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quickly. She had to carry on. She had a baby to think about now. Which meant keeping up her strength by eating something now. Washing her hands and straightening her hair as best she could, she headed downstairs to the basement where the kitchen was located. There was always something good to eat. But not this morning, she discovered to her disappointment, because a hiking party had arrived unexpectedly, and paying guests always took precedence over staff.
    ‘You’ll have to go out for breakfast,’ the chef told her with an apologetic shrug. ‘I’m sorry, Emma. That’s how it goes sometimes.’
    ‘No problem.’ She found a smile. ‘You’ve got enough to do. I’ll go into town and get something there.’
    She was rocking on her feet for want of sleep, but she could buy something in town and bring it back to eat in her room. She didn’t really care. She was too tired to think. Plucking her coat from the hook, she shrugged it on, and opening the back door she stepped outside from steaming warmth into the shock of the freezing air. Tucking her chin down, she was on the point of braving the walk into town when she stopped dead. Dressed to brave the worst of a Scottish winter, Luc was leaning against the side of a sleek black sports car. ‘How...?’
    ‘I made enquiries to find out when your shift ended,’ he said with a shrug. ‘Are you satisfied now that you’ve completely exhausted yourself?’
    ‘I’m fine.’
    ‘You’re not fine, Emma.’ Opening the passenger door, he stood waiting for her to get in.
    ‘What?’ She couldn’t even form the words. She was too tired to think.
    Luc shook his head. ‘We both know that what you’re doing is against all regulations. The hotel could be fined for abusing its staff with these overly long hours, and then you really will be out of a job. Working through the night?’ he said, his frown deepening. ‘What are you trying to prove, Emma?’
    ‘I’m not trying to prove anything,’ she insisted.
    Powerful arms folded across his rugged jacket, Luc disagreed. ‘You’d better get in,’ he said, ‘before you freeze to death.’
    And still she hesitated. ‘I don’t understand.’
    ‘What’s to understand, Emma?’
    ‘Why are you waiting for me? I don’t need a lift. I can walk into town.’
    ‘Get in,’ Luc repeated. ‘I won’t tell you again.’

CHAPTER FOUR
    H E WASN ’ T JOKING . He practically lifted her into the car. She was glad of it. The pavements were icy—another thing the hotel had let slip. All the other parts of the pavement had been salted, but not here—they were treacherous, for guests, and for old folk in particular.
    And for pregnant women, Emma reminded herself as Lucas settled her in the car. He even fastened the seat belt for her before closing the door, as if he knew how cold she was, and how exhausted. Walking around the sleek black vehicle, he got in and made himself comfortable on cream kidskin. She wasn’t so tired she didn’t notice that in jeans and rugged boots, with a jacket that emphasised the width of his shoulders, Luc looked like the perfect port in a storm.
    At least this particular storm, Emma amended as she gazed up into the snow-dappled air. She hadn’t realised how cold she had become until now, when she was safely enclosed in the warm interior of Luc’s luxury vehicle—every part of which called for wool or cashmere or alpaca, rather than a cheap nylon uniform beneath a thin, shabby coat. ‘You don’t have to do this,’ she protested, suddenly self-conscious. She was having second thoughts as he pulled away from the kerb, thinking the type of place Luc would take her to for breakfast could only make her feel worse.
    ‘You’re going to eat and so am I,’ he said. ‘It would be churlish of me not to offer you a lift. I didn’t fancy eating in a packed dining room or in my suite today.’ He shrugged as he turned on the engine and moved into the stream of traffic heading into town. ‘And you look as if