He raised an eyebrow. "That's impressive."
She shook her head. "We just did what had to be done."
Daniel saw the determination on her face. He had to admire her for it, but he did feel sorry for the teenager who had been through such a hard time. And if he allowed his amateur psychologist out of its box, it would be easy to imagine her experience had played more than a small part in creating the practical woman she was now.
"How old is your brother?" he asked her.
"Twenty-nine—two years older than me."
"Married?"
Laura laughed. "No, absolutely not. I think we both had too big a dose of reality to fall into that trap, thanks to my father."
"Do you still see him? Your dad?"
She shifted uncomfortably, and Daniel realised he may have gone one question too far as her face shuttered down again. "He keeps in touch, but he has a new family now."
Sensing it was time to quit, Daniel gestured at the waiter for coffee and smoothly changed the subject.
When they were ready to leave, he insisted on paying and led her outside. It was colder now and Laura shivered. Daniel threw his jacket around her shoulders, and they walked slowly back up the path. Away from the lights of the restaurant it was pitch black, so he pulled a small, powerful travel torch from his pocket and switched it on, playing the beam over the path ahead. Laura laughed—a gutsy, wholehearted guffaw that made his stomach flip.
"I was in the Boy Scouts," he told her sheepishly, adding softly, "You should laugh more. It lights up your whole face."
Laura snorted. "How can you tell in the dark?"
"I can tell."
He thought he saw her blush in that lovely way she did when she was cross, but the torchlight could have been playing tricks on his imagination.
It was a perfect evening, the stars were bright in a clear black sky, and Daniel was acutely aware of Laura's proximity as they walked along the path, her fresh summery scent drifting over to him on the breeze. When they reached the hotel and were walking across the gardens towards their rooms, he was reluctant for the evening to end. Playing for time, he silently indicated the bench outside her window. Surprised when she obediently sat beside him, they simply watched the stars and listened to the night sounds around them.
Daniel rarely sat still for more than a minute at a time. He could get used to this, he realised with a start. Sitting side by side in companionable silence with a woman who had glossy hair, hypnotic eyes . . . and an extremely kissable mouth.
"Did you notice we haven't argued once all evening?" His voice was soft and seductive.
Laura shook her head, but he sensed an immediate return of her earlier nerves. When she made a move to rise, he was ready for it and shot out his arm to gently halt her. Even as he told himself he shouldn't be doing this, shouldn't be complicating this, he acted on the desire he'd had all evening—to reach out and finger long strands of her silky hair. Her eyes widened in surprise, but she didn't pull away.
His next step was still undecided—something along the lines of a good-night kiss, maybe—when a light clicked on in a room further down the row.
Like a spooked deer caught in headlights, she broke the gentle hold he had on her arm, grappled in her bag for the key, shot into her room, and slammed the door shut.
Perplexed by her reaction—it would be fair to say he'd never had a woman actually run from him before—Daniel remained seated on the bench for a moment, staring out across the dark gardens. What on earth had just happened?
He stood and stared at her door, wondering if he should knock to see if she was all right, but he didn't want to make things worse. Reaching into his pocket for his room key, he shook his head at his own stupidity. The idea was to take her out to dinner to mend relations and pump her for information, not to try and seduce her.
Not that he would consider touching someone's hair and an anticipated-but-not-actual kiss an attempt at seduction. Still, he'd broken his golden rule—and he was furious with himself.
"Never mix business with pleasure, you idiot!" he muttered. "Didn't you learn your lesson the last time?"
****
Laura leaned against her door, willing her pulse to slow down. She waited for Daniel to knock or call after her but only heard silence, then the soft fall of his footsteps and a click as his own door closed.
Not sure whether to be relieved or disappointed, she sank onto the bed. What had happened to that cool control she was so proud of? It wasn't like her to be nervous on a date, yet she had been tonight. Daniel had been polite, even charming, and they'd got on surprisingly well considering the shaky start to their acquaintance. She'd allowed herself to relax, to enjoy herself; after all, that was what an evening with a handsome man was all about, wasn't it? But when he'd reached out to take her hair in his fingers . . . that hadn't been on her agenda at all.
