His features smoothed out, much to her relief, but his presence in the small building was intoxicating, making her realise how much the past couple of days had been permeated with a sense of disappointment that he hadn't been around. Laura wasn't used to having a man constantly in the back of her mind like that, and it irked her. She worked hard all year and looked forward to her holiday, usually spent in a pleasant combination of work, sightseeing, and relaxation. This year, with Daniel around, relaxation was proving impossible.
"Have dinner with me tonight." He cut in on her thoughts, his voice soft and persuasive.
Unable to tear her eyes from his face, Laura's acceptance was on the tip of her tongue. She'd put in a lot of hours on the wedding. It would be so easy to have dinner with him. He would be attentive and good company, and then afterwards . . .
"No!" she cried, brought to her senses by the memory of his lips on hers. Seeing his startled expression at her outburst, she hurried on. "I'm sorry, but I can't. I'm needed here at the wedding."
"All evening?" he queried, his tone a little disbelieving.
"All evening, along with my usual stint in reception." Laura nodded firmly, even though it wasn't strictly true. Her presence would be helpful, but no one would mind if she deserted the event earlier than usual. Still, it served its purpose for now.
Daniel wasn't put off so easily. "Then I'll accompany you. As your guest. Or lend a hand. Whatever."
She shook her head. "No, I'm sorry, you can't. I'm afraid it's wedding guests and employees only."
"Don't my business interests in the hotel count in my favour?"
Laura took a deep breath. He could be so persistent when he wanted to be! She had a busy day ahead and she couldn't afford to have Daniel there, not with the distracting effect he always had on her. Firmly, she shook her head. "It's not my place to invite you. I'm sorry."
"Somehow, I don't believe you are." His jaw was set in a hard line as he made for the door. When he turned back to her, his expression had softened but the hardness was still there in his voice. "You can't fight this forever, Laura. You'll have to give in sooner or later. And I don't mean give in to me," he said, as her eyes flashed fire. "I mean give in to your own feelings for a change."
Chapter Twelve
Laura stared at the empty doorway for several minutes after he'd left. He was right—she probably couldn't fight this thing between them forever. Then again, she wouldn't have to, would she? It wouldn't be long before he headed south, leaving her in peace to salvage what was left of her holiday.
Laura had a final check for e-mails and answer-phone messages before getting embroiled in the wedding. Still annoyed by Daniel's commandeering attitude, she locked up, then glanced up the path to see whether Maria was around to discuss one or two last-minute matters. Maria was nowhere in sight, but Teresa was standing in the car park talking to Daniel. He leaned lazily against his car, and Laura had to quell the surge of jealousy that hit her at seeing the two of them together. Embarrassed, she told herself Teresa was probably only doing what Laura had encouraged her to do: being a little bolder about practising her English on the guests.
But as Laura turned away, something caught the corner of her eye and she glanced back in time to see Daniel hand something to Teresa. Despite the distance, there was no mistaking the unique design of a hotel key fob as Teresa's fingers took it from his.
Before she could be seen, Laura ducked back inside. Scrabbling through the keys, she realised Daniel had never handed in Natalie's spare after she left. She couldn't believe what she'd just seen. Daniel had handed a young girl of seventeen his room key! Didn't he have any sense of responsibility? Even if he didn't realise Teresa's age, surely he could see how infatuated she was? To take advantage of that just because Laura didn't want to play was nothing short of despicable.
Sick to her stomach, she peered out again. Daniel had gone and Teresa was heading back to the house with a distinct spring in her step. Should she confront her about this? Persuade her that going to Daniel's room on her own wasn't a sensible idea? Laura remembered enough about being a teenager to know they were inclined to do the opposite of what adults wanted them to do, and the last thing she wanted was to push Teresa into Daniel's arms out of rebellion. Besides, she had no idea whether Teresa would be fool enough to follow through with his invitation. She didn't want to offend her if she had no intention of going. The girl was innocent until proven guilty, surely? Laura being heavy-handed would only create a rift between them.
Laura let out her breath with a whoosh. She might not want to tackle Teresa, but she had no qualms about tackling Daniel. For now, though, there was nothing she could do but be vigilant and watch Teresa to make sure she didn't sneak off, whilst keeping an eye out for Daniel's return. And all while trying to ensure that a hundred wedding guests had a day they would never forget. How she would keep her temper when she finally got hold of him, she had no idea. She would be hard-pushed not to throttle him.
And yet even as her blood boiled, a small voice inside her tried to tell her that something wasn't right. Daniel could be domineering, and he certainly wasn't shy about using his charms to get what he wanted, but she struggled to believe he would sink so low as to entice a young girl to his hotel room. The inner turmoil made her feel slightly sick.
****
The wedding reception went exactly as
