Daniel's Bride by Joanne Hill Page B

else was lurking behind them? Would he be a devoted husband, an
adoring father? It was hard to imagine when he was looking at her in a way that
wouldn’t be out of place at an executive meeting in a boardroom.
    “Would I be expected to be a corporate wife?” she asked. “To
attend functions and host dinners and do whatever it is you people do?”
    Daniel arched his eyebrows. “We people don’t do functions. I
do not as a rule end up in the gossip pages of the media.”
    That was true. She was as voracious a reader of the
celebrity pages as anyone and now she thought about it, his name had never
appeared there, that she’d been aware of.
    “Though,” he admitted, “if something happens to bring this
to the attention of people who have nothing better to write about, I’m prepared
to ride it out.”
    “What about your staff? What about Nora?”
    “Nora has never expressed any interest in my personal life.”
He scratched his chin. “I have a housekeeper, Patsy, but she has worked for me
for five years.” He rapped his fingernails on the table top. “She would be
curious, but she is also loyal and I pay her very well. I believe she could be
included in the –”
    “The deception?”
    He inhaled sharply. “The plan.”
    She mulled it over some more in her mind. That seemed to be all
the bases. But it was still absurd. “Are you sure there aren’t any other
reasons why the marriage could be annulled besides the …” Her face heated
again, and she focused on a framed photograph of a waterfall on the wall behind
him. “Besides having to mention –”
    “The sex thing?”
    “Yes.” It made her uncomfortable just thinking about it. Not
the sex but the fact they were talking about it so dispassionately as if it
were just another bodily function like blowing your nose or going to the
toilet. Though to a man like Daniel, no doubt it was a meaningless need to be
slaked. He had the appearance of a man of great virility. Whereas to a woman
like herself, it was a lot more than that.
    She folded her arms across her chest and watched him
curiously as a thought occurred to her. “You’ll be tarnished with the same
brush.”
    “The same brush?” His eyes narrowed. “What brush is that
exactly?”
    “Of…not being able…to consummate…” Her voice trailed off as
sweat broke out at the nape of her neck. She was so far out of her league
referring to sex with a man who could probably make a woman melt with one
entirely chaste kiss.
    His mouth curled, his expression bemused. “Trust me,
Melinda. That has never been a problem and I can assure you, never will be.”
    “For you, sure,” she blurted. “The fact is, you’ve
probably…whereas I have never… I mean, I was engaged but even then, we
never…that is, I haven’t…ever…”
    Heat swamped her face. She pushed herself away from the
table, grabbed her bag.
    She looked at a place somewhere over his shoulder, where she
didn’t have to see what he was thinking, and announced with as much cool as she
could muster, “I’m going to the ladies.”
     
     
    Daniel found himself frozen to the spot as Mel disappeared
around the corner to the ladies restoom, the only thing left in her wake the
scent of her perfume – and the meaning behind her words. He quickly reached for
his wine, drained the glass in one smooth swallow and filled the glass from the
bottle. His hand shook, and wine sloshed on the cloth.
    He’d misinterpreted what she’d said. Surely . He
grabbed his napkin and dabbed at the red stain. She was twenty six years old
for goodness sake.
    She had just admitted she was a virgin. Admitted that she
had never made love, not even with her fiance.
    His phone rang, he reached for it and checked the screen.
Hugh.
    “Have you asked her yet?” Hugh demanded.
    Daniel glanced broodingly across to the rest room area. “I
did. And the idea of getting a divorce did not go down well.” He breathed in
deep. “Deep down, Mel is as conservative as they come.