What Daniel must think of her charging off like that, she dreaded to think! When she'd agreed to have dinner with him, she'd anticipated a fishing expedition on behalf of Maria. She hadn't anticipated the evening ending with a kiss, but it would have, if it hadn't been for the obliging guest who had switched on a light and unwittingly brought her to her senses. The realisation that she would have let Daniel kiss her—and happily kissed him back—was what had made her scurry off like a shy schoolgirl. How embarrassing!
Too fidgety to sit still, she jumped up and yanked off her dress, unceremoniously dumping her clothes on the floor in an untidy heap. In the bathroom, she took off her makeup and brushed her teeth, then flopped down on the bed, switched off the lamp, and lay staring into the darkness, waiting for her usually sensible self to come back and take charge. For goodness' sake, a near kiss was hardly a big deal. What was she making such a fuss about?
****
Broad daylight did little to make her feel any better about the whole thing, but Laura was practical above all else. Now that she knew how potentially seductive Daniel could be, she also knew that for professional and personal reasons, she needed to be more careful—and not just about getting too physically near him. Laura hadn't spoken to anyone about her father for a long time. It was something she'd steadfastly put to the back of her mind as she forged forward with her own life, in her own way. She wasn't sure she should have confided in Daniel—but she'd been caught off guard by the unexpected tenderness in his eyes, the soothing candlelight, his voice like velvet, the relaxing effect of the wine.
She told herself now that it hadn't done any harm. It wasn't as though it was a secret—merely a painful topic. She'd only just got him to realise she wasn't hopeless at her job—she hadn't wanted him to think she was an over-emotional bag of nerves as well. But he hadn't. He'd listened, expressed his sympathy, and neatly moved on to another topic. Whether that was because she'd made him uncomfortable, she wasn't sure – she didn't think so. She got the impression he'd sensed that was what she wanted, and he'd been right. Now she regretted the whole thing. It made her feel like she'd exposed a small chink in the armour she'd built up over the years.
As she glared at her hair in the mirror, the long waves tumbling around her face reminded her of the way Daniel had run his fingers through it last night—so she swept it up into a severe ponytail, unaware that this only served to emphasise the fine bone structure of her face and the colour of her eyes.
Laura sighed as she thought about the day ahead and the possibility of bumping into Daniel again. Her well-honed instinct to avoid complication was telling her to stay well away from him, but as the hotel's representative, she didn't have that luxury. She would have to settle for being polite and professional without encouraging anything more.
In need of company and an escape from her own thoughts, she headed up to the house for breakfast, where Teresa was more excitable than usual.
"My cousin Carlos runs boat trips on the river," Teresa explained, beaming. "His wife is ill today, so he asked me to go along and lend a hand. He's going to pay me!"
Laura laughed at the t
eenager's glee over someone else's misfortune. "Oh? What sort of trips?"
"They take people down the river Lima for a couple of hours and cook lunch on board for them." Teresa shrugged, youthfully unclear about any details other than her rate of pocket money.
"Carlos just started the trips this season," Maria explained, "but he hasn't been as quick at advertising as he should have been, if you ask me. Paulo told him to get some leaflets printed up so we could hand them out to our guests, but he's so been busy getting things off the ground, he hasn't had the time—or probably the money."
Laura sipped her coffee thoughtfully. "Couldn't Teresa help with that?" she asked, winking at the girl as she added, "For a little incentive, of course."
Teresa perked up. "What do you mean?"
"You're a whiz on the computer. I bet you could drum something up giving the times, the prices, where the boat leaves from, contact details, how to book. Add a photo or two to entice the customer. If you did it in your spare time, I'm sure Carlos would be grateful."
Teresa's eyes widened. "Financially grateful, you mean?"
