The Davonshire Series 2: Loving Words by Olivia Gaines Page B

to find him.  Wilfred knew something was wrong when his housekeeper began to rant and rave about her daughter.  Wilfred had to ask her to slow down with what she was saying, but her daughter was now in labor and she needed to get to Mexico right away. 
    “Calm down, Conchetta, of course you can leave.” She was still ranting.  He took her in his arms and held her closely to help her calm down.  “Yes, your job will be here when you return.”
    Elsie watched from the doorway as Wilfred soothed the woman and told her,  “Conchetta, please go and take care of your daughter. We will be fine.”
    He opened his wallet and removed a few bills.  “This is my gift for your new grandbaby.” 
    “
Abeulita
, if you need anything else, just give me a call.”  Conchetta was still going on and on in Spanish and Elsie wished she knew what she was asking for, and finally it clicked when he answered her in English.
    “We will call it your vacation.  That way, you will still be paid while you’re away.”  Conchetta began to cry and Wilfred hugged her once more.  The cell phone that he always carried but never seemed to use was taken from his breast pocket, and he called Mario. 
    Mario was at the office in a less than ten minutes.  He handed the young man a credit card a few loose bills, “Take the Jeep and drive her to Nogales.” Mario nodded and helped Conchetta leave the office.
    Wilfred dropped his head in his hands and wondered what the hell he was going to do.  His entire family would be here in four days and there was no way he could cook for almost thirty people.  To make matters worse, he had not spoken to his brother in almost two months.  David had no idea that Wilfred had not hired his choice.  Furthermore, he would be meeting with the contest winners in Tucson in less than three weeks.  Worst of all, White Bear was totally in love with Elsie.  And, he still had not told her that he was Devons and a month had already passed.
    This is just way too much
.
This is why I am a recluse
. His face was in his hands and a sick look covered his face.
People suck.
    She must have sensed his worry because she tapped on the door.  “You okay there, boss man?”  He groaned and looked up at her.
     “No!” he almost snapped, but couldn’t because it wasn’t her fault that he was stupid.  He was going to have to hire a caterer and have strange people in his house.  Strange women and men using his bathrooms and young googly-eyed girls wanting to text him with mini snippets of “
TTYL and OMG he is so cute
.”  He thought about the Sig Sauer in the desk. 
One bullet and I could just rest forever
.
    Elsie stepped inside the door.  “What can I do to help?”
    “Can you cook for 30 people?” he asked flippantly.
    “Yes, I can,” she answered with a smile.
    He looked up with reverence.  “Seriously? You can?”
    “Sure, what’s the occasion?”
    “Fourth of July.”
    “If White Bear will man the grill, I can do the rest.”
    He bounded from behind the desk and grabbed her, pulling her into his arms.  “Thank you, thank you, thank you….” and before he could stop himself, he kissed her on the forehead.
    The sparks that started to flicker between them were immediate. “Ooh… so sorry!” He jumped back and apologized profusely for his lack of professionalism, quickly changing the subject.  “My family is coming for the Fourth and several of them will be staying over.”
    “With Conchetta gone, I had no idea how to manage it.  I was thinking about just cancelling it altogether.”  He seated himself behind his desk, trying to ignore the very tense elephant that had just walked in and seated itself middle of the room.
    She ignored it as well.  Elsie grabbed a notepad from his desk.  “Let’s talk menu.” 
    As the conversation went back and forth, Wilfred looked at Elsie with fresh eyes.  She had an apple shaped face and soft brown eyes.  The cute little nose that adorned her face