi was glad that she would be here for her friend.

Ava hadn’t been due for another two weeks. Naomi’s loose plan had been to get over jet lag, as well as the exhaustion of her previous job—usually she would have allowed for more time between jobs but for Merida she had made an exception.

Really, she didn’t consider Merida work, though they had insisted on paying her handsomely.

It still didn’t sit quite right with Naomi, but she tried not to think of that now.

Her plan had been to catch up on her sleep and get her bearings, and to do some sightseeing at the start of her trip. With Ava’s slightly early arrival all her plans had changed.

Tomorrow, she decided, she would go through the nursery and check if there was anything needed and then she’d call the hospital. And then she’d cram in as much sightseeing as possible. Before she could do that, though, she had to buy a coat.

It was on that thought that she fell asleep and then awoke, Naomi had no idea how much time later, to the unsettling feeling she generally had during her first couple of days in a new home.

There was an eerie silence.

Soon she would wake knowing where she was and recognising the shadows on the walls, Naomi told herself as she lay there, but for now it was all unfamiliar.

One feeling she did recognise, though, was the fact that she was starving.

Usually she would have emergency supplies for nights such as this, but there was nothing in her luggage, and anyway a snack wasn’t going to fix this hunger.

Naomi pulled on her robe and drew back the drapes, then understood the odd silence for there was a blanket of snow outside and it was still falling heavily.

Even though the house was warm, the sight made her shiver and she did up the ties on her robe.

It was coming up for midnight and, Naomi decided, there was just one thing she wanted more than anything in the world on her first night in New York.

Pizza.

A big pepperoni pizza, but she wondered if they’d deliver.

No problem!

Naomi ordered online and just fifteen minutes later tracked her pizza working its way along Fifth Avenue!

She padded down the stairs and was just about to sort the alarm when she startled as the front doors opened. A dark-coated man walked through them, bringing with him a blast of cold air and, to Naomi, the warmest of glows.

Perhaps he floated through them, Naomi thought, for he was almost too beautiful to be mortal.

He was more.

It was the only word she could come up with as she stood in the grand entrance, yet it was an apt one.

He was a smidge taller than Ethan and his jet-black hair was worn a touch longer, and was currently flecked with snow. And he was more sullen in appearance than his brother had been, with almost accusing black eyes narrowing as they met hers.

And he was, to Naomi, a whole lot sexier.

Yes, he was more.

He made her heart quicken and she was suddenly terribly aware of her night attire and tangle of hair, because he was just so groomed and glossy and more beautiful than anyone she had ever seen.

‘I thought not,’ Naomi said by way of greeting.

And Abe frowned because not only did he have no idea what she meant, he also had no idea who this voluptuous dark-haired beauty, dressed in her nightwear, was.

Then she walked past him and he watched as she took delivery of a large pizza box and now he better understood her odd greeting.

No, Abe Devereux was definitely not the pizza delivery man!

CHAPTER TWO

‘I’M NAOMI,’ SHE offered by way of introduction as she closed the front door. ‘Merida’s friend and the baby’s nanny.’

‘Abe,’ he said, but didn’t elaborate. It was his father’s home after all and he was also in no mood to engage in small talk.

But she persisted.

‘Have you seen her?’ Naomi asked. ‘The baby.’

‘Yes.’

He said no more than that. Abe Devereux did not offer his thoughts or his opinions. There was no ‘Yes, isn’t she gorgeous!’ No ‘I can’t believe I’m an uncle,’ and it was clear to Naomi that he did not want to speak.

It didn’t offend her.

Naomi was very used to being the paid staff.

He removed an elegant grey woollen coat and beneath that was a suit, cut to perfection, enhancing his tall, lean frame.

Abe glanced briefly around, no doubt, Naomi thought, expecting someone to come and take his coat, but when no one appeared, neither did Naomi hold out her hand. With that lack of a gesture she drew a very important line. She might be staff, but she was Ava’s nanny, and not his maid.