Laura laughed. "Within reason, Teresa. Then all he'd have to do is get them printed." She spoke to Maria. "Unless he's already running at full capacity, the extra publicity couldn't do him any harm."
Maria nodded. "You're right, of course. He's doing quite well, but the boat isn't always full. Maybe Teresa could help him."
Laura nodded, then glanced at the clock. "I need to get to work. If I think anyone might be interested, I'll let them know about the boat trips. See you later."
****
Daniel made no appearance at reception that morning, and since her stomach tied itself in nervous knots every time she thought about the way their evening had ended, Laura could only be grateful.
Locking up at the end of her morning shift, she heard tyres on gravel. Daniel was parking up, and any last vestige of hope that her attraction to him last night had been a one-off aberration to be blamed on the wine or the stars was swept away as he climbed out and waved. Her heart thumped deafeningly in her chest as he strode towards her; the pale blue of his shirt, open at the neck, contrasted with his tanned face. Faded jeans clung familiarly to his lean waist and hips.
"Morning!" he called, frowning as he reached her. "Are you alright?"
She plastered a smile on her face. "I'm fine. Why shouldn't I be?"
"I thought after last night . . ."
"I'd rather not talk about it, if you don't mind." Knowing she sounded decidedly snippy, she reminded herself he was still a guest and hurriedly apologised. "I'm sorry I rushed off like that. I was . . . tired. But I never thanked you for the lovely dinner last night, so thank you."
Before Daniel could further explore why she had so abruptly ended the evening, she grabbed at the nearest straw she could find. "Actually, I have some information about something I thought you might enjoy." Hoping it might be a neutral subject to get them back on a client-host footing, she told him about Carlos' new enterprise. "You might not be interested, but I thought I'd let you know," she finished lamely.
Daniel nodded, fixing her with those dangerous blue eyes of his. "I am interested."
Choosing for her own sanity to ignore any ambiguity in his words, Laura sighed inwardly with relief that she'd managed to divert him from any discussion of last night, but her relief was short-lived as he added, "How about going with me to try it out?"
"Going with you?" She shifted uncomfortably, wary of the determined gleam in his eyes that she was already beginning to recognise.
"Yes. You're free in the daytime, aren't you? Could you get in touch with this Carlos, maybe try and book something for tomorrow or the day after?"
"I . . . I suppose so." Trust her to open her big mouth! If she'd known he'd ask her to join him, she never would have mentioned it—but now she had and he'd invited her to come; it would be churlish to refuse. Failing to hide her lack of enthusiasm, she said, "I'll find out if there are any places and let you know later this afternoon, if you like."
"Thanks." He took a step towards her. "Look, Laura, about last night . . ."
The telephone ringing in reception broke him off, and Laura had never been so grateful in her life. Shrugging apologetically, she unlocked the door and rushed inside to snatch up the receiver.
Chapter Eight
The phone call was a wrong number, but it served its purpose—Daniel had gone, leaving Laura annoyed with herself for not standing up to him. Again. Surely her duty as a host didn't involve accepting every unwanted invitation that came her way? But then it occurred to her that if Daniel was just an ordinary guest, her obligation didn't stretch to doing something she didn't want to do. If, however, there was more to it than that . . .
Quickly turning to the computer, she booted it back up and typed Daniel's name into the search engine. Scrolling down unlikely suggestions—bass guitarist, basketball player, chemistry boffin—she finally found what she was looking for: Daniel Stone, Stone Brothers Independent Travel. And there he was, staring out at her from a corporate-style photograph.
She read how Daniel and his brother Ben started their company five years ago to fill a gap in the holiday market, catering to the needs of those who didn't like package deals but didn't have the time, inclination, or confidence to make complicated travel arrangements themselves. The company provided a full service, from recommending the best destination for the individual traveller's needs, right through to booking every last detail. Stone Brothers specialised in off-the-beaten-track holidays in France and Spain, and from next year, Portugal would also be on offer.
