Alex watched, curiously. Whatever the circumstances of the baby’s conception there was absolutely no doubt that Jenny adored her niece.

‘There—was that nice, angel?’ She dried the baby carefully and then reached for a nappy and noticed Alex. Her smile vanished and she looked at him warily, self-consciously adjusting her T-shirt. ‘Oh. Hello. We didn’t hear you.’

‘Evidently.’

With her soft dark hair around her shoulders and no bra she looked completely different from the disapproving young woman he’d met at breakfast or the professional nurse he’d worked with all day.

She looked…

She looked…

Damn! What the hell was the matter with him? This woman had come into his life for the express purpose of causing trouble and here he was lounging in the doorway noticing all sorts of things he shouldn’t be noticing.

He definitely needed to plunge himself into cold water.

‘I’m going for a swim,’ he said shortly, and she looked surprised.

‘Oh. But you’ve only just come in.’

He ground his teeth. This was why he’d never lived with a woman. They expected an explanation for everything.

‘And I’m immediately going out.’

‘Right.’ She brushed her hair out of her eyes. ‘It’s just that I thought you might want to spend some time with Daisy before she goes to sleep.’

‘Well, you thought wrong.’

Daisy chose that particular moment to chuckle and smile at him and the muscles in his shoulders tensed even more.

He didn’t need this.

‘Look…’ His tone was harsh. ‘I don’t do family stuff, OK? I never have and the sooner you realise that the better for both of us. I live on my own and that’s the way I like it. If I want to swim in the sea, I swim. I don’t answer to anyone and I have absolutely no wish to cuddle a child who isn’t mine.’

Her gaze was steady. ‘But she is yours, Dr Westerling. You may not be able to remember the names of your girlfriends but my sister was different. She wouldn’t have—well, she didn’t have lots of partners.’ She blushed slightly. ‘If she said you were the father then that’s good enough for me.’

‘It isn’t good enough for me. This is England. I’m innocent until proven guilty and, for goodness’ sake, stop calling me Dr Westerling. If you’re intent on living in my house and ruining my life, you might as well use my first name,’ he said irritably, casting an impatient look in her direction before striding off towards his bedroom to collect what he needed for his swim.

* * *

Jenny dressed Daisy and sat her on the floor.

‘Your daddy behaves like a little boy,’ she said wearily. ‘Everything seems to revolve around him with no thought for others. He comes from a very rich family, you know. He was probably brought up by a series of nannies and doesn’t really know what family life is. We’re going to have to show him.’

Daisy cooed and sucked her fists and Jenny stuffed some supplies into a bag and lifted the baby onto her shoulder.