No, the Silvas' imaginations had run riot as far as she could see, but in the unlikely event Daniel was some sort of travel reporter, she didn't imagine he could say anything that would do any harm. It was like paradise here! Glancing across at the little reception building, she thought about doing some investigating now, but it was late and she was tired. Tomorrow would be soon enough.
As she tried to sleep, her mind kept coming back to Daniel's invitation to dinner. It was the last thing she'd expected from him. Hadn't he had enough excitement for one day? He'd only just got rid of one girlfriend. Surely he could do without trying to find another?
Yet for a brief moment, she'd almost been tempted to accept. He'd seemed sincere about their truce by the river, and he was certainly easy on the eye, though not so good for an even heart rate. And she was curious about him, a fact she obviously hadn't hidden well. More to the point, the family was curious, too. If she went out with him, she could find out more about him—for Paulo's sake, of course.
Then that brief moment of madness was gone, and her innate common sense kicked in. Her better judgement told her Daniel Stone and his attendant complications were best left alone. Her main concern this summer was looking after the hotel and its guests for Paulo and Rachel. Daniel was just one guest among the others, all deserving equal levels of attention, and she was perfectly capable of delivering that without falling at his feet in a simpering heap.
****
When Laura finished her morning duty the next day, she decided to head into town for a coffee and a little window-shopping, so she went up to the house first to see if there was anything Maria needed. With a small list of errands, she drove into Viana do Castelo to pay Maria's cheques into the bank and place a couple of orders with specialty food stores for ingredients needed to cater for the coming weekend's wedding reception. Her jobs done, she decided she'd earned her coffee and chose a table in the Praça da República, Viana's main square. Sitting in the warmth of the late morning sun, she happily absorbed the scene around her, watching people go about their business and reacquainting herself with the stone fountain, gothic arches, and wrought iron balconies.
With an almost physical pang, she was reminded how much she loved this place. If only she could take Paulo up on his offer to come out for the entire six weeks of the school holidays! The first time he'd suggested it, she'd only laughed. The next time, she'd gently explained how impossible that was. The only way she managed to come out for three weeks was by cramming all her preparation and planning into the other three. Just the thought of what awaited her back home made her feel exhausted.
When she'd finished her coffee, she drove back to the hotel, popped into Maria's kitchen to report on the progress of her morning's errands, helped herself to fruit and yoghurt, then went down to her room to change into her black one-piece swimsuit and make for the pool.
She read and dozed a little, but the pool was too cool and inviting to ignore for long. Taking a deep breath, she dived in, surfaced with a gasp, and swam rapidly to get her circulation going again, stretching out her limbs as she warmed up. Ten minutes later, she climbed out and picked up her towel, cheerfully greeting a couple of approaching guests whilst secretly pleased she'd had the water to herself, and headed up the path.
Back in her room, she wrapped herself in the towel and wriggled out of her swimsuit—but as she picked it up from the floor, she saw a large, unrecognisable insect clambering over its wet folds, almost camouflaged by the black of the fabric. With a shriek, she flung open her door, tossed the swimsuit outside, insect and all . . . and met a shout of protest from Daniel Stone as the sopping garment hit him full in the chest.
Laura watched in dismay as he caught the dripping bundle and dropped it to the floor, his suit and tie covered in damp patches. As he glanced down at himself and then back up at her in disbelief, her heart sank. It was bad enough he should be walking past her room just at that moment. Why did he have to make matters worse by wearing such an expensive suit?
Daniel bent to retrieve the offending item, holding it out to her at arm's length, and without thinking she reached out to take it, almost losing her towel in the process. With lightning reaction, she clutched it tightly to herself with her other hand.
"I thought we'd called a truce yesterday," he said, his eyes thankfully back on her face after a quick and obvious roam elsewhere, which caused Laura to blush like a schoolgirl. Amused glints in the blue depths of his eyes complimented the faint smile at his mouth.
"I . . . I'm sorry," she stammered, flustered. "There was something crawling on my swimsuit and I didn't like the look of it, so I . . ."
"So you thought you'd fling it out at any poor unsuspecting passerby?"
Laura nodded miserably. Despite her embarrassment, she found herself wondering why he was dressed in a business suit—and couldn't help but notice how distinguished he looked in it. The expensive cut was obviously custom-tailored for his broad shoulders and long legs. She shivered—whether in reaction to her survey