She stared at the screen, chewing her lip. So Daniel wasn't a travel reporter, but he did own a travel company, and that company was thinking of expanding into Portugal. At last, some things were beginning to make sense: his requests for all that information and wearing a suit, presumably for a meeting.
Laura frowned. She now knew more about him, but in some ways she was no wiser. Was Daniel using the Quinta Maria as a base to explore the region so he could recommend the area to his clients? Or was he staying here so he could recommend the hotel itself? If he was here with a view to making some sort of deal with the hotel, there wasn't much point in coming when the owners weren't there . . .
She recalled his reaction the night he'd arrived, when she'd told him Paulo and Rachel were away. At the time, she'd taken his sharp response as dismay that she was standing in for them, but now it could just as easily be interpreted as a blow to his business plans. As for his brother Ben—was this the same Ben who made a good team with Natalie and couldn't manage without her? Now that was an uncomfortable love triangle!
Fuzzy-headed from staring at the screen too long, Laura headed back to the cool of her room for an early siesta. Dozing off almost immediately, she awoke in the early afternoon feeling groggy. An invigorating swim would hopefully bring her round, but first she needed to see if Teresa was back from her trip yet. Feeling out of sorts after her unexpected nap and grumpy about the task ahead of her, she grabbed an apple to make up for skipping lunch and headed up to the house, where she found the girl helping her mother in the kitchen.
"How did the trip go today?" Laura asked.
"Great!" Teresa rummaged in her pocket for the money Carlos had paid her and waved it triumphantly in the air.
Laura raised an eyebrow. "I'm glad you enjoyed it." Doing her best to sound casual, she asked, "Could you find out if there are any places on the boat sometime in the next couple of days?"
"For you? Or a guest?"
She hesitated. "For me and a guest."
Grinning, Teresa scampered off to the phone. "Carlos has two places tomorrow. Is that too soon?" she called a minute later from the hallway.
Laura wished there was an easy way out, but she couldn't see one. If there was a chance Daniel was here with a view to recommending the hotel to his clients, she owed it to Paulo to keep him sweet. "That should be fine," she said, hoping it wouldn't clash with any of Daniel's busine
ss meetings . . . or perhaps subconsciously hoping it would.
When Teresa came back after confirming with Carlos, Laura thanked her and turned to go, but Teresa stopped her. "It's Mr. Stone you're going with, isn't it?"
Laura glared at her in exasperation. The girl was like a bloodhound when it came to gossip, a trait inherited from her mother; although since Daniel was the only single guest in the place, it was hardly a difficult conclusion to come to.
"Yes, that's who I'm going with," she admitted.
Maria looked at her in surprise. Laura desperately wished she could tell them the real reason she'd agreed to go with Daniel, but she decided it was best not to say anything about what she'd discovered. After all, she had no proof he had any interest in the hotel in a business capacity.
"You're so lucky," Teresa enthused. "He's gorgeous!" Ignoring her mother's tut of disapproval, she added, "I wish my English was better, then maybe I could practise on him."
Laura saw the gleam in the teenager's eyes and smiled. Teresa, nervous of practising her English on anyone other than Laura, usually limited her contact with the guests to polite greetings and simple exchanges. Laura could recognise a teenage crush when she saw one. It must be dull for a seventeen-year-old helping out at the hotel all summer, and she could see how the arrival of a handsome foreigner might capture the girl's imagination.
"Teresa, your English is excellent. I'm sure you could manage a conversation with him if you tried," she said, beating a hasty retreat before Teresa could continue to wax lyrical about Daniel Stone.
As she walked back to her room, she wondered too late whether she should be encouraging Teresa to approach him. She might be shy, but she was also pretty, naïve, and looked older than she was. Feeling foolish for even thinking it, Laura instantly dismissed the idea. Just because Daniel had asked a grown woman to dinner didn't mean he was out to seduce every young girl in the neighbourhood.
Holding Back Page 6