He tossed the coat over an occasional chair as Naomi opened the lid of her pizza box and peered into it. ‘I’ll say goodnight...’ She was momentarily distracted from his utter, imposing beauty by the sight that greeted her. ‘Just how big is this thing?’ Naomi asked.

The pizza was massive.

Seriously so.

It smelt utterly divine.

And, she remembered, she was not just the nanny but Merida’s friend, and so she persisted with the conversation when perhaps usually she would not.

‘Would you like some?’ she offered, but Abe didn’t even bother to reply so she took her cue and headed up the stairs.

There were pictures lining the walls of the stunning Devereux family over the years. The two brothers, as babies and then children. Their stunning mother who, Naomi knew, was dead. She wondered if they missed her on a day like today.

Yes, Naomi often wondered about things like this, especially with not having a family of her own.

And then she heard his voice.

‘I would.’

She turned on the stairs, a little unsure what he meant. Did Abe Devereux actually want to share in her midnight feast, or had she got things completely wrong and he was about to tell her he would like staff to refrain from wandering at night, or something?

But, no, she hadn’t got things wrong.

‘A slice of pizza sounds good,’ Abe confirmed.

He himself was surprised that he had taken her up on her offer. And it wasn’t the normality of it that had had him say yes, for it was far from normal—Abe didn’t do pizza. And, more pointedly, a woman in pale pink pyjamas with a big robe on top wasn’t the norm either. Silk or skin was the usual sight that greeted him at this time of night.

He had just come from the hospital, though not the maternity section for he had visited his brother and wife earlier in the day.

Instead, he had spent the evening and half the night with his father.

Jobe had put everything into staying alive for the baby’s birth and visiting the little family today, and Abe had this terrible, awful feeling that now it was done he’d just fade.

He had sat there, watching his father sleep and the snow floating past the window, and though warm in the hospital room he had felt chilled to the bone.

They might not be particularly close but Abe admired his father more than anyone in the world.

Ethan had grown up never knowing what a cruel woman their mother had been.

Four years older than his brother, Abe had known.

Elizabeth Devereux’s death when he was nine had come as a shock, but all these years later Abe already grieved for his father.

Not that he showed it.

Abe had long since closed off his heart and far from hiding his emotions, he chose not to feel them.

Yet choice had been unavailable to him tonight.

‘Why couldn’t you come to me, Abe?’ his father had asked, when his medication had been given for the night.

‘It will sort itself out,’ Abe had said. ‘Khalid is just posturing.’

‘I’m not talking about Khalid,’ Jobe had snapped, and then, defeated by the drugs, had closed his eyes to sleep.

Yet where was the peace? Abe thought, for despite the good news of the day, despite Jobe’s goal to see his grandchild being met, still his face was lined and there was tension visible even in his drug-induced sleep.

There had been a long moment when his father’s breathing had seemed to cease and he’d called urgently for the nurse.

It was normal, he’d been told, with so much morphine for respirations to decrease and also, he’d been further told, albeit gently, things slowed down near the end of life.

But no matter how gently said, it had hit him like a fist to the gut.

His father was dying.

Oh, he had known for months, of course he had, but he had fully realised it then. Abe had glimpsed the utter finality of what was to come and, rather than do what instinct told him to and shake his father awake and demand that he not die, Abe had held it in and headed out into the snowy night.

He had sent his driver home ages ago, and had stood for a moment looking up at the snow falling so quietly from the sky.

Instead of calling for his driver, or even hailing a cab, he had crossed the wide street and headed over to Central Park.

There he had cleared snow from a bench and sat by the reservoir, too numb, and grateful for that fact, to feel the cold.

Here had been the park of his childhood, though it had never been a playground.

Abe had never played.

Instead, on the occasional times his mother would take them, unaccompanied by a nanny, it would be he who would look out for Ethan, making sure he didn’t get too close to the water.

