‘Quit while you’re ahead, Daniel,’ Keira admonished him. ‘Because I still haven’t forgiven you for that throwaway line in front of poor Burton. I dread even to surmise what he’s thinking.’
‘Burton wouldn’t think of thinking anything. You know, you look beautiful when you put on that schoolmarmy face.’ And before Keira could move, and she was restricted by the small confines of the balcony, Daniel had planted a quick kiss on her lips.
She stiffened, her hands sliding up to push him away. But it wasn’t necessary for he had already drawn back, his eyes alight with amusement.
‘Gotcha!’ he said teasingly, his hand now resting lightly on her waist.
As kisses went it was just a brotherly peck, but Keira frowned at him. ‘Look, Daniel—’
He held up his other hand. ‘Sorry, Keira. The devil made me do it. I wasn’t coming on to you. Honestly. It was just a thank you for coming.”
Keira shook her head at his boyish grin. ‘Once more. Just once more, Daniel Cassidy, and party or no party, I’m out of here. And I mean it.’
‘Well, if you weren’t so irresistibly attractive—’
Daniel began, only to break off as a car door slammed below them.
They both turned to look over the balcony rail, Daniel’s arm still resting about Keira’s waist.
A sleek, indigo-blue Jaguar squatted sedately below, a dark splash on the white pebbled drive, and Burton was removing a suitcase from the open boot.
But Keira barely noticed him. Her attention was fixed on the tall dark-haired man who stood, hand on the open car door, looking up at them.
Eden Cassidy in the flesh. And he wasn’t smiling.
Keira’s eyes locked with the sparkling dark brilliance of his, and even with the distance separating her from him she saw his lips tighten. His gaze narrowed, went from Keira to his nephew, and back to Keira. And he quite obviously wasn’t pleased with what he saw.
It was only as Daniel’s uncle moved towards the steps that Keira realised he hadn’t been alone in the dark Jaguar XJS.
The woman who had climbed from the car to join him was almost as tall as he was, Keira judged. Her straight tailored skirt and contrasting emerald-green blouse clung to her willowy figure as though they had been cut to fit her personally. And they probably had, Keira decided. She had a matching jacket folded over her arm and she carried a leather briefcase which she refused to trust to the butler.
Unconsciously Keira was leaning slightly over the balcony as she watched the couple below disappear into the house. Daniel’s voice in her ear brought her to the realisation with a jolt, and her hand went to clasp the balcony rail for instinctive support.
‘That was my uncle,’ Daniel said unnecessarily, and Keira bit off an angry retort.
She drew a deep breath. ‘I know. And your little display must have been perfectly timed.’ She swept past him into the bedroom and swung to face him as he followed her. ‘How could you, Daniel?’
‘How could I what?’ he appealed.
‘How could I what?’ Keira mimicked him mercilessly. ‘Don’t act so innocent. Playact that intimate little scene out there, that’s what. How could you embarrass me like that?’
‘Playact?’ Daniel repeated, all wounded affront. ‘You think I only kissed you because I saw my uncle coming up the driveway?’
Keira’s expression was reply enough.
‘It doesn’t appear to have occurred to you that I might have kissed you because I wanted to, because you looked so bloody attractive I was overcome by my emotions.’
‘You’re treading on very thin ice, Daniel,’ Keira enunciated succinctly. ‘This is not the time to clomp about in hob-nailed boots, believe me.’
Daniel’s lips quirked a moment before his laughter slipped out. ‘Hob-nailed boots? Heaven forbid. Far too heavy-handed. Subtlety’s my middle name.’
‘Daniel, if I thought you set this up—’
‘I didn’t stage it, Keira, I swear,’ he said earnestly. ‘Not that I wouldn’t have if I’d thought of it.’
‘Oh, Daniel, I’m absolutely livid with you. Can’t you see how it would have looked, how…?’ Keira shook her head and put some space between them.
‘He probably didn’t even notice us anyway,’ Daniel contended easily, and Keira let out a breath in disbelief. “Trust me, when he’s in the car Eden spends most of his time on the phone or with his head stuck in his papers. Megan drives. Didn’t you notice Megan was at the wheel?’
‘Megan?’ Keira queried.
‘Mmm. Megan Donnelly. Eden’s secretary, for want of a better word.’ Daniel laughed shortly. ‘Or Girl Friday, his right arm, his assistant, whatever you like to call her as long as it has to do with “indispensable". And I suspect she sees to more than just driving and ordering stationery.’
Keira flushed slightly at his implication, a small frown shadowing her brow. So what if Eden Cassidy and the cool-looking Megan Donnelly had more than a business relationship? The man couldn’t work twenty-four hours a day, could he? Although rumour had it that he did. And apart from anything else, it was hardly her business.
No, Keira thought, it had nothing to do with her what Eden Cassidy did with his time. She forced her speculation from her mind, realising Daniel had expertly turned her attention from their previous altercation.
‘Although—‘ Daniel held up his hand ‘—I have
often wondered if Eden’s friend, Kyle Ferguson, hasn’t lived in hope of Megan’s attention all these years. But she’s usually with Eden.’
‘Look, Daniel. You know I agreed to this weekend, against my better judgement, but as a favour to you, on the understanding that it was purely platonic. I expected you to keep your part of the bargain.’
Daniel shrugged. ‘OK. I’m sorry, Keira. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.’
Keira sighed, reflecting that Daniel was going to match his acclaimed uncle in the manipulative stakes, if even half of the reports she’d heard about Eden Cassidy were true.
‘Let’s start from scratch,’ Daniel suggested, and glanced at his wristwatch. ‘There’s time for a quick game of tennis before lunch. How about it?’
‘What about your uncle. Shouldn’t you—well, go down and—’
‘He knows I’m here,’ Daniel said off-handedly. ‘He’s probably holed up in his study anyhow.’
‘On Saturday? I mean, on Saturday at home?’ Surely the man switched off some time.
‘Saturday. Sunday. Here or in the city office. He’s at the controls every day.’ Daniel shrugged. ‘Even in the middle of the night. The man never seems to sleep. So, did you bring your tennis gear?’
Keira nodded.
‘Then I’ll meet you down in the library in five minutes,’ Daniel challenged.
‘Make it ten minutes, and where exactly is the library?’ Keira asked him resignedly.
‘Just step out of the lift, turn left through the foyer into the main hall and it’s the first door on the left. It looks out over the front of the house. Ten minutes, all right?’ Daniel gave her a grin and left her.
In less than the stipulated time she had walked out of the lift and through into the hall. Her step had faltered as she gazed open-mouthed at the magnificence of the marble floors, the elegance of the decor, the huge curved staircase that rose to the balcony above. The artwork on the walls must be worth a fortune, she mused as she crossed the floor, only just overcoming