Page 25 of Unsuitable

Complete opposite of Kastor Matis.

But, as much as I hate to admit it, Kas is better-looking. This guy is a pretty boy. Kas is a man in all sense of the word. Even if he is a complete dickhead.

“You’re new,” he says when I reach him. He has the most delicious Australian accent I’ve ever heard. Well, the only Australian accents I’ve ever heard have been on the telly. “And you can’t be a horse owner, as I know all the owners, and we haven’t had a new horse in recently.”

“I’m the new maid, and you’re Australian.”

Duh.

Dumb, Daisy. So dumb.

“You got me.” He chuckles, lifting his hands in surrender. “Cooper Knight, native of Adelaide.” He drops his hands and puts one out to shake mine.

Reaching out, I slip my hand into his. “Daisy Smith, native of London.”

He squeezes my hand and grins. “I heard we had a new maid starting.”

I wonder what else he heard.

But he’s not looking at me like I’m a piece of trash, so maybe he doesn’t know where the last place was that I had to call home.

Weirdly, he’s actually looking at me with a spark of interest.

He releases my hand and rests his arms on the fence, linking his fingers. “So, how are you finding it so far?”

“It’s…okay.”

“Why don’t I believe you?” There’s an impish grin on his handsome face.

“Because I’ve met Kastor Matis.” The words are out before I can stop them.

I slap my hand over my mouth, and he laughs loudly.

“He been giving you a hard time?”

“Mmhmm,” I murmur, dropping my hand.

“Yeah, he can be a tough nut to crack. But Kas isn’t a bad guy, not really. He just likes people to think he is. Just stay out of his way, and you’ll be fine. Mr. and Mrs. Matis are awesome. You’ll love ’em.”

“Where are they?” I ask him, relieved that he didn’t think I was being a bitch about Kas.

Bitching about my boss to the other employees on the first day isn’t the best thing to do.

“They have a place in Greece. Mr. Matis has family there, so they spend half of the year there and the other half here. Kas runs the place for them.”

“How long have you worked here?” I ask.

“Six years. The Matises hired me soon after they bought the place.”

Six years. Maybe he’s older than I initially thought.

“Where did they live before here?” I realize how nosy I’m being. “Sorry, I sound really nosy.”

“Don’t ask, don’t find out, right?” He gives me a reassuring smile. “They moved up here from London. Mr. Matis was big in the banking industry—stocks and that sorta stuff. Made a lot of money. Think he and Mrs. Matis wanted out of the city, so they moved here for the peace and quiet. And it’s a good investment, a place like this.”

“How many others work here?” I ask, looking around.

“Well, there’s me, of course. I’m the stable manager. Ellie and Peter are trainers. Mack and Tash are my stable hands. They’re all off on lunch at the moment, but you’ll meet ’em soon. Then, we have Dom, who’s the gardener. It’s his day off today, but he’ll be back in tomorrow. And that’s it.”