‘Hi, Keira!’ Daniel ran his eyes over Keira’s outfit and whistled softly. ‘Wow! You look great.’
‘For an old broad?’ Keira finished, and he laughed.
‘Yeah. Exactly. Well, I guess the magazine’s going to be a winner if tonight’s anything to go by.’ Daniel beamed at his uncle, apparently undaunted by Eden’s obvious disapproval of the easy banter between Keira and his nephew. ‘So it would seem this might be the best time to ask for a raise in pay.’ He winked at Keira before turning back to Eden. ‘What do you say?’
‘I’d say not a particularly good taste comment when you take into consideration the industrial action that’s pending,’ his uncle remarked drily.
‘Oops! Bad timing on my part. Sorry, Eden. I forgot about the distributors being restless. I’d better change the subject. Something funny just happened,’ he chattered on. ‘Someone asked me to introduce them to Aunt Aggie but I didn’t want to spoil their image of her. You know, grey hair, glasses on the end of her nose, short and grandmotherly.’
‘And she isn’t?’ Eden remarked, and Daniel chuckled.
‘Shall I tell him, Keira?’
Keira shrugged and Daniel made a flourishing movement with his hand toward her.
‘Eden Cassidy, meet Aunt Aggie Rains.’
Eden raised his dark brows. ‘You write that column?’
Keira nodded.
‘Yet another of your many talents?’
‘Sure is,’ Daniel put in delightedly.
‘I use my aunt’s diaries and recipe books.’ Keira explained, just a little flushed with embarrassment. ‘She was very particular about recording everything.’
‘Keira doesn’t exactly fit the picture, does she?’ Daniel laughed again and continued as Keira’s colour deepened. ‘Blushing becomes you,’ he said with flamboyant aplomb.
‘Enough, Daniel,’ Eden warned.
‘Sorry, Keira,’ Daniel apologised. ‘Time for another subject change.’ He turned back to his uncle. ‘So, what’s this I hear about Megan being in New York?’
‘She left yesterday,’ Eden told him dispassionately, his eyes still moving over Keira’s face, and she shifted uneasily, hoping Daniel would be too involved in his own concerns to notice his uncle’s so obvious attention.
‘I expected Megan to be here with bells on,’ Daniel was probing. ‘What’s she doing in New York?’
‘She wanted to see a Broadway show,’ his uncle replied tartly.
‘Very droll, Eden. When’s she due back?’
‘Although I can’t understand your sudden interest in Megan, and apart from its not being any of your business, Daniel, she’ll be tied up for a few weeks.’
‘A few weeks,’ Daniel repeated in amazement as he raised his eyebrows at his uncle. ‘You mean we’re launching this magazine without Megan’s good right hand? Well, the indispensable becomes dispensable.’
‘Now there’s an idea,’ said Eden meaningfully. ‘It may not be such a good idea to put such interesting thoughts into my mind.’
Daniel raised his hands in mock horror. ‘Then by all means consider it not said. Think I’ll quit while I’m ahead. See you two later,’ he added as he left them.
Keira’s mouth went suddenly dry and she made herself move, lifted her wine glass to her lips, and then felt herself colour as she realised the glass was empty.
Eden reached out and took the glass from her nerveless fingers as a waiter materialised beside them. And Keira was too stunned to refuse the refill.
‘Denver tells me everything’s gone to plan with the magazine,’ he remarked casually and Keira nodded, feeling more than one pair of eyes watching them with interest.
‘Yes. There have been no real problems,’ she said uneasily, and then pulled herself together. ‘Well, I guess I should leave you to mingle,’ she added brightly and made to move away.
‘You didn’t come to the party I gave last week,’ he said conversationally and Keira stopped, her muscles tensing.
‘No. Thank you for asking me but I’d made other plans,’ she replied without intonation. She’d sent her inability to accept via Daniel, and this time Keira had refused to allow the young man to talk her into changing her mind and going.
‘So Daniel informed me.’ He paused. ‘He said you had a date.’
Keira met his narrowed gaze, remembering her excuse. She’d told Daniel she intended to curl up with a good book. Scarcely a date. And Daniel knew that. So what was Daniel playing at?
‘Who was he?’ The even timbre of Eden’s voice repudiated the stormy darkness of his eyes and Keira’s throat contracted.
For long moments she was unable to formulate a reply. ‘Daniel had no right to tell you anything.’ She drew a quick, steadying breath. ‘And apart from that I hardly think it’s any of your business how I spend my weekends.’
Eden Cassidy might be her boss but he didn’t own her free time. He’d issued invitations and she’d refused. If he couldn’t take no for an answer that was his problem. She had no intention of allowing him to intimidate her in any way. And telling herself that was fine, she acknowledged, but now she had to put her resolve into practice.
Eden’s eyes were impaling hers and she found she was powerless to break their hold over her.
‘He doesn’t seem to be dancing attendance tonight,’ he said at last, in that same portentous tone.
‘Who?’ Keira got out through tense lips.
‘Your date,’ he repeated laconically.
The temperature in the room had become stifling and Keira yearned to race for the doorway, draw some cooling air into her tortured lungs. She swallowed and took hold of what little of her composure remained intact.
‘Perhaps he isn’t insecure enough in himself to feel the need to bind me to his side,’ she said scathingly. And she had the exhilarating sensation of knowing her barb had found its target as he lifted his head, his strong jaw clenching.
‘Do I take that as a critique of my character? Or apparent lack of it,’ he added caustically, and Keira shrugged.
‘Take it any way you feel you need to take it,’ she expounded with a coolly insolent smile.
‘Oh, believe me, Keira, I wouldn’t need to bind you to my side,’ he said proprietorially. ‘You simply wouldn’t want to leave.’
‘What an illuminating statement,’ Keira threw back at him. ‘And even more so because I think you really believe that.’
He gave a quietly humourless laugh. ‘And you believe it too, Keira.’
His vibrant voice, soft as velvet now, made her body tingle right down to her toes, and she clutched at her anger to conceal the betrayal of her seditious senses.
‘I can’t believe your arrogance, your-’
‘We could put it to the test,’ he cut in. ‘Care to try to prove me wrong, Keira?’
‘No,’ she replied with as much dignity as she could muster. ‘Unfortunately, I can’t help your mistaken assumptions. And quite frankly, I don’t really care what you think. Now, I’ve been neglecting the other guests-’
‘And especially your escort.’
Keira raised her chin. ‘The other guests,’ she repeated composedly, her grey gaze boldly holding his.
‘Who is he?’ he reiterated with almost tangible constraint, and they stood facing each other like incited adversaries about to do battle.
‘Is the relationship serious?’ he asked at last, when Keira was sure the gathering tension between them was about to explode into a million pieces.
She opened her mouth to tell him it was, to provide herself with some cover to hide behind, to cloak her very real and frightening attraction to this man. But somehow the words wouldn’t come. And he read the truth in her eyes before she could disguise it.
He smiled then, a magnanimously satisfied expression of triumph, and Keira had to fight the urge to lash out physically at him.
