‘I… You’re not what I expected.’

‘I see,’ he said. ‘I’m not the normal run-of-the-mill father, is that it?’

Penny sucked in a deep breath. ‘Normally it’s the child’s mother who organises a nanny, generally because she needs to go back to work—or whatever else it is she wants to do,’ she couldn’t help adding. She had worked for very rich women who preferred having a social life to bringing up their children.

‘The agency didn’t tell you that there wasn’t a Mrs De Luca?’

‘No.’ She heard the surprise in her voice. Normally she would have been given the background of the family and they would have wanted to see her prior to engaging her, making sure she was suitable. But on this occasion a nanny had been needed urgently.

‘You come highly recommended.’ He raised a brow as he said it, and Penny realised that she was hardly being professional. In fact she was acting completely out of character.

All because he was a strikingly handsome man.

‘Though I’m beginning to have my doubts about whether you’re up to the job,’ he added crisply. ‘Nevertheless I have a very important business meeting that I’m already late for. Come through to the kitchen and I’ll introduce you to my housekeeper. We’ll have a serious talk tonight.’

Up to the job! Penny took umbrage. ‘Mr De Luca,’ she declared, standing at her full height, staring him full in the face, ‘I can assure you that I am more than up to the job, as you put it.’ She thrust an envelope into his face. ‘Here are my references, you’ll see that—’

‘Those aren’t necessary!’ he declared imperiously. ‘I prefer to make my own judgement.’

And at the moment she was sadly lacking, thought Penny. She could hardly blame him; she had stood there like an idiot instead of ignoring his sexuality and being the truly experienced nanny that she was.

She had approached his house this morning with an air of excitement. The agency she worked for had stressed how important this job was. Mr De Luca was the head of the De Luca advertising agency—a global company—and if she pleased him it could work very well for them.

He lived on the outskirts of London in a huge mansion set in an amazing estate—it couldn’t be called anything less, she’d decided, because after the electronically controlled gates had opened she’d driven through acres of woodland and gardens. To say she was impressed would have been an understatement.

And when she’d reached the house, well, she was truly stunned. Three storeys high, eight windows across. How many rooms was that?

‘I understand your last nanny left you rather unexpectedly?’ she questioned as she hurried at his heels through miles of corridors. Anyone would think they were in a race. His long legs were in danger of taking him away from her.

He wore a dark grey suit and white shirt, both Savile Row if she wasn’t mistaken, but they did little to disguise the well-maintained body beneath. This man seriously worked out and she wasn’t surprised, he’d need to be super-fit to work the long hours he did. She’d been told he left by seven every morning, and was always late getting home. It sounded to her as though he didn’t see very much of his daughter.

‘That is correct. And if you’re having any ideas that this job isn’t for you, then I’d be obliged if you would say so right now.’

He stopped so abruptly that Penny cannoned into him, taken aback when his strong arms steadied her and those mesmerising dark eyes locked into hers. She actually stopped breathing for a few seconds and gazed into those magical depths, then realised what she was doing and stepped back a pace.

Her nostrils were invaded by the most irresistible cologne she had ever come across. It was strong like the man himself, though not overpowering. It was subtly pervasive and she knew it would linger long after he had gone. ‘I will naturally do the job to the best of my ability. I’m a conscientious worker, your daughter will be perfectly safe with me and—where is she, by the way? Don’t you think we ought to be—?’

‘Chloe’s still in bed,’ he told her fiercely. ‘I saw no reason to wake her. My office hours are irregular to say the least, but Chloe needs routine, as I’m sure you understand. Emily, my housekeeper, will show you around and then I shall expect you to get Chloe ready and take her to school. I didn’t see any luggage when you arrived, you do know that I expect you to live in?’

Penny inclined her head. ‘It was a rush getting here this early,’ she said, hoping to make her point. ‘I planned on sorting my things out while your daughter’s at school.’ According to the agency his previous nanny had walked out yesterday. Though why he couldn’t have taken a day off and spent time interviewing, Penny didn’t know. At least it was her gain, and the salary she’d been offered was far higher than anything she’d earned before.

He muttered something under his breath in his native language and then resumed his race to the kitchen.

Emily was small and rotund and Penny imagined her to be in her mid-fifties. She had rosy cheeks and short grey hair and, judging by the way she looked at her employer, she clearly adored him.

Penny didn’t realise how much his presence filled the massive room until he had gone. It was only then that she felt able to breathe more easily. Emily saw her relax and smiled. ‘Welcome to the De Luca household. Mr De Luca’s a wonderful man to work for. I hope you’ll be happy here.’