And that had been on a good day.

The park closed at one a.m. and, rather than being locked in for the night, Abe had stood with no intention of heading home.

There were plenty he could call upon for the usual balm of sex. As disengaged as he was with his lovers, Abe did generally at least manage some conversation, but even that brief overture before the mind-numbing act felt like too much effort tonight.

And so he had walked from the park to his father’s residence, which was far closer to the hospital than his Greenwich Village home. He had decided to sleep there tonight.

Just in case.

And now, for reasons he didn’t care to examine, conversation felt welcome.

Necessary even.

He walked through to the drawing room and she, Naomi, Merida’s friend, followed him in and took a seat on the pale blue sofa as he lit the fire that had been made up and then checked his phone.

Again, just in case.

‘The snow’s getting heavy,’ he said. ‘I thought it might be wise to stay nearer to the hospital tonight.’

‘How is your father?’

‘Today took a lot out of him. Are you a nurse?’ he asked, because he had no real idea of the qualifications required to be a nanny. Perhaps that was why he had pursued conversation, Abe thought—so that he could pick her brains.

But she shook her head.

‘No,’ Naomi said. ‘I’d always wanted to be a paediatric nurse but...’ She gave an uncomfortable shrug. ‘It didn’t work out.’

‘Why not?’

‘I didn’t do too well at school.’

She opened up the box again and tore off one of the large slices but the topping slid off as she attempted to raise it to her mouth. ‘How on earth do you eat this?’

‘Not like that,’ he said, and he showed her how to fold the huge triangle.

‘I haven’t had pizza from a box in years...’ Abe mused as he took his slice. ‘Or rather decades. Jobe used to take Ethan and me over to Brooklyn when we were small. We’d sit on the pier...’ His voice trailed off and he was incredibly grateful that she didn’t fill the silence that followed so he could just sit and hold the memory for a moment as they ate quietly. ‘This pizza’s good,’ he commented.

‘It’s better than good, it’s incredible.’ And made more so when he went and poured two generous drinks from a decanter.

‘Cognac?’ he offered.

She had never tasted it before and, given for once she wasn’t working, Naomi took the glass when he handed it to her.

‘Wow,’ she said, because it burnt as it went down. ‘I doubt I’ll have much trouble getting back to sleep after that.’

‘That’s the aim,’ Abe said. ‘You can rely on my father to have the good stuff on tap.’

‘What did you think of the baby?’ Naomi asked as he sat down. Not on the sofa but on the floor, leaning against it.

‘It’s very loud,’ Abe said, and she laughed.

‘She’s gorgeous. What are you getting her as a gift?’

‘Already done.’ Abe yawned before continuing. ‘My PA dealt with it and got her some silver teddy.’

‘I did all the shopping before I came,’ Naomi said, ‘though now I know it’s a girl I’m sure there’ll be more. Are you excited to be an uncle?’

He raised his eyes, somewhat disarmed by her question.

Abe really hadn’t given being an uncle much thought. Since he’d heard that his brother had got Merida pregnant it had been the legalities that he’d focussed on—making sure the baby was a US citizen and ensuring Merida couldn’t get her hands on any more of the Devereux fortune than the baby assured her.

Only, lately, Merida seemed less and less like the woman Abe had been so certain she was.

In fact, Ethan looked happy.

He didn’t say any of that, of course.

But if you are going to do pizza by the fire on a snowy December night, you do need to do your share of talking, and so he asked her a question. ‘Do you have any nieces or nephews?’

‘No.’ Naomi shook her head and then let out a dreamy sigh. ‘I actually can’t think of anything nicer than to be an aunt.’

‘Do you have any brothers or sisters who might one day oblige you?’

She shook her head.

‘So you’re an only child?’ he casually assumed, and then watched as for the first time colour came to her pale cheeks.

‘I don’t have any family.’

He saw the slight tremble of her fingers as she put down the crust of her pizza.