Chapter Fifteen
Feeling decidedly older and wearier right now than he should for his thirty-five years, Daniel walked over to her, Laura trailing in his wake. Despite the young Portuguese man seated at her table, Natalie stood to kiss Daniel—not on the cheek as he might have expected, but full on the mouth.
Embarrassed, he extricated himself as politely as he could. He knew Natalie's kiss was calculating, designed to annoy Laura, and he felt for the male companion. Besides, after his kiss with Laura last night, he had no desire to feel Natalie's lips on his. Thrown by that realisation, he was momentarily lost for words.
"So, what are you two doing up here? Quite a coincidence, isn't it?" Natalie broke the awkward silence.
"More than a coincidence, I'd say," Daniel said pointedly. "Laura's acting on behalf of the hotel. We had business to discuss, and she was kind enough to agree to keep me company today."
Natalie looked Laura up and down, and Daniel silently cursed her for the contempt she displayed. Natalie’s expensive linen trouser suit fitted her slim figure perfectly . . . but Laura's flowing skirt and loose top were fine in his book.
"Well, if you've finished discussing business, would you like to join us for lunch?" Natalie waved her hand towards her table, and then as though she'd forgotten he was even there, quickly added, "This is Tony. He works at the hotel I'm staying at. We're not here on business."
Daniel was having none of it. Today had only just begun to be bearable after such a terrible start—he refused to allow it to take a turn for the worse again. The idea of sitting through lunch with Natalie fawning all over him whilst simultaneously putting Laura down and using poor Tony to try to make him jealous was more than he could stand.
He shook his head. "I'm sorry, we can't. We still have a great deal to discuss. Nice to meet you, Tony. Enjoy your lunch."
Taking Laura by the elbow, he guided her between the tables to the only free one left, held out a chair for her, passed her a menu, then pretended to study his own.
Somehow Natalie had followed them there—that much was certain—and she was using that poor young man into the bargain. Daniel just couldn't understand her. Since he'd broken off their relationship, she'd been clingy at times, annoying at times, and he'd put up with it for the sake of his brother and his business. But this past week, she'd really upped the stakes. Trying to join him here in Portugal was one thing—he could see the logic behind it even if he didn't like it—but now, he suspected she could sense his attraction to Laura and was feeling threatened by it. And what Laura thought about all this, he didn't dare imagine.
"Have you decided yet?" he asked her.
She hurriedly glanced at the menu. "I'll have the hake."
"Anything to drink?"
"Water would be fine, thanks."
Once they had ordered, Daniel allowed himself to relax a little. Their table benefitted from the cool shade of a huge, ancient tree in the middle of the square, and they were surrounded by young couples or extended families all enjoying a leisurely Sunday lunch. The atmosphere was open and friendly, young and old alike having a wonderful afternoon together.
He risked a glance across to where Natalie and her companion were eating without saying a word to each other, then brought his gaze back to Laura, who was frowning into the middle distance.
"What are you thinking so hard about?" he asked her.
"You and Natalie." Her hand flew to her lips as though it had popped out of her mouth before she could think whether she wanted it to.
He tilted his head to one side. "Oh?"
Laura shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "Forget I said that—I'm sorry, it has nothing to do with me."
Daniel watched as she toyed with her cutlery. So far, he'd avoided discussing Natalie with her any more than necessary, but with a kiss like last night's between them, he supposed she was entitled to know where he and Natalie stood.
"It's not unreasonable for you to want to know more," he said softly. "I don't mind telling you." He waited while the waiter placed Laura's water and his orange juice on the table before continuing.
"Natalie came to work for us about three years ago. Ben had started a family and couldn't travel as much, and that meant I was away a lot. He needed help to run things at the home end. He knew Natalie from a previous company, and I was happy for him to take on someone he felt he could work with."
He took a sip of his juice. "Natalie may come across as a bit of a princess, but she's seriously good at her job. The clients love her—she's classy, she knows her stuff, and they trust her to find them what they want, leaving us to get on with what we need to do."
Daniel sighed. "About eighteen months ago, we started a relationship. It was a gradual thing, I suppose. It crept up on me. I wasn't in the office much, but when I was, she was professional, attractive. I just kind of fell in with it. There were other reasons it seemed like a good idea . . ."
Laura laid a hand on his. "You don't have to tell me, Daniel."
He saw the warmth in her eyes despite their disastrous day so far, and realised he did want to tell her—to make her understand how he'd allowed himself to end up in something so . . . unstable. But where to start? At the beginning, he supposed.
"When Ben and I set up the company, I was engaged to someone," he told her.
Laura raised her eyebrows and sat back as the waiter placed their food on the table. She picked up her fork to taste her fish, and pointed to his plate. "Eat."
Obediently, he stabbed at
