But to give voice to it would be to give in. She had no intention of allowing him the leeway to seduce her into having an affair she didn't want. And she had to assume that was all he wanted from her. If she hadn't already worked it out for herself, Natalie had made it more than clear that his wandering lifestyle prevented him from concentrating on anything long-term; and since she'd managed to steer clear of holiday romances so far, she didn't intend to spoil her track record now.
Then again, she hadn't had to resist anyone quite like Daniel, and she didn't like her own lack of control.
Or was she worried she might like it too much?
Chapter Eleven
Daniel might not have liked the way Laura stormed off on her own after the trip—he certainly didn't believe it was because she had urgent shopping to do—but he supposed he couldn't blame her. He'd come on a bit strong on the boat, but honestly, it was like waving a red rag at a bull, denying there was any spark between them when it was so obvious there was. He couldn't understand why she was so averse to seeing where it led them.
At that thought, he ran a hand across his face in frustration. Maybe he should be less worried about her motivation and more worried about his own. Why was he so keen to see where it led them? She'd made it clear she wanted to keep her distance, and every sensible brain cell he had was screaming at him to stop pushing her. He had no time for a proper relationship, even for a holiday romance—which, since he wasn't technically on holiday, was an impossibility anyway.
But his body was telling him a different story. It reacted whenever he saw her, making his mouth go dry and his palms sweat and his pulse pep up the pace. It was as though he had no control over his own reactions. And while his head was fighting it out with his hormones, there was something deeper going on, an undercurrent of . . . he wasn't sure what. Longing? A desire for something beyond what he'd settled for over the past few years? And as though he'd suppressed something too hard and too long, now it was coming out twice as big and twice as mad.
Well, it would just have to stay mad. Ben's situation meant his own needs would have to remain on the back burner. Daniel shook his head with the irony of it. On the boat today, Laura had implied he was some kind of womaniser. Chance would be a fine thing!
****
The next morning, his phone dredged him out of a deep sleep. Glancing at the caller display, he blessed his brother when he saw the time. His alarm must have gone off ten minutes ago, and he'd slept right through it.
"Hi, Ben."
"Hi yourself. You sound awful."
Daniel scrubbed at his eyes. "Just woke up. You did me a favour. Slept through my alarm."
"Glad to be of service. What have you got on today?"
"Sightseeing. Meetings. The usual."
"Ah, it's a hard life."
He'd never worked out whether Ben did this thing about what an easy life Daniel had because he genuinely believed it and was jealous, or because he knew it was wearing thin and needed to keep up the pretence so he didn't feel bad about it.
It didn't matter. It was what it was, and Ben feeling guilty wasn't going to help either of them.
No harm in keeping up his part in the pretence. "I know. It's warm and sunny, the hotel's fabulous, and it has grounds to match."
"I had a glance through your schedule," Ben commented. "I noticed you'd booked into the one hotel for a whole fortnight. That's not like you. What's that all about?"
Daniel hesitated. "I decided to try doing it differently this time."
"And is it working?"
He was too sleepy to lie. "Yes and no. It's good for me personally to have a stable base, but it's harder to get a feel for the other hotels when I'm not actually staying there and doing the mystery shopper thing." He changed the subject. "How come you're phoning so early?"
Ben sighed. "Up most of the night. Jake wouldn't settle, and of course that woke Oliver up. Becky's worn-out. I had to take a couple of shifts."
Daniel closed his eyes. However hard he had it, Ben and Becky had it ten times worse. "I'm sorry, Ben. Anything I can do?"
"You're already doing everything you can just by doing what you're doing." There was a pause. "I appreciate it, Dan."
"No problem. Pen-pushers shouldn't be let loose abroad anyway."
Ben forced a chuckle. "I gather Natalie's still out there?"
"Yeah. Bumped into her in a restaurant in town the other night. I tried to get her to fly back, but she's digging her heels in."
"Well, there's not much we can do about it. She's earned her holiday entitlement. We can't dictate where she spends it." There was a loud yell and the sound of something breaking in the background. "Sorry, got to go. Cavalry required."
"I know. Bye, Ben." Daniel clicked off the phone and sat staring at it a while, then squared his shoulders. Come on, Daniel, stop whining and man up. You have a business to run.
****
Laura was also on the phone that morning—to Rachel. During a sleepless patch in the middle of the night, she decided she'd held back long enough. It was one thing to want her friends to enjoy their holiday without worry when she didn't know what was going on, but now that she knew Daniel was interested in the hotel, and Maria had
